Table of Contents

1) What is SMS Marketing?

2) 5 Elements for a Successful SMS Marketing Campaign:

• Include the name of your brand in your message
• Create a valuable offer
• Create a sense of necessity
• Have a clear and direct message
• Include a direct call to action (CTA)

3) The Many Advantages of SMS Marketing

• The potential open rate
• Speed and flexibility
• Low cost compared to the extremely high return on investment (ROI)
• Highly targeted SMS marketing communication
• Unmatched personalized communication
• Short, concise communication
• Instant opt-in and opt-out

4) How Do Brands Generate Revenue using SMS Marketing Strategies?

• Providing Welcome Offers and Exclusive Deals
• Utilizing SMS drip messaging
• Alleviating cart abandonment
• Promoting flash sales to drive urgency
• Triggering activation through retargeting campaigns

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing is the practice of using text messages (SMS) to send promotional campaigns or transactional messages for the purpose of marketing. The main objective of these messages is to inform customers who have opted in to receive text messages from your company about time-sensitive offers, updates, as well as alerts.

Like email marketing, SMS marketing is opt-in, which means customers need to sign up for it. However, unlike email marketing, SMS messages are much shorter (and more likely to be engaged with sooner than emails).

Key Elements for a Successful SMS Marketing Campaign

A well-crafted and well-worded SMS to promote and advertise your products and services and the promotional offers related to them can go a long way and prevent you from being categorized as spam in the minds of the customer. Several factors play a key role in determining and ensuring the success of your marketing campaign.‍

Include the name of your brand in your message

When you send a text message to your customers, you don’t want them to end up thinking about who you are. The message has to be about you. Your brand should be present to let the customer know that the message is from you. If they do not see that you are sending it, they might ignore the promotional offer as they will consider you a spammer. So, make sure that your loyal and potential customers know that it is from you. ‍

Create a valuable offer

When creating the SMS to send to your customers, make sure to think about whether it will provide them with anything of value. An SMS has to be crisp and precise, so you must give them something of value in those few characters. Ensure that your message clearly conveys to them, at a single glance, that you are sending them a promotional discount or a coupon code. If they think that the messages you send them offer them nothing, they may unsubscribe from your promotional message list and may even categorize you as spam.

Create a sense of necessity

Everyone has heard of the saying that something out of sight ends up being out of mind, and you surely do not want your customers ignoring your message. You need to create a sense of urgency within them that induces them to make a purchase. Sending them coupons, discounts, and codes with an expiration date or telling them about a discount season offered by your brand for a determined period will make them want to shop. Customers love discounts, and they also hate letting a discount coupon go unused. Be precise in your message concerning the time.

Have a clear and direct message

There is nothing that feels more of a waste of time than someone not coming straight to the point. You may want to avoid giving your customers the same idea. An SMS cannot be as long as an email because your customers will stop reading if they have to scroll through it. Make sure that your text message is clear, precise, and direct about what you wish to say to them and what you are offering to them. You want to ensure that the customer knows your intentions.

Include a direct call to action (CTA)

Your SMS must be concise and to the point. Don’t convey ambiguous messages. Choose words that sound like a direct call to action. Put phrases like “present this message at the counter,” “text to receive code,” “click to save,” “buy now,” “reserve,” and “save” in your communications. Such language leads your customers to believe that they must accept the offer right now in order to take advantage of it. Because of the sense of urgency this instills in them, they will take their time deciding what to buy in order to take advantage of the promotion being offered.

Benefits of SMS Marketing

Here are just a few reasons why SMS communication can be your greatest marketing weapon.

The potential open rate

Did you know that 98% of all SMS messages are opened and read by the recipient? What’s more, is that these messages are typically opened within 3 seconds of receiving them. Compare that to the 20% average open rates of email and SMS marketing becomes a no-brainer. When a customer feels that vibration in their pocket or hears the PING notifying them of a text message, chances are they’ll have a look. It is literally lightning-fast communication that you can almost guarantee the customer will see.

Speed and flexibility

Your business will need to adapt to the day-to-day fluidity of the modern business world. Flexibility is key to these constant adaptations. SMS marketing has virtually zero lead time. This allows messages to be created and delivered to the target audience within a matter of minutes. This can be used to drive footfall on a slow day or clear old stock ahead of imminent new arrivals. Clickatell Platform allows businesses to instantly respond to the events of the day or to a competitor’s promotion. It also allows you to stay one step ahead of the game, and that’s a vital advantage to keep.

Low cost compared to the extremely high return on investment (ROI)

If you think about other forms of advertising: newspaper ads, TV commercials, and any form of outdoor advertising, the costs involved are enormous. In fact, for a lot of small to medium-sized businesses, these costs are a stumbling block to using these channels. A well-timed SMS marketing campaign launched through the Platform can be executed at a fraction of the cost associated with the more traditional marketing methods. And, as already mentioned, the amount of money that’s being invested will be well worth it, considering the instant impact of the communication.

