We recently talked about how to lay the groundwork for retail teams that want to use SMS to connect with customers. From opt-in incentives to outreach strategies, it's important to think about the big picture before sending that first text. But then it's time to establish the outreach cadence and conversational tone that your retail teams should use. Today, we're taking a deeper look into how your retail teams can effectively engage with your customers through SMS campaigns.

No, seriously. As clienteling experts, we’ve seen the hesitation in retail teams to get started, and also their excitement once they do it anyway and see the results.

Because first and foremost is this: Customers enjoy texting with businesses. Studies show that 67% of customers believe that texting with businesses increases convenience, and 46% actively seek out businesses that offer text and chat messaging.

It’s all a matter of providing the level of convenience your audience wants without overreaching with spammy promotions. Here's an example of what a personalized text with a frequent shopper could look like:

Here are three quick, but wildly effective tips for keeping your clienteling conversational:
1) Use the active voice.
2) Use 1st names and 2nd person.
3) Be short. There’s almost no reason to send more than two texts at a time.

One of the best aspects of SMS is that it feels immediate; like answers are just a text away. And that’s what your customers are used to in their daily lives. Nearly 60% of consumers respond to text messages within 5 minutes. Near real-time engagement should be a constant goal for your associates. During your brand’s work hours, strive to answer texts within 5 minutes. This is where automated SMS campaigns can help by triggering sends based on customer activity or events.

Your associates should never cross the line with inappropriate jokes or memes. Having a team inbox like Endear makes messages accessible by the entire team. This is a great way to maintain transparency and ensure conversations remain within the scope of the brand voice. It also gives the opportunity to take a holistic view of which messages are working, and which aren’t by having real-time analytics to inspect.