Needless to say, ​customer support is a vital organ for business success, directly affecting customer satisfaction, loyalty, and revenue. In fact, a study notes that in 2024, poor customer experiences cost organizations worldwide an estimated $3.7 trillion, marking a 19% increase from the previous year.

Customers often switch companies if they don't receive good customer service, regardless of product satisfaction. Conversely, they are often willing to go out of their way to do business with a company that offers better service. 

Support agents are at the forefront of delivering these sensitive experiences, making their role crucial in fostering customer relationships and driving business growth.​

In this article, we’ll explain who they are, what they do, the essential skills needed to become one, and some steps to build your support team with the best support agents.

Who are support agents (and who are they not)?

A support agent is a trained representative of your company primarily tasked with resolving customers' complaints, answering inquiries, and providing usage guidance on your company’s products and services.

Beyond handling tickets, they also provide emotional support by ensuring customers feel heard, valued, and reassured throughout the interaction. This, in turn, strengthens customer trust and loyalty.

Support agents play a vital role in enhancing customer satisfaction—which indirectly drives ROI through repeat purchases—but they are not sales representatives or marketers. Marketers and sales reps acquire customers and sell. 

On the other hand, support agents retain these customers and boost repeat purchases through efficient assistance.

4 primary responsibilities of a support agent

A support agent's primary responsibilities include serving as the first point of contact, handling queries, providing proactive support, and gathering essential feedback.

1. Serving as a brand's first-line contact

When things go wrong, customers become frustrated and demand to speak with anyone—even the CEO. Your support agents step in to act as the first line of defense, de-escalate situations, and provide solutions professionally. 

They also represent your brand through every empathic response, ensuring customers leave with a positive experience and a lasting impression of excellent service.

2. Handling customer inquiries

Customer support agents handle all customer inquiries. Depending on the technicality of the query, they might sometimes involve a specialist or higher executive. 

For instance, if a customer has a dispute over billing that involves policy exceptions, your agent might need to coordinate with or escalate to a higher executive for approval.

3. Providing proactive support

Support agents detect customer needs ahead of time and promptly contact them even before they log a complaint. This helps reduce inbound tickets and boosts customer satisfaction. 

As an omnichannel customer support platform, Plivo CX’s proactive service enables your support team to provide a more refined and automated proactive support.

4. Gathering feedback to optimize product offerings and marketing

Your support agents are the most valuable source of feedback since they interact with customers daily. They can help you gather recurring concerns, pain points, and suggestions that drive meaningful product improvements. 

Plivo CX’s metrics tool automates this feedback collection process and ensures your agents focus on core tasks instead.

Essential soft skills of a good support agent

Being a support agent involves not only resolving queries but also understanding and communicating with customers on a personal level. This is why certain soft skills, beyond technical competency, are essential when recruiting one.

Active listening and empathy

Active listening involves paying close attention to every word and emotion communicated rather than focusing solely on the problem. 

Unsurprisingly, active listeners excel at expressing empathy since they’re more likely to understand how customers feel better. This deeper connection allows them to communicate effectively, provide reassurance, and de-escalate tense situations.

Good communication skills

A good support agent must convey their points concisely while considering the appropriate tone. 

They know when to avoid passive-aggressive words such as “actually, ought to,” colloquialisms, and slang to maintain clarity.

Adaptability

Different customers present with different complaints, personalities, and communication styles. Some are patient and easy to communicate with, whereas some are aggressive and impatient. 

So, a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work, and that’s why an ideal support agent must be able to adapt to each high and low while maintaining efficient support delivery.

Problem-solving skills

Customer support playbooks are valuable, but not every customer complaint will fit neatly into predefined solutions. Situations like this require your support agent to think outside the box while staying within your company’s guardrails. 

A good support agent must be able to devise quick solutions to new problems and escalate as soon as possible when necessary.

6 steps to hire the right support agent and build a functional support team

Your support team can either make or mar your business. Hiring the right agent and building a functional team is, therefore, essential. Let’s see how to do that.

1. Define your staffing needs and ideal agent

You can figure out how many support agents to hire based on your historical ticket volume, scale of business expansion, and anticipated growth in the next quarters. This ensures you don’t over-hire and bloat your expenses or under-hire and cripple your support delivery. 

Plivo CX’s reporting and metrics tool provides a comprehensive ticket summary, which helps you determine your historical ticket volume.

Simultaneously, you need to define who your ideal agent is—that is, the skills they should preferably possess, availability, technical proficiency, lingual capacities, and experience. You can diversify your recruitment process if you’re catering to multilingual audiences.

Once you’ve identified your staffing needs and ideal candidate profile, you can post your job listing on your company’s career page and on popular job boards like LinkedIn to attract qualified applicants.

2. Prioritize agents with empathy and problem-solving skills

You need a team of agents who can dialogue with different kinds of customers, resonate with them emotionally, and make them feel heard while providing adequate support. That’s why you should prioritize agents with empathy.

Also, look for agents with strong problem-solving skills—someone who can think quickly on their feet and provide solutions to out-of-the-script problems.

Tools like TestGorilla and Testify help you assess your applicant’s skills and ability to address different scenarios. For a more tailored assessment, present candidates with real scenarios or past customer complaints from your database and ask them to resolve the issue.

3. Test for relevant technical competency

Technical competency is your support agent’s ability to resolve customers’ technical queries. This could include troubleshooting software issues and providing answers to product-specific technical queries.

Usually, your agents don’t need to be tech geeks or specialists for L1 tickets. An entry-level customer support agent with the necessary soft skills can do a great job here.

However, it’s a different ball game for agents managing L2 and L3 tickets. They should have the necessary expertise to manage complex and product-related technical issues like specialists. 

This primarily hinges on their hard skills portfolio, which you need to consider when hiring. Provide real-world scenarios to assess these skills and ensure they genuinely have what it takes to be your ideal agents.

4. Provide comprehensive agent training

From the onboarding stage, you need to identify the gaps in your hires’ competencies and design individualized or group training to boost their efficiency. Training can include soft skills, lingual capacity, and upskilling hard skills for more proficiency.

Agent training is not a one-time process. Plivo CX’s coaching tools help your agents leverage past interactions with customers to continuously refine their delivery—how to respond or handle similar situations when they arise again.

5. Equip your support agents with AI-powered tools

Gartner notes that more than 80% are either using or planning to integrate AI-powered chatbots in 2025. Advanced chatbots are essential because they can handle the majority of L1 tickets, thus freeing up your agents to do other complex tasks.

An example is Plivo CX’s openAI-powered AI chatbot, which can leverage your database in real time to make decisions, autonomously handle refund requests, modify orders, and make personalized recommendations.

Your team also needs an omnichannel platform that centralizes all communication channels into a single dashboard. This allows agents to access everything they need without constantly switching tabs, ultimately improving response time and efficiency.

An example is Plivo CX’s unified agent desktop designed to eliminate data silos, unify all incoming customer requests, and integrate with homegrown systems, CRM, ERP, helpdesk, and more.

6. Establish KPIs and reasonable expectations

Establish KPIs, such as first response time, average resolution time, and first contact resolution, to assess the efficiency and effectiveness of your support agents. 

Customer Satisfaction Scores (CSATs) will help determine whether customers are getting the help they need and how they need it.

Plivo CX’s agent metrics and reporting tool enables you to monitor and measure your support agent’s performance while exposing gaps that need filling.

You also need to set individualized, SMART expectations and goals for your support agents. Ensure each agent does not handle more tickets—whether in quantity or complexity—than they can. This will reduce the incidence of customer service burnout and enhance the quality of your support delivery.

Scale your customer support operations with Plivo CX

Hiring the right support agent is just one part of building a functional customer support team. You also need to provide them with the right tools to enhance their efficiency and effectiveness.

That’s where Plivo CX comes in. 

As an omnichannel platform designed to streamline support delivery, Plivo CX offers a unified agent desktop to centralize your support channels, multilingual AI-powered voice support, and OpenAI-powered chatbots to slash your ticket queue.

We also offer: 

• Seamless integrations: Connect Plivo CX with your existing tools, including CRM, ERP, helpdesk, and more.
• Data-driven optimization: Track real-time analytics and generate custom reports to gain insights into customer interactions and agent performance.
• AI-enhanced efficiency: Prioritize urgent tickets, ensure brand consistency, and adapt quickly to changes with AI-powered support.
• Rich communication: Enhance interactions with multimedia support, including images, videos, and documents.
• Increased productivity: Streamline workflows with message templates, internal notes, and skills-based routing.
• Comprehensive features: Leverage call recording, IVR, multi-language support, and robust security features for a complete solution.

‍Book a demo today and start building a world-class support team with Plivo CX.

It’s ten minutes past 2 pm. A new high-value customer submits a technical complaint—but, in Spanish. The problem? None of your service reps speak Spanish. 

Now, you have only two options.

First, you say, “Thank you for reaching out. We currently accept queries only in English. Please resend your message in English so we can assist you. Thank you for your understanding!" 

Or, you scramble from Google’s translator to other free versions of online interpreters, which might give you an inaccurate response. 

Whichever you choose, your customer will likely not find it encouraging. Your inability to efficiently serve customers in their native language passes a message; that they’re not a valued part of your brand. 

According to Hyken’s report, 65% of consumers want to be treated valuably. Failure to deliver this expectation results in a poor support experience, increased churn rates, and a negative brand reputation.

To avoid such outcomes, you need to implement multilingual customer support, and this article will show you how to do that.

What is multilingual customer support?

Multilingual customer support is the ability to provide consistent, high-quality assistance in multiple languages to your customers while accounting for geographical, cultural, and contextual differences that influence communication.

