Businesses around the globe are using text message marketing now more than ever before. With over 6 billion mobiles in use, you can’t afford to miss this mobile revolution.
People these days are numb to most conventional advertising, but one form of connecting with customers still provides strong results. SMS (short messaging service) or texts they are more commonly known, engage higher numbers of people than any other medium for small businesses.
Why? Well for a start everyone who has a mobile phone can receive your message, it is quick, convenient and uncomplicated to open and read received messages.
What is Text Message Marketing?
Text message marketing is a way to send short, targeted messages to customers who have requested to receive updates and/or offers from your business. Interaction with customers is more personal when it is through SMS, the user has elected to participate in something that is relevant to them and their needs so it is highly targeted.
A basic text campaign can reach any and all who wish to be a part of it. A text message is an intimate and a direct connection. No other form of media offers such a close and personal way in which to connect with a customer than via their mobile phones.
It is a great instant way to get your customers to come to your business during quiet times, keep them abreast with special offers you are running, get them to check out updates on your mobile optimised website, purchase your products or place an order on their phone, get them to engage in competitions, increase brand awareness, ask for feedback and even receive reminders about appointments.
The key to success with text message marketing is ensuring that content is relevant and specific to your customer and their needs. Everyone loves a great deal. Give them something of value, a reason to respond to your information, buy your product or take up your offer. Send messages on a regular basis so that you engage with your customers and they will return to your business again and again rather than go to your competitors.
The fact is if you are not using text message marketing to your customers, you are missing out on loyalty and repeat business. The return on investment is very high.
How Does Text Marketing Work?
Mobile marketing works by getting your customers to opt-in a campaign to receive a special offer or something of value in return. By opting in they agree to receive your messages. This builds a list of subscribers that you can send regular text messages too.
Your customers signup by sending a text containing a keyword to a specific number. So for example you were offering a free gift they could text the word ‘FREE’ to (your number). They would then receive an automated text message back with details on how to claim their free gift, which could be clicking on a link to a mobile friendly voucher or showing the text to your staff upon payment.
The signup process can be simplified by providing QR (quick response) codes on promotional materials. These look similar to barcodes and can be scanned by your customer’s smart mobile phone and they are taken directly to their text application so all they have to do is click ‘send’.
Their mobile phone number would be stored in your subscriber list for you to send promotional messages to at a later date.
How Do You Get Them to Sign Up?
The single most important part of any campaign is the actual offer being presented. It’s the secret sauce that makes text campaign successful. It must be relevant and of value. You need to provide a sufficient enough reason for a consumer to want to participate. You must ensure you have easy access to your offer wherever your customers are, whether that be in your business premises, in your print marketing or in your social marketing.
Eye opening Stats:
- Text messages have a 97% open rate
- 83% of texts are read within 5 minutes of receiving
- Mobile generates high response rates, 15%-20% as opposed to 1-4% through other media
7 Great Reasons to Use Text Marketing
Reason 1
Engagement with your customers
Your customers carry their phones with them everywhere so it’s a simple, fast response way of making a direct connection with them, engaging with them and encouraging them to do more business with you. You can also encourage customer feedback.
Reason 2
Instant Response
It’s a quick, cost effective way to directly contact so many of your customers. With 97% of all text messages received opened and 83% read within 5 minutes of receiving, no other media can reach your customers so fast. Text messages generate high response rates, 15% to 20% are common. Now compare all this to email with an average of 15% open rate within 24 hours and a response of 1 to 4%.
Reason 3
Encourages Customer Loyalty
You can send text messages on a regular basis with targeted and relevant offers to your customers, update them on your products or services, run competitions or give them special customer discounts. By keeping in constant contact you customer will think of your business before your competitors.
Reason 4
Improves Repeat Business
Why keep trying to finding new customers when you can encourage your current customers to return. By sending targeted messages to your customers with great deals and offers as well as asking for feedback, you give them every reason to return to you again and again. This gives you a great return on your investment through repeat sales.
Reason 5
Generates sales during quiet periods
A major advantage of text marketing is it’s instant response. As texts are opened within minutes, you can send a one day offer on a quiet morning and have customers visiting or calling within a few hours if not sooner. People read your messages on the go so where ever they are, and if they are local there is a high probability of them using your services.
Reason 6
Customer reminders
For businesses that depend on customers showing up for appointments, reminders can produce huge revenue gains. Studies have shown huge reductions in missed appointments and large financial savings.
Reason 7
Hot leads
For car dealerships or real estate agents where leads are best fresh and hot. Place QR codes on cars, sale boards or printed advertisements that customers can scan and send a text to receive further details and a link to a further information webpage that is mobile optimised . The lead can be passed instantly to your sales team for immediate follow up.
Suggestions on how you can implement SMS marketing:
Hotels, restaurants, takeaways and coffee shops
Offer free drinks, food or a discount to sign up.
Follow up in the future with further special offers to encourage repeat business especially during quieter periods.
Garage services
Offer a discount on servicing or free safety check to sign up.
Follow up with service reminders and discounts on repairs.
Cleaning services
Offer a free clean (car, window, carpet, upholstery, household) or provide a discount on the bill to signup.
Follow up with payment reminders, appointment times, future offers.
Hair, beauty and health
Offer a free consultation, treatment or discount to signup.
Follow up with appointment reminders or special offers.
Stores
Offer a discount on product / service or a free gift to signup.
Follow up with loyal customer offers, special products or discounts.
Bars & Nightclubs
Offer a discount on entry or free drinks to signup.
Follow up with future event details or special drink offers.
Car Dealers
Use QR codes on vehicles or print adverts to send texts to receive further details on cars.
Sales staff can then follow up immediately with the leads. Similar vehicles can also be text to customers in the future.
Personal Fitness Trainers
Offer a free training session for signup.
Follow up with reminders and fitness tips.
Property agents
Use QR codes on sale boards or print adverts to send texts to receive further details on property.
Sales staff can then follow up immediately with the leads. Similar property can also be text to customers in the future.
What Are You Waiting For?
Our clients are often surprised at the sheer power of mobile text message marketing. Get started today!
Mobile marketing is doing great things for our clients and hopefully you can see the value SMS Marketing could add to your existing marketing efforts. But how do you quickly get started?
This is where we can help. Why not give us a call for free no obligation advice to discover how we can help your business profit from this very effective marketing strategy and help you to not only get more customers but to keep the ones you have by encouraging customer loyalty.
