In today’s digitally hyper-connected world, the average person spends a significant amount of time on their smartphones, reading and replying to text messages, and interacting on social media, and apps. While texting has always been the most popular mode of communication amongst friends and family, many businesses are yet to unlock its true power for improving customer service. SMS, an acronym for Short Message Service, is transforming from being the preferred tool for personal interactions into a robust, scalable platform for businesses to engage better with their customers in real time. This shift is indicative of consumer preference and convenience. Here we dive into what SMS customer support entails and the benefits of GirikSMS, along with smart tips on how you can seamlessly integrate it with your customer service strategy.

Why Embrace SMS for Customer Support?

1. Accessibility: Almost everyone has a smartphone making SMS texting universally accessible. Unlike certain apps or platforms that may have their limitations owing to location, device, or operating system, SMS is available on every cell phone. This universal availability of SMS messaging makes it the perfect communication channel to reach a diverse spectrum of customers.
2. Prompt and Direct: SMS messaging is instant, something no other channel can match. With a read rate of 97% within 15 minutes of being received, customers can engage with businesses whenever they want, translating to faster issue resolution.
3. Personal and Familiar: People are already used to using SMS for sending and receiving personal messages. When businesses tap into this mode of communication, they can interact with customers on a platform they are already very comfortable with, building trust and intimacy.

Implementing SMS Support: Key Considerations

1. Know Your Audience: Before implementing SMS-based customer service, understand which of your customers are keen on SMS for customer support. While many acknowledge the convenience, some might prefer calls or email.
2. Regulations and Permissions: Always be aware of local regulations related to SMS communication in the area you operate or wish to operate in and get explicit consent from your customers before sending any text.
3. Integration with Other Systems: SMS messaging should not operate as an isolated system. Integrate it with existing customer support platforms and related systems to ensure personalized interactions and seamless data flow.

Best Practices for SMS Customer Support

1. Set Expectations: Apprise your customers of the kind of support you are offering via SMS. Whether you operate 24/7 or during business hours, transparency is very important.

2. Be Proactive: Anticipate common customer concerns and send out automated, proactive messages. This could include tips, answers to commonly asked questions, or product or service updates.

3. Keep It Concise: With a limitation of 160 characters, precise, relevant content holds the key. Avoid unnecessary lingo and ensure clarity in every communication.

4. Use Automation Judiciously: While automated responses can accelerate customer support, there would be occasions when personal interaction is necessary. It is important to strike the right balance between automation and a personal touch.

5. Maintain Privacy: Privacy of customer data should be your highest priority. This means avoiding sharing any sensitive information over SMS and letting customers know that their data is secure with you.

Measuring the Success of SMS Customer Support

Feedback: Solicit feedback from customers about their SMS-based customer support experience. This will give you insight into what’s working and what’s not and what needs improvement.

Key Metrics to Monitor:

• Response Time: Measure how long it takes to respond to a customer’s text.
• Resolution Rate: Measure how many issues are resolved via SMS customer support and how many are escalated to other channels.

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT): Measure how satisfied your customers are with your SMS customer support platform.

Incorporating SMS into your customer service strategy involves recognizing and adapting to your customers’ ever-changing preferences. In today’s digital era, it is imperative that businesses leverage SMS’s power to deliver exceptional customer service experiences.

Customer Service Features with GirikSMS

With the GirikSMS messaging platform, you get access to a suite of features to help you connect with your customers and build deeper, long-lasting relationships with them. Here’s a look at what you can do with GirikSMS.

• Two-way texting for conversational customer service
• MMS
• Scheduled messages
• SMS templates
• View conversation history
• Chatbot for resolution of common customer support queries
• Workflow-based outbound messaging and auto-replies
• Automatic routing of inbound text messages to human agents
• Metrics tracking
• Integration with leading CRMs
• Compliance guidance

6 examples of SMS customer service with GirikSMS

Give a quote

Sharing quotes via text is very easy with GirikSMS.

John – Hi, I’m having some trouble with the wiring in my water pump. Can you let me know how much it’s going to cost to fix it?