As your business scales, there is also an increasing need to serve a diverse market audience. This mandates your support team to be capable of sustaining interactions with individuals of different languages outside your native business borders.

Even within your business borders, you’re bound to interact with customers of different linguistic needs. According to the United States Census record, the number of residents who utilize other languages besides English has nearly tripled in the last decade. 

So, you must be ready to cater to this diversity once necessary.

Benefits of multilingual customer support

Multilingual support increases customer satisfaction, boosts retention, and ensures you can tap into diverse markets for more opportunities. Here’s how it does that:

Improved customer satisfaction

According to Unbabel’s 2021 multilingual CX report, one in three global consumers cite a lack of multilingual support as their top concern in localized customer experience. 

Uni- or bilingual provisions lead to frustration since your customers can’t express themselves the way they want, and this culminates in a bad customer experience. 

On the other hand, providing multilingual support can enhance customer satisfaction and boost your customers’ LTV. This explains why 64% say they will pay more for a service or product if the brand offers a multilingual support service.

Higher customer retention

57% of global consumers see it as a bias when a brand fails to offer multilingual support. Two in three will also switch to another brand if their current brand does not offer broader language support.

But what happens if you fill up this communication gap? 73% of respondents in Unbabel’s survey say they will remain loyal. 

This means multilingual provisions can help you retain your existing customers and also gain an edge over your competitors in attracting new ones. 

Interestingly, 40% of consumers will likely overlook poor customer service many times if it is offered in their native language. This gives you enough time to address issues plaguing your support delivery before customers bounce.

Broader reach and competitive advantage

Scaling your business often requires crossing borders and serving new audiences. Multilingual support ensures you can easily resolve the issues coming up in these regions, eliminate communication barriers, and rapidly build a robust brand reputation.

Also, multilingual support can serve as the spearhead of your competitive advantage in new markets. That’s because your potential customers will likely choose you over competitors who do not offer multilingual support, all things being equal. So, you can make it a focus of your marketing strategy.

7 must-know strategies to implement multilingual support

One in four consumers say they will not spend more than $500 on brands offering limited language support. You can avoid this by implementing a sturdy multilingual support system. 

Let’s go through how you can do that. 

1. Be upfront about your available language options

First, inform your customers and audience about your current capacity. Include the languages you support on your website, applications, social media profiles, and customer support pages. 

This helps to manage customer expectations and reduce frustrations pending the time you make provisions for multiple languages.

2. Embrace diversity in recruitment

The most direct approach to creating a multilingual support system is to recruit multilingual customer service reps. These reps are especially crucial for managing L2 and L3 tiers of requests that AI might not be able to handle.

Ensure you have at least one native or non-native representative for each region you serve. You can also organize language training for your existing service reps instead of overhauling the entire team. 

This reduces your employee acquisition cost and helps you work with people already in tandem with your support operations.

3. Use AI chatbots to provide multilingual support

Advanced AI chatbots use ML and NLP to analyze user inputs such as complaints and provide appropriate responses while leveraging customer data. This is like having an inbuilt translation system, making them a good fit for handling multilingual L1 requests regardless of the language.

As an omnichannel platform designed to scale your support team, Plivo CX offers an OpenAI-powered chatbot capable of handling multilingual tickets and addressing your customers in the language they choose.

4. Integrate multilingual voice support 

According to a 2024 report from Statista, 54% of customers prefer to resolve issues via phone calls over other digital channels and email. To cater to this group, you need to integrate multilingual voice support technology.

An example is Plivo CX’s voice software, which prompts your customers to choose their preferred language from over 27 supported languages right on the call.

With an integrated programmable IVR, your callers can self-select options for quicker routing, shorter wait times, and faster resolution.

5. Offer language preferences in self-service options

Self-service options include FAQs, knowledge bases, chatbots, AI-powered virtual assistants, and community forums. Your customers must be able to choose their preferred language of interaction on all of these platforms in order to cater to their needs.

Additionally, ensure that automated responses, IVR systems, and in-app customer support are available in multiple languages.

6. Train support agents in cultural sensitivity

Multilingual support should cater to lingua-cultural nuances that affect communication. Otherwise, you risk irking your customers. 

For instance, there are certain words or expressions that might be normal in American English but seen as aggressive in British English.

One example is the word “sure.” To an American, it’s simply a means of acknowledgment. But it could come off as passive-aggressive to a non-American. 

Train your support reps to understand these nuances and avoid them when speaking with individuals of different cultural backgrounds.

7. Localize knowledge base and FAQs  

Language location refers to adapting your website content to a visitor’s regional language based on factors like their browser settings, IP address, or geographical location. 

o do this, you first need to translate your knowledge base and FAQs into the different languages you support. You can do this manually or with AI. Then let your web development team handle the transitioning.

This method spares customers the hassle of manually selecting their preferred language. However, you should still offer a visible option on your support pages for them to adjust language preferences if needed.

Deliver modern multilingual support with Plivo CX

Language differences stifle quality support delivery and effective communication. 

To help you, Plivo CX offers a multilingual omnichannel support system through its Unified Agent Desktop, OpenAI-powered agentic chatbot, and inclusive voice support to help you overcome these challenges.

We also offer: 

• Seamless integrations: Connect Plivo CX with your existing tools, including CRM, ERP, helpdesk, and more.
• Data-driven optimization: Track real-time analytics and generate custom reports to gain insights into customer interactions and agent performance.
• AI-enhanced efficiency: Prioritize urgent tickets, ensure brand consistency, and adapt quickly to changes with AI-powered support.
• Rich communication: Enhance interactions with multimedia support, including images, videos, and documents.
• Increased productivity: Streamline workflows with message templates, internal notes, and skills-based routing.
• Comprehensive features: Leverage call recording, IVR, multi-language support, and robust security features for a complete solution.

Book a demo now!

Let’s be real—getting leads isn’t the problem. Getting them to engage? That’s the real challenge. You can have the best offer, but if your message is not seen, it won’t get results.

The good news is that SMS is breaking through the noise. In fact, 76.2% of consumers say SMS is more effective at generating actions that lead to a purchase than email.

Why? Because texts land directly in your customer’s hands—no spam filters, no distractions, just instant, personal communication.

SMS lead generation is quickly becoming a cornerstone of modern marketing. In this article, we’ll dive into why SMS lead generation is rapidly becoming a must-have for businesses looking to engage, convert, and grow their customer base.

Why SMS is an effective lead generation tool

SMS marketing is a powerful tool for lead generation. It helps businesses build and nurture a qualified audience directly through SMS. Here are some key advantages that make SMS so effective for lead generation: 

High open rates & immediate attention

Text messages are almost always read – often within minutes. Studies confirm SMS open rates around 98%, higher than email​. The immediate visibility means your lead-gen offers (coupons, event invites, etc.) get seen right away, capturing customer attention in real time.

💡 Pro tip: Time your SMS campaigns strategically—sending messages when customers are most active can increase engagement and conversions.

Direct & personal communication

SMS creates a direct and personal connection between brands and potential customers. With the ability to personalize messages based on customer preferences, past interactions, or purchase history, SMS helps brands build stronger relationships and trust. 

Example: "Hi [Name], your favorite moisturizer is back in stock! Shop now before it’s gone: [link]."

💡Pro tip: Use first names, purchase history, or location-based offers to make SMS messages feel even more relevant and personal. 

Real-time engagement 

SMS enables businesses to engage with customers instantly. This makes SMS a preferred medium for promotions, updates, and limited-time offers. It allows for two-way conversations, where businesses can answer questions and send timely reminders when a lead is most interested. 

💡 Pro tip: Use SMS for flash sales or time-sensitive deals—customers are more likely to act quickly when they receive an offer with a clear deadline.

Cost-effective marketing

SMS campaigns are a cost-effective way to engage potential customers and increase sales. With message costs ranging from $0.015 to $0.050 per SMS, businesses can reach large audiences without significant money spent. 

Despite the low cost, SMS generates high response rates and a strong return on investment, making it an excellent text message lead generation tool for lead nurturing, promotions, and customer retention. For budget-conscious marketers, SMS offers maximum impact with minimal expense.

Example 1: A boutique clothing store replaces printed discount flyers with SMS promo codes, saving on printing costs while directly reaching active shoppers.

Example 2: Instead of investing in costly retargeting ads, a home décor brand uses SMS flash sale alerts to attract customers for exclusive discounts and limited-time offers

Automation & scalability 

With SMS automation, businesses can send messages to thousands of customers efficiently. Automated workflows allow brands to set up welcome messages, abandoned cart reminders, or follow-ups without manual effort. 

Whether you’re targeting a small segment or a nationwide audience, SMS can scale to meet your needs​

💡 Pro tip: Set up an automated drip campaign to send SMS messages over time. This helps to guide potential customers toward a purchase.

Together, these advantages explain why more businesses are leveraging SMS for lead generation. 

Proven SMS techniques for lead generation

You know SMS works—but how do you use it to drive more leads? Here are some tested strategies that top brands rely on to turn texts into conversions.

Offer exclusive content or discounts

People love getting something extra, especially when it feels exclusive. By offering discounts, special deals, or early access to new products via SMS, you create an immediate incentive for customers to respond.

Make sure your offer is time-sensitive to create urgency, which further motivates recipients to act quickly. Phrases like “For you only,” or “Exclusive offer just for our subscribers” can make recipients feel valued and increase the chances of conversion.

Create compelling CTAs for immediate action 

Create your SMS messages with a clear, strong call-to-action (CTA) that urges instant response. Since texts are typically read quickly and have a character limit, use that brief moment to spark action.

Pro tip: Use action-oriented language like “Claim your offer now,” “Get started today,” or “Shop while stocks last” to prompt immediate responses.

