In his article you will learn how to use SMS marketing to grow your sales.
Text message marketing is an excellent option for small businesses to attract and retain customers. You can create a direct line between your brand and the consumer with this strategy.
Did you know that 15.2 million text messages are sent every minute worldwide?
Today, almost everyone has access to a mobile phone. People pick up their phones on average 55 times a day. Americans are leading these statistics by checking their phones 96 times a day.
People are conditioned naturally to respond to notifications and alerts, and with text messages, you don’t have to wait until they are in front of a PC to take action.
Text messages are short and easy to consume, with short sentences and immediate delivery.
That’s why SMS marketing provides a valuable channel to reach your customer.
What is SMS marketing?
SMS marketing is a strategy that uses text messages to engage customers and increase sales.
SMS stands for “short message service” and is a communication protocol to send and receive text messages over cellular networks.
The first SMS was sent back in 1992.. The term SMS also refers to MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service), a multimedia SMS capable of transmitting audio, video, files, and phone contacts. MMS has a maximum length of 1600 characters versus 160 characters of SMS.
How can SMS marketing help businesses?
SMS marketing can engage and acquire new customers for your business. Since text messages create a direct path between you and your customer, it’s easy to build brand awareness and forge a stable relationship to generate sales.
There are plenty of reasons to send text messages. For example:
1-To send updates and notifications about products.
2-To collect customer feedback.
3-To promote sales.
4-To offer coupons and special discounts.
5-To follow-up email campaigns.
6-To send updates about order status and shipping.
SMS marketing can help small businesses, restaurants, real estate agents, contractors, eCommerce platforms, financial services, gyms, retail, non-profits, schools, hotels, retail, and almost every business.
As usual, the key is to add value to the customer. This is the main point to consider when starting any marketing effort, and SMS marketing must follow the same idea.
Learn how SMS marketing can help your business with short sentences and immediate delivery here
Is SMS marketing effective?
To answer this question, consider::
1-SMS has 98% open rates compared to 20% open email rates.
This is because notification remains on until the message is read and is likely to be opened by the customer. People always have cell phones with them, and this is an advantage that contributes to the high open rates.
2-SMS is fast, inexpensive and more than 90% of messages are read in the first 3 minutes.
3-SMS is a low-cost method to reach your customer, especially for small businesses.
4-SMS has a high engagement rate, and 70% of customers say that SMS grabs their attention.
5-SMS doesn’t need an internet connection to work, which is an excellent advantage over other messaging apps and email.
6-More than 50% of consumers prefer text messaging over a phone call for consumer support.
7-Almost 50% of millennials favor SMS texts over emails.
8-Consumers prefer SMS because they don’t have to download a brand’s app.
How to start with SMS marketing?
To start an SMS marketing campaign, follow these steps:
1-Use an SMS marketing platform. There are plenty of platforms, and we’ve listed the best below.
2-You need explicit permission from your customer to send SMS. This is especially important to comply with federal regulations.
3-Always add value to your customer. This is an immutable law of marketing applicable to any action.
4-Keep your messages short and do not spend lots of messages. Only send important texts, so the consumers know that it is worthwhile to read when they get a text from you.
5-Personalize your campaign. This will lead to higher engagement.
6-Only send messages during business hours. Avoid annoying customers at any hour and consider the time zones where your customer is located.
Is text message marketing legal?
Many countries have specific rules about SMS, and you should know them before starting an SMS marketing campaign.
The main word about email and SMS marketing campaigns is “consent.” The U.S FCC rules say that consent for commercial text messaging must be written.
Proof of consent may be collected from your contacts through email, website forms, text messages, and many more options.
Primary regulations of the TCPA(Telephone Consumer Protection Act) from 1991 are:
Prior Express Written Consent – A consumer’s written* consent is required before sending any text messages for commercial or marketing purposes and must sufficiently show that the consumer (1) received “clear and conspicuous disclosure” of what messages they’ll be receiving; and (2) agrees unambiguously to receive such calls at the phone number given.*Consent obtained in compliance with the E-SIGN Act, such as permission obtained via an email, website form, text message, telephone keypress, voice recording, etc., satisfies this requirement. **Tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are not required to comply with the do-not-call provisions of the TCPA
Auto Opt-Out Mechanism – Recipients, must opt-out by replying directly to the text message.
Text Message Content – According to the TCPA, text messages must include (1) the identity of the entity sending the text and (2) opt-out instructions (the CTIA clarifies that messages must include opt-out instructions at least monthly).
Appropriate Texting Times – Text messages for marketing purposes can only be sent between 8 am and 9 pm (local time of the receiver). In short, the TCPA prohibits text messages sent to a mobile phone from an auto-dialer (including text message marketing) unless (1) you previously gave consent to receive the message or (2) the message is sent for emergency purposes.
References for the FCC Regulations discussed above, and for additional regulations not mentioned above, include:
1-A description of the program.
2-The short code or phone number you will be sending from.
3-The phrase “Msg & Data rates apply.”
4-A number of messages participants will receive.
5-Instructions to opt-out.
6-A link to your terms and conditions or privacy policy.
7-Contact and support information.
SMS marketing vs. Email marketing:
Email is a popular channel for marketers and the preferred digital channel for marketing campaigns.
That’s why 300 billion emails are sent per day worldwide, although nearly 50% of these are spam.
Inboxes are getting thousands of unsolicited emails, and people delete many emails without reading them.
But consumers’ behavior about text messaging is different. When someone receives a message, the phone alert grabs their attention, and the notification gets on until the user reads the statement. So, chances to open text messages are remarkably high.
SMS is best for:
B2C (Business to Consumer) marketing.
Deals and coupons.
Personal alerts.
Quick information delivery.
