Humans have become phone addicts, it’s very difficult for one to not check their phone at least once every hour. And to verify this fact, according to Human Media, 58% of smartphone users check their phones at least once every hour. The Millenials are the worst addicts as more than 70% have this tendency and have contributed to the cyberspace era the most.
Text messages (SMS/MMS) marketing is highly regulated just as the telephone industry is to protect consumers and marketers alike. Regulations deter spamming via text messages, this is unlike the myth that goes around saying that, text messaging marketing is complicated with too many unnecessary rules and regulations and that many legal cases are deterring marketers and consumers.
Since nearly 40% of mobile phone users prefer to use their phones for text messaging and not just talking, hence using SMS marketing is the obvious choice that comes to mind. Here are some advantages of mobile text messaging:
- Trackable platform: The complete analytics of the message can be tracked as you all have clicked the message or visited the site or even ignored the message altogether.
- Interactivity: This characteristic of the SMS makes it more lucrative for the marketeers as with the ‘Quick Reply’ option the customers can directly interact and this is one of the easiest and fastest ways to capture customer feedback.
- Immediate delivery: Overall, mobile marketing is known for speed. You have to just click send and the message is broadcasted to the target group in a jiffy. You can set up a campaign and have hundreds of impressions and clicks within 5 minutes.
- Personal touch: When you send a text message via your mobile device, it gives you an informal opportunity to personalize the message. You can share a brief story or link to a resource where recipients can read a personal experiment or case study.
These above-mentioned points surely indicate that using SMS marketing is a no-brainer. And these days the digital marketing firms are obligated to have SMS marketing in their portfolio as it has become more of a necessity over the period. SMS marketing company primarily have these basic services:
- Mass SMS Service/ Bulk SMS Service: This service enables you to deliver an SMS to a large number of recipients, at once. If used smartly, Bulk SMS service can even become your perfect business pitch as it empowers you to reach customers when it’s most suitable for them, with the most critical information or service they need from you. You can lead them through the sales funnel to reach macro (purchase) conversions or entice small, micro engagements, depending on the type of business you’re in and your business goals.
- SMS Gateway: This allows a computer terminal to send and receive SMS or MMS through global or local telecommunication networks. This helps in enabling Bulk SMS service, hence the firm needs to own the gateway else it can be outsourced too.
Let us ponder on some key-value additions you can perform using bulk SMS delivery.
- Send reminders – present customers need fast and quick answers and they then move on at the same rate, hence it is prudent to give them reminders and keep in touch to get better customer satisfaction.
- SMS marketing boosts sales – project your new product or service at the mass level and with the SMS open rate of nearly 98%, it is safe to assume that your marketing info will sink through to the customer and will have a direct impact on sales.
- Keep customers up to date – keep your loyal customers in the loop and make them feel important.
- Send alerts if there is some problem your clients should be aware of – in case of a customer service issue that can have a direct impact on your clients, you can quickly inform them to avoid possible inconveniences. People will appreciate such information since they are helpful and prevent misunderstandings.
SMS marketing has become a necessity rather than just a service that it had begun with.
