SMS payments allow you to send clients a text message containing a unique payment link, meaning they can pay for your products and services directly from their smartphone. SMS payment links are widely adopted across a variety of sectors from utilities to healthcare and are growing in popularity, thanks to the variety of benefits offered. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses were forced to review their processes to achieve low-touch in-person experiences. By eliminating unnecessary physical touch points from the client journey, not only could businesses continue to offer services, but they could also enhance revenue whilst reducing overheads. This model has now become a staple in a post-pandemic world as healthcare and fitness businesses embrace a digital self-service approach to client management.

Over the last 12 months, we have seen clinics and studios of all shapes and sizes take advantage of the benefits of SMS payments. This solution has allowed them to collect card payments from clients anytime, anywhere, whilst eliminating the need for costly card readers (no second phoneline required). If you’ve not considered streamlining payments via SMS before, we’ve compiled some of the benefits below.

Exploring SMS payment links

You probably use SMS - better known as text messages - quite a bit for both business and personal communications. We would assume that most of your appointment and class reminders automatically go out via SMS, your registration forms probably go out that way too and you likely use your personal phone to text clients from time to time. But did you know that you can also utilise SMS to collect payments too?

SMS payments allow you to automatically send clients a text message and have them pay for services directly from their mobile phone. Most people associate SMS payments with charitable organisations, but they’re actually a growing trend among many healthcare and fitness businesses. That’s because not only are SMS payments easy to implement, they’re also a highly effective payment strategy – reducing business costs whilst improving revenue and client engagement.

Text messages from trusted sources can receive open rates of up to 98% - a rate you couldn’t ever expect to achieve with email communications. Furthermore, roughly 90% of recipients open text messages within the first three minutes after they are received.

We often look at the business models of Australian allied health businesses as being some of the most advanced in the world. The Australian market was quick to adopt subscription and package models for allied health services and it’s no surprise that they were also early adopters of SMS payments. Looking at the stats, it is estimated that 29% of Australians prefer to make online payments using their mobile devices, a number that is growing. So, if you aren’t utilising SMS for your billing and payments, now’s the time to consider the solution.

Benefits of SMS Payments

Let’s look at how you can streamline payments via SMS on TM3 and the benefits of doing so.

Convenience

SMS payments are not only beneficial for your business, but they are also more convenient for your clients. As we drift further towards a fully-digital cashless society, we understand that your clients don’t want to scan their credit card or dig through their coins to pay for a purchase, and SMS payments allow them to skip this step.

Instead, TM3 will automatically send your clients payment links for invoices and overdue payments. Once they’ve been reminded about the bill, they can pay directly from their mobile device on your branded payments page. And they can save their payment information on your client portal to save time on future payments.

Customer experience

In a highly competitive industry, a seamless customer experience could be the difference between retaining and losing a client. SMS payments can help you improve your customer experience by immersing your clients in a fully digital, self-service experience.

This is a major improvement from the outdated reminder messages businesses used to send customers about payments. These reminders provided no immediate payment options, and there were no actionable steps for the customer to take – rendering the communication useless and often a waste of resource.

With SMS payments, you can streamline the payment process for your customers by using brandable portal pages on TM3 Connect. Your customers also receive email receipts, and all branded PDF receipts are stored on their client account on the customer portal to be downloaded whenever required. These services promote trust in your healthcare or fitness brand and provide real-time results for both your business and the customer.

Variety of options

Finally, SMS payments are a highly customisable solution, improving how businesses securely receive card payments. SMS payments can be personalised, building trust and engagement with your clients. SMS payments can also be utilised in a variety of ways, for example, when a client books over the phone with your reception team, a link can be sent whilst they are still connected.

This allows customers to pay via a link to secure a booking or make a payment. Additionally, no card details are shared with the receptionist, and you’ll have instant visibility on payment results.

To learn more about SMS payments and finances on TM3. Click here to arrange a demo, or click here for a bespoke quote.