SMS Invitations allow users to collect feedback from on-the-go customers the right way, with automated, integrated, and branded surveys. Use this guide to learn how to apply and optimize this new survey distribution feature.
Why SMS surveys matter
Modern customers love their mobile devices. So much so that they spend an average of 3 hours, 35 minutes per day using them.
So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that these same customers prefer to engage with people and companies via SMS (text message)—it’s effortless and unobtrusive.
In fact, 66% of consumers prefer to be reached by companies via SMS over any other distribution channel. That number grows to 75% when we’re talking about millennials.
While most companies use SMS surveys as part of their omnichannel feedback program, they often fall short by using tools that aren’t automated, integrated, or branded. Doing so results in poor customer experience and therefore low response rates.
In this guide, we’ll go over best practices for sending SMS surveys. We’ll also explain how our new Survey Invitations feature helps you collect real-time customer feedback while delivering the best customer experience possible.
Introducing SMS Invitations by GetFeedback
SMS marketing messages are extremely successful. In fact, SMS campaigns have an average open rate of 98%, and an average response rate of 90 seconds.
Given this, it’s safe to assume that SMS surveys are a surefire way to expand your customer reach and receive valuable, timely feedback.
At GetFeedback, we understand the importance of optimizing the SMS feedback channel. That’s why we launched SMS Invitations, a feature that allows companies using Salesforce to collect feedback from on-the-go customers the right way, with automated, integrated, branded SMS surveys.
Our feature helps you automatically send surveys to your customers’ mobile devices directly after any interaction and push that data right into Salesforce.
Best use cases for SMS surveys
When used in conjunction with other channels, SMS surveys help companies master a truly omnichannel feedback program.
In particular, SMS surveys make perfect sense when you’re trying to reach a customer that is on the go. They’re also great if you need to follow up on a phone call or an in-person interaction.
Here are some specific examples of when SMS surveys serve as the best feedback distribution channel:
Phone support feedback: Immediately after you end a phone conversation with a customer, send them an SMS survey to rate the service experience.
Purchase feedback: Right after someone makes a purchase, either on a company’s mobile site or in store, send them an SMS survey to learn about their purchase experience.
Service appointment: When a field service person concludes an in-person appointment, ask them how things went via SMS.
Delivery feedback: Immediately after your customer receives a shipment or delivery, send them an SMS survey to understand if the experience met their expectations.
Event feedback: At different points in the event—after check-in, a keynote, or the event is over—send an SMS survey to gauge how your attendees felt about the experience.
Transportation feedback: When someone concludes a flight or ride, ask about their experience via SMS.
Step-by-step: implement SMS Invitations in Salesforce
SMS Invitations empower our GetFeedback for Salesforce customers to expand their omnichannel survey distribution approach. Here’s how you can implement this new feature in your CRM.
Please note: We’re only able to send SMS to U.S. phone numbers currently.
Step 1: Build your SMS Invitations survey
After you’ve created your survey, navigate to the “Distribute” tab, and choose “SMS” from the drop-down (see below).
The next step is to draft up your custom message. Be sure to include your company name in your custom message and check the “Identification” box at the bottom. You should also include “Click the link below” in the message to easily direct customers to the survey.
We ask you to add your company name because GetFeedback only has one “shortcode,” from which to send SMS invitations. Meaning that customers may receive automated SMS survey messages from different GetFeedback clients in the same thread. So, by adding your company name, your customers will be able to identify you.
Next, choose the Salesforce object that will trigger your SMS invitation. Then, select the Salesforce object you’d like to use to retrieve your customer phone numbers.
Then, add any additional fields that you’d like to track your survey responses. These additional merge fields will come in handy when you want to segment your results.
When you’re done, click “Save SMS Settings” at the bottom of the menu. If the button is grey, confirm that you’ve included your company name in your custom message field.
Finally, scroll to the top and click on “View in Salesforce” to view the outbound message. This will take you to the next step of selecting the workflow in Salesforce that will trigger your SMS Invitations.
Step 2: Set up the Salesforce workflow
If you haven’t already, you’ll want to set up a workflow in Salesforce to trigger the outbound SMS message you’ve created.
Once your workflow is created, click on “Select Existing Action” to find the Outbound message you already created for your SMS Invitations (see below).
Next, select “Outbound Messages” and search for the message you created with GetFeedback. When you find it, attach it to your workflow and click “Save.”
And you’re done!
Remember, if you make changes to your SMS Invitations in GetFeedback, be sure to save your SMS settings—this will automatically update the outbound message in Salesforce.
Step 3: Analyze the results
The last step is to monitor responses in GetFeedback and see how SMS Invitations are performing in comparison to other distribution channels, like email.
At a glance, you can see how many SMS Invitations have been sent and completed. If you’re sending one-touch email surveys through GetFeedback, you can do an apples-to-apples comparison of how each distribution channel is performing.
You can also view responses in Salesforce, so you can layer it on top of CRM data and take action on feedback.
To learn more about implementing SMS Invitations in Salesforce, click here.
You can also check out the following demo video.