ABC Electricians – Hi John, our electricians can fix your pump wiring for $300. Here is a quote www.electricians.com/quote

Resolve order issues

Here’s an example of handling order issues with GirikSMS’s 2-way texting with customers.

Walnut Shop – Hi Kane, we’re extremely sorry you are experiencing some trouble with your order. Were you charged twice?

Kane – It appears that one of the charges was reimbursed. We’re all good.

Walnut Shop – Great! Enjoy your weekend.

Payment method problem

Reach out to customers when a payment method expires.

Always Insurance – Hi Nathan, it appears your credit card on file has expired. Would you like any assistance in adding a new one?

Nathan – Sorry about that. I’ll update it.

Always Insurance – Thanks. Have a great day!

Answer a customer question

Set up auto-responses for FAQs easily with GirikSMS.

Mary – Hi Modern Boutique, what are your working hours on Sunday?

Modern Boutique – Hi Mary, we are open from 10 am to 6 pm on Sunday

Troubleshoot a problem

Resolve issues quickly and easily.

Alice – Hi, I tried to reset my password, but I didn’t receive any password reset email.

Customer Support – Hi Alice, thanks for reaching out. Can you try looking into your spam folder? Sometimes, that’s where reset password emails end up.

Alice – Yes got it. Thank you so much.

Customer Support – You’re welcome. Is there anything else I can help you with?

Conclusion

Technology is constantly changing the way businesses interact with their customers. SMS messaging, with its universal presence and immediate accessibility, along with being clear, concise, and personal, is uniquely positioned to engage and support customers.

As with any other platform, strategic implementation holds the key to unlock its full potential. By aligning it with customer preferences, coupled with the power of automation and AI, businesses can truly transform the whole customer service experience.

There is no doubt that SMS will play a pivotal role in shaping customer experiences. So, if you’re considering integrating SMS into your customer support strategy, now is the perfect time.

Provide responsive and efficient customer service with GirikSMS, developed by Girikon, a  Salesforce Partner.

Start your Free 14-day Trial today.

Still have questions. Contact our SMS expert today to

Clone is the predefined method in Apex which is used to clone the record just by one functional line of code.  

Deep Clone is the extended functionality of the Clone method which is used when we are required to clone the related list also within the record. To Deep Clone the record, you have to pass the isDeepClone parameter as true as shown below. 

clone(preserveId, isDeepClone, preserveReadonlyTimestamps, preserveAutonumber) 

In the above function, we have 4 parameters as preserveId , isDeepClone , preserveReadonlyTimestamps , preserveAutonumber.  

• PreserveId- It is used to preserve the ID of the record for the clone record. 
• IsDeepClone- If true then Deep Cloning occurs in which related lists also get cloned. 
• PreserveReadonlyTimestamps- It is used to preserve the read-only fields in the cloned record. 
• PreserveAutonumber- It is used to preserve the auto number fields in a cloned record. 

What are the Differences between Deep Clone and Clone? 

There are certain criteria on which deep clone works and some limitations too with it which makes deep clone a different thing compared to clone. 

Here are some basic differences between clone and deep clone:  

Here are some examples to give you a clear view of clone and deep clone differences:  

Let’s suppose, I am creating an Opportunity with some fields. 

Opportunity opp = new Opportunity (Name = ‘Salesforce Opportunity’, CloseDate = ‘08/20/2022’, StageName = ‘Prospecting’); 
insert opp;

Now, I am cloning it and inserting it again. 

Opportunity opp = new Opportunity (Name = ‘Salesforce Opportunity’, CloseDate = ‘08/20/2022’, StageName = ‘Prospecting’); 
insert opp; 
//Cloning the above Opportunity Record opp  
Opportunity = cloneOpp = opp.clone(false, false, false, false); 
insert cloneOpp;

It creates a new copy of the record with the queried fields filled with source record values. It generates a new record id as it keeps the reference.  

