When you’re running a small business, you want to use every outlet available for marketing that you can.
Doing this provides you with a number of ways to reach your customers, because they’re all unique. Some of your clients use email why others couldn’t tell you the last time they opened their inbox. While many businesses are aware of and use email and content marketing, SMS marketing is often pushed to the side and forgotten about because it’s a little more difficult than using email.
Why SMS is Important
Let’s look at the facts: everybody has a phone. Even your nine-year-old neighbor uses her phone while she waits for the bus in the morning. In fact, at least 70% of the world’s population has a cell phone.
Not all of them are smart phones, but it’s safe to say that almost all of them have texting capabilities. So why is SMS important to these people?
SMS marketing is another way to reach your client on a level that is easily accessible to them. Since so many people are constantly mobile, reaching out to a customer through text messages is another way to grab their attention and catch them whenever is best for them. If the customer is someone who is always on the go, SMS marketing is a brilliant way to catch them without requiring an extra time out of their day. Not only is it easy to access, but it’s more direct than sending out a mass email.
Getting the Number
When you’re at the bar or meeting someone for the first time, you hesitate before handing out your cell phone number – it’s private! It’s almost like handing out your address or your house key. Once your phone number is there, you’re always reachable.
Getting the phone number from clients or customers can be difficult, which is why SMS marketing isn’t as popular as you think it would be. One of the main reasons people are hesitant to hand out their phone numbers to companies is because they don’t want to be harassed by the company or third-parties involved with that company.
When you’re building a list of phone numbers to begin SMS marketing, there are several ways to persuade the client to sign up for SMS advertising. Be sure to let the client what they’re getting by signing up their mobile number. Offer exclusive discounts or coupons that can only be received via text. Be honest about third-parties, if they’re present and assure the customer that their number will never be shared with anyone else. Let them know that you can utilize SMS for appointment reminders or notifications of products.
Remember that if you fail to retrieve the number at first, their knowledge of that option is still important. They may want to build a level of trust with your brand before handing their digits out.
Doing it Right
Once you have received the number for SMS marketing, make sure you follow all of your own rules. Don’t make false promises to the customer or tell them things are going to be a certain way, when they aren’t. If a customer trusts you or your brand enough to hand out their personal phone number, you should respect their privacy enough to be honest.
Several tips to remember when you’re choosing to use SMS as a marketing technique are:
- Don’t lie – if you’re sending them a text about an offer that is available to everyone, this may turn them off from receiving text messages.
- Send one or two texts a month (unless they’re appointment reminders). Don’t overdo it – this is one reason people don’t hand their number out to every Tom, Dick and Harry.
- Offer a way to unsubscribe to text messages. If they ask your company to stop texting their phone, in most places it is illegal to continue.
If you contact us today, we can offer you other ways to successfully market to your clients. This marketing advice cannot be found anywhere else, so be sure to utilize this opportunity if you want your business to continue to grow.
Business Articles | Business 2 Community
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