When a message matters more to you than the average piece of communication you send to a customer, you need a way to rule the usually overflowing inbox. That’s where business text alerts come in. They land directly on your customers’ phones, often with the intention to prompt swift action.
In this comprehensive guide, we will discuss five essentials every text alert system needs. We will also walk you through the process of setting up your first text alert campaign using Messente’s streamlined API and platform. You’ll see how easy it is to configure your account, create highly targeted alerts, and track performance, so your messages get seen and acted upon every time.
Understanding business text alerts
A text alert, also known as an SMS alert or text notification, is a short, crisp message that lands directly on your customer’s phone to communicate timely updates or urgent prompts. Whether it’s a critical service outage notification or a flash sale reminder, these alerts are meant to grab the recipient’s attention and ensure they notice your message and take any urgent action necessary.
While SMS is a common channel via which businesses send urgent notifications, other channels like Viber and WhatsApp are also often used.
Why text alerts win over phone calls
Text messages are ideal for alerts because they land almost instantly. Studies show that most SMS messages are read within 3 minutes of arrival, whereas phone calls often go unanswered or straight to voicemail.
With open rates going as high as 98%, texts outperform calls, especially when a lot of recipients hesitate to pick up calls from unknown numbers or businesses. Plus, SMS is non-intrusive. People can quickly skim through texts even from their notification bar, and respond at their convenience, unlike a ringing phone that causes active interruption.
With text alerts, you can also send localized alerts in multiple languages without re-recording voice prompts. Just swap out the copy for English, French, or any other language in the same template.
Additionally, SMS alerts are easily scalable compared to phone calls. Sending a mass texting campaign to, say, 10,000 recipients, would take seconds via an API or dashboard. A bulk phone call campaign would require a more complex IVR setup or, at the very least, manual dialing, which means another burden on the business.
Perhaps most importantly, SMS costs are a fraction of call-based campaigns. Imagine the phone bills you’d rack up calling even a small number of customers instead of pinging them with a quick text.
Types of alerts a business typically sends
Not every text you send is an alert. But also, not all alerts are emergency SMS notifications. They can be anything that you deem important enough to communicate with your customers.
Alerts are at a deeper level of communication with your customers compared to your average marketing or promotional text. They’re reserved for messages with real urgency or importance, like flash sales or limited-time offers, service outage announcements, weather warnings, and order updates. You might also use alerts to send 2FA codes, payment reminders, appointment reminders, reminders for upcoming events, order confirmations, or even to gather valuable feedback through quick surveys.
Even urgent internal team messages, like a last-minute meeting change, count.
Unlike routine SMS marketing blasts, text alerts contain critical information your customers or staff need to know right away.
Key features of an effective text alert system
Omnichannel capabilities with fallback
Having omnichannel capabilities means you can reach customers across multiple messaging channels without juggling standalone integrations or accounts. Everything runs within one consolidated platform. It’s good to maintain a consistent Sender ID, whether you’re sending SMS or OTT alerts, for better brand recognition and trust.
Messente, for instance, supports three channels – SMS plus rich messaging via Viber and WhatsApp – so you can tailor alerts to each customer’s preference. If you need additional channels down the line, Messente can add them within the same API. The system even auto-selects the best channel in case your preferred order of chosen channels fails. E.g., if you want to send a WhatsApp alert to a bunch of customers but one of them is not on WhatsApp, that particular message will seamlessly fall back to SMS. You also get both a user-friendly dashboard and full API access to integrate with your existing tools.
You should get the choice of choosing between an API and a dashboard, with proper integrations available for other existing platforms you might be using or want to continue using. Because alerts matter as much as any standard marketing campaign, you should be able to view consolidated insights so you can track performance across every channel.
Reliability and deliverability
You need a service provider with direct, global carrier connections. For example, Messente covers over 190 countries. This helps to cut out intermediaries, minimize latency, and protect against strict message filtering.
Behind the scenes, you need a real-time routing engine to pick the fastest, least congested delivery route, so that critical alerts can reach your intended recipients in time, even during peak traffic.
To minimize delivery failures, you might need some additional tools. For instance, use a phone number validation tool (such as Messente’s Phone Validator API) to weed out dead or inactive numbers.
