SMS marketing or text message marketing is one of the shortest, quickest, and easiest ways of business communication. It involves sending transactional messages and promotional materials over the phone. The messages can be promotional offers, sales deals, appointment reminders, loyalty rewards, or a request to respond to a survey.
With more than 7 billion mobile phone users in the world, SMS marketing provides enormous opportunities for all types of businesses to generate new leads and reach a new audience. But many have not harnessed its true potential despite several reputable digital marketing companies providing high-quality SMS marketing services.
Are you one such business that is yet to identify the opportunities SMS marketing provides? Don’t worry. At PeddleWeb, one of India’s leading providers of digital marketing services, we have got you covered with the benefits of SMS marketing for your business and the best practices to follow before starting a campaign.
Benefits of SMS Marketing
- High user base
As per Statista, there are more than 7.1 billion mobile phone users all over the world currently.
- High open rates
SMS has an open rate of about 98 percent that is far higher compared to any other message. On average, users view the text messages within 15 minutes after delivery. As the target audience is more likely to read the messages in a short period, the messaging is crucial for
- Accessibility
Most of the time, the majority of mobile users have their phones switched on and close to them. This enables them to easily check every text message whenever they receive one. But not all email users have their email accounts open all the time, and many don’t have notifications enabled.
- Messages do not go into any spam or junk folder
In the email, there is a Spam folder in the email that automatically filters out promotional or other messages and stores them in a separate box. But in SMS, there is no such box, and all text messages go directly to the inbox.
- Higher return on investment
When integrated with other marketing strategies such as email marketing and social media marketing, more than 50 percent of SMS marketing initiatives yield a good return on investment.
- Customer engagement
SMS marketing results in greater customer engagement. Many customers feel special when receiving a personalized text message offering them special deals, vouchers, and offers. Several businesses also send birthday and anniversary messages to their customers. As per Digital Marketing Magazine data, 75 percent of customers prefer text messages to any other messages to receive promotional content.
- Brand exposure
As per some studies, 45 percent of customers respond to text messages more favorably than other messages. Text message marketing strategies will help you create your business’s brand awareness.
- Customer loyalty
Well-crafted text messages engage the target audience and can turn some of them into loyal customers. The simplicity of SMS resonates with a large group of audience. And a short and crisp message communicates well without taking a lot of their time. SMS also enables many businesses to drive their customer loyalty programs and create a community.
- Boost social media followers
A carefully planned SMS marketing strategy can increase your social media followers and generate favorable online reviews for you. A well-crafted SMS text will encourage the receivers to follow your social media pages and write reviews.
- Data monitoring
Monitoring the success of your SMS marketing campaigns is simple as your audience will either read the message or ignore it. If a majority is not reading your message or not taking the desired action, then you need to rework your strategy.
Best practices for sending SMS
Before starting an SMS marketing campaign, you must follow some best practices to make it more effective.
- Get the consent of recipients before you message them
Before you include anyone in your SMS marketing campaign, ask for permission and get their consent first. At the same time, give them the option to opt-out anytime they want. Explain the steps on how they can opt-out if they ever want.
- Focus on the value of the message to the receiver
The first and foremost best practice is to send a message only if it can provide value to the receivers. Before you send it, ask yourself, “How can the message benefit my target audience?” If you are confident that the message can provide value to their lives, then go for it.
- Keep the tone professional yet friendly
Make sure your messages are professional and straightforward but keep your tone friendly and conversational.
- Make sure you send the right message to the right person at the right time
Before pressing the send button, always make sure that the right message goes to the right person at the right time. For example, if you are sending a post-order message, make sure you send the message with a grateful tone immediately after the order is placed. Also, mention the status of the order and the expected delivery time.
- Send messages at the appropriate time
Respect the time and space of your audience. Send messages at an appropriate time so that you don’t disturb them. Don’t send messages in the early hours of the morning or late in the night.
- Send messages about special promotional offers or exclusive deals
Send special promotional offers or exclusive deals applicable for a limited time.
- Send appointment reminders
Remind your customers about their appointments, or invite them to book one, using SMS marketing.
- Take the help of a professional
If you can’t invest the required time and effort for your SMS marketing campaigns, hire a professional that can provide you with high-quality and effective SMS marketing services.
In closing,
SMS marketing is one of the best and most effective marketing strategies for every business. To run a successful campaign, you need to learn the techniques and invest quality time and energy. At PeddleWeb, we help several of our clients with SMS marketing initiatives, and we can surely help your business reach new heights. Call us to know more.