Lead generation through SMS thrives when your CTA is clear, direct, and compels the recipient to act fast.

Use opt-in keywords and shortcodes 

Simplify the process of joining your SMS list through keywords and shortcodes. For instance, you might advert JOIN to 12345 for updates.” This text-to-subscribe approach makes opt-ins instant. A customer sends a one-word text and is automatically added to your campaign. 

Example:

A fitness apparel brand wants to grow its SMS list. They advertise:
“Text FIT to 56789 for 15% off your first order and exclusive updates!”

By texting “FIT” to 56789, customers are instantly added to the SMS list. This quick, frictionless opt-in process allows leads to sign up easily with just one text.

Pro tip: Make sure to choose an easy-to-remember keyword related to your campaign (e.g., text SALE, VIP, DEMO, etc.).

Segment your audience for targeted campaigns

One-size-fits-all messaging yields mediocre results. Instead, segment your SMS leads based on factors like demographics, purchasing behavior, and engagement history.

Example:

An online clothing store wants to send targeted offers. They segment their audience into two groups: frequent shoppers and seasonal browsers.

• Frequent shoppers: Receive exclusive offers like “Thanks for being a loyal customer! Enjoy 25% off your next order.”
• Seasonal browsers: Receive a message like “Welcome back! Get 15% off your next purchase, just for you.”

Businesses that segment their SMS campaigns see higher conversion because the messaging is more personalized and on-point​. 

Utilize SMS automation for timely follow-ups 

Don’t rely on manual texting, set up automated SMS workflows that send follow-up messages, reminders, or abandoned cart notifications. These automated texts can remind customers about products they’ve left behind, share additional offers, or provide updates on the status of their orders. 

SMS automation ensures no customer is left unattended and helps move prospects down the funnel with well-timed nudges.

Example:

An online home goods store uses SMS automation to follow up with leads.

• Welcome message: As soon as a customer subscribes, they receive an immediate “Welcome! Get 10% off your first order. Shop now!”
• Follow-up offer: If the customer hasn’t made a purchase within two days, they receive a reminder: “Still thinking it over? Here’s 15% off your first order!”

By implementing these techniques, you can steadily grow your list of SMS leads and keep them actively engaged. 

Best practices for SMS lead generation

While SMS is powerful, success largely depends on how you use it. Here are some best practices to ensure your SMS lead generation campaigns are effective and well-received:

Personalize and be relevant 

Treat SMS leads like individuals, not numbers on a list. Use personalization wherever possible—greet recipients by name and tailor messages to their interests or past interactions. 

For example, if you know a customer’s preferred product category, mention it. Personalization shows that your texts are for them, which improves response rates. 

In this SMS (image below), they address the customer by name (Elizabeth) and highlight their status as a “Platinum Comfort Crew member.” Personal touches like this make the recipient feel special and valued.

Optimal timing and frequency 

A staggering 90% of consumers respond to a text within 30 minutes, which underscores the importance of reaching your audience at the right moment. 

To maximize engagement, aim to send texts between 10 AM and 8 PM, avoiding early mornings before 8 AM, late evenings after 9 PM, Mondays, and rush hours. Mid-afternoon often works best. 

When it comes to frequency, it’s all about balance. Nearly 60% of smartphone users opt out of a brand’s messages when they feel overwhelmed by too many updates. 

Pro tip: Space out your messages and keep them meaningful—aim for one or two valuable texts per week to avoid overwhelming your audience and maintain engagement.

Keep messages concise and clear 

SMS has a character limit, which means you must communicate your message clearly and concisely. Your text should get to the point quickly, without any unnecessary fluff. 

Focus on one core message in each SMS, whether it's an offer, update, or reminder. Use short, direct language, and avoid long sentences or paragraphs.

For example, instead of saying, “We have a new collection of products that we think you might like, and it’s available on our website,” say, “New collection just dropped! Shop now and get 10% off!”

If more detail is needed, include a link to a mobile-friendly landing page for the lead to learn more. 

Track and analyze performance 

Treat SMS campaigns like any other marketing effort – track the results and adjust the strategy accordingly. Monitor key metrics such as open rate, click-through rate, response rate, and conversion rate. 

Also, pay attention to unsubscribe rates after each SMS campaign. Analyzing these data points will tell you what’s working and what isn’t. You can experiment with A/B testing for different CTAs, message lengths, or timing to see what drives the best results

For instance, you may find that messages sent on Friday evenings receive higher engagement or that one offer generates more conversions than another. Use this insight to refine your approach, perhaps adjusting send times, wording, or segment targeting. 

The role of SMS marketing automation in lead generation

Automation simplifies lead generation by handling manual tasks, ensuring no lead slips through the cracks. With SMS marketing automation, businesses can send the right message to the right lead at the right time—without manual effort for each interaction. This makes capturing and nurturing leads easier, faster, and more efficient.

Here’s why SMS automation is so important and how it works:

Key benefits of SMS marketing automation

✅ Instant follow-ups: Automatically send a welcome message as soon as a lead opts in, keeping them engaged from the start.

✅ Personalized offers: Use customer data to send relevant offers, product recommendations, and reminders tailored to their interests.

✅ Higher conversion rates: Schedule automated follow-ups to nurture leads, recover abandoned carts, or re-engage inactive customers.

✅ Timely touchpoints: Ensure leads receive timely updates, promotions, and reminders without manual effort.

✅Scalable communication: With the right SMS lead generation tool, you can manage high volumes of leads with automated workflows. This frees up your team while maintaining consistent outreach.

As a robust omnichannel customer engagement tool, Plivo CX checks all the boxes for a reliable and efficient SMS lead generation platform. 

With its user-friendly interface and powerful analytics tools, Plivo CX optimizes your SMS marketing for maximum impact and streamlines your lead generation and conversion process with automation.

As a testament to its efficiency, Deckers Brands found Plivo's queuing system to be a game-changer. Jacob Martine, project manager at Deckers Brands, states, 

"With fewer worries about rate limits and batch sizes, our developers face less burden. If we need to send 50,000 messages, we simply send them all—Plivo handles the rest, delivering without us worrying about the process."

Drive more leads with SMS marketing powered by Plivo CX

E-commerce managers face a tough challenge—reaching customers at the right time is harder than ever. Manual campaign management takes too long, and generic messages don’t drive conversions. Without automation and personalization, it’s easy to miss opportunities to connect with potential buyers

Plivo CX is an all-in-one customer engagement platform designed to maximize SMS lead generation results. It brings together real-time delivery, intelligent automation, and data-driven insights so businesses can capture and convert more leads via SMS. 

Here’s how Plivo CX can get more leads by elevating your SMS marketing:

• Powerful audience targeting: Build highly focused campaigns by syncing your e-commerce platform data or importing contacts. With the Audiences feature, segment audiences based on purchase behavior, engagement data, and demographics to send highly personalized SMS campaigns.

• Multi-channel engagement:  Connect with your customers on their preferred channels—whether it's SMS, MMS, or Email. This increases the chances of meaningful interactions and conversions.

• AI-powered SMS personalization: Use the Copywriter AI to generate compelling, data-driven SMS messages instantly. Fine-tune your messages to resonate with your audience instantly.

• Send messages at the ideal time: Automate and schedule messages to align with optimal timings across different time zones, ensuring they reach customers when they are most likely to engage, maximizing impact.

• E-commerce integrations: Effortlessly connect with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and Magento to personalize and send SMS directly from your e-commerce platforms.
• Track conversions & optimize ROI: Gain valuable insights into what resonates with your audience and continuously optimize your campaigns for maximum ROI. 

With Plivo CX’s robust global messaging network covering 220+ countries, businesses can scale their SMS marketing effortlessly, reducing costs by up to 70% while tripling ROI.

Plivo CX users generate an average of $71 for every $1 spent, making it a must-have for data-driven, high-impact SMS campaigns.

Don’t let missed opportunities hold your business back—start driving more leads and conversions today with Plivo CX. 

Schedule a free demo now!

56% of customers abandon purchases because businesses take too long to respond. That’s more than half of your potential sales lost.

That’s why 69% of users prefer brands that offer WhatsApp as a support option. It’s fast, familiar, and available right where your customers already chat. 

In fact, brands like Amazon and Zappos use WhatsApp for fast, hassle-free support. No long wait times, no back-and-forth emails, just quick answers when customers need them.

This guide will show you how to set up WhatsApp for customer service, automate responses, and improve customer satisfaction without increasing costs.

What is WhatsApp Business? 

WhatsApp Business is a free and specialized messaging tool that helps SMBs and companies connect with their customers on WhatsApp. It allows businesses to answer questions, send updates, and provide real-time customer support with tools such as quick replies and automated messages.

To understand why WhatsApp Business has become essential for modern customer service, let's examine its key features and how they benefit your business operations.

Features & benefits of WhatsApp for customer service

Now that you understand the powerful features WhatsApp Business offers, let's walk through how to set it up and optimize it for your customer service needs.

How to set up WhatsApp for customer service 

Whether you’re a small business just starting out or an established brand, follow these steps to set up your WhatsApp business account and start assisting customers in real time:

1. Create a WhatsApp for business

Start by downloading the WhatsApp Business app from the Play Store or App Store, depending on your device type. Once you’ve done this, sign in with your phone and create your business profile.

The app will guide you through the basic setup where you have you mention your registered business name, its description, contact information, and working hours.  

Review the terms of service that includes allowing access to contacts and photos, and fill out the relevant fields.

