any online store, it is indispensable to have a means of communicating with customers, and it would be preferable if this method was easy to use and meets all the requirements that every online store owner seeks, and on the other hand, provides better service to customers, which would advance the online store and add to it. Lots of improvement.
We cannot deny the fact that text messages (SMS) are one of the most direct methods of communication that do not require the customer to be connected to the Internet, as the message reaches directly to the customers of your online store or users of your website, and it gives you many advantages. Follow me in this article to learn about it, and learn how to activate this feature in your online store.
What is SMS text messaging service?
It is a service through which text messages with short content are sent. Its features are that it allows these messages to be sent to a large number of users. It is known as SMS, short for Short Message Service. Today, these services are widely used as marketing tools in the field of electronic stores in particular. And other fields in general, and the purposes of using text messages vary depending on the nature of the field in which they are used.
When does a store owner send messages to his customers?
In this aspect, there is an important question, which is: Why might we need to send SMS text messages to the customers of our online store ?
This matter is very important, especially if this store is one of the large stores that has a large and important customer base, and if you are just starting out in the world of electronic stores, the matter will have a special kind of importance. Therefore, we will now delve into this topic now, and discuss its details.
Here are most of the situations you can text your customers based on:
- Product order awaiting payment: This status means that the product order is incomplete due to the incomplete payment process. It will be complete when it is completed and turns into a status that the order is complete and will begin to be executed.
- :The order is complete This is the opposite of the first case, where the application is complete and all its procedures have been completed successfully.
- : The request is in progress This is the stage that follows the status of the request being complete and its implementation and processing will begin and the rest of its procedures will be completed.
- :The order is cancelled It sends a message to the customer when the order cancellation process is completed successfully.
- Product order failedThis situation occurs when the application is incomplete, which leads to its failure, regardless of any reason.
- When the product arrives at the destinationThis is considered one of the most important cases in which text messages are sent to customers, as they inform the customer that the product has arrived at its destination and that it will reach his hands soon.
- Marketing messages to customersAlso, this situation is no less important than the previous one, as it is useful in bringing more customers and more loyalty of these customers to the store and its products, and thus more sales and profits.
- Alert when a product arrivesSMS text messaging service can be used if the quantity of a product has run out, then becomes available again, or new products arrive in the areas and categories that each customer is interested in.
Benefits of sending SMS messages to customers
There are many benefits that text messaging services give you and your online store customers. Below we mention some of these benefits:
- Saving time : In terms of time, we can say that naturally most customers tend to save their time and use it for something more useful, and there is no doubt that the SMS text messaging service is the most appropriate solution for this. Because it saves time and effort in the customer browsing the store and following up on the latest developments in his account.
- Increased efficiency : The SMS service is considered one of the positive features of the site, and the more this store contains additional features that distinguish it from other stores, the more efficient it will be.
- High trust and loyalty : When there is great professionalism in dealing with customers, and the use of the latest technological means in managing the store and communicating with customers, then customers’ confidence in the store will increase and their loyalty to it will certainly be greater due to the availability of means that save their time and effort.
- Convenience : SMS text messaging service constitutes a suitable means of communicating with various segments of customers and enables reaching them at any time and wherever they are. It is also suitable for implementing professional and successful marketing campaigns at the lowest possible costs, in addition to reaching a large number of targeted customers with high confidence. .
- Inclusion, scheduling, and marketing : Through SMS services, we can schedule text messages automatically at times that we specify based on the activities and work we want. Text messages can also be linked with many systems and applications that enable us to obtain many features through the same service.
- This leads us to another advantage, which is successful e-marketing for commercial activities by achieving goals by reaching target customers as quickly as possible and at the lowest costs.
How to Send Text Messages in a WooCommerce Store
When talking about adding services to sites built using WordPress; It will be easier than other sites, as there is no need to add any programming codes. All you have to do is follow a series of some steps that end with obtaining what you want. To add the SMS service to the customers of the online store, there are two basic steps as follows:
1) Subscribe to an SMS sending service
There are many services that allow us to send text messages, which we will mention later in this explanation, but for now we will use the SMS alert service , which allows e-store owners to send messages to their e-store customers with ease.
- Go to the official website of the SMS alert service and create a new account through sign up , or you can log in through login if you have an account before.
As shown above, you must enter your name, email, country name, and phone number, and you can log in through your Google or Facebook account.
Now you will find a new message on the email with which you registered on the site, including the login link, the username and password that we will need later when we include the service within the site through one of that specialized WordPress plugins.
2) Embed the service on your WordPress site
To do this step, you must install one of the WordPress plugins specialized in this regard. One of the most famous plugins and one of the most efficient in this aspect is the “ SMS Alert Order Notifications ” plugin. This plugin specializes specifically in the aspect of messages and notifications related to orders in the store, and it is worth mentioning that it has continuous updating. There are more than 6,000 active installations, and their addition is as follows:
1. Through the site’s control panel, go to: Add-ons << Add new
2. After that, in the search box, type the name of the SMS Alert Order Notifications add-on , then click Install Now for the add-on shown in the image above.
