Every company needs marketing to promote their business, and all of them use different marketing methods, but there are some companies leveraging SMS marketing to grow. It has recently gained popularity as most of the people use smartphones. Email marketing is a popular method to give any update about discount offers and special schemes. Still, it seems to be an expensive method to tell your audience that you are running a gala sale offer this weekend. As long as you have to share a precise message with your audience, SMS marketing is the best and cheaper alternative.
SMS marketing is nothing but using text messages to promote a business. It is a good strategy as long as you have to encourage a new discount offer or give any update about a new product or service. However, you cannot use this marketing strategy if you want to share information like “factors to consider before taking out Doorstep loans for unemployed”. In this situation, you will need email marketing.
More and more companies are using SMS marketing because customers know what it is about within a few seconds and can immediately take the decision. It can help you get the feedback quickly, publicise new offerings and features, and increase customer retention. You need to bear in mind some points to run SMS marketing.
Do Not Forget To Get Permission
If you do not have permission to send text messages to your users, you are damaging the reputation of your brand. As you get subscribers for email newsletters, you need to get subscribers to opt in your text messaging service. Before you get their permission, you need to clearly frame a strategy about what kind of messages you will send. For instance, you can run text messaging campaigns for different goals, for instance, type #saving and send it to 12345 to get discount coupons and type #new and send it to 12345 to get updates of new arrivals.
Set a Limit
You have subscribers now, so you can send the excessive amount of messages, right? No, not at all. Too many SMS will bore and irk your customers, and they will opt-out for your messaging service. You should start with 4 to 5 messages a month and then extend the limit up to 10. However, each message should provide them with value. You need to closely monitor how many people are showing interest in your messaging services and taking the desired action.
Take a record of those who are opting out. If the churn rate is above average, you need to figure out the reason for it – whether you are not providing value or it is too much for customers to stomach. The length of the message should not be over 200 characters. It should be a line or two to send your message.
Consider The Timings
There is no use of running an SMS marketing if people do not have time to open the message to read when they receive it. Timings are crucial because it ensures that people have read your message as immediately as it hits their cellphones. Before setting the appropriate schedules for your text services, you need to find out when they spend most of their time on phones. You know very well that people are busy with their jobs throughout the day, so it is useless to send messages at that time. You should also avoid sending messages when people are commuting.
Make it Engaging
To make the most of your SMS marketing, you should make it entertaining and conversational. For instance, instead of sending a plain text that “Redeem the coupon to get 10% off, you should conduct quizzes that encourage several people to participate to get the best deal. It is a more engaging way to involve your audience in it. You can give good rewards to the first ten people, for example, who submits the right answer, and you can tell beforehand about the reward they can expect after winning the quiz.
Show Urgency
The ultimate goal of SMS marketing is to persuade users to take the desired action. If you want them to respond to your messages immediately, you need to show urgency. Use tempting phrases valid until today only, limited time, expires soon, only this weekend, etc. Such words can generate fear of missing out on them, so they will immediately take action.
To make the most of SMS marketing, you need to bear the points mentioned above. However, you need to track click rates. It will tell you how many customers are engaging with your messaging and how many opt-outs. By analysing their behaviour, you can improve your SMS marketing strategy. Try to have a lasting impact on your customers with your SMS marketing strategy.
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