2. Link your online store and product catalog

After you are done setting up your account, it’s time for customization. This includes the following:

• Profile photo: Use your business’s logo for clarity
• Cover photo: Upload product pictures or customers with your products
• Business description: Briefly describe what your business offers and what sets it apart
• Business category: Select up to three categories to help customers understand your services
• Address: Add your location if you have a storefront
• Email contact: Provide an email option for customers who prefer it
• Website link: Direct customers to your website for more information
• Phone support: Include a contact number if you offer voice support
• Verification badge: Apply for WhatsApp verification to earn the green checkmark
• Product catalog: Display your top products with high-quality images and descriptions
• Collections: Group products into categories for easy browsing
• Business hours: Specify when a live agent is available to respond. Set up automated away messages to inform customers of response times outside these hours

3. Integrate with your existing business framework

Connect WhatsApp with existing business frameworks to track and manage all interactions from a single, centralized system. 

For example, when you use an omnichannel customer service platform like Plivo CX, you can seamlessly switch between voice, chat, SMS, and WhatsApp. What’s more, it allows you to integrate custom knowledge bases, including business documents like SOPs, FAQs, and blog posts, enabling your support team to automatically and accurately respond to customer queries.

4. Use automation to handle common questions

You can use AI chatbots from third-party providers or opt for Meta’s Business AI to interact with customers. 

However, it’s important to note that WhatsApp’s built-in Business AI is limited. It’s only available in select countries, supports just two languages (English and Spanish), and is restricted to certain businesses. That means many brands can’t entirely rely on it for automated customer support.

Instead, integrating AI chatbots from specialized platforms like Plivo CX offers greater flexibility, broader language support, and advanced automation. With the OpenAI-powered AI agents, you can:

• Converse with a natural human-like tone
• Answer common questions instantly to reduce wait times
• Guide customers to self-service resources like FAQs and order tracking
• Schedule appointments and process simple transactions without human intervention
• Scale support across multiple languages to serve a global audience

5. Send proactive notifications with WhatsApp templates

Using customer service templates saves time and ensures consistent and compliant responses. With WhatsApp, you can create Message Templates to reach out to customers proactively. 

However, WhatsApp has strict rules. You must submit templates for approval, and they’re limited to specific topics like account updates, shipping notifications, and issue resolutions. Marketing messages aren’t allowed.

If you use Plivo CX, you can submit templates for approval and send proactive messages directly through WhatsApp.

6. Gather insights through customer feedback

The last and most important step is to track key metrics to measure performance. This helps you identify strengths and spot areas for improvement to refine your customer support.

Most support tools provide detailed reports with visual insights, but if you’re focusing on just a few key metrics, start with:

• Response time: Monitor how quickly your team replies to prevent long wait times
• Resolution time: Track how long it takes to resolve customer issues fully
• Customer satisfaction (CSAT): Gather CSAT scores to understand if customers are happy with your support
• Customer feedback: Actively collect and document feedback to refine your service and better meet customer needs

Best practices of using WhatsApp for customer service 

Follow these best practices to ensure quick responses and personalized interactions and get the most from WhatsApp:

Respond quickly

Needless to say, customers expect fast replies. Chatbots provide instant support 24/7, handling common questions and freeing up agents for complex issues. AI-powered assistants can resolve service requests without preprogrammed responses.

To speed up replies, use quick replies or message templates. Always personalize messages and double-check for accuracy before sending.

Use images and videos for clarity

Visuals improve customer support. Share screenshots, product images, or tutorial videos to make solutions clearer. Adding emojis can also make messages more engaging.

Personalize your responses

You can link WhatsApp to your CRM to access customer history and tailor responses. Customers expect agents to have their past interactions on hand, as 70% say they want consistent service across all agents. Avoid frustrating them by ensuring they never have to repeat themselves.

With its unified agent desktop, Plivo CX lets your agents have a complete understanding and context of the problems customers could be experiencing.

Let customers know you’re on WhatsApp

Customers may not reach out if they don’t know you’re available on WhatsApp. Make it easy by:

• Adding a WhatsApp chat button on your website
• Including WhatsApp on your Contact Us page
• Promoting it through newsletters, marketing emails, and social media

Keep customers updated on their orders

Send a confirmation message on WhatsApp as soon as a customer places an order. Include the order number, item details, and estimated processing time.

Share timely updates as the order moves through different shipping stages, such as processing, shipping, or being out for delivery. Provide tracking details and estimated delivery times to keep customers informed.

Gather customer feedback

Encourage customers to share their thoughts on their purchase by sending a quick message on WhatsApp. You can collect feedback in several ways:

• Send a short survey with multiple-choice or rating options
• Ask open-ended questions for detailed responses
• Use quick-reply buttons to make it easier for customers to respond

Offer 24/7 WhatsApp support with Plivo CX

Plivo CX simplifies WhatsApp customer support by offering a feature-rich platform designed for automation, scalability, and ease of use. Whether you’re handling peak volumes, sending order updates, or automating responses, Plivo’s AI agents ensure a smooth experience for both your team and your customers.

Why choose Plivo CX for WhatsApp support?

• Engaging Conversations: Share images, videos, and documents to provide clear and helpful responses
• Scalability: Handle thousands of chats at once, even during high-traffic periods
• Real-time tracking: Get instant delivery reports to monitor message performance
• Faster troubleshooting: Use detailed logs to quickly identify and fix issues
• Multilingual support: Automatically detect and reply in 28 languages
• Efficient messaging: Broadcast updates to multiple customers at once
• Interactive responses: Add quick reply buttons to streamline interactions
• Consistent communication: Use pre-approved message templates for faster responses

Book a demo now to learn more.

Dealing with missed appointments can be a headache for any business, as it means revenue loss and wasted resources. No-shows in a business are a significant issue across industries like healthcare and salons, where every appointment counts. Missed appointments disrupt business schedules, leave time slots unfilled, and require time-consuming follow-ups.

This is where SMS appointment reminders can make a real difference. With one of the highest engagement rates, SMS ensures that appointment reminder messages reach customers instantly and effectively. Integrating it into your workflow can reduce no-shows, enhance scheduling efficiency, and improve customer satisfaction. 

In fact, the U.S. SMS marketing industry is expected to reach $37.45 billion by 2031, signaling the growing importance of SMS in business operations.

In this article, let’s explore why SMS appointment reminders are so effective and how you can simplify your business operations.

Why businesses need SMS appointment reminders

Missed appointments have a significant financial and operational impact on businesses. When customers fail to show up, businesses lose the opportunity to fill those time slots with other paying customers, leading to revenue loss. 

This can be especially damaging in industries like healthcare, beauty, and wellness, where each appointment directly translates into revenue. The impact includes:

• Lost revenue: No-shows result in empty time slots, leading to significant income loss, especially in industries like healthcare and beauty.
• Decreased efficiency: Last-minute cancellations create disorganized schedules, leaving staff unproductive.
• Wasted resources: Manually following up with no-shows consumes time and staff resources. This reduces overall business productivity.

Common challenges without SMS appointment reminders

Without SMS appointment reminders, businesses face several operational hurdles that can impact their efficiency and profitability. Here are some of the common issues: 

1. Manual follow-ups are time-consuming

Without automated appointment reminders, businesses often rely on staff to manually contact customers to confirm or reschedule appointments. 

This process is time-consuming and prone to human error, leading to inconsistent communication and wasted administrative resources.

Pro tip: Automating appointment reminders saves staff time, reduces errors, and allows them to focus on other important tasks.

2. Customers forget appointments due to a lack of reminders

Customers often forget their appointments, which results in more no-shows. This leads to lost revenue and chaos in scheduling for businesses. 

Without reminders, customers miss their scheduled times, leaving businesses scrambling to fill the empty slots.

Pro tip: Sending automated reminders well in advance ensures customers are prepared and helps minimize no-shows.

3. Inefficient scheduling leads to wasted resources

When appointments are missed or rescheduled without proper reminders, businesses face scheduling inefficiencies. 

Empty time slots or overlapping appointments waste staff time and resources, which could otherwise be used more effectively to serve paying customers.

Pro tip: By reducing cancellations and optimizing schedules with SMS reminders, businesses can ensure resources are used efficiently and staff time is maximized.

How SMS appointment reminders work

SMS appointment reminders are an essential tool for businesses that rely on scheduled appointments. 

These reminders help reduce no-shows, simplify operations, and enhance customer satisfaction by providing timely notifications about upcoming appointments. 

There are two main types of SMS reminders: Automated and manual.

Automated SMS reminders are more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable than manual ones. They reduce human error, creating a smoother, more reliable workflow for businesses and customers.

How businesses can integrate SMS appointment reminders into their workflow

Integrating SMS appointment reminders into a business’s workflow can simplify operations and improve customer communication. Here's how businesses can get started:

• Step 1: Connect with scheduling software: Link your SMS reminder system with your booking platform to automate reminders when appointments are booked.
• Step 2: Customize reminder messages: Tailor the content of SMS reminders to include customer names, appointment details, and even personalized offers.
• Step 3: Set timing intervals: Choose when your reminders will be sent, such as 24 hours before the appointment and again a few hours before. This helps ensure customers are reminded at the right time.
• Step 4: Track performance: Track the performance of your reminders to fine-tune timing, frequency, and message content for better engagement.

By following these steps, businesses can easily integrate SMS appointment reminders into their workflow, saving time and reducing no-shows.

Key benefits of SMS appointment reminders

SMS appointment reminders are a simple yet effective way to boost operational efficiency. As a case in point, Denver Health sent over 250,000 reminders, achieving a 73% attendance rate for those who received texts compared to 66% for those who didn’t. This shows how SMS reminders can significantly improve appointment attendance.

Here are the key benefits that make SMS reminders essential for modern appointment management:

1. Reduces no-shows

Sending timely SMS reminders before appointments helps customers remember their bookings, significantly reducing the chances of no-shows. 

With clear notifications, customers are more likely to confirm or reschedule, ensuring businesses maintain a full schedule and reduce revenue loss.