Highly targeted SMS marketing communication

The more traditional methods of marketing are also at a disadvantage when it comes to who sees and reads them. For any savvy business owner, it’s essential that every marketing message that’s put out is as targeted as possible. This keeps the costs of the communication down. Moreover, as SMS marketing is mostly permission-based, you’re most likely to be reaching out to people with whom you already have a relationship and have agreed to receive marketing messages from you. If you consider that it’s at least five times easier to resell to existing customers than to a new customer, then you’ll see the benefits of this. You’re marketing to an already plowed, seeded, and prepared field, meaning your returns are likely to be that much greater.

Unmatched personalized communication

SMS marketing messages can be personalized to your customer base and delivered to their pockets within seconds. This personalization is built around anything from their name to their buying behavior or demographic. They can even be location-based, crafting a message based on different stores or different regions of the country. And make no mistake, personalized messages are powerful.

Short & concise communication

Often seen as a major disadvantage for SMS, the 160 character limit is actually one of the channel’s main strengths. It forces you, the business owner to be as clear and concise as possible. Also, today’s goldfish-attention-span-society allows your customers to get your point immediately, with little effort.

Instant opt-in and opt-out

One of the more annoying things in life is receiving spam communication. But, with the advent of shortcodes, opting in and out of an SMS stream is instant for your customers. There are very few, if any, hoops for your customers to jump through, should they not wish to receive your communication any longer. This contributes to a positive brand opinion and a high subscriber satisfaction level. Smartphone adoption rates are at an all-time high. Moreover, considering the general trend towards mobile user behavior, your chances of getting your message across are incredibly high.

How Can Brands Generate Revenue using SMS Marketing Strategies?

Integrating SMS marketing within your marketing mix can improve customer retention, revive inactive leads, as well as enhance your ROI. Here are five ways to use SMS marketing for your brand:

1. Providing Welcome Offers and Exclusive Deals

Audiences today have many options to choose from. How do marketers set themselves apart from the competition?

You can offer exclusive and unique coupons to encourage non-subscribers to claim your deal, and complete a purchase. Providing welcome offers to newcomers can also encourage customers to add more items to their cart, which results in an increased order value. The average increment in the order value (AOV) gives rise to a cascading effect. Furthermore, it boosts your ability to spend more on ads. Also, it makes better profits on each sale, and subsequently increases the customer’s lifetime value (LTV).

2. Utilizing SMS drip messaging

Drip messaging comprises automated texts sent out based on specific factors. What’s great about them is that one can create personalized triggers for each segment of users and chain numerous drips together to build a sequence of automated SMS(s) to be sent to subscribers after a specific period since their initial engagement. With SMS drip messaging, you can also send customers time-sensitive offers, cart abandonment messages, and seasonal updates. This enables you to give customers a timely nudge, so they return and repeat their orders, enhancing your order value in the process.

3. Alleviating cart abandonment

If you run an E-commerce store, you might worry about abandoned carts and the revenue you lose out on because of it. With 70% of carts abandoned for several reasons, it is easy to understand why it is the bane of any E-commerce seller. Most E-commerce and retail brands rely on a cart abandonment email to turn this sentiment around and prompt customers to checkout. However, this can be better if you choose to go with an SMS.

SMS is a better option for immediacy in comparison to email. This is because its average response time is 90 seconds instead of 90 minutes for email. As such, sending an SMS to capture your customers’ attention can work wonders for you. If you want to call out customers to persuade them to check out their carts, you can send an SMS with photos of the abandoned cart products. Your automated SMS(s) will start going out to those customers who left your checkout flow with links to bring them back.

4. Promoting flash sales to drive urgency

Scheduling text messages to promote flash sales is one of the most ingenious ways to take advantage of SMS automation. This is an excellent capitalization incentive for brands, especially considering how 54% of consumers want marketing SMS(s), but only 11% of brands send them. For that reason, SMS marketing affords a huge opportunity to marketers wishing to leverage trends that savvy shoppers are into and improve customer loyalty.

5. Triggering activation through retargeting campaigns

SMS can shine in retargeting campaigns to reach prospects with things such as – reminders to purchase abandoned goods, follow-ups for purchases and review requests. For SMS retargeting to work, you need the express consent of your subscribers. This means you can only retarget those consumers who have already shopped with you before. Once you know which subscribers to retarget, you can take a few measures to prompt them to come back and shop with you.

In conclusion, SMS marketing has proven itself as a potent and efficient tool for modern businesses. Its unparalleled open rates, speed, cost-effectiveness, as well as personalized nature, make it a valuable asset in your marketing arsenal. By following best practices and leveraging SMS strategically, you can not only engage with your audience effectively but also boost revenue, retain customers, and ultimately, drive your business towards success in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Embrace the power of SMS marketing and stay ahead of the competition in this mobile-centric world!