Referral Marketing Through SMS Messaging
What is one almost guaranteed way of getting new customers? Ask for them. Really. Studies show that 83% of satisfied customers are willing to recommend a company, product or service to their family and friends. In reality though, only about 29% of those customers actually do.
How can you improve the chances of that other 54% actually sharing how much they love your company? Start using referral marketing. Whether you have just a few customers or a thousand, a quick, easy, and reliable way to reach out and ask is with SMS messaging.
Here’s how the process would work:
- A customer makes a purchase or uses your service.
- You follow up with them to see how they are getting on.
- After the follow up send them a text message with a coupon code, link, or special offer for them and a friend (or many). Let them know they can forward the text message directly to a friend to make it as easy as possible to share.
Surveys have shown 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know. A satisfied customer is the best marketing you can have, if you can get them to share their opinion.
You may be wondering why you should use SMS messaging to ask for referrals. Why not email, or social media? Well, you can do that too and probably should. But given the generally poor email open rates and high SMS read rates, it’s much more likely your customer will see the offer (and request) in an SMS message than in an email. The same is true for social media. You can tweet or post a referral offer, but what is the likelihood your customer will see it given how much we are all inundated with social media updates?
Another advantage SMS messaging has it that it can be immediate and automatic, but also personal. Sending a text message to a particular customer in response to an action they took (a purchase, customer service call, survey completed, etc.) will make them feel appreciated and probably even more enamoured with your company. A general blast across social media or email won’t have that same impact. Yes, email can be personalised too, but they aren’t perceived by people as personal messages as much as a text message is.
And if you’re still thinking this sounds like too much work, maybe an example can help.
Have you ever heard of Etsy? It’s a company offering a virtual marketplace online for artisans of all sorts from every corner of the globe to sell their wares. They have 40 million members, 1 million “shops”, artists in over 200 countries, and a total sales volume of $1.35 billion in 2013 (£615).
Ninety percent of their business comes from referrals.
Want to know how to put that kind of power into your marketing? Contact us today to see how we can help you integrate SMS messaging into your business.
Related Articles
Advice and Predictions for the Future of SMS Messaging in 2017
SMS messaging took off in 2016. And that’s saying something for a technology that’s been around twenty-five years. Come take a look at the past year and see what we think 2017 will bring to the industry and how you can use it in your business.
Referral Marketing Through SMS Messaging
What is one almost guaranteed way of getting new customers? Ask for them. Really. Studies show that 83% of satisfied customers are willing to recommend a company, product or service to their family and friends. Here's how you can use SMS to simplify and improve your referral marketing.
Don’t Worry, SMS Messaging is Still Perfect for Marketing
Brits feel “bombarded” by too many messages from brands on mobile. Does that mean SMS marketing doesn’t work anymore? Actually no, it just means most brands are probably doing it wrong. Find out why UK consumers feel that way and how your brand should be using SMS marketing the right way.
One Simple Trick Can Boost Your SMS Marketing
SMS marketing offers the ability to send time-sensitive offers to your best customers. But are you missing out on the potential of your own brand in your offers? Read this post to see an example of how a simple trick can potentially boost your results.
What Makes a Great Call to Action in an SMS Message?
Marketing messages, whether in print or electronic have many parts to them. In the beginning there’s the hook that entices someone to continue reading, and near the end is the call to action. That’s where you make it clear what you want someone to do after reading the message. There are many parts in between these two, but these are, arguably, the two most important.
5 Great Easter Marketing Campaigns to Inspire Your SMS Marketing
Work 24/7 Without Being in The Office! The Benefits of SMS Scheduling
In our demanding, 24/7 world it is difficult to stay on top of your SMS marketing campaign but with scheduling you can ensure you are getting your message to your audience whatever the time.
5 Simple Steps to Improve Your SMS Marketing with A/B Testing
Do you ever wonder if your SMS marketing campaigns could be even more successful? Of course, you do! Find out how to put A/B testing to work in your campaigns by following our five simple steps and see your ROI increase
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.
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.