Using text messages to communicate with your customers is known as SMS marketing. Permission-based text messages are the primary method of disseminating marketing materials through this platform. A web-based tool is used to send bulk text messages to your customers to keep them engaged.
Building a subscriber list to promote customer loyalty is the goal of SMS marketing. This implies that customers consent to receive marketing messages from your company when they sign up for your SMS Marketing Campaign. When customers connect with your business via SMS and take advantage of the offers you send them, you earn their loyalty.
Because almost everyone has a cell phone, SMS marketing is a viable strategy because customers can read the messages they receive immediately. This means you’ll be able to tap into a market that’s always on the lookout for your product or service. Other forms of communication, such as phone calls and emails, are easily ignored and forgotten.
Any SMS marketing campaign would be incomplete without a keyword and a shortcode. You’ve likely seen it before. Here’s a simple illustration: The keyword is “101010,” and the shortcode is “Saturday.” Customers use the keyword in the message body and the shortcode in the recipient box. The keyword indicates what your customers are signing up for. Your customers will be more likely to participate in your campaign if they see this.
Customers who sign up for your campaign will receive text messages informing them of current deals and promotions at your business, which should entice them to stop by. Good things happen when more people buy your product.
What Is the Cost of SMS Marketing?
Expect to pay between $5 and $25 per keyword. You can expect to pay anywhere from $0.01 to $0.05 per text message. Most SMS Marketing companies offer monthly packages that include a certain number of text messages (2,000 or more) and a few keywords (2-10) Two costs must be considered when calculating your total bill: the cost of sending the text message and the expense of renting keywords. A set number of keywords and a certain number of text messages are usually included in a monthly fee.
Effective SMS marketing tactics
There are no hard and fast rules about who should and should not use SMS Marketing; instead, there are marketing scenarios and objectives that are best suited to this strategy. Now that you know how SMS Marketing works, here are a few examples of how you might use it in practice:
Send Coupons to Your Friends.
Send out one-of-a-kind deals to your customers. Unique coupon codes must be used to prevent non-subscribers from benefiting from your request.
Keeping in touch
Customers who want to schedule an appointment and other confirmations should send reminders and alerts. A great way to ensure that everyone is on the same page and that you are on top of your customer service is to use this technique.
Get involved in Drip Marketing efforts.
Based on how long customers have been subscribers, send out automatic messages. If you’re using coupons, you can send a five percent discount immediately, a ten percent discount three weeks later, and a twenty percent discount two months later. You don’t have to keep sending out separate messages as soon as a customer signs up.
Your customers should be surveyed.
To cast their votes, text the following keywords to a shortcode. Most service providers let you run polls that collect responses over time and plot them on a graph from your dashboard on the web.
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Make an effort to win a prize through a contest.
In the future, customers may be allowed to enter a contest by simply texting the specified keyword. You can look through a list of phone numbers and pick one randomly from the dashboard.
Pictures and Videos Are Welcome
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) marketing allows you to send photos and videos to your customers. Customers will appreciate receiving a flyer or menu in the mail.
Adopt location-based marketing strategies
Send different messages to different customers based on where they are. You can use geofencing to track your customers and send them text messages when they get close to your store. Geofencing, on the other hand, comes at a high price. Geofencing is not yet cost-effective for widespread use because each “ping” to monitor your clients’ locations costs more than sending a text message.
Advantages of SMS Marketing
Among all marketing mediums, texting has the highest rate of user involvement. Unlike emails, phone calls, and leaflets, text messages are almost always scanned. Text messaging provider Mogreet’s CEO James Citron tells Forbes that 95% of his customers signed up for his company’s text messaging service “OPEN and READ their mobile messages within 3 minutes.”
“Opted in” is the most critical term here. Sending unsolicited text messages is against the rules of ethical conduct in mobile marketing (or legal). Customers can only text you if they have signed up for your message list. It’s good that most text marketing services let you opt in and out right on your phone.
Final Thoughts
Text message marketing (SMS) takes advantage of today’s technological advancements to reach your customers. This is done in a straightforward manner. But even though it isn’t completely free, it is a worthwhile investment that can help your business grow.