What is SMS ticketing and how to implement it

What is an SMS Ticket?

SMS tickets for customer service is a system that lets customers initiate and manage support requests via text message. Each message creates a ticket in a customer service platform, allowing teams to track, prioritize, and respond to issues efficiently—all through a channel customers use every day.

Dale Carnegie is best known for the book “How to Make Friends and Influence People.” Leaders like Warren Buffet swear by it, and the book has sold over 30 million copies. 

One of the core lessons of the book is the importance of “seeking common ground.” The idea here is that if you begin on bad terms with someone, you’ll never be able to recover and risk losing all credibility.

The same idea applies to your customer service strategy. If you begin by communicating with someone on a channel they don’t like, you’re already placing yourself at a disadvantage when it comes to appeasing customers.

You’ve been there. Your phone rings, and you sigh in annoyance. It’s a customer service agent, and they’re calling you about an issue. You’re in the middle of dinner. Don’t answer it, and your ticket remains open. Answer it, and your meal goes cold. SMS ticketing can help avoid these scenarios and ensure businesses address concerns in a way that is convenient for customers.

That’s no way to “make friends and influence people.” If you don’t want your customers to experience this, then you need an SMS ticketing system. In this article, we cover:

Why use SMS ticketing software?

It’s not groundbreaking to suggest that customers don’t want long hold times, slow responses, and confusing email threads. Yet, this is what they experience on a near-daily basis. SMS ticketing solves these issues.

We get it—old habits die hard. But when it comes to customer service, sticking with the status quo can hold you back. Consumers today expect fast, convenient, and personal support—and SMS ticks all those boxes. Using SMS tickets for customer service meets customers where they already are: on their phones. It’s an easy way to improve response times, boost satisfaction, and stand out in a crowded market. If you’re not sure where to start innovating, just look at how your customers are communicating. That’s where your investment should go.

• Customizable SMS for Queue Management
  Ability to tailor SMS messages to fit specific business needs and branding for more personalized customer interactions.

• Secure and Reduce Lost Tickets
  Enhanced security features that minimize the risk of lost tickets compared to traditional paper-based systems.

• Intergenerational Method for Queueing
  A versatile queueing system that caters to all age groups, ensuring accessibility and ease of use for a diverse customer base.

• Live Notifications for Customers
  Real-time updates sent to customers about their position in the queue and estimated waiting times, improving overall customer satisfaction.

• Process for Customers to Join a Queue Using SMS Ticketing
  Question: What is the step-by-step process for customers to join a queue using SMS Ticketing?
  Answer: Customers send an SMS to a specific number at the store, receive a text back with a ticket number and waiting time, and are notified via SMS when it’s their turn.

• Benefits of Using SMS Ticketing Compared to Traditional Methods
  Question: What are the advantages of implementing SMS Ticketing over conventional queue management systems?
  Answer: SMS Ticketing offers customizable messaging, enhanced security with fewer lost tickets, an intergenerational approach to queuing, live customer notifications, and a stress-reducing modernized queue system for both customers and staff.

Source: Pew Research Center

Cell Phone ownership in the US is close to 100% across nearly all demographics. Now take a look at consumer’s preferred customer service channels––text messaging is number one in the US by a significant margin.

Source: Twilio

What becomes overwhelmingly evident from these two charts is how ubiquitous cellphone ownership is and how comfortable consumers are texting businesses. Customers want you to use SMS for customer support. There are even more benefits to consider:

• Unlike live support, you don’t have to be glued to your phone and re-explain the issue. That means no more rude interruptions.
• It’s immediate and fast. 97% of text messages are opened, and 90 percent of those are read within less than three minutes of being received.
• It’s convenient for your employees as they can message multiple customers at once.

If you want to take advantage of the overwhelming benefits and your customers’ preferences, here’s how to implement an SMS ticketing software.

How to implement an SMS ticketing system from scratch

Two-way text messaging can offer you a new way to quickly and efficiently resolve customer service issues while still providing a human touch. You can get started with SMS tickets in three easy steps:

1. Choose your customer support number for SMS

After upgrading your SimpleTexting plan, you have choices when it comes to your virtual SMS number: 

1. You can use a new local or toll-free number (just be sure to have any local number you use registered).
2. It’s also possible to text-enable your current landline phone number or a VoIP line. Text-enabling your landline or existing phone number will not impact your voice service in any way.
3. You can lease a dedicated short code for your business. Learn a little more about dedicated short codes here.

Note: If you choose a toll-free number, know that carriers are currently imposing limits on toll-free number traffic and that those limits will increase until you submit your verification form. Make sure to get your toll-free number verified to avoid disruptions.

If you want to “try before you buy,” you can take our sms platform for a spin and create a free trial account. No credit card is required to sign up.

2. Advertise your new customer service text channel

The next step is to promote your text-enabled number on your website, social media, or in your physical locations. Our click-to-text button generator is a great way to encourage customers to contact you via SMS. Take a look at how it works:

3. Respond from your inbox or the mobile texting app

Once you receive an SMS ticket from a customer in your shared inbox, you can prioritize conversations by time waiting or most recently received. You can also:

• Set an away message and respond automatically to out-of-hours texts
• Leave private notes for your team
• Respond immediately
• Snooze a conversation for a set period
• Mark conversations as resolved
• Use a template
• Schedule a response for a later date
• Manage your customer support text messages from your cellphone with our mobile app

Here’s an excellent resource for learning more about SMS tickets for customer service and support.

How to integrate SMS with your existing ticketing software

If you already have an existing customer service ticketing system like Zendesk or LiveAgent and want to layer in SMS, then we recommend you use our Zapier integration.

This connection means that processes and tasks happen on your behalf behind the scenes. There’s nothing you have to do to keep up with or remember them. All you need are Zaps—Zapier’s automated workflows—that support your workflows.

To illustrate how you can do this, we’re going to use Zendesk as an example customer service platform. You could connect any customer service platform that has a Zapier integration. (To create this workflow, you’ll need a Zapier account too.)

When someone sends a customer support query via text message, you can trigger the creation of a ticket in Zendesk. 

You can also trigger a text message to go out when a new action on a ticket in Zendesk occurs.

It’s no secret to anyone that businesses build their reputations and bottom lines on providing personalized service. A great way to bolster your efforts there is to incorporate text-based customer service into your channel offering. It’s fast, cheap, and highly popular with customers. And as you can see from the above, it’s easy to implement.