Use All The Data You Can When Personalising Your SMS Messages
It’s said over and over that SMS is one of the most personal forms of communications today. That’s mainly because people guard their mobile numbers and only give them out to those they think worthy of them. So anyone who has opted into your SMS messaging has indeed invited you into their personal world.
But that isn’t the same as personalising your messaging. You could still send generic, unrelated messages to them. Messages obviously meant for everyone on your list, not just them. While that may be just fine (depending on what you’re messaging them about), you could be doing much better if you personalise the messages.
How do marketers personalise now?
A study reported on in eMarketer showed that many marketers aren’t taking advantage of personalisation. And those that do only use the most basic types of data like name, email address, and demographics.
But there is a lot of other data out there, and more data you can discover about your customers. Only about 8% of marketers use psychographics (knowing what your target market loves and hates and their core values). Lifestyle details and family details are used 15% and 13% respectively.
The point is that not many marketers are using more detailed information for personalisation. The eMarketer article points out that is because merging all the data is really hard to do. And it is. Is it worth the effort to dig deeper into the data than simple demographics?
Does it make a difference?
Studies over the years have shown that personalising emails result in an increase in opens of around 40%. Personalising a webpage content has increased page views by hundreds of percent.
Forty-six percent of consumers say they would be more likely to buy from a company that sent them personalised content. If those consumers join a loyalty program, 66% of them expect to have a personalised experience when interacting with that company or brand.
One can argue that in SMS messaging these trends are all the more relevant. You’re already contacting someone in a personal fashion. They expect some level of personal experience.
Getting the data
Customising messages with names isn’t hard to do with today’s technology. It’s been done in email for a very long time (and SMS too). Is it hard to get more detailed information from your list?
Maybe.
People share all sorts of personal information on their social profiles. There are many ways you can mine that data, though usually it requires permission to do so in an automated way (think Facebook apps that require permission to see a user’s profile and perhaps their posts). If you’re able to connect and get social information, then you’ll have a ton of data to sort through. You’ll find out if your customers are single, what music they like, where they go on holiday, what causes they support, and more. Chances are you’ll have more data than you may need.
But many people push back on this type of data gathering by not using or accepting Facebook apps (and other social media equivalents) due to privacy concerns.
A recent study showed 40% of people still won’t give up their email address unless they have a “guaranteed offer”. So imagine their reaction when you start asking to see their personal profiles!
But you can get information in other non-intrusive ways.
Let users set up a profile on your company website. Give them the option of the type of information they would like to receive. They feel they are in control of the data they give you, and what messages they’ll receive. Their choices will tell you a lot about them without having to worry about third-party apps or privacy issues (like when Facebook changes its terms – again!).
You could also send them surveys asking for feedback. The responses they give can also tell you a lot about them, if you set the survey up correctly. You can even do this using SMS and keywords for responses.
But this blog isn’t about all the ways you can get data to personalise your SMS messages. It really is about the fact that you should be personalising them, with more than just a name. Target your offers based on their likes and dislikes. Include their lifestyle details when deciding which messages get sent to which group. Use their past purchasing behaviour or website history too.
Setting up a personalisation plan will take some effort. But according to eMarketer, not many organisations are doing it well right now. So if you can, you’ll have an early advantage in what will eventually become a ‘hyper-personalised’ world.
Related Articles
7 Channels for “Free Promotion” of Your Opt In Campaigns
While there are many ways you can probably think of to promote your SMS opt in campaign, there may be some “free” channels you’re neglecting. Thanks to Google, I can point out seven of them. At the mCommerce Summit Google gave a presentation about app promotion and optimising. I can’t even convey how exasperated the presenter was when he talked about how many opportunities companies just let slip by.
7 Tips for a Successful SMS Marketing Campaign
SMS marketing is still one of the most effective marketing channels available to businesses but is often overlooked in the pursuit of newer, more digitised technologies. When you include SMS marketing as part of the marketing mix, you're in a far greater position to increase engagement with your campaign, helping you generate a greater return on your investment. As with all channels, there are certain ways you can ensure your campaign is more effective, by following these simple steps.
How A/B Testing Works in SMS Messaging
A/B testing in SMS messaging is something that sounds vague and possibly complicated. But with a little knowledge it’s something you can do for your organisation. We make it simple to understand and share some tools to make it easy to do.
Use All The Data You Can When Personalising Your SMS Messages
It’s said over and over that SMS is one of the most personal forms of communications today. That’s mainly because people guard their mobile numbers and only give them out to those they think worthy of them. So anyone who has opted into your SMS messaging has indeed invited you into their personal world.
Increase Conversion in Your SMS Marketing by Doing This One Thing
Good copywriting is something marketers understand. But it's easy to forget the basic principles when running SMS marketing campaigns. You only have 160 characters after all (or 453 characters if you're using fastsms). While there are many elements to successful copywriting, there's one element that is often either overlooked or over-used. What is it? Urgency.
9 High Conversion Power Words for SMS Marketing
Five Things Every Marketer Needs to Know About SMS
There's no better time to take a closer look at SMS marketing - could it fit your marketing strategy? What should be at the forefront of your mind when you look at whether SMS could fit with your business? Here we've highlighted five things you should know before getting started.
How To Craft The Best Content For Your SMS Messaging
You need concise, memorable and high-impact content with a clear call to action in your SMS messaging. That, in a nutshell, is what's needed to achieve with any marketing or engagement communications in any form. But this is never truer than with an SMS campaign when your business text messaging has to rely on a small window of recipient attention.
More Examples of Calls to Action in an SMS Message
In a previous article I shared two examples of SMS marketing messages I received and how their call to action worked, or not. This time I want to share two more examples to help you in crafting the perfect call to action for your SMS marketing messages.