Transactional SMS Vs. Promotional SMS: The Ultimate Guide

Learn when and how to use transactional SMS vs promotional SMS messages for your business.

SMS is one of the most effective communication channels for increasing customer engagement and boosting sales.

SMS can be used in many different ways, such as promotional campaigns, transactional messages, reminders, customer support, etc. If you want to make the most of SMS capabilities, you need to become familiar with all of these applications.

This blog post will discuss the differences between transactional and promotional SMS messages. This helps you understand how to use them to reach a high ROI in your SMS campaigns.

Also, we’ll introduce advanced features of WP SMS that help you send transactional and promotional messages with minimal manual intervention.

What Is Transactional SMS?

You must have heard of these SMS types:

• OTPs
• Order updates
• Payment confirmations

These are examples of transactional SMS messages. 

In simple words, a transactional SMS is a type of text message you send to your subscribers to share important and time-sensitive information.

It’s obvious that these messages are triggered when a user interacts with your business. In fact, these are automated messages that have to be sent after specific actions.

For example, when your users try to log in to their accounts on your website/app, your SMS platform sends an OTP (One-Time Password).

So the nature of transactional messages is informative and non-promotional because you want to provide essential updates, notifications, or alerts, not to promote/sell something.

Here are the benefits of transactional messages:

1. Builds Trust: They keep customers informed, enhancing reliability and credibility.

2. 24/7 Accessibility: The messages are sent automatically regardless of your business hours.

3. Personalizing Communication: You can tailor them according to the recipient’s specific details.

4. Enhancing Security: Using transactional messages, you can offer a 2FA system or security alerts to add a layer of protection.

5. Compliance-Friendly: You usually get consent to send transactional messages to comply with regulations.

What Is Promotional SMS?

Promotional SMS is used for marketing and advertising purposes. You send a promotional message to promote products, services, or offers.

You usually send promotional messages to a specific audience to drive engagement, sales, or brand awareness.

The content of promotional messages often includes discounts or special offers like:

• “Get 20% off on your next purchase! Use code SAVE20.”
• “Flash Sale Alert! Up to 50% off on electronics until midnight.”

Many times, businesses might send promotional messages without the consent of the recipients. This might put their campaigns at risk of legal fines.

Here are the benefits of promotional SMS messages:

1. Boosting Sales: Promotional messages encourage customers to buy something from you using special offers/discounts.

2. Brand Awareness: Using promotional messages, you can reach out to new customers.

3. Customer Engagement: Promotional messages can engage customers with interactive content like contests or polls.

4. Laser-Targeted Marketing: You can segment recipients based on specific factors and target each segment with a customized promotional message.

5. Immediate Response: Despite other types of marketing, promotional messages have a high open rate with immediate response.

6. Drive Traffic: You can include your webpage links in your promotional messages in order to drive traffic to your website.

Key Differences of Transactional SMS Vs. Promotional SMS 

Both transactional and promotional messages play important roles in business communications.

To use them efficiently, you need to know the detailed differences. The following table compares them to help you understand these messages better:

Also, it’s good to learn the benefits of using these messages to know when to use them. The following table compares the benefits of using each of these communication methods:

Tips & Best Practices for Transactional & Promotional SMS Campaigns

Now that you’re familiar with different aspects of promotional and transactional SMS messages, you’d better learn some tips to use them correctly.

Choose The Right SMS Tool

First and foremost, you need to choose an effective SMS tool that works well for both transactional and promotional campaigns.

As said earlier, transactional messages like 2FAs and order updates are automated. Also, promotional messages need to be customized according to each customer’s details. 

Therefore, you have to choose a tool that offers features like automation, personalization, segmentation, and scheduling.

WP SMS is one of the best SMS platforms for both transactional and promotional messages. It’s specifically designed for WordPress websites and is compatible with many integrations and add-ons like WooCommerce, GravityForm, Booking, etc.

If you choose WP SMS, you can use advanced features like:

1. Sending WooCommerce order updates
2. Booking events
3. Bulk messaging
4. Segmentation
5. Automation
6. Dynamic content
7. Scheduling
8. 2FA
9. FluentCRM

As you can see, WP SMS offers everything you need for transactional and promotional messages.

For example, it lets you create SMS templates using the dynamic content features to customize the template according to each customer’s details. This way, you’ll improve customer experience and gain the trust of your audience.

So why wait? Try the demo version of WP SMS and see if it works for your business.