3. To start using the add-on, you must activate it by clicking the Activate button
4. After successfully activating the add-on, a new tab will appear in the main control panel of the site. Now go to the add-on settings by clicking on Woocommerce and among the options we will find SMS alert
5. Paste the username and password that were sent to you via email when you registered on the SMS Alert service website, then click on verify and continue , and finally Save changes. Thus , the process of including the messaging service in the store has succeeded.
6. Now go to the add-on settings for further customization. From the same General Settings tab , set a dedicated phone number for the site manager so that he can receive notifications and text messages through it.
7. From the sequence of steps shown in the image above, you can customize the cases in which SMS text messages will be sent to the store’s customers, by activating the box next to each option, leading to writing and customizing the message that you would like to send to the customer in each of the cases available for sending messages through this service. We will learn about this in detail in the next step.
8. As you notice, every time one of the options is activated, a special place appears for writing the message designated for the chosen case, where you can write the message you want, with special names, in addition to placing each message variable so that it is customized for each customer. For example, suppose you want to send a message. To customers regarding the status of the product they ordered.
The message form is as follows: Hello, {product_name} is now {order_status}. A message is sent to each customer with a change in the product name, order status, and other variables that are attached to the message, which change according to the information related to each customer in the store.
9. Then users can customize their registration settings on the site according to their different types of memberships in the store, activate or deactivate text messages, and customize the form of the message that will be sent to them.
10. This step is considered additional if you want your customers to confirm the phone number to which you will send messages, from the settings of the otp settings section , which refers to ( One Time Password ). The settings above appear where the text of the message is, and attach the confirmation code variable (otp) in the desired place. In the message, in addition to the number of times it has been resent and the period after which the confirmation code is allowed to be resent.
If we activate this feature on the site, the result will be that the order and payment will not be completed unless the phone number is confirmed, as follows:
A message will be sent to the customer’s phone, and a window will appear for him to enter the code that was sent to him on his phone.
As for the final result, when the product is added to the cart and the payment process is completed successfully, the customer receives a message on his phone stating this, a message whose content we wrote and customized in the add-on settings.
For example, let’s say a customer ordered the following product from your online store
In this case, he will receive a message as we assigned it to him, as follows:
note:
The SMS alert service for messaging, which we used in this explanation, gives a free trial and use period, and you must subscribe to the paid versions to use it and get all the features. Of course, from time to time the usage policy changes, and one of the features that is available upon subscription is the feature of the ability for customers to subscribe to the SMS text messaging service. When parts of a product are available if it is not currently available.
Other services provide you with SMS sending service
With regard to services for sending text messages to website users, the matter is not limited to the SMS Alert service alone, but rather extends to include many other services that are also considered highly efficient in this field. Below we will mention a number of the most famous types of services spread in the arena:
Twilio
It is a paid service that is considered one of the best services in the field of sending SMS messages on websites and electronic stores. The method of subscribing to it and including it on the site is similar to the SMS alert service that we used. It also provides many other features such as WhatsApp messages, video messaging, and others.
A distinguished platform that provides many services, the most famous of which are short text messages (SMS), in addition to WhatsApp and Viber messages, email sending services to verify the user’s identity, voice messages, and also customizing the purpose of sending text messages to customers.
Message Bird
This service gives its users a trial period for use, in addition to ease of use, which gives the store managers and those in charge the opportunity to make the appropriate decision regarding choosing the appropriate service provider for the store’s needs. This messaging service provider can also be included in many WordPress plugins.
WordPress plugins for sending text messages
Twilio SMS Notifications
One of the additions that have become indispensable in online stores, and it is mainly intended to include the Twilio service that we mentioned in the previous paragraph, where text messages are sent to customers when their order status is updated or when a new order is completed from the store. It is a paid addition that can be obtained for $49. .
Woocommerce SMS/WhatsApp Notifications
It is one of the paid add-ons that specializes in including the SMS sending feature and can be obtained for $29. It also requires an account with one of the text messaging service providers such as Twilio.
Uncanny Automator
A popular freemium add-on (i.e. you must upgrade to the paid version to get all the features) in the field of text messaging services, and it is not only intended for SMS; Rather, it is also possible to include other features, such as including Zoom meetings on the site, and many other features, but to include text messages, the add-on must be upgraded.
Ultimate SMS Notifications for WooCommerce
A free add-on that supports the inclusion of five types of SMS service providers in online stores: Twilio, Kivalo Solutions, Telesign, Message Bird, and SendChamp Solution, as it allows sending messages to customers and store managers as well, in addition to the ability to customize messages, specify cases of sending them to customers, schedule messages, and many others. Advantages.
And here we have reached the conclusion of this explanation about the service of sending text messages to customers of your online store, where we recommend carefully examining the specifications of each of the services that we previously mentioned, and browsing the official website for each of them, as well as the various additions that we have suggested that allow the inclusion of these services, so that You decide which ones to install to suit your store’s needs.
In this explanation, we have mentioned to you the most famous providers of SMS text messaging services, and the most efficient WordPress plugins for including these services in your store built on WordPress. The next step is your decision to choose the messaging service provider and the appropriate WordPress plugin for your use based on the list of countries supported by Each service provider, and the different features you need to include in your online store.
