To sell, inform, or inspire loyalty. These are the primary goals of SMS marketing which also stands for Short Message Service marketing. It is the practice of sending out promotional messages to target customers via text.
SMS marketing is similar to email because both are used by businesses to send 1-to-1 or 1-to-many messages depending on their goal. The sender also have full control on the list of numbers and the distribution in both of these media.
For SMS marketing to work, it needs a short code, which is equivalent to a company email address. In short, it is an abbreviated phone number of five or six digits.
Meanwhile, for buyers to receive your text messages, they must send a keyword to this short code. This is the cue that they are willing and interested to subscribe and receive your SMS marketing.
Benefits of SMS Marketing:
High open and click-through rates – Compared to the 20% open rates of emails, SMS can come up very close to 100% according to experts. Click-through rates on the other hand, which is more vital, can go as high as 50% compared to 6% that is the average click-through rate of email marketing.
Another good thing about SMS Marketing is that you will rarely have problem with deliverability since the receivers will be customers who opted it chose to hear from you.
Convenient and Simple – In SMS Marketing, you need absolutely no DESIGN SKILLS. Since letters, numbers, emoji, or GIF clips are all you need to compose your message. Unlike emails that needs impressive subject lines, and an encouraging body for people to click through, all you need in SMS Marketing is a couple of lines to deliver an impactful message.
Brings You Closer to Customers – Studies show that SMS gives people a more personal feel amd it encourages loyalty while building strong bonds between the sender and the receiver. This explains why the average response rate for SMS reaches 45%
Best Practices in SMS Marketing:
Make Unsubscribing Easier – This is a proven fact; people are more reluctant to try things they know they cannot get out of easily. Though they might not know it yet before subscribing, but if you make it hard for customers to opt out of your SMS list, then it will be more difficult for you to gain their trust.
This is not to encourage them to unsubscribe, but to instill to their minds that you are supporting their freedom of choice. This will make a good impression of you. If you come to think of it, it is better to have people that remain in your SMS list because they want to receive your messages rather than because they are finding it hard to unsubscribe.
Focus more on Educating rather than promoting – The relevance of your messages to your customers will define if they will stay or opt out. So most of your messages must be related to an order, from status to asking for feedback to ensure that they will be useful to the customers. Promotional messages on the other hand should be minimized.
Keep it Conversational
By keeping the inherently conversational nature of SMS, you make it easier for customers to generate reviews and product feedback. By asking their opinion on future product lines through text, you make them more excited and engaged.
For many online marketers, SMS marketing is just expensive and intrusive. But for us, as long as you understand and apply the tips above, you can use SMS marketing to boost your conversion rates while improving your relationship with your customers.