How to Increase the Interest of Potential Customers Using Text Message Marketing
Text message marketing, also known as SMS marketing, is a method that is spreading like wildfire to gain more interest from small and large businesses across the country. By using personalized text alerts, businesses can capture the attention of a larger audience while significantly reducing costs. This is because while print alerts will cost a business per impression, text alerts are priced per short line and per software. The public has also become desensitized to print marketing, while text still has a very personal grip on people.
The first step to building interest in your business and getting more repeat customers through SMS marketing is to understand the difference between spam and really unwanted text messages. By letting your customers opt in to receive your text messages, you make sure they want it. People who receive spam from companies rarely (if ever) want to do business with that company. By sending occasional text messages to potentially interested customers, you’re showing them that you respect both their privacy and their data plans.
Obtaining cell phone numbers for an opt-in line is fairly easy, if done correctly. Offering an incentive for customers to sign up for your texts, like a prize, is a great way to get new customers interested in what your texts are saying. Events and event-related businesses will benefit from attending similar events with a company booth. Asking customers at your booth to opt-in to receive alerts for your event (or sales) will likely drive high sign-up returns, simply because they’ve already shown interest in businesses or events similar to yours. Using your website as a way to advertise your text marketing will also get great results, especially when combined with exclusive discounts and secret sales. The bottom line of getting customers to sign up for your SMS marketing is to offer something special through their text messages, whether it’s important information, secret sales and discount codes, or even something as simple as a chance to win a reward. Offer and they will come.
Next, remember that frequency counts. Businesses that use their text messages to offer “daily deals” will soon find that fewer and fewer customers will read their text messages. SMS marketing is related to the ability to make people read the texts. At most, try to send a text message once a week that offers a discount, an upgrade, or something else vital to your business. It’s best to listen to people’s feedback on your company’s SMS marketing frequency. If you start a new texting schedule and notice people opting out of your service, cut back on texting a bit. Plus, if customers are complaining about the high frequency of text messages they’re receiving, you know it’s time to cut back on the number of messages you send.
When writing the right type of SMS blast, remember that maintaining personal sales is very important. If possible, try to get software that allows you to add your customer’s name when firing a burst of text. It’s more personal and will seem more “human” than receiving a text message about the last sale. Making sure the text messages you send also match what your customers are looking for will also make a big difference in whether or not your business uses text marketing to its full potential. For example, if you have a business that caters to young mothers with expendable income, it makes sense to sell about 20% of the fanciest baby carrier. On the other hand, if you’re a business that targets young moms, it won’t make sense to send a blast text about your big sale on weight loss pills.
Keeping text messages upbeat, to the point, and easy to understand will keep customers reading. The ideal text message marketing campaign is sprinkled with discounts, short, and definitely simple. Small businesses looking for more customers through word of mouth should also suggest (occasionally) forwarding their most intriguing text messages to their friends. This works especially well with restaurant, bar, and event marketing. The more people who know what your business is doing, the more people will want to check it out, after all. More traditional businesses like banks, clothing stores, and supply stores would be smart to offer group discounts via SMS marketing to people who share their discount codes via text message with their friends. The benefit of this is twofold. First, people are more likely to spread the word about your SMS marketing service and get people to opt in for more text messages. Then people will also be more likely to buy in large groups, which turns into profit for your business.
Lastly, remember that text message marketing is also best done with other forms of marketing. Using the press, television, radio, and word of mouth are great ways to attract new customers to your business. While text message marketing is an amazing way to generate interest in your company, your products, and your ideas, the only way to get the word out with text message marketing is to get people to sign up. The only way to get more people to opt in is by telling them about your service, listening to their feedback, and offering decent incentives.
Text message marketing is now one of the best ways to get, keep, and learn from customers. There is no doubt that SMS marketing offers a wide variety of benefits to small businesses looking to grow their customer base. By harnessing this power properly, you can sit back and watch your small business flourish and expand into the great company you know it should be.