Now, when I try to deep clone the record, the deep clone is done by making the parameter isDeepClone true. 

clone(preserveId, isDeepClone, preserveReadonlyTimestamps, preserveAutonumber) 

Opportunity opp = new Opportunity (Name = ‘Salesforce Opportunity’, CloseDate = ‘08/20/2022’, StageName = ‘Prospecting’); 
insert opp; 
//Cloning the above Opportunity Record opp  
Opportunity = cloneOpp = opp.clone(false, true, false, false); 
insert cloneOpp;

If we make the first one parameter as true then it shows an error. 

Opportunity opp = new Opportunity (Name = ‘Salesforce Opportunity’, CloseDate = ‘08/20/2022’, StageName = ‘Prospecting’); 
insert opp; 
//Cloning the above Opportunity Record opp  
Opportunity = cloneOpp = opp.clone(true, true, false, false); 
insert cloneOpp;

This would give an error because Id is also considered with deep clone and cannot insert a deep cloned record. 

MFA means Multi-Factor Authentication, now a days security is a big concern for everyone and to achieve it one way authentication is not enough. So as an administrator, in particular, you make an almost negligible difference between ensuring that your Salesforce organization is secure and that your clients can sign in rapidly and without any problem. The best method to secure your org and its information is to expect that clients give something other than their username and secret key and this is called MFA for short. 

We are already familiar with the 2FA that is two-factor authentication, but for the purposes of proper security and data integrity MFA is introduced. MFA seems like a numerical condition, but it’s not like a math’s problem which makes you nervous, its main task is to ensure that that your clients are who they say they are. Now a days the greatest challenge is to secure the data to go to wrong hand and MFA helps us to achieve that. 

There are various ways to assure that the client is valid like sorts of proof that clients give while signing in to affirm their character. 

• One and most important element is Username, because in Salesforce username is always unique. Sometime it is a username and secret key blend. 
• Well MFA provides multiple other ways to verify the integrity of the User, like a cell phone with an authenticator application introduced or an actual security key. This helps a lot to ensure the real User. 

We can take a best example of it like using ATM, as each time we get cash from the ATM, we have to use something we have (your bank card) in addition to something you know (your PIN). Like this only MFA works, we should have both the things to get login that is a device and the required information’s, and that’s make it the most secure way to verify a User. It is as if someone already knows the username and secret phrase but they should have that physical key also to get login and it adds an additional and significant layer of safety for your organization.  

How MFA Works? 

Well, its main task is to add an extra step to our Salesforce login process. 

1. First step, a user has to enter their username and password. 

1. After that the user is asked to provide one of the verification methods that Salesforce supports which they have selected. After the successful verification the User can Login successfully.  

Where and when to use MFA? 

Well, as it was said earlier that MFA required you to enter a specific variable generated by those authenticators each time you login, so it is important to understand when to use it. 

• We can use MFA for UI logins, as it requires extra security. 
• Even MFA can be used for API login or for both.  

Sometime for extra security MFA can be used as: – 

• Whenever clients access an associated application, dashboard, or report. This interaction is known as move forward or high-confirmation validation. 
• During a custom login stream or inside a custom application, for instance, prior to perusing a permit arrangement. More on this theme later in the path. 

Salesforce Web-to-Lead is the default way to import Leads into Salesforce from a web form. The way it works is simple: you select the fields to include in your form and Salesforce generates HTML code that can be embedded in your website. When the form is submitted, an API request is sent to your instance and a lead is created. Once the lead is created, lead auto-response and lead assignment rules are fired to determine the next actions.

Sales are a crucial aspect of every business, and now with the advent of social media and other online platforms, you not only have to close deals, but you also need to understand and respond to your customers’ needs. 

With over 30-50% of sales going to the vendor that responds first, it’s clear there’s a high demand for sales processes that are quicker and much more effective. A highly competitive environment gives rise to a need for faster and more effective sales processes. 

That’s where Salesforce Pardot comes into play. 

What Is Salesforce Pardot?

Pardot is Salesforce’s B2B marketing solution. Pardot automates your activities associated with lead generation and nurture programs designed to improve sales efficiency. This pre-built app can help create stronger partnerships between departments, promote company awareness (i.e., brand recognition via lead generation), and much more.

