How SMS Marketing Can Help You Connect with Your Target Market
Online messaging apps are popular with different age groups nowadays as they provide many helpful services
By | Alex Alabiso
Popular messaging apps let you send messages, pictures, voice recordings, and other kinds of files and offer other user-friendly features. As compared to traditional messaging, they are more convenient. However, these services are limited to those with internet or data access.
Short message service (SMS) is what you commonly know as text messages. Despite the rise of online messaging apps, it is still used by about 5 billion people globally.
SMS is not only used as a means for conversing with people but also for advertising.The type of strategy that helps businesses promote their services or offers to their target market is SMS marketing.Here are some benefits that prove SMS marketing helpful in connecting with your target audience:
- Easily Accessible
SMS does not require any app to be downloaded and certainly does not need internet or data access. You can reach other people with ease as long as their location has cellular reception.It is one of the advantages to consider when opting for SMS advertising for business. You can spread the news about your company’s offers to numerous people using mobile phones. With such a vast audience, you can attract new customers and generate more sales.
- High Read Rate
Text messages are still as popular to the public, for most messages are read almost immediately upon receiving. Their read rate is at98%, while 90% of those messages are read during the first 3 minutes of delivery.
A study also found that 10% of Americans tend to check their phones 20 times an hour. Imagine how many more times more it would take for people in countries that are more influenced by mobile phones. This shows that people do not ignore text messages. Most receivers even read messages as soon as they received them. A high read rate is beneficial to businesses, especially those with limited-time offers.
- Rarely Marked as Spam
About 50% of emails tend to be marked as spam, while text messages’ probability is only 10%. Therefore, if you have sent your offers through email, you can also send them a text message asking if they have seen your recent email. This method has been proven to help increase email open rates to up to 20%–30%.
However, if you have the resources to send the offers directly through SMS, that would be better. Considering the gap between text message and email open rates, choose the more practical one.
- Easier Feedback Method
One thing about giving services to your consumers is knowing what they need, but it’sanother thing to know what to improve to make them stay. With the use of SMS as means of receiving their feedback via a survey, the process will be less of a hassle.
According to research, the response rate for a survey done through SMS is 43.9% (Willoughby et al., 2017). The study also reported high service satisfaction, with most of the respondents being female and older. It can give you customer response in a short time.
Another ingenious method to get feedback from your customers is to send them a link to your survey. Most people who receive an SMS with a link makes them want to click it out of curiosity. Take advantage of it to get reviews!
- Increased Interaction with Customers
Regular updates and news can keep your audience involved with your business. Though some updates are better sent through emails where they can be longer and more creative, many people get more accustomed to SMS updates.
Frequent updates are best sent through SMS because more people tend to read text messages than emails or posts on other channels. To make sure your customers will read your announcements, use a platform that reaches them faster.
It will be better if these messages are constant reminders, weekly updates, and sudden announcements. You can also send them appreciation messages and special offers, thanking them for being loyal customers. These, however, are more appropriate for small companies such as clinics, salons, and other local businesses.
How does SMS marketing help the company?
Another essential piece of data that shows how SMS marketing significantly helped companies in their advertisement is the high return on investment. About 45% of companies that use SMS marketing achieve a successful return on investment or ROI.
The campaigns achieve about 50% ROI when combined with email or other social media platforms. SMS marketing urged many people to grab companies’ offers despite the belief that ad messages are often ignored.
The Benefit of Integrating SMS marketing for Your Business
If you want to communicate with your target audience fast, SMS marketing has your back. Businesses use SMS marketing to contact their target market directly. Instead of sending a text blast, you can specifically send special offers to select people. Your customers will be able to read your promos and offerings almost immediately. You can also communicate with them without any hassle.
Despite the surge of online platforms, SMS is still one of the most accessible channels to promote your business and offers.Whether you’rebenefitting from having a remote team now or are working with an in-house marketing team, you can make a decision today to include SMS marketing in your efforts to enjoy its valuable perks.
