8 Benefits of SMS Marketing for Small Businesses

SMS marketing may seem like old news to you, but nothing could be further from the truth. SMS marketing is used by nearly every small business today. Whether it’s to deliver messages about special offers, bundles, or discounts, SMS covers nearly everything.

Is SMS Marketing Worth It Today?

Today, there is no such thing as uni-channel marketing. If a company, especially a small business, wants to get as wide a recognition as possible, they’ll go for multi-channel marketing. SMS marketing is just one of the channels that can get you a direct line to your customers. You can rely on the fast 2G networks to get your simple, text message to your customers.

Not only is this a fast way of getting a message to your clients, but also to get as many clients aboard as possible. Think about it, who doesn’t have a phone today? If they don’t have a smartphone, they will definitely have a feature phone.

Small businesses and even large businesses may mistakenly believe that heavy investment is required for marketing. They may think that SMS can’t be as personalized as email or as effective as apps and notifications. However, they’re wrong. SMS is not only more effective than email, it’s also customizable. It also has a much further reach than email since nearly everyone has a phone. Not everyone has an email address however.

1.    SMS Allows for Direct Marketing

SMS is an immediate channel. It goes straight to the person’s phone and can be accessed with a single tap. It doesn’t require a web application to be open or web connectivity. It simply requires someone to have a phone and a phone number. With those basic requirements, someone can receive a text message about a special offer, a discount, etc.

2.    SMS Allows for Simplified Marketing

SMS allows for simplified marketing to be implemented at any company. You can let your customers make the first move by adding a shortcode or keyword to print collateral, or advertisements. This is a great strategy which means that customers can become familiar with a brand’s code and keyword. Hence, they’re more likely to interact with that brand.

3.    Supports Integration with Other Channels

While SMS is great as a standalone channel, it can mix with other channels as well. Also, a company isn’t limited to the features on a customer’s phone with SMS marketing for small businesses. You can text them a link if they don’t have internet on their phone. You can also tell them if there’s something waiting in their inbox. All an SMS does is alert them to something that’s waiting for them. That way, they’re aware of the information. 

4.    Great for Customer Engagement

SMS is a great way for you to learn more about your customers. You can use it to create simple surveys and gain one letter or one word replies to simple questions. Research has shown that on average, 31% of customers will reply to a survey via SMS. The average response time is just over 5 minutes. That’s incredible user engagement.

With those kind of results in that span of time, you can collect a lot more data through SMS than you can with emails.

5.    Opt-In/Opt-Out Options

The great thing about SMS marketing is that you can quickly find out which customers want your business. If you want to build your database correctly, you can have your customers sign up through SMS to hear from you. The opt-in options will qualify them to receive texts and other marketing materials.

Now, with robocall and robo SMS legislation being pushed through various countries, this is something you should invest in.

You should also have an opt-out option. Data protection laws state that if you contact someone via text, they should be able to stop those messages. Hence, please add an unsubscribe option via text.

This way it’s better. At least you won’t be wasting any resources on someone that doesn’t want your services.

6.    Cost Effective Marketing

Several small businesses are looking for a cheap way to market their products. SMS marketing doesn’t cost nearly as much as investing in professional marketing tools. Other than that, here are some great reasons why you should invest in it.

High Open Rate

Did you know SMS have a higher open rate than emails? While a 15-25% open rate is considered high for emails, for SMS, it’s 98%. That means customers will be looking at your SMSs far more than your emails.

Wide Audience/Demographic Reach

Since most people, from the eldest to the youngest have some sort of phone, they’ll all receive texts. Even the oldest seniors and the youngest pre-teens know how to use a feature phone. You can gain a lot more ground through SMS marketing for small businesses.

7.    Easily Customizable

SMS marketing is incredibly versatile. You can mix and match text messages to fit different demographics and promote your business. You can announce a discount, a sale, or reward loyal customers.

This easy customizability is great for small businesses that can’t invest in email marketing tools. It’s a inexpensive and efficient way of getting customers to pay attention to you.

8.    Verifiable Campaign Success

After you’ve initiated bulk SMS marketing campaigns, you need insights into what has worked and what hasn’t. Luckily SMS services offer real-time data and detailed graphical analytics. You can see whether customers have read your message and which browser was used to visit your link. You can even track their geolocation this way. Hence, SMS may seem like it’s a barebones marketing tool, but it can provide a lot of information.

You can shape a whole new SMS marketing campaign by learning from the previous one. So you see, it’s not as simple or as useless as you thought it was.

Parting Words

If you need a reliable SMS marketing channel for your company, you need PhoneOne. They provide an extensive communications suite for not just SMS marketing, but web hosting, online faxing, LTE backup, etc.