Pro tip: Send a reminder 24-48 hours before the appointment and a final reminder 1-2 hours before. This two-step approach ensures customers have ample time to confirm or reschedule, reducing last-minute cancellations.

2. Enhances customer experience

SMS reminders provide a quick and convenient way for customers to stay informed about their appointments. 

By offering easy-to-read, actionable messages, businesses create a smoother, more enjoyable experience that meets customers' preferences for simplicity and efficiency.

A simple "Reminder: Your appointment is at [Time] on [Date] at [Location]" keeps things straightforward and easy to understand.

3. Optimizes resource allocation

With fewer last-minute cancellations and no-shows, businesses can better plan their resources, such as staffing and equipment, based on actual appointment schedules. 

This leads to more effective use of time, fewer idle periods, and improved overall efficiency.

Pro Tip: Analyze no-show patterns and appointment trends to adjust staffing schedules accordingly. For example, if you notice frequent cancellations in the afternoon, consider adjusting shift hours or offering incentives for customers to book in less busy periods.

4. Strengthens customer retention

Regular and reliable communication through SMS reminders helps foster trust and keeps customers engaged. 

When customers feel that businesses are organized and attentive, they are more likely to return for future appointments, increasing long-term customer loyalty.

Bonus: Personalize your SMS reminders with the customer's name or a thank-you message for choosing your business. This small gesture can make a big difference in customer loyalty and satisfaction.

5. Boosts revenue & brand reputation

By reducing no-shows and cancellations, SMS reminders directly contribute to higher attendance rates. More customers attending their scheduled appointments translates to increased revenue. 

Additionally, a consistent, reliable reminder system strengthens the brand's reputation for professionalism and customer care.

Insight: Consistent reminders allow businesses to highlight promotions or add-on services, increasing revenue opportunities during each appointment.

For e-commerce businesses looking to increase sales using SMS, read our guide on boosting sales with SMS reminders to learn how you can leverage SMS for higher conversions and customer engagement.

Best practices for effective SMS appointment reminders

When crafting SMS appointment reminders, the goal is to make sure your messages are clear, timely, and easy for your customers to act upon. Here are some key strategies to ensure your appointment reminders are effective:

1. Personalize the appointment reminder message

Personalization can significantly improve customer engagement. Addressing customers by name in text messaging reminders makes them feel valued and grabs their attention. 31% of consumers sign up for SMS to receive personalized messages, showing how effective tailored communication can drive better responses.

For example, instead of a generic reminder, try like this:

This personal approach shows customers that you value them, enhancing the overall experience and increasing the likelihood of them showing up.

Pro Tip: Add a personalized detail like past service preferences for an even stronger connection.

Bonus: If you want to improve payment collection processes with SMS, check out our guide on friendly payment reminders via SMS to further enhance your customer communication strategy.

2. Send at the right time

Timing is everything when it comes to appointment reminders. Sending reminders too early or too late can be ineffective, while well-timed reminders ensure better engagement. Here’s when you should send an appointment reminder:

• 24 hours before the appointment: A reminder the day before allows customers enough time to prepare and make adjustments if necessary.
• A few hours before the appointment: A last-minute confirmation reminder serves as a final nudge, ensuring the customer is still committed to the appointment.
• Follow-up messages post-appointment: After the appointment, send a quick thank you or feedback request. You can even encourage them to reschedule if needed, keeping the cycle of engagement alive.

Pro tip: Test different sending times to find what works best for your audience.

3. Provide clear appointment details

Provide all essential appointment details to avoid confusion. Be clear and concise. Include the exact date, time, and location of the appointment. 

This helps reduce no-shows due to unclear information. You should also mention what action the customer needs to take, whether it's confirming, rescheduling, or just showing up.

For example:

Bonus tip: Include a map link for your business location to make it easier for customers to find you.

4. Include a CTA

A strong call-to-action (CTA) is essential in your SMS appointment reminders. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to confirm or reschedule their appointments. 

Use clear instructions, such as replying with a simple "YES" to confirm or providing a link for rescheduling.

For example:

Pro tip: Use a clickable link for quick confirmation instead of just a phone number.

5. Compliance considerations

When sending SMS reminders, it's crucial to stay compliant with regulations such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the U.S. and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in Europe. 

Always ensure that your customers have opted in to receive text messages from you and provide them with an easy way to opt out. This shows respect for their privacy and helps protect your business from legal issues.

For example:

Bonus tip: Include a brief note explaining why they’re receiving the reminder for full transparency.

By following these best practices, businesses can reduce no-shows and enhance the overall customer experience, making their appointment scheduling process efficient.

Plivo CX, a top-tier omnichannel customer engagement platform, simplifies SMS appointment reminders with automated scheduling, personalized messages, and real-time tracking. 

With advanced segmentation and AI-powered insights, businesses can reduce no-shows, optimize scheduling, and enhance customer satisfaction effortlessly.

Maximize appointment reminder efficiency and ROI with Plivo CX

Managing appointments efficiently and minimizing no-shows is crucial for any business. Traditional reminder methods, like phone calls or emails, often fall short and can be time-consuming, leading to missed opportunities and inefficiencies.

With Plivo CX, you can automate SMS appointment reminders that are timely, personalized, and impactful. Whether it’s a reminder 24 hours before an appointment or a last-minute confirmation, SMS appointment reminders ensure your customers are always informed and engaged.

Here’s why Plivo CX is the perfect go-to platform for appointment reminders:

• Customizable audience segmentation: Using the Audiences feature, you can segment your customer base by appointment history, preferences, or other key attributes.
• E-commerce integrations: Connect with e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, Magento, and more to send direct appointment reminders from your e-commerce system.
• Craft personalized reminders with Copywriter AI: Use our AI-powered Copywriter AI to generate personalized SMS reminders, tailored to the needs of your customers. Review, refine, and send the perfect message in just minutes.

• Engage with customers at the right moments: With Journeys, you can set up automated SMS reminders based on appointment schedules or customer actions. Plus, Plivo’s no-code interface lets you build and manage these workflows without needing technical expertise.
• Timely and optimized engagement: Schedule your SMS reminders to send before, during, or after the appointment, ensuring they reach customers at the ideal time, even across different time zones.

• Seamless appointment reminders: Automate SMS reminders based on appointment dates, customer behavior, or specific triggers, ensuring timely follow-ups that reduce no-shows.

Businesses using Plivo CX for appointment reminders report an average ROI of $71 for every $1 spent, along with a significant reduction in no-shows and improved scheduling efficiency.

With Plivo’s global carrier network, businesses can reduce SMS marketing costs by up to 70% while enhancing their appointment reminder strategy. 

Increase your booking efficiency, improve customer satisfaction, and drive better results with automated SMS reminders from Plivo CX.

Book a free demo today.

Getting customer feedback not only gives you the right insights to improve customer experiences and operations but also brings more credibility to your store. 

In fact, 91% of consumers read feedback regularly. So, having a product line with limited reviews becomes the first bottleneck in sales. 

To help you avoid such issues and boost operations, we will look at different types of SMS surveys you can run along with best practices for maximum response.

SMS feedback survey types (with sample feedback request message)

The most common types of SMS surveys are:

1. Abandoned cart SMS survey

Abandoned cart SMS surveys give good insights into what's affecting conversion rates in your business. 

More than 70% of online shoppers leave products in their carts. These shoppers are high-intent leads, and understanding what's preventing them from making a purchase is valuable data. 

To collect this data, you can drop a quick abandoned cart SMS survey with options to choose the reason behind the drop.

Sample abandoned cart SMS survey template:

Hi [Customer Name], [Product name] is waiting in the cart. What's holding you back? Reply 1 for Price, 2 for Long delivery wait time, 3 for Slow checkout, 4 for Just browsing, or 5 for Found Elsewhere. 

2. Post-purchase feedback SMS survey

Post-purchase feedback surveys help you assess customers' shopping experience. At least one in five customers drop products due to a complex checkout process. 

Conducting these surveys gives you regular insights into the current checkout process and how it can be further improved.

Sample post-purchase feedback SMS survey template:

Thank you for your recent purchase! We'd love your feedback on your checkout experience. Reply with a number: 1 for Smooth, 2 for Slow, or 3 for Poor. Your input helps us improve! 

3. Delivery feedback SMS survey

Delivery feedback SMS surveys gather customer feedback on the experience. 88% of US shoppers said that online retailers failed to meet their expectations at least once. Late deliveries are one of their primary frustrations. 

Conducting regular delivery feedback SMS surveys and improving the delivery experience is one of the first steps in becoming a trusted eCommerce store.

Sample delivery feedback SMS survey template:

Woohoo! Your product just arrived. Rate the delivery experience! Reply with numbers: 1 for Fast delivery, 2 for Delayed delivery, or 3 for Poor packaging. 

4. Product feedback SMS survey

A product feedback SMS survey helps to gather customer opinions about products delivered. It gives actionable data to improve your existing product, de-list the products that are getting poor feedback, and double down on what's catching up with customers. 

74% of consumers say it only takes up to three bad experiences with a brand for them to abandon it.  So, while customers are willing to give another chance, continuous poor product experience can lead to losing a customer. 

In that case, product feedback surveys become a goldmine to keep optimized inventory for products that are hitting a chord with customers. 

Sample product feedback SMS survey template:

Hi [Customer Name]! Your order [Product name] got delivered. Earn loyalty points by dropping a quick review: [Review Link].

5. Return and refund process feedback SMS survey

Return and refund process feedback SMS survey helps to identify bottlenecks in your return process. 

A Statista survey found that almost 80% of shoppers won't return to shop from a store that doesn't provide a good return experience. 

