Smart communications is text message marketing
With nearly all Americans owning cell phones, and the majority of them being smart phones having access to SMS, text marketing is an extremely powerful marketing tool. Your business can reach customers within just a few minutes at any time with just the click of a button. But how can you make the most of your text marketing campaign? Here are 5 tips you can follow.
1. Customer service SMS
If you thought marketing and customer service weren’t connected, you would be mistaken. Customers spend just as much time, if not more, interacting with customer service as they do with your advertisements. Your company can expect a really great response from customers if you allow them to text in their questions and comments instead of having to call.
It is also great for your company because you can use AI Chatbot to answer their text questions or carry out tasks like appointment reminders and reservations, instead of having to use a real person. You can cut down on the wasted time representatives spend answering repetitive questions.
2. Location-based texting
Sending texts to your customers when they are within a couple of miles of your restaurant or retail shop can get them over to your place. One of the newest forms of marketing is location-based this year, and it is one way you can really step up your marketing game. Whether through texts or even ads on social media, people will be influenced by ads related to their location.
This is very effective at malls and shopping centers where people are just walking around hanging out anyway, but it can also be effective for other locations. For example, maybe you send a text to your customer because they are within a couple of miles of your car wash. Suddenly, they remember they need to get their car washed. Just the small reminder and discount is enough to bring people in and choose you over the competition.
3. Time-constrained deals
Another interesting way to use text marketing to bring in customers is by sending deals that seem exclusive. By telling them the deal will only last for the next four hours, for example, or saying they can only get the deal if they come in today will get people in. Or you can even say the first 100 people in will get a special deal. For some customers, this won’t make any difference to them. But if JCPenney has taught us anything, it is that many customers want to get a deal and get excited about the accomplishment of saving money.
4. Cut down messaging
Is your company sending a few texts a week to your customers? Stop it. If you are constantly sending texts to your customers, it loses its appeal and makes it feel like they aren’t really getting a deal. In fact, some companies have had problems where customers start being unwilling to shop there unless they have a deal because they expect you to send them. And customers who get annoyed with the constant texts will simply unsubscribe to your texts, which if not properly managed could lead to lawsuits due to FCC violations.
Contact your customers with something of value or importance to them–even offering “text club” specific deals.
5. Be real with them
Transparency is important, and customers don’t fall for the same marketing tricks they used to. Don’t try and lie to them or deceive them to get them in the store. Just be real with them. Offer deals and coupons that are actually good deals. Text marketing will always be more effective if you are transparent and real with your customers.
