In 2021, mobile commerce sales are expected to reach a staggering $3.56 trillion. That’s a remarkable 22.3 percent more than the $2.91 trillion recorded in 2020.

From these statistics, it’s clear that businesses today cannot afford to overlook the power of mobile phone marketing. With an astounding 97 percent of Americans now owning a cellphone of some kind, businesses that adopt a solid marketing campaign that targets mobile phone usage will stay ahead.

One approach businesses are using to connect and engage with customers who use mobile phones is through text message marketing. It’s easy to see why this marketing strategy works. Text messages have a 98 percent open rate, meaning you can almost always be sure that your target customers receive your marketing content.

In today’s post, we show you how you can implement a successful text marketing campaign in your business. Read on to learn more.

What Is Text Message Marketing?

Text message marketing refers to a marketing technique where you reach consumers with promotional messages through text messages.

Typically, companies considering marketing with texts work with a third-party peer to peer texting provider.  The provider manages your texts through the web and will usually give you a monthly paid plan. Most plans are based on text volume and offer various features, depending on your needs.

Building a Text Message Marketing Campaign

Like any other digital marketing strategy, text message marketing requires careful planning to produce intended results. Here are seven things you must do to build a foolproof campaign.

Assemble a Competent Team

A large SMS marketing campaign isn’t a one-person project. You’re going to need a variety of professionals working together to maximize your marketing strategy. Depending on the scale of your campaign, you may need:

  • A text message marketing program professional
  • A retail specialist
  • A digital creative designer
  • A promotions expert
  • A social media specialist
  • A coordinator for on-location signage
  • An ROI analyst

All of these professionals need to be coordinated and should communicate regularly about strategies, plans, and execution. The more complete your team is, the more productive your SMS marketing campaign will be.

Know Your Customers

Sending the right texts for customers is only possible if you know your target audience well. Take the time to analyze their purchase history and demographics based on location, age, gender, and so on.

The idea is to tailor your messages perfectly to the recipient. If you sell cosmetics, you don’t want to send a coupon for anti-wrinkle cream to a teenager for your store in Boston when she lives in Brooklyn.

Take the time to segment your customers for targeted messages. Only send bulk messages when you’re talking about general products and promotions that all of your customers can enjoy.

Seek Customer Permission

SMS marketing has come a long way from the days when spamming consumers with messages was frowned upon as a moral evil, but businesses did it anyway. Today, the FCC makes it illegal to do so, and you could face a heavy penalty for violating FCC rules.

Before you start sending promotional messages, seek explicit permission from the recipients. In doing so, you not only ensure you’re sending text messages to consumers who want them but also avoid irritating customers who don’t. Always send marketing messages to consumers who have opted in and given you their phone numbers.

Keep Your Messages Short and Concise

All messages you send need to be short, simple, and straightforward. Consumers won’t bother reading lengthy messages and may opt out of your messaging list if you continually send such texts.

Try to grab your recipient’s message within the first few words. Communicate your promotional message without extra fluff. 

Ensure Messages Add Value to Recipients

No matter the message you want to communicate through your promotional SMS, the goal should be to add value to the user’s experience with your company. 

Always seek to send messages that will please the recipient. Sneak peeks, promotions, and coupons are some of the messages your contacts will be happy to receive.

Besides promotional offers, choose topics for messages that offer useful information to your contacts. Creatively add value to consumers without being too intrusive.

Include Clear CTAs

CTAs make your messages more engaging. You want your recipients to read, interact with, and value your messages. More importantly, you want your contacts to act on the messages you send them.

There’s a variety of effective CTAs you can consider. For instance, you can ask recipients to show a specific text that you’ve sent them the next time they visit your store to earn a discount.

Another CTA could be for your recipients to click on a link in the message they’ve received to get certain important details. You could also ask them to send a certain text to win a prize, and so on.

Time Your Messages Right

For text message marketing to be most effective, you must take advantage of immediacy. Most consumers respond favorably when the events or sales promoted in the SMS are last-minute impulses.

For instance, if you have a sale happening on Saturday afternoon, the best time to send a message promoting the sale is Saturday morning. 

Take note of the acceptable hours of sending messages, though. Avoid sending text messages before 8 a.m. and after 9 p.m.

Utilize Text Message Marketing to Boost Sales

No matter the type of business you run, you can benefit from text message marketing. As long as you’re working with a competent team and operating within the necessary codes of conduct, this approach to marketing can help you connect with consumers more and grow your sales.

Would you like to learn more ways to market your business? Please keep visiting our blog.