Increase Revenue with SMS Marketing
Imagine you have a list of errands to run. You plan on going to the grocery store, pet store, and then maybe getting a haircut. During the day, you will undoubtedly drive by a billboard or two, see a business’s banner, or stop at a light beside a vehicle wrapped in promotional graphics. These are three of many forms of marketing.
But, all three have one issue in common: you see them for a second or two, and that’s it.
Think of that in terms of your business. Do you want to spend ad dollars on a form of marketing that your customer isn’t guaranteed to see often, or even notice if they do? Sure, those methods work for some businesses. But for E-Commerce sellers, they aren’t the most effective.
Now let’s think about those errands again. What is one item that’s with you the entire time, both while driving and while scanning the bread aisle? Your phone. Of the 7.9 billion people that exist, GSMA states that 5.13 billion of them use a phone.
For this reason, SMS Marketing is a method highly worth incorporating into your business.
The Basics
Advertising through SMS (short message service) or text message is becoming increasingly popular for good reason. On the consumer’s end of the line, SMS marketing works exactly like you would think: the consumer gets a text from the business, they open it, read it, and can reply (sometimes). Compare that to a billboard, banner, or vehicle wrap, and you can see that the reach is nearly unlimited.
SMS marketing is simple. It works in the same way you would text a friend. A business must get a short or long code, make sure they are compliant with any regulations, then start building their database of consumers!
We cover this in more detail in our first SMS Marketing post, which you can read here.
A very similar idea to SMS marketing is email marketing. Email marketing was popular in the early 2000s and has steadily decreased over time. Though it is still used and can be a fruitful marketing strategy, SMS marketing far outweighs its predecessor.
In an article by 99 Firms, they make this clear by simply noting the open rate: 98% for SMS marketing, and 20% for email marketing.
Can you believe that? 98% of people open promotional SMS marketing messages. That means that 98 out of 100 people that receive your marketing text will at least open the message.
That’s much better than having 20 people open your email or attracting the occasional glance to your company billboard.
Ways to Implement SMS Marketing
Marketing your business is one of the most important things you can do to grow and increase revenue. Luckily, it’s never been easier. Overall, the strategy is what you make of it. The more creative you get, the more consumers are likely to use your service or buy your product. Listed below are various ways to utilize text message marketing:
- Promotions/Coupons: Alert customers to upcoming sales or coupon codes. You can even increase your SMS database by only offering coupon codes to those who subscribe to your SMS messages.
- Subscriptions: Offer customers a custom newsletter, exclusive content, or other perks if they subscribe to your SMS messages.
- Sales: Easily drive sales by promoting new or existing products and services through SMS marketing. Send alerts for new listings or restocks.
- Customer Support: Offer a personalized and easy customer support experience by allowing customers to text your business for help.
- Sale Receipts & Cart Alerts: Send customers messages and receipts when they purchase an item or service or leave items in their cart.
- Polls, Surveys, & Feedback: Allow customers to provide feedback or contribute opinions by letting them vote or provide reviews via SMS messaging.
How to Use it to Increase Revenue
SMS marketing can dramatically increase sales for your company, sometimes even as much as 47%. Yes, by simply sending a text, you can drive sales by almost 50%. That amount of revenue can mean growing your company, hiring more employees, or getting better equipment, so why leave this form of marketing out?
Let’s look at some of the above points in further detail.
Sales & Promotions
A clear way to drive sales via SMS is by alerting users to sales and promos. It’s simple and effective. Running a sale? Send out a quick alert to tell shoppers, and include a link or a necessary coupon code. No matter what they’re doing, they’ll think about your store and sale when they peek at their phone and see an alert. People don’t check their emails all day, but they sure do see their text messages.
Customer Support
Using SMS to allow customers to contact, chat with, and submit tickets to your business gives them easy access to get help or ask questions from their mobile device. It is shown that businesses that put more emphasis on the customer service process can grow revenue by 4-8%. While that may be a small percentage, everything counts in business, and providing a strong customer service presence will only increase the likelihood of creating repeat customers.
Sale Receipts & Cart Alerts
Sales receipts give the customer one extra step of exposure to your product or service after their purchase. Furthermore, an instant SMS receipt is a great way to provide extra convenience to shoppers.
Cart alerts are nothing new. Shoppers frequently browse and add items to their cart without completing the purchase. On the global stage, this happens about 70% of the time. Yes, 7 out of 10 shoppers visiting your store will most likely leave without purchasing an item.
Luckily, SMS is a way to remind customers about the items in their cart, which can ultimately drive sales. These alerts have been shown to retrieve 40% of abandoned carts.
Tools to Try
Start your SMS marketing journey with one of these websites. These platforms can assist your business in setting up the correct software and steps.
Technology continues to advance and create more opportunities to reach customers. Take this concept and run with it. The more creative you get, the more your customers will react or respond. Advertising by text message can help drive sales, increase customer interaction, and keep existing consumers coming back for years to come. Good luck!
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