Are you making the most of text message marketing with WooCommerce SMS notifications?

Like email marketing, SMS marketing is a powerful tool to boost revenue and enhance customers' shopping experience.

According to a survey by Attentive's Consumer Survey Report, an SMS-first software platform, 96% of Marketers have found that SMS marketing can generate more revenue.

WooCommerce SMS notifications also play a crucial role in ensuring a seamless shopping experience for your customers.

By keeping them informed about their order statuses, you can not only meet their expectations but also strengthen the bond between your brands. 

You can also leverage SMS marketing for various purposes, including recovering abandoned carts, running winback campaigns, and promoting your products or services.

In this blog, we'll show you how to send SMS notifications in WooCommerce and uncover how it can transform your business to help you improve customer relationships and boost your sales. 

Further, we will also share with you some of the best WooCommerce SMS plugins that we have put together after doing thorough research.

What is WooCommerce SMS?

A WooCommerce SMS is a text message sent to users to communicate with them for various purposes. It’s considered a direct and highly effective way to interact with your audience.

You can send SMS to users to: 

• Update them about their order status 
• Share shipment tracking link
• Inform them about any promotional events
• Recover abandoned carts 
• Greet them with a welcome SMS
• Wish them on their birthdays 
• Offer a discount on purchase anniversaries, and so on. 

Overall, WooCommerce SMS notifications provide a more direct and immediate channel of communication with customers compared to email, making it a valuable addition to e-commerce strategies.

Why Should You Leverage WooCommerce SMS Marketing? 

While SMS has limitations in detailed messaging, it remains highly valuable for quick and direct communication, especially in urgent situations.

Here are some of the reasons why you must leverage WooCommerce SMS marketing: 

• Higher open rates: SMSs have an overwhelming average open rate of 98%, as opposed to 19.8% of emails. So, to ensure your message reaches your audience promptly, you should opt for WooCommerce SMS.

• Reduced cart abandonment: A good abandoned cart SMS can attain a six to eight times higher engagement rate than email. By sending SMS reminders to customers who've left items in their carts, you can re-engage them and reduce abandoned cart rates.

• Enhanced customer experience: According to a survey by Lead Ferno, 37.6% of people chose text messaging as their preferred communication channel. Sending order notifications and updates through SMS keeps customers informed and engaged, ultimately improving their shopping experience.

• Cost-effective engagement:  SMS marketing often achieves a 19% click-through rate, compared to email marketing's 3%. Therefore, even though SMS may entail a higher cost per-message than an email, its ability to effectively reach and engage customers often justifies the expense, ensuring a strong return on investment.

• Increased sales: SMS marketing stands out with its remarkable performance in key metrics, including a high open rate, impressive click-through rate, and a strong conversion rate. These factors make it a powerful tool for promoting products and driving sales.

• Reduced spam filter risk: SMS has a much lower spam rate of 3% compared to email’s 85%.So, if you want to be sure your messages reach your customers without getting lost in spam folders, SMS is the way to go.

6 Best WooCommerce SMS Plugins 

After testing multiple plugins, we have compiled a list of the top 6 plugins you can use to send WooCommerce SMS notifications to your users. Here are the best WooCommerce SMS plugins with key features and prices:

1. FunnelKit Automations 

FunnelKit Automations is a highly popular plugin, powering almost 20,000 active WooCommerce stores around the globe. It lets you send transactional and promotional SMSs right from your WordPress dashboard.

It integrates with different SMS service providers to send marketing campaigns to your contacts.

You can send custom notifications to customers, admins, and anyone who needs to be notified about any WooCommerce event.

Here are the key features:

• Automate SMS marketing: You can automate your SMS marketing campaign for various WooCommerce events such as order placed, order delivery, birthdays, purchase anniversaries, abandoned carts, etc. 

• Integration with SMS service providers: FunnelKit integrates with two SMS providers, Twilio and Bulkgate, to help you send WooCommerce SMS notifications.

• Send broadcast SMS: This WooCommerce plugin helps you send broadcast SMS and deliver the message straight to your recipients' cell phones. If you want, you can also schedule your SMS to be sent later at a specific time.

• Personalize SMS: You can personalize your SMS using dynamic Merge tags available in FunnelKit Automations. For example, you can use the user’s first name, store name, order details, etc., to make it more personalized. 

• Targeted campaign: You can filter the audience based on demographics and previous experience with your website to run targeted SMS campaigns. 

• In-depth analytics: Get in-depth analytics of how your SMS campaign is performing in the form of open rate, click rate, orders placed, revenue generated, etc. 

Price: A free version of FunnelKit Automations is available. However, the SMS feature is available with the pro version, which starts at $129/year. 

2. Twilio SMS Notifications 

Twilio SMS Notifications allows you to send automated SMS notifications to your customers using WordPress and WooCommerce.