To inform customers that don’t access websites.
Younger people.
Email marketing is best for:
In-depth information.
Service and product promotions.
Building and establishing a community.
Meaningful and detailed content.
B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Consumer) marketing.
Deals and coupons.
Don’t think of email marketing excluding SMS marketing or vice-versa.
When you combine email marketing and SMS marketing, you can increase the engagement and retention of your customers.
Both mediums are suitable, but always think about what your audience needs and how you can provide it. You need to ask your customers, get feedback, and learn what they expect from you.
Segmentation is critical. Text messages don’t have the same usage in every country, and you should consider this when you start a campaign. Also, younger generations are more likely to use text messages than adults, depending on your product or service.
What is an SMS marketing platform?
To send SMS, you need to subscribe to an SMS platform.
This is a tool to create and send text messages to a specific list of phone numbers. Some platforms allow to send SMS worldwide, and others focus on particular countries or zones.
Most of these platforms allow sending automatic text messages triggered by a user’s action, such as signing up for alerts or requesting more information about a product or service.
Which is the best text message marketing service?
There are plenty of text marketing solutions out there. Some of the best text message marketing platforms are:
ClickSend is a cloud-based gateway service for your business that lets you send bulk SMS, email, fax & letters worldwide
Features: No monthly fees, dedicated number option, lots of integrations, global coverage.
Pricing: Starting at 6 cents per message
A complete platform for sending emails and SMS, only US numbers.
Features: automatic consent management, email and SMS signup forms, advanced segmentation, MMS at no additional cost. Focused on Magento, Shopify, BigCommerce, and WooCommerce,
Pricing: First 50 messages for free, then two cents per message.
A solid player in the business from 2001. Send notifications, alerts, reminders, confirmations, and -SMS marketing campaigns.
Various free interesting tools are available.
Features: Send texts, email to SMS, reporting and analytics, two-way SMS chat, iOS & Android apps, integrations.
Pricing: starting at 4 cents, only pay for texts you send—free full-featured 14-day trial without credit card.
With more than 16 years in the SMS market, EZTexting is a known and solid player with flexible pricing plans.
Features: Automated event notifications, mobile keywords, lead generation, safe opt-out compliance, group messaging, toll-free numbers, MMS messaging, text to landline messages, contacts segmentation, analytics, reporting, and more.
Pricing: Starting at $39/month per 1000 credits. Free-trial available.
Textedly is one of the best text message marketing software for small businesses.
Features: custom keywords and free incoming text messages, two-way SMS, text to a landline, text keyword, built-in link shortening, drip campaigns, voice services, email capture, Zapier integration, and more.
Pricing: Starting at $29/month with 1200 messages included. Free 14-day trial.
SimpleTexting has multiple plans to choose from and a great variety of tools.
Features: 2-way messaging, scheduled texts, multi-number, link tracking, MMS messaging, automation tools, message templates, Mailchimp, and Zapier integrations.
Pricing: Plans start at $25 per month for 500 credits to send 500 messages. Free 14-day trial.
What to look for in a text marketing platform?
Text message marketing services are full-scale marketing solutions that help you engage with your audience, track results, and improve customer service. All these services offer many options and features. We suggest you look for:
Scheduling: Useful to schedule text messages in advance to go out at any date or time.
Analytics, tracking, and reports: You will need helpful reports on your campaigns, contacts, and keywords that you can use to improve future campaigns.
Automation: Automation tools to regularly send the same text message, such as recurring reminders.
Contact management: Accurate, up-to-date contact lists are vital to successful text message marketing campaigns. Since consumers often change their numbers, it is essential to check that your contact list is updated. Otherwise, your customers won’t receive your messages, and your campaigns will fail. The best text message marketing solutions make adding contacts, importing existing lists, and crawling lists to ensure only active numbers are on them.
Customization: The best text message campaigns are personalized. Some solutions capture customer data, such as the person’s full name and personal data.
Free incoming text messages: Most text message marketing companies don’t charge you for your customers’ texts.
Drip campaigns: With this feature, you can set up actions triggered based on conditions you set. For example, a welcome text goes out when a customer subscribes. Then they can get a thank-you message when they make their first purchase, with other triggered readers to follow.
Integrations: Some text message companies integrate with other platforms, such as email marketing tools like Mailchimp and SendinBlue.
Message templates: If you send the same text message frequently, look for a solution that lets you create and save templates so you can send messages faster.
Multimedia messaging: Almost any service allows you to send pictures, videos, and audio clips. These are also known as MMS messages.
Mobile keywords: Several SMS platforms allow you to choose custom keywords and track the use of these keywords in your campaign.
Text-to-landline: This feature lets you send and receive text messages through your business landline phone number with no changes to your voice service.
Demographics: Important to check if the SMS platform can deliver messages to the countries you target.
What to expect for SMS marketing next year?
In 2023 3.5 trillion SMS business messages will be sent, from 2.5 trillion in 2019 ( Hurekatek)
By 2021 Rich Communication Services (RCS) will combine SMS with other chat apps to reach a projected $75 billion market. ( ClickSend)
Chatbot platforms will reach customers via SMS, increasing the business size. Also read: Why you should boost your marketing with chatbots
Demand for personalized SMS will rise (Textedly)
Conclusion:
SMS is one of the best mediums to engage with your customers in a personalized way, but it is essential to use it according to the customer’s needs. Every SMS you send must have a purpose and a goal and add value to your subscribers.
If you are using email marketing, adding SMS marketing is a good idea. The overall cost is low, and considering its great open rates, you will straighten your sales in the short term.
Many SMS marketing platforms offer a free trial, which is another reason to try this marketing strategy.
Owner and content writer at 99marketingtools.com.