SMS marketing is something that most of us have become accustomed to. Our phone will ping, and we’ll find we have a message advertising a deal or item that we might enjoy. Whether we like these messages or not, they are effective. How often have you ordered takeout because your local pizza place is offering a buy one, get one free deal?
While new and exciting ways of reaching customers through digital transformation have emerged, the use of SMS marketing doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon. In fact, customers generally prefer SMS over other forms of marketing. But you can’t just write any text message to customers and expect to make a sale.
There are many factors to consider when planning your SMS marketing strategy. But if you can crack the SMS formula, you’ll have a way of effectively engaging customers.
Where should you start? Read on to find out.
What’s the Difference Between Chat Messages and SMS?
They may sound similar, but there are several differences when comparing chat message vs. text message. The biggest is that SMS messaging uses a phone service to send short messages (no longer than 160 characters). Chat messages, on the other hand, rely on an internet connection for sending messages.
With chat messages, a user must first download an application to their smartphone to initiate a chat. With SMS, a message can be sent instantly to anyone with a mobile phone. The main advantage of chat messages is that they are largely free, whereas SMS costs money.
1. Know Your Audience
If you don’t know your audience, you won’t be able to engage with them. Every industry has an audience, each with its own demographic, interests, and beliefs. If your SMS marketing is to succeed, it will need to correspond with these factors. Here are some tips for learning more about your audience:
- Conduct surveys – surveys are a free and easy way of finding the information that you want. Throw in a bonus, such as a discount voucher, to entice more participants.
- Start focus groups – focus groups are a fantastic way of meeting your audience face to face. This can help you to learn more about their personalities and interests. Make sure that you know how to set up a video conference room so that you have the option of running a remote meeting. This helps to reduce costs.
- Use analytics – advancements in analytics software mean that we can learn more about our audience than ever before. This includes insights into their geographic location, demographic, and even the kind of shows they like to watch.
Once you know more about your audience, you can start determining the kind of tone to use in your SMS marketing. Have you got a younger audience? This should help inform the sort of language that you use. For example, you might choose to use emojis. By knowing your audience, you can also better engage with trends that they’re likely to respond to.
If your business is in its early stages, use the information you have about your customers to influence every decision, right down to the domain name you choose for your website. For a business building an audience in Qatar, domains.qa can offer a significant advantage.
2. Trust Is Key
By instinct, people are wary of any messages they receive from unknown numbers. This isn’t without good reason. The number of text message scams, otherwise known as “smishing,” has increased by 700%. For many people that receive a text from an unfamiliar source, their first reaction is to think it’s a scam.
It goes without saying that you don’t want customers to associate your messages with scams. But what can you do to build a sense of trust with your SMS messaging? Well, firstly, ensure that the name of your organisation appears alongside any messages. A customer is more likely to recognize your name and feel more confident that your message is genuine.
Trust should also be built into your wider marketing strategy. For example, you could switch to a virtual mobile number for contacting customers. This allows customers to reach you on one consistent, trusted phone number, whether you’re answering their call in the office or out and about.
3. Always Proofread
One of the best ways to inspire trust in customers is to make sure that your messages are well written. This means that they should not contain any spelling or grammar errors. Other than convincing customers that you are reputable, a well-written message helps to bring a sense of professionalism.
What qualities do you want customers to associate with your brand? Presumably, you don’t want them to think of your brand as sloppy or having poor attention to detail. Unless it is being used in a way that will appeal to your demographic, you should avoid text speak.
To avoid your customer getting the wrong impression, always check and double-check your writing. If you don’t have a keen eye, think about asking a colleague to proofread.
You can always enlist the help of spell checking software such as Grammarly. These can help identify errors and suggest solutions. Sound proofreading is crucial to the success of your SMS marketing strategy.
4. Always Consider the Law
There is a minefield of legislation to consider when dealing with people’s personal details. The two most prominent data-related laws are the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The former relates to businesses that deal with customers from the EU and UK. The latter refers to consumers that reside in California.
Among other things, both laws stipulate the length of time a business can hold on to a customer’s personal details. Both have hefty fines associated with any breaches of the law. Businesses that violate GDPR can be fined up to a whopping €20 million, while CCPA fines $2,500 for each violation.
In addition to these larger pieces of legislation, you should be aware of local laws that apply to SMS communications. Always do the research and ensure that you are compliant, as you would before implementing any kind of call centre systems.
5. Keep It Simple
One of the important factors to remember with your SMS marketing strategy is that you will only have a small number of words to catch a customer’s attention. Your SMS messages cannot be any longer than 160 characters. When writing a message, decide which pieces of information are most important.
You might have six offers on. But avoid explaining each deal. Instead, your marketing should be concise. Think about a simple message that’s likely to catch the attention of the customer. If you include too much information, you’ll be forced to reduce the quality of your writing. This leaves a poor impression. Instead, try to focus on persuasive writing.
Essentially, your message shouldn’t be longer than a few lines. It should also always end with a call to action. This is the prompt found at the end of every marketing message that persuades the customer to click for more information. When creating your call to action, ensure that it’s short and snappy.
6. Don’t Be Intrusive
Just because people prefer SMS messaging over other forms of marketing doesn’t mean that they want to be receiving constant text messages. If a customer is receiving regular text messages from you, they may start to view you as spam. Instead, limit your texts to once a week. Make sure that you offer an opt-out option so that customers can easily unsubscribe from your messages.
Try to keep your messages fresh and enticing. Think about which offers and products are most likely to appeal to your consumers, and structure your SMS marketing around them.
7. Personalisation Is Everything
Today, more than ever, customers are looking for personalised experiences when shopping. In fact, over 80% of frequent shoppers only shop with brands that personalise their experience when shopping online. This means that your business should be offering a more tailored experience, recommending products that fit each customer.
Personalisation should carry into your SMS marketing strategy. This includes addressing a customer by their name, recognizing their birthdays, and offering deals on products that they might enjoy.
To measure the effects of your personalisation and the success of your wider SMS marketing, you should know how to measure content marketing ROI. Don’t worry, it’s not as complex as ML Ops solutions. To calculate ROI, follow this simple formula: divide your net return on investment by your cost of investment, then multiply by 100.
Start Improving Your SMS Marketing Strategy Now!
SMS is a crucial yet frequently overlooked form of marketing. If you haven’t yet, you should look at how you can build SMS into your wider marketing plan. By putting these seven simple tips into action, you can transform your SMS marketing strategy.
Of course, SMS marketing alone is not enough. Make sure to look at how other forms of marketing can improve your business. Ensure that SMS campaigns align with your overall strategy. Use this strategy to build trust. With the right marketing plan, one that includes targeted SMS, you’ll build trust and see customer retention levels increase and your revenue boosted.
So, what are you waiting for? Start improving your SMS marketing strategy today!
