SMS, or short message service, is one of the most common and simplest communication channels today. Although some might think that it’s mostly used for daily personal conversations, not all realize how powerful SMS can be for businesses, especially when it comes to reaching customers.
In a survey last 2018, it was found that over 5 billion people owned a mobile phone across the world. In addition, research also found that average users touch their phones approximately 2,617 times daily. With this data, it just proves how SMS can be a powerful marketing tool for businesses out there.
The biggest benefit of SMS marketing compared to other marketing strategies is that you can be assured that the messages will be read by your recipients. Since SMS is short, it’ll be much easier for you to create messages related to the products or services of a business. Moreover, through a text blast, it’s also much easier for you to send a lot of text messages from a single source.
Even if you think SMS is very limited in terms of reaching a wider audience, but the guarantee is that your text messages will be read. Whether or not your customers decide to delete the SMS you sent, they’ve already consumed and read its content.
So, if you want to boost your marketing efforts and make your business grow, never hesitate to consider SMS marketing. You can get started quickly by signing up to a reputable bulk SMS service.
Below are some of its amazing benefits:
Cost-Effective Compared to Some Forms of Advertising
Different kinds of advertising, such as TV commercials, ads in newspapers, and other outdoor ads can be expensive. As a matter of fact, such costs can be a stumbling block, particularly to small and medium-sized businesses.
If you have a power dialer, well-time SMS marketing campaigns can be done without costing you a lot of money in comparison to some traditional marketing methods. Aside from that, with the instant impact of SMS, you can be assured that the money you have invested is worth it.
Reliable and Flexible
SMS provides limited space to convey stories for businesses. Therefore, businesses have to use limited characters wisely to reach every customer effectively and create a good first and lasting impression. Once done properly, SMS marketing can boost your brand recognition.
It also offers flexibility when it comes to several things that may be shared through messages. Depending on your marketing campaigns, you can use SMS marketing for announcing your ongoing sale, great deals, discount coupons, and so much more. For instance, if you have a newly opened store in a certain area, you can also use SMS to inform your customers.
Integrate and Support Other Channels
When it comes to marketing, it’s important that all of your tools or channels work well together. What makes SMS a good marketing tool is that it’s a standalone channel. It also has the power to support and enhance some marketing mediums, like email and social media.
Although SMS works great on its own, it may also function well with your email and social media platforms. For instance, it may serve to remind your customers to read emails sent hours or days before. A simple SMS follow-up can boost the open rates of your email by 20 to 30 percent.
Higher Open Rates Compared to Emails
One of the amazing benefits that SMS marketing offers is that the texts are opened up when customers receive them. It makes SMS have a higher open rate compared to some advertising options.
In terms of email, some emails end up in the Spam folder even before your customer had a chance to read it. When it comes to flyers, it’s easy for some people to throw them. But, with SMS, text messages are not always ignored.
Oftentimes, your customers will open and read the content of your text messages. So, if you like to reach out to your customers consistently and effectively, there’s no harm in trying SMS marketing as one of your effective target marketing strategies.
Increased Customer Engagement
Another benefit of SMS marketing is increased customer engagement. SMS can help you improve how your business engages with your customers.
Just make sure to vary the text messages you send. The reason behind it is that while your customers may like news and updates about your brand or business, they might not like some of your promotional text messages. Think of more appropriate messages before you decide to make and send one.
Even if other marketers might feel that SMS marketing is a bit invasive, some consumers are already familiar with text messages, especially when they’re using local services. Thus, if you have a local business and you want to improve your engagement with your customers, the best way to do that is through SMS marketing.
Opt-Out Option is Available
Even if you don’t want your customers to opt-out of your SMS campaigns, you should always give them an option to do so. Give your customers the freedom to opt-out from your text messages anytime they want to.
An opt-out option will not affect your business negatively, but sometimes, it can be a good way to earn the trust of your customers. The advantage of this is that you can send text messages to those who are interested in your products or services only.
Reach More Customers
Since a lot of people have mobile phones, your customer base widens through SMS marketing. Rather than just focusing on a single marketing strategy that reaches a part of your customer demographics, SMS marketing can help you reach more potential customers.
Just make sure to send text messages from time to time so your customers are always updated with your services or the latest news.
Save Time
In the world of business, there’s no doubt that time is gold. With SMS marketing, you can be assured that you’ll save more time, which can let you focus on some aspects of your business.
The good thing about SMS marketing is that it’s an easy and simple process. In fact, you can even schedule your SMS delivery. You can also organize all of your SMS marketing campaigns for future purposes, enabling you to manage your precious time more efficiently.
Faster Delivery
In terms of sending SMS, there’s no waiting time. Once you’re done creating your text message and you hit the Send button, you can guarantee that your customers will get the SMS instantly.
The reason why SMS marketing is advantageous is that it doesn’t need more time to prepare. There aren’t materials that you need to gather and you don’t need to do the printing. There are also no designs required. The only thing you need is the contact numbers of your customers.
If you have a list of contact numbers, what you have to do is create your message and send it anytime you want to. Since SMS has a high open rate, you can be sure that your customers will see all of your important messages as soon as they get the message.
Concise and Clear Message
One of the best things about SMS or text messages is that they’re short. It only means that you can craft concise and clear messages that you want to send to your customers.
Unlike emails, SMS can let you create short campaigns that are easy to read and won’t consume too much time for your customers. Although you cannot send images or photos with SMS, you can just use the right words about what you’re trying to tell them.
If you don’t know what to include in your text messages, you can always hire professional marketers who can write campaigns effectively.
Response Data Allows You to Track and Monitor Your Marketing Efforts
Tracking return on investment, determining the customers who are engaging through text messages, and monitoring the delivery rates of SMS can be done with SMS marketing.
Through using such analytics, your business can make better campaigns and understand more about your mobile database. It’ll not just help you enjoy savings, but you can also improve your return on investment through filtering or profiling the mobile numbers that don’t respond to your text messages.
Thus, SMS marketing can also be a good way for you to target active customers through another channel or email.
Incomparable Personalized Communication
The messages you can create for your SMS marketing campaigns may be personalized in accordance with your customer base and can be delivered within a few minutes. As a marketer, this will help you keep your campaigns fresh.
The personalization can be anything from the name of your customers to the demographics or buying behavior. You can even personalize messages by location. You can create messages based on various regions of your target area.
Conclusion
With today’s general trend on mobile use, spreading the word about your business through SMS marketing is not impossible. Every demographic has a lot of mobile phone users, and taking advantage of SMS as part of your marketing efforts can take your business to a new level, regardless of how big or small your business is or what type of niche you’re focusing on.
Just choose the right platform or tool to enjoy all of the benefits of SMS marketing.