One of the newest trends in the digital sphere is SMS marketing. Like its cousin email marketing, SMS marketing is proving to be an economical and reliable way to nurture leads and earn significant returns.
Here are some reasons you should consider SMS marketing for your small business.
Low Operating Cost
Like email marketing, SMS marketing comes with a lower price tag.
Besides the price to access the internet and wireless networks, it doesn’t cost anything to send an SMS message. This makes SMS marketing as affordable as email marketing.
The highest costs for SMS marketing are associated with the software you use to send and respond to messages.
Companies like Textedly and EZ Texting have pricing packages that can accommodate your business needs.
Easy to Use
How do you use SMS marketing? Best practices aside, your company can use SMS messaging the same way it uses email marketing.
Most SMS software will be accessible on a web browser, with many companies having apps you can use for business on the go.
SMS marketing can be simpler for businesses that do not have or cannot afford to add a creative element to their email marketing campaign. SMS messages themselves are plain. You can get creative with the text and emojis, but you don’t have to worry about style too much.
The limited creative scope may make running a successful SMS campaign easier for businesses who want to do it themselves.
High Customer Engagement
Engagement is where SMS marketing proves its usefulness.
Email marketing has a high ROI because of its engagement rates and ease of use. SMS marketing has the same pros, but they are amplified.
Not only are they higher, they are much higher.
Here are some valuable stats about SMS marketing to consider:
- SMS Open Rate: 98%
- SMS Clickthrough Rate: 19%
- SMS Deliverability: 100%
The open rate for SMS marketing is very high. Another boon is that many messages are opened almost immediately (between five and 90 seconds). You can reap a more significant return when you send out your SMS messages at times when people are awake and on their phones.
Clickthrough rates are also relatively high. When you have a problem or situation that requires your customer to act, such as filling out a survey or responding to information about a change in the company, SMS marketing is probably the best way to elicit that response.
One advantage of SMS over email marketing is that there is no filter between you and your customer. You don’t need to worry about maintaining a sender reputation or formatting your messaging, so it doesn’t seem like spam because you will land in their messages every time, regardless of the message.
Made for mobile
One of the current struggles with SEO marketing is the increased need to optimize websites for mobile devices.
More consumers are using their mobile devices to search for items and do business. You risk losing business if your website struggles to load on mobile devices.
Fortunately, SMS marketing is made for mobile devices. If you have important updates or requests to make of your customers, instead of relying on them coming to your website, you can bring the request right to the device they use the most.
It is estimated that some 97% of adults in the United States have mobile devices. Similarly, 85% of adults say that their phone is a smartphone.
The messages and links you send to your customers will more than likely be received on a device capable of accessing the internet. So, SMS is even optimal for any links you want to share with your customers.
SMS is Opt-in Only
As a business owner, you may wonder why SMS being an opt-in channel is beneficial.
It is no secret that humans love the path of least resistance. This human characteristic is what makes marketing and business so effective! Building an opt-in SMS list may seem complicated, but it holds a higher ROI than anything else you could spend time or money doing.
Building an opt-in list is great because the people you will be messaging want whatever you send to them. Unlike ads on their streaming services or on their social media, they want to get updates from your company.
One best practice to remember is to not abuse your privilege of accessing your customer’s personal phone number.
More Personal for Customers
Marketing tends to be impersonal. Creating a high-value marketing asset like a video or billboard doesn’t resonate with every customer.
SMS marketing is very personal and very direct. You can use it to segment your list and send promotional material and information directly to the customers who will benefit from it the most.
This luxury isn’t one you have with every channel of marketing.
In addition to being able to send personalized content to your customers, the format is much more intimate and personal for them.
Phone messages are, by nature, more conversational than other methods. Customers tend to respond more to SMS messages than emails as they feel less pressure to make a formal response.
It Keeps Customers Loyal
When customers trust you enough to give you their personal number, you can bet they trust you and what you have to offer.
A phone number is more direct than an email address. Customers usually want to keep this private to avoid getting promotional spam. Maintaining this trust by only sending the most valuable content to your customers will ensure they remain loyal to your brand and services.
Allowing them to opt out and maintain their relationship with you in other ways is essential for maintaining their trust. Remember, you are a guest they have allowed the special privilege of messaging directly. This kind of trust, when abused or taken advantage of, may do your business long-term harm.
Take Advantage of the Latest SMS Messaging trend with Revity!
Knowing where to start with SMS marketing can be hard. How do you collect phone numbers? How should you write messages?
We have experience running SMS campaigns and other marketing streams. Contact us today to get started on your SMS marketing journey!
