Considering the complexities associated with implementing an effective marketing strategy, developing a small business can be time-consuming and requires a lot of effort. Even though many of the strategies might seem very crucial, implementing a simple marketing strategy might be the turning point you need to achieve success. 

Using SMS marketing is important for the growth of a business as the world of today is gradually becoming digitally inclined. According to statistics, more than 70% of consumers actively interact with brands through text messages.

And this is not surprising, since the share of online shopping is growing every year.

The growth of any small business depends on its ability to adapt to changing trends and grab the attention of customers. This implies that you have to create offers that are tailored to their needs and desires. 

SMS marketing offers personalization capabilities that can be taken advantage of to build strong customer relationships, especially during the early stages of the business, and grow it to new heights. 

Data says that more than 72% of millennials text at least 10 times per day but most of them receive less than 5 messages from businesses per week! SMS marketing can open huge possibilities for entrepreneurs that want to build long-term relationships with their potential customers.

It also helps to build customer awareness as long as messages are relevant and are sent to the right demography. 

Finally, marketing is all about ROI (return on investment). No business can profit from a marketing strategy that is difficult to monitor or analyze. Luckily, it is very easy to monitor and analyze SMS marketing as it offers technical data that can be used by marketers to make informed decisions that will improve the overall marketing campaign.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing involves sending text messages for marketing or promotional purposes. This type of marketing requires contacts to subscribe before they can receive the text messages. This differentiates it from other marketing strategies such as social marketing where contacts can choose to follow or like the content.

Popular types of SMS marketing are:

1. Discounts and offers
2. Personalized promotional contents
3. Surveys
4. Remarketing or Retargeting

Customers are becoming more digitally inclined and easily interact with mobile-friendly businesses. So, they expect businesses to also reach out to them through text or messaging apps.

Who benefits from SMS marketing?

Previously, due to the low cost of SMS, many companies used SMS marketing. In current conditions, this marketing channel is more suitable for the following organizations:

 

1. Cinemas, clubs, and other entertainment establishments. You can inform your audience about new events and discounts.
2. Banks and financial enterprises. Alerts about changes in tariffs and new offers.
3. Travel companies. Newsletter of information about last-minute trips or new directions.
4. Educational institutions. Sending notifications about the start of courses or other changes to the curriculum.
5. E-commerce companies. Here you can notify about a wide range of events: from sales to promotions or discounts for regular customers.
6. Carriers, taxi companies, and courier services. A great way to let your audience know about price plan changes or special promotions.

How to improve the effectiveness of SMS marketing?

The advantage of the simplicity of the SMS newsletters can be leveled by incorrect drafting of the appeal. 

Here are some tips on how to make SMS marketing effective:

1. Specify the company’s name. The recipient will see it first when a notification of a new SMS arrives, and it is better if they immediately understand who the message is from. It is considered good manners.
2. Add contacts. Do not forget to insert a link to the relevant section of the site. It is one of the essential components of SMS marketing.
3. Individual approach. If the recipient has a personal account, create personalized mailings.
4. Only valuable information. Notify about special offers, unused discount points, and other opportunities.
5. Respect the time. SMS when your potential customers are most active. If you are going to cover a larger territory, consider time zones.
6. Segment the base. Try to divide contacts into groups if there is enough data for this. Change the text of the message depending on the preferences of a particular audience.
7. Analyze returns. SMS marketing involves a relatively small amount of data received (the number of sent and delivered SMS, the percentage of messages read, and the number of transitions). By analyzing this information, you can improve the effectiveness of the advertising campaign.

It is vital to use the principle of multichannel. Allow the user to choose how to receive the newsletter. They may not be interested in receiving SMS, but emails or notifications via messenger. Consider this. 

Continued Growth of SMS as a Customer Service Channel 

Sending text messages is among the most used smartphone features than social media and even phone calls. No wonder this medium of communication is very useful for businesses to reach out to customers. So, it is a no-brainer that SMS is effective for customer communication. 

Furthermore, SMS is an excellent communication channel that is persistent, available, and ever-present to easily pick up a previous conversation. The beauty of this method of communication is that customers can reply at their convenience without the worry of closing a chat window. This offers a continuous and conversational feel to customer communication.

Influencer marketing in mobile commerce

Businesses use influencer marketing to boost sales by partnering with a popular social media user or blogger. This marketing strategy helps to drive sales, put your product in front of a new and bigger audience, increase website traffic, generate more leads, boost social media follows, and build trust for your brand.

Mobile commerce businesses can easily leverage influencer marketing by paying an influencer to promote a suitable post on a popular social media platform like Instagram. Another method is to offer a commission to the influencer for every sale made through the influencer. This method can help measure or track the effectiveness of the campaign.

Use Both SMS and Email Campaigns

Emails are an excellent medium for sending richer and longer messages that come with attachments and images. It offers more conversion possibilities as it can include CTAs, links, and stories. Considering that emails have an open rate of 20%, a click-through rate of 65%, and an RoI of 4200%, it is the best channel for nurturing and converting leads.

While SMS is perfect for sending timely and concise information, it offers more engagement metrics than emails. Therefore, combining SMS and emails can offer more effective targeting to your subscribers, drive faster actions, and deliver a more personalized experience to your leads.

Integrating automation by performing drip campaigns for both SMS and email marketing can help businesses welcome and onboard customers, boost interactions using automated messages, and improve engagement and conversion rates.

Mobile Commerce

Mobile commerce refers to the use of mobile devices to operate an online eCommerce store. Today, smartphones are becoming popular and more individuals are substituting them for traditional computers. This has increased the prevalence of mobile commerce. The launch of different applications will also make mobile commerce a leading method of promotion and conversion.

Using a smartphone for eCommerce offers an excellent shopping experience. It also improves the ability to easily manage all your products and services and creates a new marketing channel that can be used to make rapid sales.

Text Marketing Tools

Text messaging is not only messaging for connecting with loved ones but a marketing tool that can be leveraged by marketers to run an effective marketing campaign.

VertexSMS is a messaging platform that features a wide range of text messaging and communication tools. It enables you to communicate with your customers which can be managed from a single dashboard. It is a web-based application that offers other features such as two-factor authentication, two-way communication, alerts and notifications, and many more.

Neo is an automated SMS service for both small and large businesses. It comes with a customized bot that can be used to generate leads and is easily programmed with customizable scripts. Businesses can leverage Neo features to send out exclusive deals and advertise short-term events and sales.

TextMarks

TextMarks is another automated platform that can be used by any business size or type, either online or physical. It allows businesses to send to multiple contacts and schedule for later sends. Messages can also contain CTA links to a website or coupon.

Examples of SMS Marketing

SMS marketing offers many benefits. However, it is sometimes challenging to know what to include in every message you send. Below are some examples of SMS marketing messages that can be easily sent to potential customers.

Provide event-based promotions.

Event-based promotions are usually enticing and can be used to boost engagement with customers. Who wouldn’t want a free deal or discount?

Develop a sense of urgency

Including an expiry date in your promotional message will make it more effective. Once your customers are aware that your deal ends at a certain time, they will be inclined to buy.

Collect feedback

Generating feedbacks from SMS marketing is much easier and quicker especially for your customers. Ensure that the questions are straightforward. You can also try simple formats like “Enter 1” for Yes or “enter 2” for No.

Wrap Up

Effortless customer experience is gradually becoming a major criterion to stand out among other competitors and integrating SMS marketing into your outreach is a sure way to achieve your business objectives. It is not only popular among most consumers of today but it offers a broader reach and compared with other popular digital channels, it is asynchronous, which implies that both parties might be present at the same time.