Continuously improving the return process is an integral part of running an eCommerce store. Gathering data from return and refund process feedback SMS surveys is the first step to doing that.

Sample return and refund SMS survey template:

Hi [Customer Name], Thank you for your recent return. On a scale of 1-5 (1=Very Dissatisfied, 5=Very Satisfied), how satisfied were you with the return process? Reply with 1-5.

6. Customer service feedback SMS survey

Customer service feedback SMS surveys are quick surveys sent to customers whenever they interact with customer service. It's a short survey to quickly gather how they would rate the interaction and quality of support they received. Good customer service support is one of the top drivers of customer loyalty. 

Tracking these survey numbers will help you identify how many customers are happy with the customer service and if customer support team members require additional training. 

Sample customer service feedback SMS survey template:

Hi [Customer Name], thanks for reaching out to [Company Name] support. How helpful was the interaction with our customer service executive? Rate from 1 to 5 (1=Not Helpful, 5=Very Helpful). Reply 1-5.

7. Net promoter score SMS survey

Net Promoter Score (NPS) SMS surveys are a quick way to gather an NPS score. NPS score is a metric used to gauge how likely customers are to recommend your brand to others. 

An NPS score higher than 30 indicates that your company is doing great and has far more happy customers than unhappy ones. An NPS over 70 means your customers love you, and your company is generating a lot of positive word-of-mouth from their referrals. The average NPS score for eCommerce brands is 52 in 2024. 

While you have multiple metrics to track as an eCommerce brand, an NPS score can be one of the most valuable metrics to work upon. 

Sample net promoter score SMS survey template:

Hi [Customer Name], on a scale of 0-10, how likely are you to recommend [Brand Name] to a friend? (0=Not Likely, 10=Very Likely) Reply with your score.

5 Best practices for SMS feedback surveys

Follow these best practices to ensure your surveys get maximum response: 

1. Ask one question at a time

Don't overload the survey with multiple questions. Have it within the character limit (160 characters) and with one question at a time. An ideal SMS is one that customers can read on the go. 

2. Offer an incentive

Offer incentives to customers for surveys requiring a considerable effort from customers. For instance, giving coupons to customers for writing elaborate reviews helps you in both ways. 

You build a credible store and acquire the next order from an existing customer at a relatively low marketing cost.

3. Brand your request

Customers should be able to quickly recognize that the SMS is from your brand. You can add a brand name at the beginning or end of the SMS or send it from a registered branded sender ID. 

4. Personalize the message

Include customer name, order number, and product name in the SMS so customers can easily identify which order the survey is about.

5. Send it at the relevant time

Send surveys at the right time within 24-48 hours of the relevant event. The following timing guidelines for different SMS feedback messages will help:

• Abandoned cart: Within two to four hours after abandonment
• Post-purchase: Within one hour of placing order
• Delivery: Within one hour of product delivery
• Product: Within 24 hours of product delivery
• Return and refund: 24 hours after return confirmation
• Customer service: Within one hour of interaction
• Net promoter score: After a purchase

An SMS marketing platform automates the entire process to help you send surveys at the right time based on customer interaction. 

Automate the feedback surveys with Plivo CX

Plivo CX simplifies the entire SMS survey processing for eCommerce businesses. Our no-code journey builder feature allows you to run SMS surveys on autopilot. Seamlessly integrate Plivo CX with Shopify and schedule automated SMS surveys using a simple drag-and-drop interface—no coding required.

Plivo CX Journey feature

Apart from the effective SMS survey creation, Plivo CX also supports:

✅Getting customers to opt-in

✅Segmenting subscribers

✅Creating campaigns with in-built templates and AI copywriter

✅Scheduling marketing campaigns with AI assistance

✅Launching ad-hoc campaigns with ease

✅Building reports of campaigns

You get a complete solution that complies with all industry and government regulations. Further, we do not rely on external carriers. Instead, we use our internal premium carrier network that ensures high deliverability. 

Our internal premium carrier network enables you to send messages to over 220 countries/territories with higher deliverability for as little as $0.0065. You can easily cut your SMS marketing costs by up to 70%.

Want to run SMS surveys seamlessly? Schedule a demo today to explore the powerful features of Plivo CX.

Your support agents are overwhelmed. High ticket volumes, slow resolutions, and repetitive tasks drain their time and energy. Without the right tools and strategies, productivity nosedives, and so does customer satisfaction.

The challenges are real, but so are the solutions. What if you could cut response times in half? What if your agents had more time to help customers with their tricky problems?

The data backs this up. A company using AI automation can resolve tickets 52% faster. Using AI results in a 37% drop in first response times compared to those without automation. 

This guide provides ten practical strategies for boosting agent efficiency, reducing burnout, and improving customer service. 

Why do agents struggle with productivity? 

With tools like IVR systems, chatbots, and customer support platforms, you’d think agent inefficiency wouldn’t be a problem. Yet, many customers still deal with slow responses and unresolved issues.

Here’s what might be holding them back:

High ticket volumes

Your agents spend too much time answering the same basic questions. Instead of focusing on complex issues, they get stuck handling repetitive requests. 

Without automation, ticket queues pile up, leading to longer wait times and frustrated customers.

Lack of proper training

Even the best tools won’t help if agents don’t know how to use them. Many struggle with outdated training programs that don’t prepare them for customer interactions. 

Without ongoing coaching, they waste time searching for answers instead of resolving issues quickly.

Disorganized workflows

An inefficient system slows everything down. When agents jump between multiple platforms or manually sort tickets, productivity drops. Poorly structured workflows lead to mistakes, unnecessary escalations, and longer resolution times.

Burnout

The constant pressure to meet performance targets can wear agents down. Long shifts, stressful calls, and unrealistic expectations can also lead to disengagement and high turnover. 

This leads to agent burnout, which ultimately impacts productivity. In fact, approximately 59% of call center employees are at risk of burnout, with 28% nearing acute burnout syndrome. And note, replacing a call center employee can cost between $10,000 and $15,000.

10 strategies to improve agent productivity in customer support

To tackle these problems and improve agent productivity, you have to go back to the basics while using expert-recommended measures. Remember, small and targeted improvements can make a big difference. 

Here’s how you can help your team work smarter and deliver faster support:

1. Implement AI and automation for repetitive tasks

AI and automation can help your agents work faster and more efficiently. Instead of manually handling every request, they can focus on solving complex issues that need a human touch.

Think about a customer asking for a refund. An AI agent can process the request instantly so that your agent doesn't have to handle the same inquiry repeatedly. 

Also, if a customer asks a detailed question, AI can gather relevant information from its training dataset, saving your agents the time they’d waste searching through documents. 

The best thing is that advanced AI agents in customer service can detect urgency, like a frustrated customer complaining about a failed payment, and route the ticket to the right agent immediately.

2. Use a centralized knowledge base

Creating a single source of truth for all your knowledge resources makes it easier for agents to find information. This way, they will spend less time hunting for information and will focus on delivering faster, superior support to your customers.

A unified knowledge hub may include FAQs, product manuals, troubleshooting guides, and company policies. This may benefit your agents in the following ways:

• Quick resolutions: Since agents can get information at their fingertips, it can reduce response times and improve metrics like average handling time
• Consistency: All agents provide the same level of service and accurate information that can enhance customer satisfaction
• Faster onboarding: Recruits can learn faster from a well-organized, comprehensive resource

3. Adopt a unified agent workspace

47% of digital workers struggle to find the appropriate information to perform efficiently. An all-in-one agent workspace can solve this problem by bringing everything from customer history and tickets to communication channels into one place. 

So, when an agent needs to look at the history of a customer order, instead of digging through emails or asking another team, the unified workspace instantly provides information about order details, past conversations, and resolution options in one dashboard.

4. Use analytics for performance insights

Regularly measuring agent performance metrics can help you quickly identify what’s lacking and create strategies to improve it. 

Advanced data and analytics tools can document agent performance and customer service metrics, such as first call resolution, average handling time, and average wait time.

Once you have this information, review it and discuss it with your agents. If necessary, create targeted training sessions to educate agents on proper call center etiquette and strategies. This will motivate agents to do better and deliver better service.

5. Introduce self-service options and tools

Self-service tools, especially AI agents, can significantly improve agent productivity by handling repetitive tasks and reducing ticket volume. Moreover, the majority of respondents in a recent survey indicated they are open to chatting with an AI chatbot first. 

AI agents can act as the first point of contact, answering FAQs, assisting with password resets, and helping with order placements. 

Instead of agents handling every minor request, these resolve common issues instantly. If a customer needs further assistance, the AI agent connects them to the right human agent, ensuring a smoother workflow.

There are even sales-focused AI agents that can guide customers through the shopping process and offer product recommendations based on browsing history or past purchases. 

For example, H&M’s chatbot asks users about their style preferences to suggest matching outfits. This can significantly reduce the burden on the sales team while improving conversions. 

6. Establish clear expectations

Now, let’s come to the granular level of tackling productivity management in customer service. A classic move—setting clear and specific expectations will alert agents to meet their goals. This will also allow agents to plan and manage their time while completing daily tasks. 

Without clearly defined expectations, agents may be confused or even get distracted by unnecessary tasks.

For this, you can use KPIs to set goals for your agents that may include:

• Average handle time
• First reply time
• First contact resolution rate
• Number of tickets handled per hour
• Customer satisfaction score

7. Provide continuous learning and upskilling

Well-trained agents work faster, make fewer mistakes, and provide better customer service. A lack of proper training can make the agents confused and overwhelmed, unable to manage interactions as they should. 

Highly skilled agents are more likely to feel confident and engaged in their roles, resulting in higher job satisfaction. You can utilize Interactive training methods, like role-playing or real-time feedback, to prepare agents for real-world scenarios. 