Your provider should check for things like proper number format, active/inactive status, and operator details. To make sure your alert reaches your customer, you can then try alternative channels in case of failure, since the message is important.
Also, look for a service with a proven high rate of successful text delivery. Messente, for instance, averages a 95% delivery rate. It also gives you live status reports, like Delivered, Failed, and more, along with dashboard insights into exactly why any send might have failed. That kind of transparency ensures you can fix issues fast.
Minimal downtime
If your provider can’t deliver urgent alerts to your customers or internal team members when you need them, it’s time to switch.
Look for a platform that offers service quality transparency with a public status page, like Messente’s, where you and other customers can check platform availability or uptime in real time.
Messente’s status page also has a daily log of any unusual service outages or noteworthy incidents reported.
You’ll also want automated channel switching. If one route or channel fails, alternate paths should kick in, so your critical SMS still reaches recipients.
A reliable provider will send dashboard alerts or email notifications for upcoming maintenance, giving you a chance to not schedule text alerts during those windows.
Another important feature is real-time delivery reports. Well-maintained logs and detailed insights can ensure you see any hiccups immediately and can troubleshoot before they impact your business.
Fast support
If something goes awry in the middle of a critical alert campaign, you will need support ASAP. Waiting days (or weeks) is something you can’t afford in such a situation. Messente guarantees a support ticket response time of under 60 minutes, which can save you thousands, even in case of a minor mishap.
Choose a provider that offers your preferred support channels, like phone, email, or live chat. And if you’re sending over a million SMS messages a month, you can even get a dedicated account manager assigned to you with a provider like Messente.
You’ll want some self-help resources, like the many clear, step-by-step guides Messente has published on its website in simple language. However, robust technical documentation is also essential, in case you have your own engineering team to handle high-tech tasks.
Compliance and security
Your provider should not only be able to but actively offer to handle all local and global regulations, so you have one less thing to worry about. For this, they might go over your message contents, make sure nothing will be flagged by spam filters, or anything else. For example, if a market requires pre-registering Sender IDs, Messente, as your official partner, will step in to manage the paperwork and approval process so your important messages don’t get blocked.
You need a platform that’s compliant with global standards. For instance, Messente covers laws like the ones set out by GDPR and DORA and is ISO-certified as well. Consent management is also non-negotiable for any SMS campaign, especially those that go beyond transactional alerts.
Another aspect of security is role-based access, so your company doesn’t end up sending something it shouldn’t. Access should be granted on a need-to-know basis; e.g., a test message sent to actual customers can alarm them needlessly; it cannot happen!
For further transparency, built-in audit logs should automatically record every action so that you have a clear trail.
This level of security and compliance means you can focus on creating the perfect text alerts rather than worrying about regulatory hurdles.
Setting up text alerts with Messente: A step-by-step guide
Here is the detailed process for how you can set up text alerts for your business using Messente’s platform.
1. Create your Messente account
Visit Messente’s website to sign up, or reach out to their sales team if you prefer a demo.
During registration, you may be asked to submit basic company details, such as business name, industry, and average volume of messages you’re expecting to send and receive. You can start with a free trial account and choose how many credits you need to test-drive the platform. Messente also supports SSO for secure, streamlined login, so your team can get right to work without bothering with multiple complex passwords.
Once your account is live, you can proceed to the next step.
2. Set up your dashboard or integrate the API
To get started with the API, head to Account API Settings and click ‘Create New API Key’.
Copy that key and store it securely; it is not meant to be shared publicly. You’ll also find your API credentials (username and password) in the same section.
If you prefer the dashboard, simply log into the web portal with your assigned username and password. Next, choose your channels from SMS, Viber, and WhatsApp in the main dashboard sidebar.
3. Configure your Sender ID
A Sender ID is the name or number your recipients see at the top of their SMS inbox chat threads when you send them a text message. They are crucial for establishing brand recognition and maintaining that trust. You can choose between an alphanumeric ID (such as your business’s name) or a numeric long or short code, depending on your goals and budget.
Setting up your Sender ID is straightforward in the Messente dashboard. Just navigate to ‘Senders’ and Messente will let you configure Sender IDs separately for SMS, Viber, and WhatsApp.
