Can You Use SMS Messaging in B2B Sales?
Let’s get the obvious out of the way. B2B marketing really is business to one person.
It’s just that one person is playing a role in the buying process, rather than making their own purchasing decisions. For a small business, one person may play all the roles in the entire process. For larger companies there may be many people involved in the process of making a buying decision.
But you already know that if you’re in B2B sales or marketing. What you may not know, is how willing those various people are to use their own mobile for business.
Going Mobile
It’s a well-known fact the majority of people keep their mobile within arm’s reach at all times. It turns out many of them are keeping it close to use it for business.
According to eMarketer, 89% of business people surveyed in the UK say they use their mobile phone for work – outside office hours. Around 49% of those say they do so for ten or more hours per week. Remember, those numbers are for time outside scheduled office hours.
Other data from IDC (quoted in the eMarketer report) showed that business people use their mobile devices for research too. Nearly 20% use mobiles for research more than 75% of the time. Another 37% use mobiles between 50-70%.
Since buyers are usually 60% or more into their buying process before talking to a sales rep, it’s important to get in front of them early in the research process.
Another Inbound Channel
B2B buyers need information. Emarketer says the types of information they want most is:
- Case studies and success stories
- Shares from peers
- Value over sales pitch
Those are all things you probably provide via email.
Have you explored the option of sending them via SMS too?
You can run an opt in campaign the same way you do for email. Let the buyer then choose whether to sign up for SMS delivery or email in the contact form. If it’s clear you’ll only send them relevant information – updated case studies, webinar invitations, or technical information – they may be just as likely to sign up for SMS as email.
What is the benefit? Well, SMS open rates are much higher than email. The usual statistic thrown around is that 98% of SMS messages are read within three minutes. Also click through rates on SMS messages are much higher as well – sometimes ten times as high as email.
So if you send links to your content to a buyer via SMS while they are researching, it’s more likely they will see it. They’ll be more familiar with your brand. And assuming what you offer matches what they are looking for, your company could end up on their short list when it comes time to contact sales.
In addition, B2B professionals like to share the information they find. The eMarketer report said that 59% of them share content via email. At the same time though, companies say they suffer horrible open rates on those emails.
Now consider how sending out content via SMS might change things. B2B professionals value the shares they get from peers, SMS has the highest open rate of any communication method, and a click through rate ten times email. If you add that up, you’ll find many more B2B professionals seeing your content than if you send via email.
To sum it up, I’ll quote from a Hubspot article published a few years ago, “[D]on’t be scared of SMS, it can be better than email if you use it properly as a content communications supplement”.
The take-away is simple: SMS is just another inbound marketing channel.
So why not start using it today?
Related Articles
How SMS Can Help Your Local Business Optimise Your Local Campaign
One of the great advantages of SMS: it's completely trackable so you know exactly how your campaigns are engaging your opted in customers and clients. And if you’re a small business, operating in a specific geographical location, then that local knowledge can be invaluable in targeting your campaigns to a local audience.
How SMS Messaging Can Help Get Buyers Back
E-commerce businesses have a huge problem. Consumers fill up their shopping carts, then rudely abandon them before completing a purchase. Of course, they don't mean to be rude, they have their reasons for leaving a full cart behind. But what if it were possible to get some of those sales back?
Proof SMS Messaging Gets Results: ROI
Return on investment in SMS marketing is almost unbelievable, but we assure you it’s true. We’ve pulled some standout examples together to show you that you can achieve these results too. Read the full blog to see why SMS marketing offers some of the highest ROI you’ve ever seen.
6 reasons your business SMS is not working
SMS Marketing for Estate Agents
In recent years, there has been a noticeable shift in the property market towards a new generation of estate agents who are leading a push away from the traditional high street model. With new generations entering the housing market and changing customer behaviours, estate agents are having to look for new ways to attract both buyers and sellers. SMS marketing is a low cost and highly effective tool which could help. In this article, we explore how estate agents can use SMS messaging to attract and engage with customers, helping to boost sales and increase revenue with a minimum of effort.
5 Reasons SMS Marketing is Ideal for Retailers
How SMS can help increase profits through customer retention
6 SMS Marketing Ideas for Your Restaurant
Boost your SMS campaigns by using SMS Web Pages
SMS Marketing Disasters – and How to Avoid Them
SMS Marketing, also known as test message marketing, is one of today's most powerful and cost efficient marketing tools when used correctly and offers endless opportunities with a little creativity added to the mix. However, whether careless or intentional, some mistakes can be harmful to your brand and reputation - as well as leaving you in legal trouble in certain circumstances. Luckily, this is extremely rare and it is easy to stay safe and make sure your SMS Marketing is an all round success. In this article, we look at come examples of how not to do things and offer our advice for ensuring your campaigns are effective and profitable.