8. Empower agents with decision-making autonomy

Working in a contact center can become monotonous. Agents usually follow a set system of responses and processes that can make them feel repetitive and lethargic. 

You can turn this around by giving your agents a certain degree of autonomy and some leeway to make independent decisions. This can feel empowering and can boost their productivity to a huge extent.

9. Gather and implement agent feedback

We all want to feel valued and heard. Periodic surveys collecting agent feedback sends a good message. This can also bridge the gap between management and customer service team members.

These surveys can generate many new ideas and act as quality control for customer service teams during times of high agent turnover. In most cases, agent feedback can identify problems early before an internal problem gets out of control.

10. Promote work-life balance

According to The Hartford, 63 % of employees report that their overall health and wellness impact their productivity at work. Prioritizing agent well-being leads to higher job satisfaction and efficiency. 

Consider the following actions:

• Offer regular breaks: Short, frequent pauses help maintain focus and reduce stress
• Keep work schedules flexible: Allowing your team to adjust their working hours can help them manage personal commitments and reduce stress
• Manageable workloads: Distribute tasks evenly to avoid overwhelming your agents

Focusing on these areas creates a positive environment where agents remain engaged and productive.

Improve agent productivity with Plivo CX

Plivo CX is an AI-driven omnichannel customer service platform that can offer the right support to your agents to amplify their productivity. It integrates seamlessly with your existing systems to provide accurate and context-aware responses.

Key features include:

• Unified agent desktop: Provides a single interface where agents can manage all communication channels—such as voice, SMS, MMS, email, and WhatsApp—streamlining workflows and giving agents full context to resolve issues faster.
• System integration: Connects effortlessly with CRM, billing, ticketing systems, and knowledge bases for precise responses
• Specialized AI agents: Tailored for sales, customer engagement, retention, and support
• Self-service chatbot: Powered by OpenAI, the chatbot offers 24/7 support, automating responses to common customer queries across multiple channels. It can handle up to 70% of inquiries, freeing agents for more complex tasks.
• Personalized interactions: The AI leverages customer data and interaction history (via integrations with tools like Salesforce or Zendesk) to provide tailored replies, boosting engagement and support quality.
• Automated workflows: Automates tasks like ticket routing, follow-up messages, or proactive notifications (e.g., order updates, appointment reminders), enhancing engagement and retention.
• Intelligent Escalation: When the AI can’t resolve an issue, it seamlessly escalates the conversation to a human agent, attaching detailed notes about the interaction. This ensures continuity and reduces resolution time.
• Compliance and security: Meets SOC 2 and GDPR standards for secure customer interactions

Book a demo now to learn more.

What is a landline number? A landline number is tied to a fixed-line network, like traditional home or office phones. It connects to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) using physical cables to transmit voice communication, unlike mobile phones that rely on radio signals and cell towers.

For businesses, landlines offer clear call quality and reliable emergency services. However, with mobile phones and internet-based calling on the rise, understanding the pros and cons of landlines is essential in today’s communication landscape.

How do landline numbers function?

What is a landline number, and how does it work in practice? While landlines may seem dated in a world dominated by mobile phones and VoIP systems, they remain highly reliable. Here’s a breakdown of how they function:

1. Voice Transmission: When you make a call on a landline, your voice is converted into electrical signals, which travel over the physical wires (copper or fiber optic cables) to reach the recipient. This conversion ensures that the voice remains clear and intelligible, unaffected by issues like weak signal strength.
2. The PSTN: The landline’s connection to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) ensures that the voice data is transmitted through a network of switches and cables, allowing communication between different locations globally. This network has been the backbone of telecommunication for over a century, providing a stable, reliable way for people to connect with one another.
3. Direct and dependable: Landlines are still known for their dependability. Unlike mobile phones, which rely on the health of the cellular network or internet connection, landlines can function even when there are power outages, making them a preferred choice for businesses that need constant availability. In fact, during natural disasters or widespread service disruptions, landline numbers can be the only means of communication, offering a direct and often uninterrupted line to emergency services.

What are the different types of landline numbers?

Landline numbers, though simple in concept, come with various configurations and use cases that influence how businesses and individuals interact with them:

1. Geographical area codes: Landline numbers are typically associated with a specific geographical location. Area codes identify a specific region, helping both businesses and individuals establish a local presence. For businesses, a local area code can foster a sense of community and trust with customers.
2. Local numbers: These are landline numbers assigned to a particular area. They are the most common type of landline number and are often preferred for personal communication. However, for businesses, this can sometimes be limiting, as it ties the business to a specific location.
3. Toll-free numbers: Toll-free numbers (e.g., 800, 888, 877) offer businesses the opportunity to provide a cost-free way for customers to reach them. While local numbers are tied to a specific area, toll-free numbers are not, making them ideal for companies that operate across multiple regions or need to present a nationwide presence. However, they can come with higher maintenance costs, which can be a consideration when planning your communication strategy.
4. Vanity numbers: These are customizable numbers that spell out a word, name, or acronym related to the business. For example, 1-800-FLOWERS or 1-800-PAINTING. Vanity numbers are not only memorable but can also enhance branding efforts, providing easy recall for customers.

What are the main benefits of landline numbers?

Despite the growing dominance of mobile and VoIP technologies, landlines still hold a strong position for certain use cases, especially in business environments. Let’s explore some of the key advantages:

Reliable Call Quality:

• Landline calls offer superior audio quality compared to mobile or internet-based communication.
• They are unaffected by network congestion, weak signals, or interference.
• Ideal for high-stakes communication, such as customer support, emergency response, or confidential discussions.

Emergency Services:

• Landlines are the most reliable option during emergencies.
• They operate through the PSTN and remain functional even during power outages.
• Essential for industries like hospitals and emergency services, where accessibility is critical during crises.

Enhanced Security:

• Landlines provide a more secure communication option.
• They are less vulnerable to hacking or eavesdropping compared to mobile or internet-based methods.
• Ideal for handling sensitive or confidential information.

What are the downsides of using landline numbers?

However, despite their advantages, landline numbers come with limitations, particularly as businesses look for more flexible and scalable communication solutions:

1. Limited Mobility:
   
   1. Landlines are fixed-location services, tying you to a specific place.
   2. This lack of mobility is a significant drawback for businesses with remote or traveling employees.
   3. Unlike mobile phones or internet-based communication systems, landline numbers cannot be used on the go.
2. Higher Maintenance Costs:
   
   1. Traditional landline services often incur higher maintenance costs than newer technologies.
   2. These costs include maintaining physical infrastructure and paying for long-distance calls.
   3. Businesses with nationwide or international operations may face especially high costs.
3. Declining Usage:
   
   1. Landline usage is decreasing due to the rise of mobile phones, internet-based communication, and VoIP solutions.
   2. Businesses and consumers are opting for more flexible and feature-rich alternatives.
   3. This trend makes it harder to justify the costs of investing in or maintaining landline connections.

How are landline numbers formatted?

Landline numbers, like any other phone numbers, must follow a specific format to ensure proper routing and connection. This includes several key components:

Country Code:

• Each country has a unique country code to distinguish it from others.
• Example: The United States uses the country code +1, while the UK uses +44, and India uses +91.
• When dialing internationally, the country code ensures the call is routed to the correct nation.

Area Code:

• An area code identifies a specific geographic region within a country, which is essential for routing calls accurately.
• Example: In the US, 212 is the area code for Manhattan, New York, while 408 covers parts of California, including San Jose.
• Area codes are particularly important for businesses operating in specific regions to establish a local presence.

Phone Number:

• The phone number is the unique identifier for the recipient within the specified area and can vary in length by country and region.
• Example: In India, a landline number in Delhi might look like 011-12345678, while in the UK, a London number could be 020-12345678.

E.164 Format:

• For international calls, phone numbers are standardized in the E.164 format, which includes the country code, area code, and local number without spaces or dashes.
• Example: A US number would appear as +14155552671 in E.164 format, ensuring global compatibility for dialing.

National Dialing Formats:

• Some countries use unique national dialing formats when calling locally or regionally.
• Example: In the US, local calls within the same area code might only require dialing the 7-digit number, while in India, dialing ‘0’ before the area code (e.g., 011-12345678) is mandatory for national calls outside the area.

How do modern alternatives like VoIP compare to landlines?

What is a landline number compared to modern technologies like VoIP? While landlines are reliable, they lack the flexibility and features of VoIP. As the drawbacks of traditional landline numbers become more apparent, many businesses are turning to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. 

VoIP offers a far more flexible and scalable solution for modern businesses, providing a host of features not available on landlines.

1. What is VoIP technology? VoIP uses the Internet to make voice calls, allowing users to connect through various devices such as smartphones, laptops, or desktops. This flexibility provides businesses with greater mobility than the static nature of landline phones.
2. What are the advantages of VoIP? VoIP offers several advantages, such as lower operational costs, enhanced features like text messaging, and integrations with other business tools like CRM systems. Unlike traditional landlines, VoIP solutions can scale with your business needs, offering everything from voicemail and call forwarding to SMS and voice messaging.
3. How do VoIP and landlines compare? VoIP systems have a clear edge over traditional landlines when it comes to flexibility and cost-effectiveness. VoIP is designed to support multiple features, such as instant messaging, auto-replies, and call transcriptions, which are increasingly necessary in today’s fast-paced, customer-centric world.

This is where Plivo’s Voice API comes into play. By integrating Plivo's Voice API into your communication systems, you can bring the power of cloud-based calling to your business, leveraging advanced features that landlines simply cannot match.

Can VoIP be the right replacement?

For businesses looking to move beyond the limitations of traditional landlines, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) provides a flexible and cost-effective way to handle voice communication. By enabling calls over the internet, VoIP eliminates the need for physical phone lines and supports modern communication needs.

