Customers want to know what's happening with the things they buy: when an order ships, when a payment lands, when a policy renews, when a new product launches. Email gets buried and app notifications get switched off. An SMS arrives on every phone, is usually read within minutes, and needs no app or data.
This guide covers how Nigerian businesses use SMS to keep customers informed about their products, which messages to send at each stage, and how to do it without annoying people.
Why SMS works for product communication
- Reach. Every customer has a phone number; not every customer has your app, a smartphone or reliable data.
- Attention. Text messages are short and land in a personal inbox, so they get read quickly — which matters for time-sensitive updates.
- Trust. Messages from a registered sender ID such as your brand name look official and are harder to fake.
- Action. A short link, reference number or reply keyword lets the customer act straight from the message.
What to send across the customer journey
| Stage | Message type | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Sign-up | Welcome and verification | “Welcome to [Brand], Amara. Your account is ready. Code: 482193.” |
| Purchase | Order or payment confirmation | “Payment of NGN 25,000 received for order #8812. Thank you.” |
| Delivery | Status updates | “Your order #8812 is out for delivery today. Rider: 0803 xxx xxxx.” |
| Using the product | How-to tips and reminders | “Tip: dial *[code]# to check your balance any time.” |
| Renewal | Due dates and expiry | “Your policy renews on 15 Nov. Pay at [link] to stay covered.” |
| New products | Launches and upgrades | “New: [Product] is now available at all Lagos branches. Details: [link]” |
| Service issues | Outages and fixes | “We're fixing a payment delay. Your money is safe; we'll update you by 3pm.” |
| Feedback | Ratings and surveys | “How was your delivery? Reply 1–5.” |
Welcome messages, confirmations, delivery updates, renewals and service notices are transactional: the customer expects them because of something they did. Tips, launches and offers are promotional and follow stricter rules (below).
Writing messages customers read
- Lead with the point. Put the update or action in the first line: “Payment received”, “Out for delivery”, “Renews 15 Nov”.
- Personalise. Use the customer's name, order number or amount from your records. It proves the message is real and relevant.
- Stay within one page. 160 standard characters is one SMS page. Emoji and some symbols (including ₦) switch to Unicode, which allows only 70 characters per page and can triple the cost — write NGN instead.
- One clear action. A short link, a USSD code or “Reply 1” — not three options.
- Identify yourself. Use your registered sender ID and, in the text, your brand name.
Timing and frequency
- Send transactional messages immediately; a delivery update two hours late is noise.
- Schedule promotional messages for daytime, typically 9am–7pm, and avoid late evenings and Sunday mornings.
- Limit promotions to a few a month per customer. Watch opt-out rates; a rise means you're sending too often.
- Spread large campaigns over an hour so your call centre and website can handle the response.
Rules to follow in Nigeria
- Transactional and promotional are separate. Don't put offers inside a transactional sender ID's messages; networks can block them.
- Respect DND. Promotional messages are not delivered to numbers on Do-Not-Disturb.
- Honour opt-outs. Include “Reply STOP to opt out” on promotional messages and remove those numbers promptly.
- Only message customers who agreed to hear from you. Keep a record of how each contact opted in.
- Check the latest NCC rules on sending hours and content before large campaigns.
Measure what works
Track delivery rate by network, clicks on links, replies and opt-outs for each campaign. Compare send times and wording on small groups before sending to everyone. A good SMS platform shows all of this per campaign and lets you export it.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send SMS to customers? You pay per SMS page. See our bulk SMS prices.
Can I personalise thousands of messages? Yes. Upload a spreadsheet and insert fields such as name, amount and reference into each message.
Can I schedule messages? Yes. Pick a date and time and the campaign sends automatically; you can edit or cancel it before it starts.