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| SMS Marketing |
Mobile marketing provides allows businesses to engage customers in instant two-way communication. Unfortunately however, much of the advice given to businesses focuses only on the technology - SMS short codes, long code sms, SMS vendors, aggregators... as a business owner it can be enough to make your head spin.
When setting up a campaign, the real questions that need asking are how will the text message campaign will:
Attract new customers
Retain existing customers longer
Encourage existing customers to buy more? (Or more often.)
Then equally importantly:
What value will the text message campaign provide to end users?
Smsgatewayhub Mobile marketing is unique as a medium, in that it is completely opt in. Customers have to opt in and want to receive text messages from you, and customer privacy is paramount. With good reason too - most of us keep our phones on us at all times, not even turning them on when we go to bed!
As customers we don't want to receive more marketing, but we do want to receive relevant offers that we are interested in and have opted in to receive.
The easiest and most frequent use of text messaging campaigns by businesses is mobile coupons. Financial incentives can be a great way to attract customers, especially if your business experiences quiet periods (think cheap lunchtime deals at a restaurant).
While we are big fans of mobile coupling, my goal today is to get you thinking beyond financial incentives. This is because they:
Teach customers to expect a discount (and devalue your products and services in the process)
Raise your variable costs, as you have to produce more to make the same level of profit
Other uses could be:
Service reminders. (When did you last have your oil changed? Would you like to renew your warranty? How about home insurance? Has your product been dispatched?)
When setting up a campaign, the real questions that need asking are how will the text message campaign will:
Attract new customers
Retain existing customers longer
Encourage existing customers to buy more? (Or more often.)
Then equally importantly:
What value will the text message campaign provide to end users?
Smsgatewayhub Mobile marketing is unique as a medium, in that it is completely opt in. Customers have to opt in and want to receive text messages from you, and customer privacy is paramount. With good reason too - most of us keep our phones on us at all times, not even turning them on when we go to bed!
As customers we don't want to receive more marketing, but we do want to receive relevant offers that we are interested in and have opted in to receive.
The easiest and most frequent use of text messaging campaigns by businesses is mobile coupons. Financial incentives can be a great way to attract customers, especially if your business experiences quiet periods (think cheap lunchtime deals at a restaurant).
While we are big fans of mobile coupling, my goal today is to get you thinking beyond financial incentives. This is because they:
Teach customers to expect a discount (and devalue your products and services in the process)
Raise your variable costs, as you have to produce more to make the same level of profit
Other uses could be:
Service reminders. (When did you last have your oil changed? Would you like to renew your warranty? How about home insurance? Has your product been dispatched?)
Appointment reminders. For businesses that work on an appointment basis (e.g. dentists), the biggest cost of business is no-shows, as you cannot get the time back. Use SMS to send appointment reminders to give customers the chance to cancel if they cannot attend.
Instead of discounting, offer a premium SMS group , free upgrades, special access.
Mobile coupling is a great tool for businesses small and large, but for long term success every offer you send should not be a discount. Having a customer's permission to send them text messages is extremely valuable, however you need to be creative to in thinking of different ways your text message campaigns can provide value to your customers
