SMS Marketing Guide for Small Businesses

Personalizing messages using relevant information can improve sales and lead engagement. Utilize tools such as Smart Opt-in to verify consent and provide an active phone number.

For instance, the winery Brook & Bull uses SMS to provide the “easiest wine buying you’ve ever experienced.” Back-in-stock notifications or price drop alerts are efficient ways to increase customer interaction.

What is SMS Marketing?

Bulk SMS marketing is using mobile messaging to communicate with customers and potential customers. It generally involves sending time-sensitive, targeted SMS messages to increase responses and conversions. SMS marketing is typically utilized together with other digital marketing, such as the Internet, email, and paid advertisements.

Marketing via SMS text messages is a quick and efficient method of reaching your customers, especially since nearly every person has a smartphone. It has a sparingly high rate of open (98 percent by SMSGlobal) and can be read in a matter of minutes, which makes it a great way to get immediate attention. SMS text marketing is an excellent option for various purposes, such as customer service and loyalty programs, promotions, and the launch of new products.

One of the great things regarding SMS-based marketing is its ability to send targeted messages. This helps increase customer retention, boost engagement, and ultimately results in higher ROI. It’s as easy as adding the recipient’s initial name to your message. However, this personalization can have a significant impact.

Campaigns for marketing via transactional SMS are initiated by certain situations or actions when a client engages with your business. Examples include reminders for appointment delivery notifications or password resets and the launch of new products. These marketing SMS messages generally have better retention rates and higher conversions than any other messages for promotion.

To begin the SMS-based marketing program, you must obtain written consent from all your customers. This will ensure that you adhere to TCPA rules set up to protect consumers’ privacy and stop sending out spam messages. Alongside receiving permission, you must include explicit terms and conditions and an unsubscribe link in each SMS message you send.

Another excellent way to optimize the effectiveness of your SMS promotion is by conducting A/B tests. A/B testing lets you create two versions of a message to different sections of your target audience. This lets you see which version performs better regarding open rates, click-throughs, and overall engagement. This will help you develop your content and strategy to improve future campaigns.

How to Start with SMS Marketing

Bulk SMS Services has become a favored method for small-scale companies. It’s a suitable method of promoting events, sales, or even special deals. You must follow the proper guidelines to reap the maximum benefit of your SMS marketing campaigns. The first thing to do is develop a list of possible customers and potential clients. You can accomplish this by creating an online form using your existing customer database or by creating leads through various channels, such as social media.

Once you’ve compiled your contacts list, you can begin sending messages. Be sure to include an opt-out option that is clear for those who do not would like to receive your messages. It’s essential to include a disclaimer regarding data and message rates on the opt-in form in which you include your mobile number in the first message you send to subscribers.

Be cautious not to overload your subscribers’ SMS inboxes with too many messages from marketing. The risk is that you will alienate your subscribers and increase their chance of unsubscribing from your marketing campaign. If you send too many emails, it could be seen as spam. Even the messages you send are engaging but not received well.

Determine what kind of content your SMS users are most interested in and then send these messages. For example, if you run an online business, you can send an email to welcome new customers by offering a discount coupon or another promotion that is only available to customers. This can help establish your credibility as a company and motivate people to continue engaging in your company’s brand.

Integrate SMS into your overall electronic marketing strategies by utilizing it to send immediate updates that you do not wish your clients not to receive. This includes receipts, delivery notifications, appointment reminders, and other transactional data. This neglected aspect of SMS marketing will help improve your overall digital marketing strategies.

Consider investing in a text marketing tool that will allow you to monitor the effectiveness of the campaigns. This will save you time since you can quickly see how many people have opened the message, clicked the link, and more. This kind of automated tracking can help you assess the effectiveness of your investment in your different campaigns.

Benefits of SMS Marketing

SMS marketing has several advantages over other forms of direct messages. It’s easy and quick and can target a particular target audience. It can also serve as a platform for customer service, providing rapid and efficient communication to address issues or give information.

SMS is a valuable device for businesses with mobile workers, like plumbers and delivery drivers, and also for building a brand. It lets customers give feedback and answer questions in a manner that doesn’t interrupt their day-to-day activities and can help customers feel more connected to the business. It is also a great tool to advertise promotions and offers and simplify internal processes such as sending order confirmations and updates on shipping.

Additionally, SMS is more likely to be discarded in the spam folder, which is an issue for email marketing campaigns. Text messages are read in seconds and can be answered promptly. A study recently discovered that up to 85 percent of emails are discarded in spam folders; however, SMS messages are much more likely to get read and read. To ensure that you don’t spam recipients, it is essential to adhere to the best practices, including getting their written permission before sending any messages, clearly communicating the terms and conditions, and the ability to opt out at any point.

People are highly receptive to text messages, making it an excellent method for promoting and marketing, encouraging customer engagement, and offering customer service. But, it’s crucial to be aware that customers can quickly get bored with promotional or marketing texts and might even cease using a service or product. To stay clear of this, it’s best to be considerate and pertinent in your communications, focusing on providing value and staying clear of aggressive sales pitches.

In addition, Bulk SMS marketing  could be an excellent method to create an engaged audience and build a positive image of your brand by creating a sense of community by offering special promotions, loyalty reward programs, and other exclusive events. When integrated with analytics and CRM tools, SMS marketing can assist you in understanding the effectiveness of your campaigns and which content is most effective in creating clicks or conversions.

Example of SMS Marketing

SMS marketing is an excellent method to engage with your customers and provide information about your company. It requires a thought-out strategy and a seamless execution. Start by setting objectives that can be measured and aligned with your overall marketing strategy, like increasing subscriber numbers to newsletters or growing followers on social media. This will allow you to craft relevant content and prioritize platform features that meet your requirements. 

Create a clear SMS list that includes customers who have explicitly consented to receive your messages. Always follow TCPA rules, which require companies to obtain written consent and communicate the terms and conditions of their contracts, the frequency of messages, and an opt-out option within business hours. Adhering to these guidelines will protect your business from legal concerns and help protect the consumer’s privacy.

Once you have a reliable SMS list, use automated marketing to deliver pertinent messages appropriately. These can include transaction-related messages such as reminding customers to abandon their carts, shipping information, or even customer service alerts. These automated messages are effective because they provide the value your customers expect without interrupting their service.

Another method of using SMS marketing is to send special offers or discounts. This type of text message is successful because it encourages customers to connect with your company and creates an impression of urgency. For instance, a coupon voucher with a limited supply is a tempting promotion that draws attention and boosts conversion.

SMS can also be used to provide customer service. For instance, the clothing store might require clients to send a text message with their purchase number at checkout so they will receive an acknowledgment and update on what’s happening with the order. This is a clever marketing method via SMS because customers can get quick answers without having to take the time to contact the business or go to an actual store.

Alongside providing helpful information, you can use SMS marketing to gather customer feedback via questionnaires or surveys. This is particularly useful for businesses such as hair salons or restaurants. For example, restaurants could mail a questionnaire to their customers about their experiences with the quality of food served and the service.