10 Invaluable Ways to use SMS Marketing for Your Business
In a world where emailing and social media is thought to stand a higher chance of gaining the attention of customers and clients when selling products and services, SMS marketing is getting more popular than ever and your company shouldn’t miss out.
There is something about SMS marketing that is not like any other form of marketing. With SMS, you are aware that the message has been received and that clients have been instantly informed of new products and services without any hard graft. It is a simple form of communication, but highly effective in forging close relationships with clients who purchase from you regularly.
Here are 10 key ways to use SMS marketing for your business and how to get the most out of your clients:
1. Reach anyone at any time
Unlike emails and social media which have to be logged into when it suits the client, text messages can be received instantly by being directly sent to a phone. The client doesn’t have to search far to see your message – it will be the first thing that is seen on their home screen as soon as the phone is picked up. No matter what country the client is in or what time of the day it is; a short, intriguing message could be the key to another sale. Over time, you may come to realise when is the best time to send texts due to response rates.
2. Know Who is Interested
The great thing about SMS marketing is that you know who your dedicated clients are depending on who responds. Those who book in or buy a service upon receiving a text may thank you for informing them, which could build a great customer relationship. This form of marketing is much better than a general email which clients and customers are highly likely to ignore if they have no reason to reply.
3. Get Personal
When using SMS, always use first names to get on a personal level with your clients, as they should find satisfaction in the company knowing their name. It is also positive that you are willing to contact them directly rather than through email which may end up in their junk box. Texting is a much more personal way of marketing. Perhaps add a final friendly note stating that you look forward to seeing or hearing from them soon.
4. Find the Balance
If texts are sent out to your clients too often, they will most likely block your number if it becomes too intrusive. Understand the privilege of having their personal number and use it wisely to promote the most important deals of your business that you don’t want them to miss out on. Don’t cross the boundaries and end up harassing clients.
If your products or services are only relevant once every so often; e.g. car dealerships promoting new cars, or having a valet done; understand that there is only so many times a client can buy a new car or have a valet, and therefore are unlikely to need your services again anytime soon. Not only that, but your texts will lose value and appear impersonal, as it may look like you are sending out general messages without considering your customer’s interests. Limit the amount you send and figure out which texts are suitable for specific clients.
5. Wording is Everything
When a text comes through, only a few words are previewed, therefore ensuring that you choose the correct wording is crucial to success. No-one wants to see ‘buy’ in the first few words. If clients aren’t looking to buy at that current moment, they won’t be interested. ‘Free’, ‘discount’ and ‘save’ are always good choices as they are beneficial to the customer rather than the business.
6. Sign Up!
Texting clients to ask for their email addresses is an ideal way to understand whether they want to be contacted by email as well as by phone. SMS can only deliver bits of information at a time, therefore giving clients the option to sign-up by email is much better than spamming them with impersonal texts surrounding offers. Sign-ups allow for more generalised emails if that is what they prefer, so you can keep texting to a minimum when the right deal comes along.
7. Appointment Reminders
If your product or service requires an appointment, sending reminders when your client has an upcoming date would be ideal. This is especially important for self-employed businesses who will lose out on no-shows and need all the business they can get. This can give you a better understanding of the loyalty of your customers; if they did fail to show up, they can’t come up with the excuse that it was sent to the ‘junk box!’
8. Confirmations
Similar to an appointment reminder, a booking or purchase confirmation can be sent out to put the client’s mind at rest and shows that there is evidence of an exchange of money. This provides a sense of reliability on behalf of your company and demonstrates to the client that purchases are tracked efficiently.
9. Offer an Incentive
As an incentive for sending SMS messages to your client, make it clear that by agreeing to SMS messages they will be the first to know of any deals. This way, they will be more likely to appreciate the benefits of SMS marketing. This is especially important if the stock or service you provide has limited availability because it gives them a heads up to grab the offer before anyone else.
10. Feedback
SMS marketing may be an ideal way to ask your clients and customers whether they have any feedback on your company that you can use for promotion purposes. Gaining any sort of feedback whether positive or negative can be a huge advantage to your company in order to make realistic improvements.
If you would like any further information on SMS marketing from a UK-based SMS provider, please contact us at Fastsms today, to see how we can assist your company with text messaging solutions for your business.
Related Articles
SMS Marketing – Should You Buy a List?
Starting an SMS marketing campaign can be a daunting task. Gathering explicit opt ins can take time, as you need to make an investment in advertising. So why not just get a jumpstart and buy a list of mobile numbers from an organisation that already has the opt ins? You could do that, but it’s probably harder than just getting people to opt in on their own. Here’s why.
The Second Most Important Rule of SMS Marketing
Text message marketing works because it is short, quick, personal, and immediate. You don't want to annoy the people you're reaching out to. If you're running an opt-in campaign, or a contest, keep the process to as few steps as possible.
3 SMS Marketing Metrics That You Need to Know
SMS marketing is one of the most effective mobile marketing channels available. It’s also one of the easiest to measure your performance for every campaign, even every message. Read the full blog to discover the three of the basic metrics you’ll need to know to evaluate your success.
3 tips to building recipient lists for SMS campaigns
As SMS boasts a 95% open rate, it makes sense to ensure you can utilise this channel with your entire target audience. Read our tips on building SMS recipient lists.
SMS Marketing and Shopify – a Perfect Partnership
With its out-of-the-box functionality, powerful designs and endless opportunities for customisation, it is no surprise that Shopify has become one of the most popular platforms for online stores. However, the key to success for any online store is getting customers to visit your website - and SMS Marketing is a simple and highly effective way to do this. Read on to learn how you can take advantage of SMS Marketing to help build your Shopify business and increase your profits.
5 Phrases for Your Spring SMS Marketing Campaign [Infographic]
Email and SMS Marketing are a Perfect Pair
Businesses with limited staff or budgets might ask themselves whether they should use email or SMS marketing. Both are relatively low cost. Both offer the ability to reach many people at the same time, yet provide personal interaction. Both have a long history of being used for marketing.
9 Factors That Prove SMS Marketing Really Works
Marketing is all about finding the balance between gaining a personal relationship with a client and communicating in a professional manner. SMS marketing is all about experimenting with that balance and has now become a highly popular form of marketing. Here are 9 reasons why SMS marketing actually does work.