The world moves on mobile, and if you are looking to promote your business, this is where you should move too.
Wendy Clark, Senior VP, Integrated Marketing, Coca-Cola Companies had once said –
“If your plans don’t include mobile, your plans are finished.”
Take a look at how mobile our world has become –
According to a survey
- 93% of people use their mobile phones for shopping
- 90% of all consumers check their phone within an hour of waking up
- Text or IM is the first thing consumers access on their phone
By the end of 2018, over 36% of the world’s population has been projected to use a smartphone. But guess what, your audience isn’t limited to them.
All mobile devices available in the market are SMS –enabled, making text marketing the only mobile channel that offers the widest reach with the well-known actuality of 98% SMS open-rate, with 83% opened within 3 minutes. A low-cost, high-return marketing system, Short Message Service is one of the best methods to reach your audience and beyond.
Diamond jewellery retailer Orra CEO Vijay Jain says, “SMS is the most direct form of marketing and people tend to respond faster to it than any other mobile communication. Even if people mute other notifications, such as those from a messenger service or email, they usually leave the SMS alert on.”
Below are some of the easiest tactics that can lead to a successful promotional SMS campaign.
1. Segment To Target
What’s your first instinct when you see a promotional SMS? Is it really for me?
The right message to the right customer is the key here. You don’t want your audience to complain about too many marketing messages; instead, you want them to act on it.
Segmenting your audience and targeting them simply means your customers get the message that is relevant to them.
2. Learn to KISS (Keep It Short Simple)
Your SMS is limited to 160 characters; make sure you keep it short and simple. Express yourself clearly and avoid using open-ended messages because they can confuse the customer.
30% off on your next order. Click here
OR
30% off on your next order. Expires 10 PM tonight, click here.
Both the examples follow the KISS strategy instructing the customer what to do, but the first one is an open-ended message that invites the client for the offer but doesn’t create a sense of urgency as the information is incomplete.
3. Timing Is Everything
- Send at the right time
- Create a sense of urgency
The Formula One British Grand Prix used SMS marketing to generate interest in tickets for their upcoming event timed to go out the moment BBC finished airing its coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix.
‘Enjoyed the Monaco Grand Prix? Get your tickets to the British Grand Prix at Silverstone now! http://bit.ly/12wYgh1 To opt out text STOP to 60070’.
Encourage your customers to opt-in and the best way to do this is to give them an opening at any and all possible contact points including your
- Website
- Social Media Platforms
- Newsletter
- Point-of-sale
5. Follow-Ups
Obviously, you might want to come across only when you have relevant information, but going weeks or months without any communication is bad. Out of sight is out of mind and successful organizations know it and leverage the power of SMS communication by regularly staying connected to their customers.
6. Call-To-Action
You want your customers to get engaged with your organization and for that, you have to send them texts that hold value for them. Clear call-to-actions carries a strong chance of your audience interacting with you.
- Buy Now
- Click Here
- Text-To-Win
- Offer Expires
Call-to-action buttons make it easier for customers to act on the SMS.
The live trivia game GetLocoNow.com uses SMS alerts with call-to-action bringing people together to participate in the quiz at a particular time.
Leverage the power of immediacy by including some sort of expiration date or time constraint. It would encourage the customer to act fast on the SMS producing great results.
Take a look at how the takeaway pizza chain Domino’s smartly used SMS marketing in one of their campaigns that targeted the right time slot being mindful of the location.
“Domino’s Mumbai. All this week Buy One Get One Free Online Online. Use Code (code) @dominos.co.uk Exp 13/03 T&Cs Apply OptOut STOP to (number).”
They sent out the following message at 4.15pm to customers of one store at just the right time when people think of what they want to eat for an evening meal and the response was terrific.
8. Personalize The Text
Customers respond more positively when the message is directly addressed to them to personalize the SMS by inserting the customer’s name or preferences for a more successful campaign.
The extended warranty provider OnsiteGo sends repair/replacement SMS notifications based on user interest.
9. Add Links To Your SMS
The length of an SMS is 160 characters and to fit in that you can use link shorteners like mCampaign URL shortener, Google link, bitly.
It is beneficial because:
- Firstly, the customer can access the web page directly through the SMS.
- Secondly, it saves you space.
Paisabazaar uses SMS updates to boost their customer confidence by keeping them updated at each step of the process. Here’s a screenshot of one of their SMSs –
Dear Customer, Thank You for applying for Personal Loan to CASHe through Paisabazaar. Please use the http://hyperurl.co/dfocni, download the app to complete the application.
10. No Spamming
Nobody likes to get SPAM. Get over it.
11. Analyze Your Previous Campaigns
The only way to know how your SMS campaign is faring is by measuring it. Analyze the data and use it to set further campaign strategies.
Use Audience Demographics to learn the best time to contact or measure cross channel-engagement or the opt-in /opt-out rate and more.
12. Keep Things Interesting
Always ensure you are updating your messages and not repeating messages. changing your message to offer variety helps in keeping things interesting.
13. Keep An Eye On Your Database
Mobile phone numbers get changed often, so it’s all the more important to know that your SMS is being sent to the right people.
The Bottom Line
SMS is affordable and offers a great ROI provided you get the SMS marketing campaign right. More than finding a balance between the timing and the content, it is about offering relevant information to your customers. I highly recommend SMS marketing campaigns to fellow startups and SMEs who are low on budget and struggle to get their messages heard.
Hopefully, after this article, you are now ready to leverage this powerful channel.