How Plivo Supports VoIP Integration

Plivo offers simple tools to integrate VoIP capabilities into your applications using Mobile SDKs (iOS/Android) and Browser SDKs. These tools allow businesses to create reliable voice solutions tailored to their specific needs.

Key Benefits of Plivo’s VoIP Solutions:

Global Reach:

• Make and receive calls in over 200 countries without worrying about high international calling costs.
• Connect with any phone number, app, or browser, ensuring you can reach customers and teams anywhere.

Flexible Call Handling:

• Route calls efficiently with features like multilevel IVR, call forwarding, and call queues.
• Support team collaboration through call conferencing and multiparty calls.

Simple Integration:

• Add VoIP calling directly into your apps using Plivo’s SDKs.
• Enable smooth communication for tasks like customer support, team meetings, or healthcare consultations.

Additional Features:

• Voicemail with transcription ensures important messages are not missed.
• Use caller ID customization to present a local presence when communicating globally.

Why Consider VoIP?

VoIP solves many of the challenges associated with landlines:

• It doesn’t rely on physical infrastructure, reducing setup and maintenance costs.
• It supports remote work and mobile communication, making it ideal for distributed teams.
• Businesses can easily scale their communication systems as they grow.

Practical Use Cases for Plivo’s VoIP Tools:

• Customer Support:
  
  • Replace landlines with a VoIP system to route calls effectively, minimize wait times, and provide a better customer experience.
• Remote Work:
  
  • Allow employees to make and receive work calls on their mobile phones or computers, keeping teams connected wherever they are.
• Cost-Effective International Calls:
  
  • Connect with global clients and partners at a fraction of the cost of traditional long-distance calling.

Discover how Plivo’s VoIP solutions can simplify your communication needs, reduce costs, and enhance flexibility for your business. Get started now or contact our team to explore how VoIP can work f

For businesses seeking a more efficient and effective way to connect with customers, SMS short codes offer a powerful solution. These 6-digit numbers simplify communication, making it easier to send messages that capture attention and drive action. 

Unlike traditional 10-digit phone numbers, short codes are easy to recognize, quick to use, and perfect for high-volume messaging. Customers can effortlessly opt-in to receive promotions, updates, and alerts without the hassle of entering long phone numbers. 

While there is a cost associated with leasing a short code, the return on investment is often significant, with higher engagement and conversion rates. In this blog, we’ll explore how 6-digit short codes work, why they’re so effective, and how they can enhance your customer communications.

What are 6-digit phone numbers?

Short codes, introduced by wireless carriers in 2003, were designed to meet the growing demand for efficient mass messaging. They are 6-digit numbers specifically built for high-throughput, application-to-person (A2P) messaging, making them ideal for sending critical, time-sensitive updates like authentication codes, alerts, and promotional notifications. Unlike traditional 10-digit long codes, short codes offer:

• Faster delivery: Thousands of messages can be sent per second.
• Better prioritization: Carriers prioritize short codes, ensuring high deliverability for important updates.
• Simplified user experience: Their shorter format makes them easier to recognize and remember.

How are 6-digit numbers used?

The versatility of short codes extends across multiple industries. Here are some key applications:

Retail and E-commerce:

Businesses use short codes to announce flash sales, send discount codes, and share product updates. 

Examples:

“Text DEAL20 to 123456 to get 20% off your purchase today!”

“FLASH SALE! Text SALE to 654321 for exclusive early access to our 50% off deals.”

“Sign up for SMS alerts by texting VIP to 456789 and receive free shipping on your next order.”

Healthcare:

Appointment reminders, public health notifications, and patient engagement campaigns are made seamless with short codes. Enhance patient experiences and rapport by improving healthcare communication, reducing appointment no-shows with SMS alerts, delivering time-critical emergency health services, and optimizing public health campaigns. 

Examples:

• “Your appointment with Dr. Smith is scheduled for tomorrow at 3:00 PM. Reply YES to confirm or RESCHEDULE to change.”
• “Public Health Alert: Flu vaccine clinics now open. Text VACCINE to 789123 for locations near you.”
• “Reminder: Please fast for 12 hours before your blood test tomorrow at 8:00 AM. Questions? Text HELP to 987654.”

Finance and security:

Banks and financial institutions rely on short codes for two-factor authentication (2FA) and account activity alerts. 

Examples:

• “Your account balance is $1,234.56. For more details, text INFO to 123123.”
• “Your one-time verification code is 876543. It will expire in 5 minutes.”
• “Alert: A transaction of $500 was made on your credit card ending in 1234. Text FRAUD to 456123 if this wasn’t you.”

Logistics and transportation:

Ridesharing services and courier companies use short codes for real-time updates, such as delivery status and driver notifications. 

Examples:

“Your package will arrive today between 1 PM and 3 PM. Track it here: [link].”

“Driver Alex is 5 minutes away in a blue Toyota Camry. Text SUPPORT to 654987 if you need help.”

“Your ride to JFK Airport is confirmed. Driver John will arrive at 6:15 PM. Reply CANCEL to cancel.”

What are the advantages of 6-digit numbers?

Short codes offer many distinct advantages over traditional communication methods, revolutionizing how businesses connect with their audience. Their efficiency, reliability, and user-friendly nature make them a preferred choice for high-volume messaging campaigns. Here's a detailed breakdown of their unique benefits:

High throughput:

Short codes support the dispatch of many messages per second, a critical feature for businesses managing large-scale campaigns. Plivo’s SMS API takes this further by providing a throughput of 100 messages per second for short codes with room for scalability.

Improved deliverability:

Messages sent via short codes are prioritized by carriers, reducing the likelihood of being filtered as spam. This ensures critical notifications, such as system outages or payment confirmations, are received promptly.

Memorability and branding:

Vanity short codes (e.g., “PLIVO” or 75486) reinforce brand recognition while simplifying the user experience. Plivo’s API supports vanity short codes, ensuring seamless integration with your branding strategy.

Compliance:

Short codes are inherently TCPA-compliant when used correctly. Plivo’s opt-out handling and real-time redaction tools simplify adherence to regulations, protecting your brand from legal pitfalls.

Compliance and opt-in requirements

Navigating the regulatory landscape is crucial for any business utilizing short codes. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), explicit customer consent is required before sending promotional messages. This is typically achieved through keyword opt-ins, such as:

• A customer texting “SUBSCRIBE” to your short code.
• The customer’s agreement to your terms of communication.

Plivo’s compliance features:

• Built-in opt-out management, ensuring recipient requests like “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” are processed automatically.
• Detailed documentation and support to guide businesses through TCPA and CTIA compliance requirements.

Types of short codes

When choosing a short code, businesses must decide between two options:

Random short codes:

Carriers assign these codes sequences of numbers provided by wireless carriers, offering businesses a cost-effective option for high-volume messaging. These codes are chosen at random, without input from the business, which makes them less personalized compared to vanity short codes. 

However, their functionality remains identical, making them an excellent choice for businesses where branding isn’t the primary focus, but reliable and efficient messaging is. For example, a logistics company sending delivery notifications or a healthcare provider sharing appointment reminders may prioritize the affordability and utility of a random short code over the memorability of a vanity code. 

Random short codes deliver the same performance benefits, such as high throughput and carrier prioritization, without the added expense of customization.

Vanity short codes

Vanity short codes are fully customizable 6-digit numbers that allow businesses to align their messaging strategy with their brand identity. These codes are typically chosen to spell out a word or phrase associated with the business, like “PLIVO” (75486), making them highly memorable for customers. The customization not only aids in recall but also builds trust and credibility by reinforcing the brand every time the code is used.

While vanity short codes are more expensive than random ones, their value lies in their ability to create a cohesive and recognizable brand experience. For instance, a retailer running nationwide loyalty programs or a media company promoting a recurring event might find the investment worthwhile to maintain a strong brand presence in every interaction.

Since the industry-wide discontinuation of shared short codes due to security concerns, dedicated short codes—whether random or vanity—have become the norm. These provide businesses with exclusive use of their short code, ensuring messages are not only delivered but also free from the risks of being flagged or associated with other entities.

How to lease and acquire a 6-digit phone number?

Leasing a short code involves navigating carrier requirements and compliance approvals. The process includes:

• Selecting a random or vanity short code based on your goals and budget.
• Completing carrier documentation, including details on message types and compliance measures.
• Testing and launching your campaigns.

This process can seem complex, but Plivo makes managing short codes effortless by providing end-to-end support, from application submission to campaign setup. With over a decade of experience, Plivo helps businesses go live with their short codes quickly and efficiently.

Integrating short codes with an SMS API

The true power of short codes lies in their integration with Plivo’s SMS API. APIs automate messaging, provide real-time analytics, and enhance scalability.

Plivo’s SMS API delivers:

• Global reach: Seamless communication across borders.
• Unicode support: Allowing businesses to send multilingual messages, including emojis.
• Message concatenation: Ensuring long messages are delivered as intended, regardless of character limits.

These advanced features enable businesses to elevate their communication strategies while maintaining operational efficiency.

Elevating communication with Plivo and short codes

Short codes are a critical asset for businesses aiming to engage customers effectively and securely. By integrating short codes with a platform like Plivo, businesses gain access to advanced features, expert guidance, and unparalleled reliability. 

From financial institutions ensuring secure transactions to retailers driving loyalty campaigns, Plivo empowers organizations to maximize the impact of their messaging.

With dedicated support and cutting-edge API solutions, Plivo is your partner in creating meaningful customer connections.

Ready to take your messaging strategy to the next level? Discover how Plivo can simplify short code integration and help your business deliver impactful, reliable communication. Connect with Plivo today to unlock a smarter way to engage your audience.