SMS marketing is a type of marketing strategy that uses a short message service to promote a product or service. Brands use mass SMS messaging to communicate with their customers through text messages in order to let them know about updates, news, promotions, sales, giveaways, and more. Since it has been mainly used for personal conversations between individuals, businesses have not fully tapped on the marketing potential of text messaging. It was only when there was an increase of smartphone users that brands started to realize the value of SMS marketing in boosting their business. Even so, a lot of businesses have yet to tap into the power of SMS marketing into their business strategies.
If you are considering using SMS marketing in your business, you’ll be glad to know there are various benefits to it. To learn more about the ways SMS marketing can help your business, read on.
It Improves Conversion Rates
As many people are using instant messaging apps, text messaging remains to be an effective marketing tool. It has a better conversion rate compared to its online counterparts like email marketing. Also, 98 percent of sent text messages are opened—giving SMS marketing a clear advantage. The reason behind this is that many individuals find text messaging as a more personal approach.
In most cases, customers would need to give their permission for businesses to communicate with them through text messages. They likely gave their mobile number to the brand or opted into SMS promotions. So if your customers receive a message from you, they will likely read it. And as one of the most effective channels out there, SMS yields the best response rate – especially if you have an attractive offer.
For many businesses, this can be very beneficial. In real estate, for example, they can use text messages to update their clients about new showings or properties that match with what they are looking for. And when real estate text lead capture the attention of potential buyers, agents have better chances of closing a sale.
It Encourages Customer Engagement
Text messages are an effective way to improve how your brand engages with your customers throughout the entire customer lifecycle. It’s a good way to retain brand loyalty and enhance customer service. While many people appreciate getting updates from their favorite brands, businesses also need to put variety in the type of content they send out. You can reserve news and other developments within the brand to email as longer and more creative messages are more appropriate in that channel. Instead, use SMS for more immediate sales-related information like vouchers, discounts, special promos, after-sales service, or even birthday greetings.
Although many marketers still feel texting is an invasive method, a lot of consumers are now familiar with the medium and prefer to use text messages when acquiring various services like securing appointments for dentists, salons, doctors, and car repair shops.
You Can Reach a Wider Audience
As smartphone usage continues to increase, so does your potential market growth. A lot of online traffic is also generated through mobile phones, which is why it makes good business sense to include SMS communication as part of your business’s marketing strategy.
One of the main benefits of SMS marketing in any business is your customers can receive text messages even if they don’t have internet connectivity. This means you can tap into all mobile phone users. Unlike online marketing strategies, you can go beyond smartphone users—allowing you to reach a larger target audience.
It’s Cost-Effective
If you are just starting your business, SMS marketing is a good marketing tool to use because it is inexpensive. Since the only cost of this marketing method is using a text messaging service, it is an affordable way to get in touch with your target audience. It’s also most likely that your business already has the service you need to use SMS marketing, making it easy to implement.
And when you compare it to other types of marketing media like billboards, television advertisements, or email marketing, SMS marketing is more affordable and can give great results in relation to its cost.
You Can Integrate SMS Marketing with Other Channels
In any business strategy, all marketing efforts must work well together. It’s the same with SMS. While SMS marketing is an effective tool on its own, it can also enhance and support other marketing channels like social media and email. One way to do this is by using SMS to encourage consumer engagement in popular channels.
For instance, businesses can send customers a reminder through SMS about an email sent by the brand hours or days before. It can be a great way to follow up and ask if they have received or read their email. This simple message can help increase email open rates by as much as 30 percent.
Many businesses can benefit from using SMS marketing. It can help you communicate with your clients from the beginning until after a sale has been closed. It is great to use on its own or integrate SMS text messages into your existing marketing strategy. Once you have learned how you can maximize SMS marketing efforts for your brand, it will surely yield a business with great success.
Also read: 5 Terrific Social Media Marketing Tips