With this tool, you can send text messages to your customers whenever there is a change in their order status.

Here are some of the key features: 

• Automated order notifications: You can set up automated SMS to be sent to users every time they purchase something, and there is a change in the order status.
   
• Integration with Twilio: As the name suggests, this tool integrates with Twilio to send WooCommerce SMS to users.
  
• Customization options: You can customize your SMS with store name, order ID, order amount, order status, and other order-related information.
  
• Handy character count:  A handy character is shown when =creating the text so you don’t exceed the 160-character limit for SMS messages.

Price: You can use this plugin at $4.09/month

3. BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce

BulkGate SMS Plugin for WooCommerce allows you to send SMS and VIBER messages from your WooCommerce store using a BulkGate plugin.

You can send order status notifications to both customers and your admins. 

Here are the key features: 

• Order status notifications: This tool sends order status notifications not only to the customers but also to the admin. You can send notifications to multiple admins.
  
• Bulk SMS and Viber campaigns:  You can send personalized and targeted bulk SMS and Viber messaging campaigns to users. 
  
• Send SMS worldwide: You can send SMS to over 200 countries worldwide.
  
• Different sender IDs: You can use different sender IDs for different WooCommerce SMS campaigns. 

Price: This is a freemium plugin. SMS pricing starts from €0.0083.

4. WP SMS

With WP SMS, you can connect with multiple providers and send SMS or MMS notifications to your WooCommerce customers about their orders, new posts, products, and more.

This tool also integrates with other popular plugins like Zapier, Contact Form 7, etc.

Here are the key features: 

• SMS newsletter: This tool comes with a widget/Gutenberg block/Shortcode for displaying an SMS newsletter form on your WordPress site. You can collect mobile numbers during the newsletter sign-up process.
  
• Integration with SMS gateways: WP SMS integrates with 250 SMS gateways, such as Twilio, Plivo, Clickatell, BulkSMS, Infobip, and so on.
  
• Automatic SMS: You can send automatic SMS notifications to users as well as administration based on the user's interaction with your website.
  
• Schedule SMS/MMS: With the premium version of this plugin, you can schedule your SMS and MMS for a specific time. 

Price: A free version with limited features is available. The pro version starts at $39/year for a single site. 

5. SMS for WooCommerce

SMS for WooCommerce allows you to send SMS to users, updating them about status updates, subscription updates, shipment tracking and delivery notifications, local pickup reminders, and more.

Here are some of the key features: 

• Multiple SMS API providers: This plugin is compatible with leading SMS API service providers such as Nexmo, Twilio, Fast2sms, MSG91, ClickSend, etc. You can easily set up the SMS API keys and sender info to send SMS.
  
• Phone number validation in checkout:  SMS for WooCommerce can add phone number validations during checkout. However, this is only possible if you are using Nexmo and Twilio SMS providers.
  
• Opt-in option: You can ask users to opt-in for SMS updates on the checkout page and also on the order confirmation page after checkout.
  
• Order status SMS updates: You can set up the system to automatically trigger SMS notifications when order status gets updated on your WooCommerce store. 

Price: This plugin costs $9.92/month.

6. Uncanny Automator 

The Uncanny Automator is a powerful CRM tool that can send both automated emails and SMS to your users.

It uses Twilio as an SMS service provider to send SMS and also integrates with popular WordPress plugins to send SMS for different purposes.

Here are some of the key features: 

• Order Update SMS: You can send order update SMS to users when they make a new purchase at your store.
  
• Thank you SMS: You can send a thank you SMS to users when they fill out a form.
  
• Store Credit SMS: With the help of an Advanced coupon, this tool lets you send an SMS to users when they receive a store credit.
  
• Connect with other WordPress plugins: With the help of this tool, you can connect Twilio with other WordPress plugins like Active Campaign, BuddyBoss, Click up, ConvertKit, etc. 

Price: The plugin costs $149/year for a single website. 

After looking at all the features and how much control you can have with WooCommerce SMS, we've concluded that FunnelKit Automations is the best plugin of the ones we mentioned. 

Funnelkit Automations gives you a range of events that you can use to send SMS, such as an abandoned cart, new user registration, winback campaign, birthday wish, etc., which is not available with the other plugins. 

Moreover, it gives you an intuitive UI to easily create and manage SMS campaigns. On of that, you can track how your SMS campaign is performing from a user-friendly analytics dashboard. 

In the next part, we'll show you how to use this plugin to send different types of WooCommerce SMS notifications.

How to Send WooCommerce SMS using FunnelKit Automation and Twilio?

FunnelKit is compatible with two SMS service providers: Twilio and Bulkgate.  

Here, we will use FunnelKit Automations and Twilio as SMS service providers. 

