If SMS marketing sounds old school, you need to think again. Because when it comes to effectiveness, it wins all the races. Having the highest open rate and uninterrupted reach among the subscribers, you’re using the most communicable channel to reach out to your customers. Also, because SMSes are personal, if your users opt in, you can connect with them at a personal level. More like an aerogram—only instant and better—not some buzzing noise in the digital world.
A noted benefit of SMS marketing is strengthening your customer relationship and forging loyalty. Let’s give you 5 tips on developing customer relationships using SMSes.
Strengthen Your Customer Loyalty with SMS Marketing
- Wider Reach
SMSes are known to have 98% open rates irrespective of your mobile, OS, and location. Compared to emails and personal calls, which are considered spammy and intrusive, SMSes have a deeper reach. And that means more customers read about you and your products.
Pro-tip
If you’ve been engaging with your users over print media, audio-visual channels, and social media, it’s time to reduce the time barrier and hassles between you and them. Seek new customers with links to joining offers. Offer loyalty membership bonuses to repeat users. Connect with your churned customers with return benefits. Strengthen your relationship in many unique ways. - Crisp and Precise
SMSes aren’t long emails that bore users to death. They don’t carry threatening downloadable files, multiple bulky images, and links in every paragraph. Nor are they as uninviting as a help desk’s calling in at ungodly hours in your busy working schedule. An SMS is crisp with only one topic to cover due to its limited length.
Pro-tip
Follow the KISS rule of marketing. Keep it Simple, Stupid. So, keep your CTA as short and simple as possible. Something like ‘SMS Yes to 52236’ helps your users to opt-in for an SMS facility or to get updates on your newly launched products
- Consistent Campaigns
The problem with emails is the uncertainty of being delivered on time or getting sidelined in the spam folder. With SMS marketing, you can remain consistent with your campaigns and send users timely updates about new products, gift vouchers, and useful information. Once your users have opted in, you can drive more footfalls to your physical stores and online shop.
Also, be consistent with the SMSing schedule. Weekly or every fifth day, follow the timeline because out of sight means out of mind. And marketing is a volatile zone that needs continuous nurturing, and inconsistencies don’t have a place here.
Pro-tip
You don’t need to be salesy all the time. Start sharing useful tips with your users. If running a health club, embed 1-minute home workout sessions in an SMS. Offer exercise and diet tips. Likewise, a financial firm can share money management tips and reminders on filling taxes, insurance premiums, etc. Users always like quirks and fun facts on various topics. Provide your users to learn useful and entertaining ideas to love you even more. - Simplify and Confirm
Simplify your users’ lives by offering them quick purchase links free of ad zones, unlike an online shopping platform. Narrow down their search and ease payments through the mobile using any of the payment gateways. You can even send order confirmation and delivery updates. Your users don’t need to be on Wi-Fi or using the internet all the time to know the status of crucial deliveries.
Pro-tip
Send reminders for an upcoming journey or booked event through SMSes. Even if your users are traveling and the internet is out of reach, they won’t miss important dates. Booking confirmation and reminders work wonders for the healthcare industry. If a patient needs to follow up often with their health practitioner or get their regular tests done to keep an ailment under check, an SMS is a way. - Care
Providing genuine care never goes wrong, even if your customers leave your services. They might have left for various reasons, but they won’t stop recommending your offerings to colleagues, friends, and family. So, forge stronger bonds with your audience by listening to their grievances. Send messages to your customers and update them on their questions. This reduces the time on lengthy IVR waiting time.Pro-tip
Offer quick solutions and troubleshooting guides to your users through SMS whenever needed. Seek feedback and share links to survey forms. Inform your audience of the results of the feedback and the improvements afterward.
SMSes can be of great worth if you want to evaluate your NPS—Net Promoter Score. You need to shoot an SMS with a link to just 1 question for rating your company, product, best feature, or a similar dimension.
How do You Plan to Maximize Your SMS Marketing Benefits?
SMS marketing, like any other style of marketing, needs effort. But that doesn’t equate to spending gazillions of bucks. SMS marketing is effective, albeit with less investment than emails, calls, and social media channels.
If you’re still looking for a trusted SMS marketing partner, Textmunication is here to help. Reach out to Texminucation’s team of experts here.
