Studies have shown that a text will be opened within the first 3 minutes after it is received. On top of that, nearly all text messages are read. What better exposure could a business want when trying to reach the current customer database? A text marketing campaign is extremely valuable to a business and should be one of the marketing strategies a business focuses on. Here are strategies to follow if you are getting ready to start texting customers.
Use AI to simplify
Artificial Intelligence has advanced significantly over the years, which means you can use it for many different aspects of your business. However, it is extremely helpful when planning a marketing campaign. Not only will it allow for personalized text messages that are more suited to each individual customer, but it also makes it so customers can text in questions and concerns whenever they want to get a real time automated response. Working with an artificial intelligence startup is the easiest and most personalized method of reaching out to a customer. Plus, if the AI is doing all the work, it is easier to launch a campaign than if your marketing employees are trying to do all the work themselves. Read our report on AI messaging and how brands like Roundtable Pizza are using it to improve customer engagement.
Know the laws
There are very strict laws governing the text industry and when businesses are permitted to text a customer. Make sure you are doing everything correct legally to avoid any problems. For example, a business can only send text messages to customers who have opted in to the service. That means that when you are marketing with texting, your audience is made up of current customers. This changes the way you market to them because you no longer have to convince them to like your product; you simply have to remind them that your business is still around and offer incentives for them to make another purchase.
Consider your audience
Who is your audience? We already know it consists of current customers, but who are those customers? Are you marketing primarily toward women? Or men? Or Teenagers? It is important to identify exactly who your audience is, so you have an idea of what kinds of text marketing campaigns will be most successful.
Make a goal
What is the main goal of this text marketing campaign? Is it to get people to make an immediate purchase? Is it to remind them you exist in order to get a future purchase? Is it to strengthen your customer relationships? Before launching any kind of campaign, you need to first figure out what the main purpose is behind it and what your main goal is.
Having a goal and purpose makes it easier to measure the success of the campaign. If, for example, you are looking for immediate sales, then you can measure how many sales took place the same day as the texts were sent out to customers. It helps you determine what is and is not working, though your machine learning can do a lot of that calculation for you and pump out the results.
Don’t waste a customer’s time
If a customer is annoyed with the number of texts they are receiving from you or with the messages in them, they will simply unsubscribe from your list. You never want to lose customers, so it is important you aren’t ever wasting their time with a text. There needs to be substantial value. Customers hate getting irrelevant notices. Even a simple “Happy Halloween” will bother customers if they feel it has no relevant value to them. Coupons and important updates are the only things you should bother customers with in a text.
Track results and make improvements
Not every text marketing campaign you run will be successful. Fortunately, you can track how well it works and improve for next time. Never give up just because you didn’t get your desired results the first time. Keep trying until you figure out what works best with your audience.
