The goal of transactional SMS is to communicate essential information that impacts business operations and is of potential interest to the customer.

Difference between marketing SMS and transactional SMS

Unlike promotional SMS, customers cannot unsubscribe from these communications, as they must remain informed about your activity.

Transactional SMS are exclusive. You cannot include promotional or marketing content in them.

They are also delivered with network priority, meaning we can guarantee receipt by the recipient within five seconds of sending.

Finally, you can only send transactional SMS to people registered in your customer database, not to a purchased or rented database, as can be the case for marketing SMS.

Benefits of transactional SMS

Instant

Few people check their email every day. An email can gather dust in an inbox for days or even be sent directly to the spam folder, where it will never be opened. It is therefore useless to rely on email as your only means of communication with your subscribers.

That is where SMS comes in. People generally read a text message immediately after receiving it.

Easy to deploy

Bulk SMS is quick to deploy. All you have to do is create a message to be sent to your contact list.

High reach

Nowadays, everyone has a mobile phone. Marketing SMS has a 95% open rate and a 45% conversion rate.

Furthermore, SMS has always been a default feature on phones, so there are no apps to download and no accounts to create.

Trackable

You can see who opened your message, check if recipients clicked on your link, and even see how many people ignored your SMS.

Cost-effective

The cost per message is relatively affordable, especially if you buy them in bulk. Sending SMS is the most cost-effective way to personalize your customer communication.

Rates vary from one country to another and depend on the number of messages sent. Since SMS is a communication channel used by the general public, it is generally inexpensive.

When should you use transactional SMS?

Transactional SMS can be used in many business situations. Here are the most frequent use cases at Octopush.

OTP / Multi-factor authentication: Verify the identity of an account owner. Further secure customer accounts by sending a code in addition to their login credentials. Note that the validity of the login code is time-limited.

Alerts / Notifications: Send your recipients information related to your business activities. Keep your customers informed about changes to their user account, opening hours, appointment rescheduling, order updates, package confirmation and tracking, and welcome messages, among others, via an alert SMS.

Appointments: Reassure your clients, patients, or partners that their bookings have been received. Then, send them an SMS appointment reminder in advance to confirm they are still available for their appointment.

Sectors that use our SMS solution for their transactional SMS system

All industries can benefit from using transactional SMS campaigns. Here are some examples of use by business sector:

Agriculture

An agricultural company can send notifications regarding shipment tracking, transaction confirmations, or stock availability for products on sale.

Automotive

Garages and car dealerships can inform their customers of opening hours and send reminders for vehicle pick-ups, service visits, or test drives.

Beauty and wellness

Spas, wellness centers, and cosmetics stores can inform visitors of opening hours, confirm appointments, send appointment reminders, and provide order and payment confirmations.

Education

Stay in touch with teaching staff, students, and parents. Transactional SMS campaigns can be used for a variety of purposes, such as confirming classes, keeping students updated on their schedules, and even sharing documents. They can also be used to request an OTP to verify or modify a personal account. Transactional messages are also useful for keeping students informed, making it much easier to notify them of schedule changes or share links to course platforms.

Financial services

The financial sector can use OTPs to enhance security when accessing or modifying personal accounts, and keep clients informed about account changes, transaction or transfer confirmations, and even stock market updates.

Food and beverage

Restaurants can confirm and remind customers of reservations, confirm payments, and send delivery information if they offer that service.

Public sector

Municipalities use SMS to inform citizens about roadwork, traffic diversions, new routes during events, and other community-related topics.

Healthcare

Hospitals, laboratories, and doctors can use transactional SMS to improve patient relations by sending appointment confirmations and reminders. Laboratories can notify patients when test results are ready, while pharmacies can confirm payments, provide shipping updates, or confirm product availability.

Legal

Law firms can inform their clients of appointment dates and keep them updated on the strategy for their case.

Logistics

Transport and delivery services can use SMS to notify customers about package deliveries.

Real estate

Brokers and real estate agencies can leverage transactional SMS to confirm appointments and send reminders for home viewings, or to send potential clients information regarding properties they are interested in.

Retail

Retailers primarily use transactional SMS to confirm purchases and provide package delivery updates.

Sports

Sports clubs, gyms, and activity centers can send appointment reminders and notify clients about class schedules, opening hours, or any unexpected changes.

HR

Recruitment agencies can keep candidates updated on job openings and remind them of interview dates.

Travel and Hospitality

Hotels can confirm bookings. Airlines and rail services can send travelers trip information or alert them to unexpected changes.