How to Create SMS Alerts for Your eCommerce Site in WordPress

Shoppers today expect instant confirmation whenever they make a purchase. Typically, this will be done through an email, but it is also possible to set up SMS alerts for shoppers upon a successful purchase.

Many users find reading and interacting with SMS messages easier than checking their email. As such, many eCommerce sites have chosen to offer the option of sending SMS alerts if the user opts in.

The problem is that WooCommerce and most eCommerce plugins do not offer this service by default. You’ll need an additional plugin to add it to your storefront, and it will cost you money as it is not a free service.

Today, I will demonstrate how to add SMS Alerts to your WooCommerce store in WordPress.

This tutorial is for:
WordPress 6.7.2
Plugin: SMS Alert Order Notifications v3.7.9

What Are SMS Alerts?

For those who may be unaware, SMS or Short Message Service alerts are when notifications are sent to your phone in the form of a text message. Many businesses today will use them to send out reminders and confirmations.

For example, most doctor’s offices will send out SMS alerts to remind patients about upcoming appointments.

They are generally more effective than sending email reminders because people are more likely to check their phones than their email. However, they are also more expensive for a business to set up.

This is because they require a system that can not only send them out but, in many cases, process customer replies. For instance, sticking with our doctor’s office example, users may need to reply to the message to confirm their appointment.

That means the system needs to process that reply, which is not a simple thing to do.

With all of this said, SMS alerts are extremely common today, and as a result, the price of using an SMS service has shrunk considerably. As such, there are many affordable channels you can use to add this feature to your business.

How to Add SMS Alerts to WordPress

The SMS Alert Notifications is a WooCommerce add-on that you can use to set up SMS alerts to let the shopper receive updates about their purchase. This includes order confirmation, shipping updates, and delivery status.

Sending out SMS alerts is not a free service, so you will need to create an SMSAlert.co.in account. You will need to purchase 5,000 credits minimum, which should cost around $30, but prices do vary depending on your country.

With that said, actually setting up the plugin is not as complicated as you might imagine. All you need to do is select when an SMS alert will be sent and customize the message. Outside of that, there’s not much else to say.

Note: This is an add-on for WooCommerce, which means you will need WooCommerce. If you use a different eCommerce solution, this tutorial will not work for you.

Step 1: Install SMS Alert Notification

Let’s start by clicking on Plugins and selecting the Add New option on the left-hand admin panel.

Search for SMS Alert Notification in the available search box. This will pull up additional plugins that you may find helpful.

Scroll down until you find the SMS Alert Notification plugin, click on the “Install Now” button, and activate the plugin for use.

Step 2: Connect with SMSAlert.co.in

With the plugin installed, the first thing you’ll need to do is connect the plugin with your SMSAlert.co.in. If you do not already have an account, you’ll need to make one and purchase credits that you can use for your business.

At the time of writing this, 1 SMS requires 8 credits, so the 5000 credit minimum will get you 625 SMS messages. You should use this amount to properly test the system and ensure messages are being sent out properly.

Larger stores will send out more messages than that in a day, so finding the proper amount your store will need is different for everyone.

Once you have an account in place, click on Settings and select the SMS Alert option.

To connect your account with the plugin, enter your username and password. Then, click on the “Verify and Continue” button. This will log you into the the SMS platform. There is also a link to help you sign up if you do not have an account.

Once this is done and you are logged in, it is time to set up when an SMS message will be sent to customers. However, there is one thing to do before moving on. You’ll need to select your SMS Alert Sender ID.

This is where the SMS will be sent from, and it is handled directly in your SMS Alert account. You will be forced to set one later if you do not do so now. When you are done, click on the “Save Changes” button before moving on.

Step 3: Choose Message Behavior

To customize when an SMS alert is sent, click on the WooCommerce option.

Here, you will see several tabs at the top. Each tab contains conditions where an SMS message can be sent. Some are for customers, and others are for the admin. For example, you can set up an SMS notification to alert you when a certain product’s stock has gotten low.

By default, everything is turned on. As such, you’ll need to go through and turn everything off, as you will quickly burn through your credits. To do this, simply uncheck the box. Do this for each tab of actions.

Once this is done, locate the actions you want to use and check the box to enable them. Click on it to expand the message field.

The default message will use customer information stored within WooCommerce. So, for example, in the “When Order Is Completed” option, a notification will be sent out when the order is marked as complete. The message itself is:

Hello [billing_first_name], your order #[order_id] with [store_name] has been dispatched and shall deliver to you shortly.

The shortcodes will display specific information from the order. In this case, it includes the customer’s first name, the order ID, and your store name. You are free to erase this message and enter your own. The links above the message box are all of the shortcode commands.

This allows you to add a personal touch and make the message work no matter who receives it. What you enter here is completely up to you. When you are finished, be sure to click on the “Save Changes” button to save.

And that’s it. You have successfully set up SMS notifications for your WooCommerce store. Just be mindful to not send out too many notifications. Not only can this get very annoying, but it is possible to get marked as spam.

If this happens, users will not be able to see anything you send to them, so moderation is really important.

How Many SMS Notifications Should I Send?

There is no set number. It comes down to how your business operates.

For example, imagine a typical online store. The customer will add a product to their cart, go to checkout, and complete the purchase. The store will then begin the shipping process to finish the order.

You can send an SMS message when the checkout is complete, send a message that the product has shipped, and send another when the product has arrived. This is the typical experience to expect today.

You may opt to only create messages related to shipping information, as this can be more important if a signature is required.

That said, SMS can be used differently. For example, if a user abandons a cart, you can send them a message reminding them their cart is waiting. You can even offer them a discount code after a certain amount of time has passed to add a FOMO element.

While this can be successful, it can also make customers avoid using your store, as they don’t want to be constantly reminded.

The best advice I can give you is to only send messages that you think are the most important. Keeping an eye on stats and usage can give you an idea of what messages are the most effective. After all, you don’t want to burn through your credits on a message that is often ignored.

Keep Your Shoppers Informed With SMS Alerts Today

SMS alerts are a great way to keep shoppers informed about their orders. You can quickly let them know when something is being delivered or when a delivery date will change. It is much faster and more direct than using email notifications.

As such, many online stores today utilize SMS messages to deliver this kind of information. That said, it is an expense for your business, so it might not be the best addition to a new or struggling store.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful in learning how to add SMS alerts to WordPress.

How many SMS messages do you send a day? Has sending SMS alerts improved customer satisfaction?

The post How to Create SMS Alerts for Your eCommerce Site in WordPress appeared first on GreenGeeks.