Text Messaging in Local Government

We know residents like convenience, they need things to fit in with their busy lives. SMS notifications, or texting, is a powerful tool to reach a wide audience quickly. Especially as research shows that on average people check their phone every 12 minutes of the waking day.

SDS has compiled a list of useful applications for a SMS notification system in local government:

Council tax collection

Residents can be reminded of upcoming or overdue payments with a simple SMS personalised to them. Messages can also include links to automated payment telephone lines and online forms.

Appointment notifications and reminders

From council housing repairs to appointment reminders, using SMS makes confirming and rescheduling appointments easier, and more reliably attended.

Applications reminders and confirmation

When customers are completing lengthy applications in more than one sitting, such as grant and planning applications, send SMS prompts to encourage the user to finish their application and inform them of deadlines.

Remote staff communication

With so many staff now working remotely, SMS is a fast, two-way, and reliable way of communicating and responding to shift changes and emergencies.

Closure notifications

Warning notifications can be used for serious weather warnings such as localised flooding. SMS messaging enables the council to quickly and easily send broadcast messages to audiences to let them know about closures.

Major incident notifications

When speed and reliability of message delivery are imperative to the success of your plan, SMS can be relied upon to perform during IT server outages and cyber security threats to staff.

If you would like to find out more about our SMS notification research please get in touch.