We know people rely heavily on their mobile devices, but there is now a name for the fear of being without a mobile phone: nomophobia

The term was coined in a British study that found that 53% of people experienced anxiety when they lost their phone, had their mobile phone battery die or lost network coverage.

Another study revealed that people would rather go a week without brushing their teeth than a week without their mobile phones.

Why the strong attachment? People use their mobile phones (especially smartphones) for virtually everything.  Not until forced to go without a mobile phone for a day or two do people realize how much they’ve come to rely on it.

All this shows just how powerful a text message marketing campaign can be. And while there are many ways to do mobile marketing, one that remains the most successful is text message marketing. But before you launch your text message marketing campaign, here are a few things you should know.

Texting is personal

Text message marketing’s greatest strength is always its greatest weakness: it’s personal.

Television and radio commercials aren’t too intrusive because we’re used to tuning them out. We’re also used to getting tons of spam in our inbox. But there’s something more personal about receiving a text. For that reason, there are regulations to keep text messaging a permission-based channel. In other words, you can’t text people unless they give consent to receive your texts.

While somewhat limiting, it is also a good thing. Those that do opt in to receive text messages will be your most loyal customers so long as you don’t abuse the relationship you have with them. Excessive texting or sending texts early in the morning or late at night can quickly ruin rapport.

Text message marketing is a two-way communication

Many business owners mistakenly believe that text message marketing is only a way for businesses to communicate with their customers. If done right however, a text message marketing campaign can work both ways. Businesses can use text messages to create a two way relationship in which customers are actively engaged. In turn, businesses can gain vital insight by seeing how customers interact with texts.

Text message marketing is flexible

Many business owners can use text message marketing for up-selling, customer service, notifications, reminders and much more–as long as their TCPA compliant. Though sending mobile deals is certainly a great way to get customers excited, it isn’t the only way. Text message marketing is versatile.

Feel free to experiment with other ways to use text message marketing. Find what works and what doesn’t. You can use it to inform customers about new products. You can use it to text receipts or shipping notifications. You can even use texts to request customer feedback. Make sure to reward survey participation with an exclusive deal and you’ll be on your way to creating close relationships with your customers.