How can Businesses Leverage Salesforce Marketing Cloud to Send SMS?

Clear and efficient communication allows teams to collaborate, enables the flow of ideas, and allows projects to move forward seamlessly. Having an effective channel of communication is no longer a choice but has become the need of the hour. Among the plethora of business communication channels available, SMS is the most undervalued. However, considering the high open rate, deliverability, and click rates, numerous organizations are returning to SMS to ensure greater customer engagement and reach geographies that are tough to penetrate.

Although the future of SMS is promising, the questions that continue to haunt users is whether the channel is cost-effective or can deliver transactional, as well as commercial benefits. When integrated with a robust CRM platform like Salesforce Marketing Cloud, organizations can provide their customers with a personalized experience. Let’s delve a bit deeper to know more about this platform.

All About Salesforce Marketing Cloud

This automation platform allows organizations to automate and execute multi-channel marketing campaigns seamlessly. It seamlessly integrates with the Salesforce ecosystem while optimizing customer engagement. It provides organizations with a suite of tools for creating tailored and targeted campaigns while improving their marketing strategies. By consolidating data from various touchpoints, this platform offers a cohesive view of customers, empowering marketers to craft campaigns depending on individual preferences and interactions.

This data-driven approach fosters personalization and improves customer experiences. By empowering businesses to create targeted campaigns through advanced audience segmentation, the platform helps drive an increased conversion rate and customer satisfaction. Organizations can track campaign performance and draw actionable insights into conversion rates and ROI by leveraging the platform's analytics and reporting tools. The platform allows businesses to scale and refine their marketing efforts without revamping their existing infrastructure. This ensures seamless growth and operational continuity. Since the platform ensures adherence to global regulations, it enables the highest standards of data protection.

While the software can be leveraged to manage everything from social media marketing to email campaigns, marketers are confused about whether this platform can send SMS. To explore these questions, let’s understand what MobileConnect is—the module that empowers Marketing Cloud customers to send SMS from Salesforce.

What is MobileConnect?

Mobile Connect enables you to craft MMS and SMS messages within Salesforce Marketing Cloud’s Mobile Studio. However, MobileConnect doesn’t send messages directly to the subscriber’s mobile device. Instead, it routes messages through partners called Aggregators, who then forward them to local phone carriers via their SMS gateways, ensuring final delivery to the subscriber’s mobile phone. Mobile Studio is designed to enhance mobile-focused marketing initiatives, including the ability to send SMS messages to your audience. This feature allows businesses to promote their brand, deliver time-sensitive updates, and enable transactions directly to the mobile devices of their customers.

Maximizing SMS Capabilities in Salesforce Marketing Cloud

• Set Up Mobile Studio: To configure Mobile Studio within your Marketing Cloud account, it's important to set up SMS settings, including compliance measures, to ensure legal and hassle-free messaging.
• Integrate SMS with Journey Builder: Augment customer journeys by including SMS as a touchpoint in Journey Builder, creating seamless and engaging multi-channel campaigns.
• Track and Optimize Performance: Leverage the reporting tools to track SMS campaign performance, analyze results, and optimize your strategy for better outcomes.

SMS in Salesforce Marketing Cloud: Key Features

• Personalized Messaging: Salesforce Marketing Cloud enables personalization and generation of content, allowing you to send SMS messages tailored for each recipient. This boosts engagement and ensures the audience feels appreciated.
• Global Reach: With such capabilities, businesses can connect with global customers, making it a perfect solution for brands with a global presence.
• Automation and Journeys: SMS can be integrated into Journey Builder without any hassle. This allows the automation of SMS messages fueled by customer actions such as making a purchase or deserting a cart.
• Two-Way Messaging: This cloud-enabled platform supports two-way messaging, allowing organizations to engage in meaningful conversations with their customers. This feature allows businesses to collect feedback, respond to customer queries directly via SMS, and more.
• Consent Management: Marketing Cloud offers integrated tools to warrant compliance with regulations, including TCPA, GDPR, and more. It helps manage customer consent, confirming that messages are directed to the users who have opted in.

Best Approaches for Sending SMS from Salesforce

Reaching your customers through SMS text messaging is a powerful tool, but it’s essential to approach it thoughtfully and responsibly:

• Respect the Time of Your Customers: When sending text messages, it's crucial to consider the customers' time if your business caters to customers across different time zones.
• Combine SMS with Other Channels: Instead of using SMS as the only channel, teaming it up with other channels is crucial.
• Deliver Valuable Messages Consistently: Rather than bombarding your customer's inbox with too many messages, make sure to ensure each one is worth their time. Be consistent in frequency and tone besides being clear about your goals when using SMS to connect with your audience and aligning every message with those objectives.
• Always Include a Strong Call to Action: If your SMS messages aim to prompt action rather than simply inform, invest time in crafting an impactful Call to Action. This element is crucial for driving higher conversion rates and determining the success of your Salesforce SMS campaigns.