As a marketer or program administrator, you likely have your hands full with various projects. Pardot gives you a central location to manage your projects and report on what’s working best. 

Furthermore, Pardot tracks prospects as they interact with your company across all your marketing channels so you can tailor future outreach efforts to meet the needs of each individual and their unique journey. And Pardot is customizable, so you can adjust it to fit your company’s needs.

“The top priority for marketers is generating leads.” (Source: Hubspot)

Features Of Salesforce Pardot

Pardot provides you with plenty of opportunities to create massive growth in your team’s productivity and success. Check out the features below for an idea of all that pardot can do for your business.

Email Marketing

• Building and Personalizing Emails
• Sending Outbound Emails
• Manage Email Deliverability
• Automated Email Responses

Online Marketing

• Landing Pages and Forms
• Mobile Optimized

Lead Management

• Marketing Lead Database
• Data Quality Management
• Segmentation
• Lead Scoring and Grading
• Lead Nurturing
• Online Behavior Tracking
• Automated Alerts and Tasks
• CRM Lead Integration

Reporting & Analytics

• Basic Reporting

How Salesforce Pardot Derives Your Sales Engagement

Hyper-Personalized Customer Targeting

Salesforce Engage (a product of pardot) provides the sales teams with optimized emails they can send to their prospects that are also trackable. Pardot Engage Alerts consist of email notifications sent to the sales reps regarding prospects’ engagements with products over social media. The sales reps can also pinpoint prospects based on their various demographics, such as age, region or country, etc.

Salesforce Pardot is awesome at enhancing the speed at which sales cycles happen. More specifically, Pardot provides more information regarding digital engagement, which aids both the sales and marketing teams in better understanding the customers’ needs. This helps the teams to work alongside them without falling behind with their targets. 

The best part about working with Pardot is that it alerts sales teams when there are any changes in their prospects’ behaviors, thus saving time getting back in touch with them.

Measure ROI

Pardot’s platform allows marketers to easily capture and nurture potential buyers by managing email and social media marketing campaigns, landing pages, and website design and deployment. 

Pardot’s campaign management and analytics tools give you the flexibility to create the right messages for your audience based on the information they share with you. Pardot lets you measure and track your campaign performance and draw insights based on your data.

Smarter Interaction To Aid Faster Selling

Pardot lets you create and test your customer journey before launching into a campaign. You’ll be able to better understand the customer’s needs and how to cater to them effectively. With Pardot, you’re can create customized experiences with dynamic campaigns that will adapt to customers’ buying signals, helping you tailor what content they receive and when.

Pardot incorporates automated lead management using a blended lead scoring and grading system so you can identify and interact with prospects who are most likely to convert first. Implement lead nurturing by automatically triggering emails or notifications based on the information you have about your leads so that an employee can follow up at just the right time, which increases the likelihood of conversion.

Access To Engagement History

Pardot provides its users with an Engagement History Dashboard. This is a very user-friendly dashboard that allows anyone from any department within your organization to view insights without requiring them to be technical or even well educated in advanced analytics as a whole.

Through the process, pardot helps the marketers and sales representatives explore various data regarding their company’s salesforce engagement. From best-performing products to prospects with the highest engagement, you can obtain important data metrics through pardot.

Complete Access To Email Templates And Tracking Email Performance

Salesforce Pardot integration helps sales representatives a great deal. It provides them access to email templates and useful content that helps meet customer expectations. The best part is user-friendly; all you have to do is plug in Gmail and Salesforce clients to get pertinent information about email performance through Engage Campaign.

Also, engagement reports help sales professionals track performance and get a feel for the overall sentiment of their market. Insights into performance campaigns can help boost overall sales of a product by identifying any potential issues to be resolved successfully.

Align Sales And Marketing Efforts With Pardot

Pardot is like a template for marketing automation; it has everything you need in one place. It takes only minutes to set up and tie your sales and marketing efforts without any additional necessary budget or skill. The tool seamlessly links all your goals with a single command center, resulting in higher revenue flow.