7 Benefits of SMS Marketing

Many companies use direct mail or email forcustomer outreach, but many have been reluctant to employ text messaging (SMS) for their marketing efforts. A possible reason for this is there’s still an air of mystery surrounding the use of text messaging for B2P communication. SMS is still generally regarded as a person-to-person (P2P)means of communication. In this post we attempt to demystify the use of SMS as a marketing channel, and outline 7 major benefits of using SMS and MMS for business marketing. 1. Text Messages Have Amazingly High Open Rates. Probably the most significant benefit of text message marketing is its 99% message open rate. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that most people have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7. Combine that with the fact that we’re prompted with an audible or physical notification each time a message is received. Human nature compels us to see who the message is from. This almost guarantees that your marketing messages will be read. 2. Consumers Are Eager to Read New SMS Messages In addition to a high open rate, the read rate for text messages is fast. Meaning, the interval between when a message is received until the consumer reads it is very short. As mentioned above, people are eager to check their mobile device to see what the notification is all about. Thisis what makes SMS so attractive. People are actually compelled to read their messages! Comparing SMS to email, some people check their email messages only once or twice per day. On top of that, some marketing emails get blocked or sent to the Junk folder where they end up bring deleted. 3. SMS is Mobile Nowadays mobile is king. People now spend more time on mobile devices and tablets than desktop PCs. The advantage of mobile devices is they’re ubiquitous. No matter what the brand of device or operating system, everyone can easily receive text messages, and everyone knows how to respond. There’s no instruction required. 4. SMS isAffordable and Immediate Take a step back in time and think about how most marketing material consisted of direct mail (aka junk mail), and TV or radio advertising. The cost of those channels was very expensive compared to the choices we have today. Text messages can be sent for 2 cents or even less in many cases. Furthermore, the delivery is immediate. A business can push a batch of messages in bulk to a list of subscribers, and they’ll start receiving orders or feedback within seconds. 5. SMS is a Universally Accepted Method of Communication One great benefit of SMS is, as long as your subscribers have a phone, everyone can receive it. Regardless of what type of mobile device someone owns, or what operating system they use, everyone can receive SMS. If you send out a text message to 1,000 customers, as long as the phone number is valid, you can be confident that your message will be received. 6. SMS Promotes Customer Interaction SMS is bi-directional. SMS allows you an option to engage with your customer base, but at the same time, it enables a way for your customers to engage back with you. Suppose you distribute a SMS marketing message. Upon receiving your message the recipient is immediately prompted to think about your business and your products. Even if they have no interest in the exact content of your campaign message, they may still be prompted to visit your website, or contact you back regarding something else. SMS promotes a channel of direct communication and helps keep your customers in touch with your business. 7. SMS is spam-free (mostly) Compared to junk email and robo-calls, the volume of SMS-based spam is relatively low. When a consumer is confident that their phone won’t be bombarded with unwanted texts, they’re more-likely to open messages immediately. This help ensure that SMS open rates will remain high. The primary reason that SMS is predominantly spam-free is due to strict federal laws. The distribution of SMS messages for non-person-to-person communication is required to be Opt-In and Opt-Out. This means you cannot send a text message to a subscriber if they haven’t consented to it in some way. Similarly, you must offer a means to opt out. This is usually accomplished by the subscriber replying with a simple STOP message. Heavy penalties can be imposed on marketers who fail to follow these basic rules. As a result SMS stays clean andbothparties benefit. Hopefully these 7 benefits have helped clarify some of the mystery and conce s regarding SMS marketing. If you’re ready to embark on an SMS marketing campaign, TextPort can help. TextPort offers Bulk SMS, virtual numbers, email to SMS and an SMS API, all of which can be used to send SMS or MMS messages to your customer base.