SMS marketing is not a new concept. This channel has been around since the 1990s. Although many new marketing techniques have come up over the years, text message still remains one of the most effective marketing channels.
This explains why around 37% of modern companies use SMS marketing to communicate with their clients. Some of these businesses use the channel to promote products and services with time-sensitive discounts. Others simply use it to engage with current and prospective clients.
Data also shows that more companies are likely to add SMS marketing to their arsenal in the coming years. Here are some of the reasons behind this trend.
1.It Delivers Immediate Results
There is a reason why many companies turn to SMS marketing when they want quick results. This channel has one of the best delivery and reading rates.
Statistics show that SMS marketing has a staggering 97% read rate. The best part? These messages are read within 15 minutes of delivery!
Put these numbers against other channels, and SMS marketing will crash them.
For this reason, SMS marketing is highly recommended when communicating time-sensitive information. The messages will be delivered to your subscribers within seconds. The majority of them will also read and respond within the first few minutes.
2.It’s A Cost-effective Channel
Are you a startup looking for an affordable marketing channel that can produce results? Try out SMS marketing.
At just a few pennies per text message, SMS marketing is one of the cheapest marketing solutions around. It will help you get the results you want at a fraction of the price of tv, radio, and print commercials.
That shouldn’t be interpreted to mean text message marketing is useful to small businesses alone, far from it. Medium and large corporations also use this channel to complement other advertising efforts.
3.It’s Highly Personalized
Did you know that 80 percent of mobile device owners check smartphones within 15 minutes of waking up? Yes, that’s how intimate people are with their smartphones. After all, this is the device they use to communicate with their loved ones.
The consent to text a potential customer presents a great opportunity to build a personal relationship with them. It’s a rare privilege because not a lot of people are willing to share something as personal as their telephone number.
Moreover, SMS marketing can be personalized to produce even better results. This is supported by surveys that show personalized marketing is more effective than non-personalized ads.
How exactly can you personalize your SMS marketing strategy? Creating personas for your clients is a good place to start. When asking for consent from your customers, it’s always good to take down details like demographics. You should also try and capture information on their interests and pain points.
If you are collecting the telephone numbers from your website, google analytics can help generate demographic data.
Once you have the information, curating your messages to the clients’ needs should be straightforward.
4.It’s Easy To Integrate With Other Marketing Channels
Smart marketers do not rely on a single channel. They integrate multiple techniques like email marketing to generate more leads and boost ROI.
SMS marketing works with other marketing channels so easily. As Messente has demonstrated, the technique can be used alongside emails and social media platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. It also integrates seamlessly with blogging platforms such as WordPress and eCommerce sites like Shopify.
Integration helps to bridge gaps between different marketing channels. For instance, SMS marketing delivers quick results, which are hard to achieve with email newsletters.
On the other hand, emails allow you to create engaging long-form marketing content with media and other resources. Doing this on text messages is impossible.
Also, most people are reluctant to provide telephone numbers. They’d rather submit their email addresses. Complementing SMS with email marketing will help you capture these leads as well.
5.It’s Fairly Easy To Track Results
Text message marketing is very easy to manage and track. With good software, you can see the number of messages sent, deliver, and read. It also allows you to see the percentage of people clicking and responding to your campaign.
The data makes it easy to measure the performance of each campaign. You can tell which message generated more user engagement. You’ll also know the texts that performed poorly.
And why should you care about this data? Well, it gives you an opportunity to improve your campaigns.
Look at the texts that performed horribly and find the core problem. Was it the tone or your CTA? Or perhaps you sent the messages at the wrong time? Make the analysis, pick your lessons, and do better with the next campaign.
There is no doubt that your business will benefit hugely from this channel. Your competitors are probably doing it already, and so should you. Find a good SMS marketing strategy and get started right away.
