SMS or Short Messaging System, better known as text messaging is one of the most effective ways of communicating with your customers. A concise and ‘to the point’ message takes seconds to read and can generate a response just as quickly. Texting is also by far the cheapest means of communicating with your customers. Only 25% of emails are read compared to 95% of text messages. As well as generating more footfall and interest in your business, you can also use the G3 Media’s SMS Broadcast Marketing system to create custom SMS campaigns on the fly that pull customers into your sales funnel. Run keyword campaigns, contests, polls, viral texting (Exclusive Patent Pending Technology), loyalty campaigns, surveys, web forms, lead notification and more, Use it to manage your appointments, inform your consumers of special offers, send them promotional offers to bring them into your business; enabling you to interact with your clients via text messaging The benefits of this are, you can reduce the number of costly missed appointments to your business, and you can reach consumers immediately via the most effective means of communication… the mobile phone.

Can texting work for my business?

SMS/text marketing can bring positive effects to any business. The real advantage of SMS marketing is that it’s affordable and scalable; anyone can do it to any number of contacts, so it really doesn’t matter how big or small your business is, texting can benefit you. Every business should consider sending booking reminders to help reduce the incidence of client absentees. We also recommend sending birthday messages and lost client promotions; offers sent to clients who haven’t been into your business for an agreed period, most commonly 6-12 weeks. Once these essential areas are covered, you can consider sending more specific promotions, such as seasonal offers, although we recommend introducing the basics first before creating a more complex on-going schedule of SMS marketing communications. We will be happy to discuss with you which method of SMS marketing would be best to start with.

When to use SMS

We have already mentioned the everyday marketing communications which can be made using text messages; bookings, birthdays and lost clients. As well as these essential areas, texting can also be used for more specific communications, such as;

Grow your list Offers to boost business
Product launches and new services Seasonal promotions
Competitions Recommend a friend

It’s best to start small and then gradually expand your use of SMS marketing according to your marketing plan and feedback you gain from clients as they get used to receiving your text messages.

Knowing what to write

Text messages can only be 160 characters (including spaces) long, so there’s no room for waffling. It’s important that you get to the point quickly and that the client understands exactly what you’re offering them. As a rule, you should make sure that once you have created your message, it answers these three key questions;

1. Why you are contacting them – e.g. what offer are you making to the customer?

2. When should they act? – e.g. is there a closing date for your offer or promotion?

3. What do they need to do next? e.g. Should they call or visit your shop!

It’s important to keep the style of your messages friendly and chatty but at the same time, your message is clear and concise. A legal requirement now is to include an opt out message in every text message.

Once you have decided on how you want to use texting in your business, and the content of your texts, you can determine how often you will need to contact clients and what your average usage of text messaging will be.

How do I use mobile to interact with my customers?

Interactive text messaging enables you to engage with your customers by encouraging them to text in a short-code to receive a variety of offerings. Imagine growing loyalty by asking customers to take part in valuable feedback on their experience with your business, or enhancing your current advertising by prompting customers to text in a keyword for a special limited time offer. These are just a few of the ways that businesses are taking advantage of the shift in consumer behaviour regarding the use of mobile phones as a way of life. It’s also a great way to build your mobile database, and allows consumers to opt-in to your mobile marketing campaigns.

How much is too much?

People these days expect to receive booking reminders prior to their appointments, but they may not be so pleased to hear from you if your messages start to become too regular. We recommend contacting clients not more than once per month with offers or promotions in addition to your everyday reminder texts and an annual birthday message. For the majority of businesses, one product promotion or special offer per month is enough to satisfy the sales targets set within the business.

Driving opt-ins

It is important that you provide a clear call-to-action. From there, companies should encourage an ongoing dialogue through an opt-in. SMS gives marketers a chance to have a one-on-one relationship with consumers. However, tou should also remember to not abuse the privilege.

Consumers do not want to be bombarded with text messages, especially if they or unsolicited or irrelevant. Additionally, you should not send one message and then disappear, consistency is the way to success.

Protecting your client data

The final thing to consider before you embark on an SMS marketing campaign is: who should manage your SMS marketing? Who in your business should be given the responsibility of maintaining your client database and ensuring the right messages are sent to the right people? In truth, there is only really one answer to this question. Your client contact database, in particular the mobile numbers it contains should be highly protected. Only the business manager should be able to access this and they should have the final say on the content of messages and when and who will receive them.