If you run a small business and are looking to gain customers, increase sales and strategically advertise your products or services, SMS marketing will be something worth considering.
SMS marketing stands for "Short Message Service" and, simply put, it's the method of sending an advertisement via text message to a group of customers.
To establish a customer base, you need to get permission from each person to send them a text message. Just because you have their phone number doesn't mean you can text them.
So, how do you go about gaining customers to opt-in to your services?
Signing up Customers
The more people who subscribe to your text message advertising, the greater your chances of increasing your sales. Think about it - almost everyone owns a cell phone and texts regularly.
Of those that receive text messages, there is a 99 percent success rate for opening the message.
With email and print ads, the success rate is significantly lower, as people can throw out an ad without reading it and delete an email without opening it.
There are multiple ways you can increase your subscribers when it comes to SMS marketing.
For starters, offer people a small discount when they're in your store if they text a phrase to your SMS marketing number.
Of course, you'll need to disclose that by the customer texting and using the discount, they are allowing you to send future text messages to them.
Print Media and Emails
You can also rely on print media and emails to advertise your SMS marketing campaign.
Perhaps offer a free product or a large discount to those who opt-in. It's a great way to get customers to try your product or service plus, since they're now a part of your marketing campaign, it has the potential of turning them into a continuing customer.
Once you have your list, you need to determine how often you should be texting your subscribers.
If you text them too much, they will most likely unsubscribe. If you text them too little, you may lose them as a customer.
It's all about figuring out the amount that works best for you. If you own a restaurant, frequent texts usually work because you can offer a discount on any given day. If you sell cars, though, texting often is just a bother, as most people only buy cars once every few years.
The article "What's so great about SMS marketing" states that there are five reasons as to why you should get on board with SMS marketing.
For one, it's fast. Texting is short, sweet and quick. You can reach thousands of people in a matter of minutes.
It's also inexpensive, it can be tracked, it's direct (people check their phones all day, whereas they only check the mailbox once a day and their email accounts two or three times a day) and it is interactive.
At the very least, you should give SMS marketing a try and see if it boosts your sales.
You can start out slow and focus on other areas of advertising while incorporating SMS marketing into your strategy.
We live in a digital world and it's important as a business owner to keep up with the current trends.