BENEFITS OF SMS TEXT MESSAGING
There are strong advantages to supplementing a loyalty program with SMS text messaging. When a message needs to be seen quickly, text messaging remains one of the most effective customer communication channels available. It can help businesses drive traffic at desired times, increase engagement, and promote time-sensitive offers without relying on slower channels.
Common use cases include member-only flash sales, holiday promotions, reminders, alerts, coupon delivery, feedback requests, and traffic-building campaigns that encourage members to visit a landing page or respond to a targeted offer.
48% of consumers cite SMS as their preferred means of receiving loyalty messages, followed by email at 22%.
Unlike email, direct mail, or voicemail, SMS lets your business reach customers almost instantly, helping you send the right message to the right audience at the right time.
SMS PLATFORM CAPABILITIES
MOBILE MESSAGING
- Bulk SMS blasts delivered from your loyalty database
- One-time scheduled campaigns without external list management
- Recurring campaigns driven by rules, filters, and triggers
- Mail-merge personalization using member data
- Segmentation by member lists or loyalty criteria
- Free inbound SMS logging and reporting in the USA
- One-off member notifications without using SMS credits
MARKETING CAPABILITIES
- Mobile blasts for targeted promotions and announcements
- Automated reminders for appointments, events, and services
- Mobile coupons with redemption tracking
- Birthday, anniversary, thank-you, and VIP offers
- On-demand alerts to individual members
- Flash-sale and low-traffic-day activation campaigns
- Integrated support for response measurement and reporting
TWO-WAY SMS TEXTING
- Free incoming messages in the USA
- Text-to-Join for building subscriber lists
- Text-to-Save for current coupon information
- Text-for-Points campaigns tied to promo codes
- Text-to-Enter support for raffles and sweepstakes
- Text-to-Remind for pending appointments or events
- User-definable keywords for campaign interaction
TCPA COMPLIANCE FOR SMS PROGRAMS
In today’s digital landscape, SMS marketing is a powerful tool for connecting with customers and driving results, but compliance matters. Businesses must address consent, opt-out controls, delivery restrictions, and content rules when using text messaging.
Understanding TCPA Compliance
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act regulates text messaging in order to protect consumers from unwanted solicitation. Businesses should obtain explicit consent, offer clear opt-out mechanisms, and follow applicable delivery restrictions.
Compliance with Age-Restricted Content
Age-restricted content requires additional safeguards. Preferred Patron can help businesses use age-gating and program rules to reduce the chance that restricted content is delivered to ineligible recipients.
Filtering Non-Compliant Content
Integrated filtering mechanisms can help screen messages for sensitive content and associated trigger words, reducing compliance risk and helping teams maintain better control over SMS communications.
Private Texting Mechanisms
For more sensitive scenarios, private-texting style workflows can direct members to secure content or a portal instead of exposing potentially problematic message details directly in SMS.
Best Practices for Ongoing Compliance
Transparent opt-in processes, reliable opt-out controls, time-of-day restrictions, age gating, content filtering, and recurring compliance reviews all support better long-term SMS program management.
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DISCLAIMERS: Available only to subscribers in the United States and Canada. Requires a Loyalty Marketing Subscription. Alternate charges may apply for non-USA/Canada destination inbound and outbound SMS. All unused credits, including pre-paid credits, expire upon subscription termination. Credit purchases are non-refundable. Prepaid pay-as-you-go plans may be available at higher rates.