Twilio offers a range of programmable communication tools and services, including calling, voice messaging, SMS, and more capabilities, all of which can be seamlessly integrated into FunnelKit Automations.

Before we move on to the main process, make sure you have installed and activated 

• FunnelKit Automations
• FunnelKit Automations Pro
• FunnelKit Automations Connectors

Note: We will need FunnelKit Automations Connectors to connect Twilio’s SMS API in WooCommerce with FunnelKit Automations.

Step 1: Set up your Twilio account 

First, you’ll need to open a Twilio account. Go to the Twilio login and signup page. Then, enter your name, email, and password to create your Twilio account.

Note: Twilio provides a free trial option for their premium services, allowing users to set up and explore these features before making a commitment.

Now, you need to verify the email you used to create an account.

Check your email for the verification message.

After the verification process, log in to your account.

Now, you will be asked to set up the authentication process. 

Step 2: Generate Sender Number 

After logging in and completing the authentication process, you will be directed to the main dashboard, where you need to click on the “Get Phone Number” field to get the sender's phone number. 

Scroll down a little, and you will also find the Account SID and Auth token. You need to copy both. 

Now navigate to FunnelKit Automations ⇒ Connectors and click on the Settings option for Twilio.

Now paste the  Account SID, Auth token, and Sender Phone number. After that, click on Update. 

Now, you should see a pop-up with a success message indicating FunnelKit Automations is successfully connected with Twillio. 

Step 3: Create a SMS automation 

We will now create the automation that will send users SMS automatically based on the user’s interaction with your WooCommerce store. 

To create WooCommerce SMS automation, navigate to  FunnelKit Automations ⇒ Automations (Next Gen) and click on Add New Automation.

Click on “Start from scratch”, provide a name, and click on Create to Automated WooCommerce SMS campaign. 

Step 4: Select an event  

Now click on the “Select Trigger” option to choose the event that will activate this automated SMS campaign. 

Here, we will choose the event Order Created. However, you can choose any WooCommerce event. 

Step 4: Step up an action 

After selecting the event, you need to choose the action of sending an SMS. For that, click on the “+” icon and select “Action”.

From the Messaging tab, choose “Send SMS” under Twillio and click on Done. 

Step 5: Create your WooCommerce SMS content

Now it’s time for the fun part, which is to create the SMS.

First, you need to provide the receiver in the “To” field. We can dynamically send a message to every user who places an order using the number they use at the checkout. 

You can use the Merge tag to that number. To use a merge tag, click on {{..}}, search for the customer's phone number, and copy it.

Now paste the merge tag on the To field. 

After that, you need to prepare the SMS body. You can also use a merge tag in the text body to make the message more personalized. 

For example, here we are using {{contact_first_name}} to address the user by their first name and {{order_id}} to show the order ID that they just placed. 

In addition, we are also using {{order_confirmation_page_link}}, which will send users a link that will redirect them to the order confirmation page with all the order details.   

You need to use Bitly to shorten the URL automatically.

Note: You can add a product image or any custom image. However, images can only be sent to US & Canada phone numbers.

After creating the WooCommerce SMS body, click on Save to update. 

Note:  If your SMS is promotional SMS, then you need to check the option “Mark as Promotional”.

Note: Similarly, you can add another action and send an email to your store admin for smooth operation. 

Step 6: Activate the automation

The final step is to activate the automation. For that, just turn on the toggle button. 

Now, whenever someone places an order on your online store, he will receive this order confirmation SMS. 

Note:   You can also read our blog on “How to Send Order Confirmation Emails to Get Repeat Sales.”

Here is a preview of our WooCommerce SMS:

6 Types of WooCommerce SMS Campaigns You Can Run with FunnelKit Automations

We have shown how you can automate the process of sending WoCommerce SMS notifications when someone places a new order on your WooCommerce store. 

You can follow the same process to create different types of SMS campaigns. Here are a few examples: 

1. Abandoned Cart SMS

People more often check their text SMS than email, and 98% who check their SMS actually read them. So, sending an SMS to recover the cart is an effective idea, and you can set it up using FunnelKit Automations.

Here, you need to choose “Cart Abandoned” as a trigger or event. 

You can send a single SMS reminding them to recover the cart.  Depending on your strategy, you can also send multiple SMS with optimal intervals and offer discount coupons to encourage them to complete the purchase. 

Note: You can also check our blog "WooCommerce Cart Abandonment Recovery"

2. Order status SMS notifications

Making sure users know what's happening with their orders makes shopping better. Users don't need to worry and feel anxious about where their order is.

With FunnelKit Automations, you can send SMS notifications for different order statuses such as Order Created, Order Created - Per Product, Order Refunded, etc.

To inform users about any order status changes, you need to select the "Order Status Changed" event.

