The benefits of sending delivery service text messages

These days you can get virtually anything delivered from your phone directly to you. Uber will send a car to pick you up, Doordash will bring your favorite meals right to your doorstep. You can even have your laundry picked up and dropped off upon request!

Since COVID, contactless delivery options have become more important than ever. 

The convenience of offering delivery is an investment in overall customer experience—and out of 1,920 business professionals surveyed, customer experience was voted their number one priority for at least the next five years. 

This doesn’t come as a large surprise given that 1 in 4 customers are willing to pay more for a great customer experience.

And whether waiting for food or a parcel, when it comes to delivery, nothing provides a gold star experience to your customers more than timely communications.

Types of SMS delivery notifications

There are at least five communication touchpoints for every kind of delivery:

1. Order confirmation
   This notification lets the customer know you’ve received their order.
   
   
   Hi Alice! Thank you for ordering with Papa’s Pizza, your order is now with the kitchen and we will let you know when it’s on the way!
   
   
2. Shipping notification
   When the order has left the restaurant or warehouse, the customer should receive a follow-up shipping text message so they know there has been movement on their order.

3. En route updates
   Whether it’s confirmation of a delivery time or a notification about delays, SMS enables you to integrate with your point-of-service tool to keep your customer updated in real time. 

4. Delivery confirmation
   It’s important to let your customers know their parcel or food has been delivered on your end, so that the customer knows they should have received it.
   
   
   Hooray! Your Papa’s Pizza has just been delivered. We hope you enjoy your pizza today! For any delivery issues, please head to:https://txt.st/PQBLPE
   
   
5. Return confirmation
   If a customer has chosen to return something, using SMS is a quick and efficient way to let them know it’s been received. As their money is at stake, customers are usually anxious to ensure returns have been processed correctly.
   
   We’ve got your return! Order #121420 has been successfully returned to our warehouse. Please wait 7-10 business days for a full refund to credit your account.
   
   

Automate Your SMS Delivery Notifications

For larger-scale operations, you could also set up your delivery SMS to send automatically.

Through Zapier, you could trigger a text message when an order is placed on:

• Shopify
• ShipStation
• Shippo
• Shipclou
• Easyship
• BigCommerce
• WooCommerce
• And more!

Optional: Monitor Your Inbox For Replies

Earlier, we mentioned our 2020 Text Marketing report revealed customers want to receive delivery notifications by SMS. 

Our 2022 report also found that the majority of respondents (over 61%) value two-way conversations, and want to have the capability to text businesses back.

If you’d like your customer service to stand out, you can let recipients know that they can reply to your texts if they have any questions. 

With SimpleTexting, all incoming SMS messages are free. Replies will appear in your SMS inbox, where you can sort, snooze, and manage conversations.

Take a look at this on-demand demo. At 2:34, we cover how to message your customers back.

Final thoughts on sending delivery notifications by text

As customers continue to demand higher levels of interaction with retail and e-commerce businesses, texting provides a win-win solution for everyone. 

You save countless hours through automation, and customers receive the real-time updates they crave. SMS is truly the future of good customer communications.