SMS marketing has grown in popularity recently, but brands still misuse it. Still, it’s a powerful marketing tool, and with a little polish, it has a bright future. For now, it’s in the shadow of email marketing and social media, but with the right decisions, it can be on par with them.
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Why SMS Marketing Matters
SMS marketing is an integral part of any marketing strategy because it is one of the easiest and most effective ways to reach consumers. It does not require an internet connection, like social media, or a customer login to view it, like email. More and more businesses are using SMS messaging to communicate with their customers, for example, when sending a notification about household waste collection, which has increased exponentially in recent years. They realize they can leverage that first contact to increase that customer’s potential sales through targeted text advertising.
SMS Marketing Forecast Statistics
If you’re still not convinced that texting is more effective than email marketing or social media, here are some statistics that will change your mind:
The average open rate for SMS marketing is 98% – For comparison, email has an average of 21.33%, making SMS one of the most powerful marketing tools. Text message response rates are up to 295% higher than phone call responses – People are more likely to ignore a call than a text message. 50% of customers make a direct purchase after receiving an SMS containing a coupon or discount code – You can increase your sales simply by sending a targeted SMS to the customer. 75% of customers don’t mind receiving text messages from businesses if they consent.
Give people what they want! If a customer has chosen to receive SMS, they want to know what you offer them. 83% of millennials say they open text messages within 90 seconds of receiving them – Your message will be viewed within two minutes of being sent. In addition, 77% of consumers say they are likely to positively perceive a company offering SMS messaging as a communication option. People prefer texting, so using an SMS marketing platform will only increase the number of customers.
Trends to Watch for SMS Marketing
New technologies and changing consumer behavior are paving the way for the future of SMS messaging. As a result, it is expected that more brands will embrace SMS marketing and leverage it to form more personalized relationships with their audience.
RCS Messaging
RCS messaging, also known as Rich Communication Services, is a modernized version of SMS messaging that incorporates features from texting apps like iMessage and WhatsApp into classic texting. These features include acknowledgments, keystroke notifications, images, videos, live notifications, GIFs, and many more that make it easy to showcase your messages. RCS is necessary for marketing via SMS because it allows businesses to interact with their customers one-on-one and send them rich media so they can make an informed purchasing decision.
Conversational Marketing
Brands should ditch the outdated formal and commercial style of messaging. Instead, they should take a more conversational approach and use texting to establish two-way communication with their customers. Below are a few scenarios that would benefit from more conversational SMS marketing.
Welcome Texts – Sending a heartfelt thank you message to a customer for making a purchase or creating an account on the brand’s website is a great way to start a conversation with a new customer and keep them coming back.
Abandoned Carts – This phenomenon occurs when online shoppers have items in their cart but never purchase them. Contacting the customer to remind them quickly brings them back to your site to complete their purchase. But, of course, offering a little discount doesn’t hurt either!
Event Invitations – If your business is hosting an event, you can send a personalized text to your customers with an invitation detailing why they could benefit from your event. Product Launch – Spread the word about a new product launch that your customers would like to have based on their previous purchases.
One-To-One Marketing
Currently, generic language and flat tone make many marketing text messages look like scams. This dissuades consumers from agreeing to receive text messages from companies. In the future, SMS marketing should be more precise about opt-in options and strive to personalize texts to customers and their unique circumstances.
Future Of SMS Marketing
The future of SMS marketing is preparing to be more personalized for the consumer, to offer more engagement between the brand and its consumers, and to be a more transparent interaction in your daily life. It provides a more one-on-one conversation that focuses less on sales and more on building a relationship with the customer to create loyalty, ultimately increasing sales in the long run. Sites like sms-gratuitlook to the future of SMS marketing and offer solutions for over 25 marketing needs, from loyalty marketing to event management to lead generation.
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