Best Practices for Using Transactional SMS Messages

Try to consider the following tips when sending transactional messages to your subscribers:

• Focus on Clarity: You need to consider a single goal for each transactional message and avoid extra words and jargon. Try to keep messages clear and concise because people don’t like lengthy messages.

• Use Personalization: Use the dynamic content feature of WP SMS to include the first name of recipients and specific details like order numbers. Personalization has a great impact on the engagement rate.

• Define Important Triggers: Use the automation features of WP SMS to define triggers according to your business needs and send immediate messages after important actions.

• Ensure Accuracy: Try to double-check the information in your messages before sending transactional messages.

How to Run Promotional SMS Campaigns

Promotional SMS marketing campaigns are really effective in your sales and brand awareness. Of course, running a successful campaign is not as easy as sending some text messages. 

The following tips help you build a strong strategy for promotional messages and reach the maximum ROI possible:

• Create Various SMS Templates: Depending on the type of your promotional campaign, you need to prepare a message template beforehand. Of course, almost all messages have some important items like personalization, body, offer, CTA, link, and brand name.

• Create A Sense of Urgency: Promotional messages are great for time-sensitive campaigns. Try to add a sense of urgency to entice people to take immediate action. Of course, you shouldn’t push too hard for it because you might seem spammy and get blocked.

• Run Opt-In Campaigns: Try to build a laser-targeted list of recipients by running opt-in campaigns. You can leverage other channels like social media and email to increase your opt-in rates.

• Leverage Segmentation: Divide your subscribers into segments based on demographics, purchase behavior, or preferences. Then, try to customize the messages for each segment to improve engagement.

• Send Messages at the Best Time: Timing matters when it comes to promotional messages. Send messages at optimal times, such as mid-morning or early evening. This way, your audience will more likely engage with your messages. 

• Provide an Opt-Out Option: It’s essential to respect your audience’s comfort and let them choose not to receive promotional texts. So, provide them with an easy way to unsubscribe from your list. This is also a must if you want to comply with regulations like GDPR and TCPA.

After building your promotional SMS campaigns, you need to test and analyze them to make sure they’re performing well. 

Transactional & Promotional SMS Samples

Finally, let’s take a look at some examples of these messages:

Transactional SMS Examples

Here are some samples based on different transactional SMS use cases:

• Order Confirmation 

When your customer puts an order on your website, it’s good to send a transactional message like the template below:

This way, you’ll ensure that you’re processing their order.

• Password Reset

Transactional messages are great for a secure password reset process, like:

• Delivery Update

You need to keep customers updated on the delivery process. Here is an example of this kind of transactional message:

• Appointment Reminder

Reminders are among the most used kinds of transactional SMS messages. Healthcare providers, event managers, and salons are some of the industries that need appointment reminders the most. Take a look at the sample below to see how it works:

• Two-Factor Authentication

2FA SMS is a common transactional text message that adds an extra layer of protection to your accounts. Here is an example of a 2FA SMS:

Promotional SMS Examples

Take a look at the following promotional messages to see how they work:

• Flash Sale Alert

Flash sale alerts are the most common types of promotional messages. They usually come with a discount or other perks like a free trial. Here is an example of flash sale alerts: 

• Exclusive Offer

Offer special offers to loyal customers to make them feel VIP. This will help your customer loyalty programs:

• New Product Launch

SMS is a great channel to announce your new product launch. The following sample shows how to do that:

• Limited-Time Offer

With limited-time offers, you can entice people to make the purchasing decision immediately. Try to make them believe that they might lose something important if they don’t buy your products. Here is a sample of a limited-time offer:

• Birthday Offers

You can use promotional messages to let customers know you remember them. For example, offer something special to customers on their birthdays, like:

Conclusion

Businesses use SMS for various purposes, from advertising their products/services to updating their customers. 

Transactional and promotional SMS messages are two frequently used types of SMS communications. 

The main difference between transactional vs. promotional SMS messages is their objectives. 

In transactional messages, you want to update your customers about an important matter like order status or payment confirmation. 

On the other hand, you send promotional messages to market your products and boost your sales. 

Try to include both of them in your marketing strategies to build the best customer relationship possible. 

Of course, you need an effective tool like WP SMS to automate your SMS efforts and reach a high ROI. 

It comes with a free plan and offers lots of advanced features in the premium plan. You can also use the demo of WP SMS to familiarize yourself with its power.

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