4. Create your contact list
Decide who needs to receive your alerts – like customers, subscribers, internal staff, or some other group – and then jump into Messente’s Phonebook API to set up and manage your contact list.
You can bulk-upload contacts via a CSV file (just map your columns correctly) or manually enter individual numbers on the dashboard. One single contact number can be uploaded at a time, too. You can also blacklist numbers that shouldn’t receive messages, which is perfect for keeping your contact list clean and compliant at all times.
5. Draft your text message or template
In the composer, type out the exact alert you want to send and select your Sender ID so your recipients are able to recognize you. In the ‘To’ field, you can choose either a recipient group or individual contacts. You can personalize your alert by utilizing dynamic fields, aka ‘tags’.
Before hitting send, use the preview feature to see what the message will look like on a phone.
If you plan to reuse the alert draft, click ‘Save as template’, give it a clear name, and it’ll be ready for your next alert. There will be no need to start from scratch each time.
6. Send your alert or schedule it for later
When you click the Preview button, you will get two options: ‘Send Now’ and ‘Schedule For Later’.
If you want to schedule the alert for later, you can set the specific day and time in the next window.
7. Performance monitoring
In the Messente dashboard, you’ll find detailed delivery reports showing every message status so you can see how your alert has performed overall.
With live updates, you’ll know if any messages bounced or got blocked and why. This real-time visibility lets you troubleshoot immediately. This can be especially helpful with your first text alert campaign ever.
Use case examples for marketers
Let’s explore some specific alert types that you might have to send at different points in your customer communication efforts. Some of these may be meant to drive action, while others may be meant solely to inform customers.
Emergency alerts
Emergency alerts are high-priority messages that demand immediate attention. They are meant to deal with time-sensitive issues where delays can cost money or cause harm. These texts typically override routine campaigns and are reserved for critical situations that require rapid response.
Here are some examples.
“Suspicious activity detected on your account. Change your password now!”
“Urgent: Safety recall on model 763. Stop using immediately and return to our nearest outlet.”
“Emergency meeting in 15 minutes! Location: [Map URL]”
Promotional marketing alerts
Promotional alerts are messages meant to generate immediate interest and drive short-term revenue. These differ from generic marketing texts by conveying urgency or exclusivity, coaxing your target audience to act before a special opportunity expires.
Here are some examples.
“Use code SAVE50 for 50% off until midnight.”
“Exclusive early access for Premium subscribers. Shop before everyone else!”
“You left items in your cart. Complete purchase & save 10%.”
Announcements
Critical announcements are updates that inform subscribers about important changes or news. Unlike promotional or routine messages, announcements carry much more weight. You should aim to convey that missing these could impact a customer’s relationship or business operations.
Here are some examples.
“New privacy policy effective June 30. Please review ASAP.”
“Tonight’s webinar has been postponed to next Wednesday.”
“Subscription rates increase June 1. Lock in current price today with the annual plan.”
OTP notifications
OTP (One-Time Password) notifications contain one-time-use codes and are usually sent to verify a customer’s identity or authorize a financial transaction. These alerts are strictly transactional and often have a short expiration window to enhance security.
Here are some examples.
“Your login code is 482915. Valid for 5 minutes only.”
“Confirm your payment of $200. Enter code 739204.”
Customer notifications
Customer notifications are typically meant to inform clients about the status of their interactions or transactions with your business. These messages reinforce trust and reduce support inquiries by keeping recipients in the loop.
Here are some examples.
“Your order #9XS820 is confirmed. Expected delivery: June 5.”
“Your package is on its way! Track it here: [URL].”
“You’ve earned 420 points. Redeem for rewards here: [URL].”
“Don’t forget: Your dentist appointment is tomorrow at 2 PM.”
Wrapping up
When done well, text alerts can cut through clutter, landing directly on your customers’ phones at a crucial time. Choosing the right platform to set up text alerts for your business can give you several advantages, like multi-channel reach, reliable delivery, and almost zero downtime.
With Messente, the setup process is simple. In seven simple steps, you can be up and running in minutes.
Experience reliable text alerts for yourself. To see Messente’s text alert system in action, start a free trial or see a live demo today.
