AI-Powered Features Sharpen SMS Interactions, Enabling Franchisors to Engage and Retain Customers Like Never Before
Franchisors are constantly seeking an edge, a direct line to their customers that cuts through the noise. An increasing number are turning to SMS marketing to do just that; the U.S. SMS marketing market, valued at $2.86 billion in 2023, is expected to swell at a compound annual growth rate of 20.8% from 2024 to 2030.
As competition for audience attention intensifies, the days of easy wins with generic text blasts will soon be over. To effectively retain audience attention, franchisors must evolve their SMS strategies to enhance targeting, build stronger customer relationships and deepen their data analysis.
Voxie, the only SMS platform designed specifically for franchises, recently unveiled a number of AI-powered features designed to sharpen SMS interactions at scale, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Today’s technology allows for AI to understand human responses with greater accuracy than even two years ago. Companies that fail to take advantage of such capabilities are ultimately leaving money on the table.
The unique franchise business model deserves unique AI applications, which is why we built certain platform elements to not only address common franchise concerns but also to enhance its inherent strengths. With the right technology, franchises can move beyond basic SMS messaging and adopt sophisticated, actionable strategies at scale, driving demonstrably better results.
Send Messages Tailored for the Individual
Automate SMS List Segmentation
Let’s look at a potential SMS list segmentation use case to understand its true marketing power: An ice cream brand texts its customers a survey asking about their favorite flavors, then provides a limited-time free scoop to show appreciation. In turn, Voxie annotates respondents’ texted responses and segments them accordingly, allowing the ice cream franchise to:
- Pair promotional texts with specific images. Whet the individual recipient’s appetite with mouth-watering images and language, boosting the likelihood of engagement.
- Provide tailored updates. Notify followers of specific new flavors that align with their taste buds.
- Offer a gift. Send a QR code to recipients for a free scoop of their favorite flavor as a birthday gift.
- Gather location-specific data. Such information can help shape future purchasing decisions.
- Enhance personalization. Share that information with your customer data platform to enhance personalization across all marketing channels.
Automated SMS list segmentation is possible through multiple data-gathering tactics. Franchises can manage lists based on the specific location where the subscriber enrolled, update an individual’s classifications based on surveys and two-way SMS interactions, and integrate with other software to segment customers based on past buying behavior, loyalty program status, event participation and more.
As a result, franchisors can deliver content and promotions tailored for the individual – rather than treating their entire subscriber base as one and the same.
Empower Franchisees to Localize Content
Franchisees’ intimate knowledge of their communities provides them with unparalleled insights into customer preferences and regional trends, making them uniquely equipped to personalize SMS marketing. Any franchise SMS strategy that neglects this localized advantage is losing out on significant engagement opportunities.
Examples of localized SMS can include:
- Scheduling texts based on local engagement data: For example, an ice cream franchise in downtown Phoenix will have different peak hours than one serving soft serve at the Jersey Shore.
- Automating texts to be sent based on local weather: For example, if the forecast projects a heat wave, an ice cream franchise can deploy an extra message that week with imagery that emphasizes the refreshing nature of their sweet treats.
- Crafting messaging tied to the community: Examples include referencing sports teams or local events like marathons and parades.
- Individualizing the location: For example, franchisees might include photos taken at their specific locations, announce local contests or provide updates such as new ice cream flavors, upgraded equipment or the addition of a new fitness instructor.
- Alerting a franchisee’s customer base: Providing branch-specific updates such as last-minute weather-related changes to operating hours can be done via SMS.
A few years ago, giving franchisees the ability to localize SMS messaging might’ve involved risks. After all, one rogue operator could tarnish the brand strength for all. However, Voxie helps franchisors erect multiple safeguards. Tim Hitchner, Voxie’s VP of product, explains: “Franchisors can set up approval workflows, prebuilt templates and tiered admin permissions – while also limiting franchisees’ access so they only see their own customers. It’s about giving franchisees autonomy without compromising brand control.”
