SMS marketing tips for your business

We are seeing more and more businesses unlock the potential that SMS marketing has, with each company taking a different approach to this strategy. Some businesses are looking at this as nothing more than a side hustle, something which can support their digital marketing strategy, others however have gone in with both feet and see this as their main marketing tactic.

The figures back up just how valuable SMS marketing can be for business. A survey conducted by ScanLife found that 89% of customers use their phones whilst shopping, and that 64% of the population own a smartphone.

If SMS marketing is something which your business is currently employing, here are some tips to maximize your success.

Knowing your customer

Taking a blanket approach towards your SMS marketing is a mistake and those messages are going to appear spammy and annoying, and they will not work. Through the use of a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, you can gain important metrics which will help you to see which messages performed well, and to which numbers. You can also use this system to check the history of the customer with regards to purchases and then use demographics and information regarding location to tailor messages. After all, there is little point pitching your new, light-up iPhone case to a 90 year old from Darwin.

Local number

When it comes to a virtual SMS number Australia of course has many local number combinations and this tool will give you one of these numbers to use for your SMS marketing. Nothing screams ‘spam’ more than a message from a strange number, which is why it will be important that you make use of a service such as this.

Succinct clarity

The key here is to be brief and to be clear, remember that there are just 160 characters in an SMS, so use it wisely. If you can, avoid using up all of the characters as you’ll have more likelihood of the customer reading the full message. Be direct and give all of the information that the customer needs. If you are promoting an offer then tell them what it is, what it applies to and when it is finished. There can be no room for uncertainty here.

Calls to action

A call to action not only prompts the customer to make a move, but it will also help you to gain further insights into your customers. Something simple such as ‘click here’ or ‘discover more’ are simply calls to action which will link to your business website, or directly to the offer page if you are running a promo. You could also run with things such as ‘text to vote’ to encourage your users to give you important feedback about what their experience with the company has been like.

These tips will help you to get better traction from your customers and it will also greatly help you to get higher quality metrics which can be used for smarter and more successful plans in the future.