Today, a personalised experience is essential for customers. You can’t ignore the data: 77% of consumers have a positive perception of a company that offers text messages. So we give 5 reasons why your customers love it – and provide some top-notch text examples.
Reason 1: When it comes to marketing, less is more
Not long ago, our lovely text marketing experts at FireText were having a chat about – believe it or not – emails. We were discussing how much personal time we spend binning the spammy emails in our personal inboxes.
The trouble is, emails can flood our inboxes. And we can’t always tell the useful from the useless.
SMS is a channel based on simplicity. As a personable channel, it also makes you think twice about sending a message every two minutes. Using business SMS, you can narrow it down to the right message at the right time – from a rare exclusive offer, to an order confirmation.
Reason 2: Text messages are convenient for customers
A large portion of the population (91.5% globally) owns a mobile phone. The majority of us keep our mobile within arms reach at all times.
When we head out, one of the items we almost always carry with us is a mobile phone. So reading messages from companies, especially receiving offers and deals, is much more convenient through text messages than any other medium.
Your customers don’t have to worry about having the internet to receive the message. It’s instant, and they can read it from almost anywhere. When they want to redeem the offer, they can easily just show the message on their phone at the designated location.
Reason 3: Customers receive relevant deals and discounts
Text marketing is opt-in only. This means that your customers are already interested in what you do and want to receive the messages because they find them relevant.
It’s easy to create targeted messages based on the behaviour and demographics of your audience – for example, re-targeting those who haven’t clicked through.
Adding personalisation to your messages makes your offers seem more relevant to your customers than those found through other marketing channels. It also decreases the chance that customers perceive your messages as spam.
Reason 4: Texting is instant and interactive for customers
Text messages aren’t just a one-way channel of communication.
This unique channel also offers the opportunity to receive messages from your mobile subscribers to increase the level of engagement with your business.
There are several types of interactive options for your campaign, including keywords, surveys, contests, questionnaires, and polls. Bulk SMS features such as throttling, auto-replies and email forwarding make it really easy for you to manage responses
You can also incorporate your text message service as an aspect of your customer service program. In fact, a study conducted by Harris Interactive showed that 64% of consumers with texting capabilities would prefer to use texting over voice as a customer service channel.
Reason 5: It’s a helpful channel for your customers
Customers appreciate text messages for the help they provide. We have plenty of customers using SMS for appointment reminders, which can reduce the number of no-shows for a mutually beneficial service.
Customers also find it helpful when companies send out tips relevant to the company, such as seasonal maintenance suggestions from mechanics or health tips from physicians.
Sample SMS: Creative ways to text your customers
We’ve told you why customers love it – now here’s how you can use SMS to your advantage.
Over time, using this channel can help boost customer loyalty, which will have a positive effect on your bottom line. According to a widely cited study by Bain and Company, increasing your retention rates by just 5% can positively impact your profits by 25 to 95%.
Distribute relevant and useful tips
One way to engage with your customers is to send them helpful and relevant tips via text message.
To decide which tips to send, you should consider your audience and what topics they may find relevant that are associated with your product or service. For example, if you work in healthcare, you could send a text with tips on avoiding getting sick.
You may already have an idea of these topics through developing your blog content. Some of the tips you send could connect with your blog and include links to your posts.
Send out appointment reminders
If your business has any sort of appointment system, then you can have your clients sign up for appointment reminders through texts instead of emails or phone calls.
This is a simple way to engage your customer base, while also ensuring they remember to show up at a scheduled time. This strategy isn’t limited to appointment-based events. You can also send out reminders to your customers about special events, especially if they have already purchased tickets.
Provide updates on recent orders
One simple way to engage with customers through text is to use mobile instead of – or in addition to – email to communicate order updates.
When your customers place an order, you can include the option to receive text message updates on orders. When a customer selects this option, you can send them a quick notice when an item ships or is delivered.
You can also distribute other important updates about their order. Not only does this increase your customer engagement, but it will also add people to your SMS marketing list.
Follow up on emails
Another way to connect with your customers through SMS is to use it as a way to follow up on your email marketing efforts.
For example, if you sent out an offer code through email, you can send out a text message reminder to use that code before the offer expires. You can also include in your emails a link to sign up for your mobile program.
By integrating email and text messaging, you will boost engagement with your customers, while providing them with a friendly avenue to communicate with your business.
Ode to the omnichannel strategy
To further increase the impact of your overall marketing efforts, consider adopting an omnichannel strategy and integrating your mobile campaigns with your email and social media marketing.
Since you only have a limited number of characters to use in your text messages, it makes sense to include links to your blog, website, or social media profiles for more information.
Ready to send? Check out our one-stop-shop guide to text message marketing.