Another of Voxie’s franchise-friendly features is the ability to send texts from localized numbers. Adds Hitchner, “Receiving a marketing message from an area code or phone number that the recipient recognizes has been shown to be more impactful than receiving that same text through a toll-free number.”
Automate Personalization
While many marketers believe personalizing SMS is limited to adding a name, that only hints at the potential for more meaningful connections. By leveraging previous two-way SMS interactions, customer profiles and strategic integrations with other software, Voxie enables such personalization strategies as:
- Referencing past purchases. Remind customers of a previous service such as a dog’s nail trim that might be due. Or highlight related products that may be of interest.
- Sending a promotion. Make it specific to the recipient’s birthday.
- Informing recipients of pending loyalty points. Remind them to use points that might be expiring soon.
Leverage SMS as a Customer Experience and Lead-Nurturing Tool
Integrate Conversational Intelligence with Your Brand’s Knowledge Base and CRM
Voxie’s Conversational Intelligence capabilities allow its AI not only to understand a texted question or statement, but to accurately process the underlying sentiment. Is someone relaxed? Angry? The appropriately deployed responses will potentially shift the solutions.
This opens up a world of possibilities. If a customer can’t find information about an upcoming appointment, they can simply text. If they have a question about what to expect from your services or when a new product will be arriving on your shelves, all they have to do is ask. This not only enhances the customer experience but also lessens the burden on your team to manually answer each customer inquiry. Click here for an example.
Deploy Dynamic Drip Campaigns to Connect with Customers Throughout Their Brand Experience
SMS can improve communication throughout the full extent of a customer’s user journey. With Voxie, these communications can adapt based on individual, nuanced interactions with the recipient.
Imagine a scenario where a recipient confirms an upcoming appointment: Voxie recognizes this and halts further reminders. Conversely, if no confirmation is received, Voxie automatically sends a follow-up message. Furthermore, by integrating with scheduling systems, Voxie can identify individuals with past no-shows and proactively send them a same-day appointment reminder.
Another scenario? After the service appointment, the recipient can receive the texted request for feedback. If the customer responds positively, the brand can push a request for a review. If the customer responds negatively, the response goes to a manager who can reach out to the customer personally.
Use SMS to Tactically Nurture Leads and Win Back Customers
SMS drip campaigns can also help franchises convert prospects into clients. For example, if someone toured your assisted living facilities or requested information about your gym membership, you can send personalized, purposefully timed follow-up texts.
SMS drip campaigns can also be triggered by a lack of customer engagement. For instance, if a QSR loyalty member hasn’t made a purchase in 90 days, automatically send them a promotion designed to win them back.
Take Full Advantage of Franchise-Friendly Data Analysis
Data is the bedrock of any successful SMS marketing campaign, providing the insights needed to craft targeted messages that resonate with audiences and drive meaningful results.
Speaking directly to the needs of franchises, Voxie designed its reporting dashboard to offer both national and franchisee-specific performance comparison and analysis. For example, marketing teams can identify that the latest campaign resulted in an average 15% click-through rate (CTR) franchise-wide. They then can drill down into specific locations’ performance for poignant analysis, leading to such questions as, “What about the Nashville location led it to outperform all other areas with a 30% CTR? How can we replicate this success?”
Voxie can strategically bridge your SMS with your CRM, website analytics, and other software for fuller analysis. In turn, you can have a richer understanding of which campaigns ultimately drove high-value conversions and maximize your return on investment.
Summarizing How Voxie Caters to Franchises
The driving purpose behind Voxie is to make advanced SMS marketing strategies scalable for franchises, specifically, though platform capabilities such as:
- Offering controls for franchisors to maintain brand consistency and quality through features like fixed approval workflows and set templates.
- Granting franchisees the autonomy to craft and send SMS messages while maintaining corporate-level ownership and oversight.
- Facilitating varying levels of administrative access and dashboard capabilities.
- Automating list segmentation to allow franchises to target customers based on the franchisee location, survey responses, and interactions.
- Providing data analysis tools offering both national and franchisee-specific performance comparisons.
- Enabling the sending of texts from localized numbers, which improves recipient recognition and engagement.
For more information about Voxie and its services, visit its website.