After that, specify both the "from status" and the "to status" for which the system will send an SMS notification. For example, you can send an SMS notification if an order status changes from "Processing" to "Completed."

After choosing the Order Status event and completing the confirmations, choose a Send SMS event. 

👉 You can also read our blog on how to send email notification for different order status.

3. Discount for next purchase

When someone makes their initial purchase from your WooCommerce store, you can give them a discount for their next purchase. This encourages them to return and make additional purchases.

To set up an automated SMS to provide a discount on the second purchase, you need to choose the first order as a trigger, generate a discount, and send an SMS to encourage them to purchase again. 

Note: You can also read our blog "How to Offer First Order Discount in WooCommerce".

4. Customer winback SMS campaign 

You can use a winback campaign to bring relapsed customers back to your store who haven’t purchased for a while. For this, you need to choose the “Customer Winback” event as a trigger.

You need to edit the event and set the time of the last ordered period. 

You can then add the SMS action, informing users about new products or offering discounts to win them back. 

Note: You can also read our blog "How to Create a Winback Campaign in WooCommerce".

5. Purchase anniversary SMS

Another great way to establish a great relationship with your customers and get more sales is to wish users their purchase anniversary and remind them to come back and make another purchase. 

To set up a purchase anniversary SMS campaign, you need to choose the event order created and then add a delay of time period.

For example, if you want to wish for one-year anniversary, add a delay of 365 days or 12 months. After the delay, you can set up the “Send SMS” action. 

Note: You can also read our blog on "How to create an anniversary email campaign".

6. Birthday reminder SMS

Wishing customers on their birthday makes them feel special and believe your brand cares about them. It’s an effective way to form a strong bond and a great opportunity to make the customers make another purchase. 

With FunnelKit Automations, you can collect birth dates on the checkout page. To set up an automation that wishes users their birthday via SMS, you need to choose “Birthday reminder” as an event.

We hope you now realize the abundance of SMS marketing opportunities you get with FunnelKit Automations. 

Note: For more details on birthday reminders, check the blog "How to Create Automated Birthday Emails".

Some Important Faqs Related to WooCommerce SMS 

Here are some of the questions that might be popping into your head regarding WooCommerce SMS with answers.

How to Integrate SMS API in WooCommerce? 

Well, it depends on the SMS provider you want to connect to WooCommerce. if you want to connect the Twilio SMS provider with WooCommerce, you can do that using the FunnelKit Automations and FunnelKit Connector. 

What is the cost of using WooCommerce SMS?

The cost of WooCommerce SMS depends on various factors such as the SMS service provider and WooCommerce plugin you want to use, the volume of the SMS you want to send, etc. Cost may also vary depending on whether you want to send SMS or MMS. 

For example, Twilio charges $0.0079 to send or receive a message. Again, BulGate cost starts at €0.0109 in the USA.

Is there any privacy regulation that I should look for when sending SMS?

Yes, you must follow some rules depending on the country and region you want to send SMS to. For example, GDPR is a comprehensive European Union (EU) regulation that protects personal data. So, if you want to send SMS messages to individuals in the EU, then you need to follow the GDPR guidelines. Similarly, for the USA, you need to follow the CAN-SPAM Act.

How can I measure the success of my WooCommerce SMS campaigns? 

If you use FunnelKit Automation to run WooCommerce SMS campaigns, then you can easily track the success of your campaign in the form of click rate, open rate, orders revenue earned, etc. 

What are the best practices for writing effective SMS messages?

Some of the best practices for writing effective WooCommerce SMS are to be concise and keep it short, personalize the message, consider the timing, provide opt-out instructions, and so on. Also, if you use URLs in your SMS, make sure to shorten them with any tool.

Can I send multimedia messages (MMS)?

Yes. With Twillo, you can send MMS right from the WordPress dashboard with the help of FunnelKit Automations. However, certain locations, such as the USA and Canada, can only receive MMS. 

Can I schedule my SMS messages in advance?

Yes, you can schedule your broadcast SMS in advance with FunnelKit Automations. 

Ready to Start Sending WooCommerce SMS?

SMS marketing can be highly successful in communicating with customers about their order status, recovering abandoned carts, promoting products, wishing on birthdays, etc.

With FunnelKit Automations, you can easily send different SMS and MMS right from your WordPress dashboard. You can either use Twilow, as we have shown above or BulkGate as an SMS service provider.

The best part of FunneKit Automation is you can automate SMS notifications based on order status and also send broadcast SMS for product or sale promotions.

Moreover, this tool integrates with Bitly to automatically shorten any URL added to your SMS, which helps to maintain your SMS character count.

Furthermore, you can easily track how your WooCommerce SMS marketing performs with in-depth FunnelKit Automations analytics.

So, get your copy of FunnelKit Automations today and start sending WooCommerce SMS notifications.