8 secrets for a no-nonsense SMS Marketing campaign Part 2

by | Apr 10, 2015 |

In Part 1 we gave you four secrets to make any SMS Marketing campaign hassle-free. Today we will divulge four more secrets that marketers often miss the mark with. Make subscriptions easy You know that you need to permission from your customers to send them mobile messages. Marketers usually leave this one for last because it can be tricky if you don’t already have a loyal opt-in phone list. But take heart, there are two very easy ways you can achieve this. Let your customers text a keyword to you (you can use Premium SMS for this if you like) or let them submit their numbers via a web form. You can incentivise these subscriptions by providing access to exclusive info about your products/ services. Don’t rush it On average, a mobile user reads a text within 3 minutes of receiving it – unlike emails that can take hours or days to be opened. This statistic alone tells you that timing in your SMS Marketing campaigns are pretty important. It is not at all like a wedding invitation that you have to send two months beforehand – texts follow very much the “out of sight, out of mind” concept. In other words: don’t send your texts too early, but also not so late that consumers don’t have enough time to react on it. Understand what “exclusivity” means When we say that you want your customers to opt-in to your list because you want to offer them exclusivity, we don’t mean that you should exclude any other communication channels in your marketing toolbox. The more platforms you can use to...

8 secrets for a no-nonsense SMS Marketing campaign Part1

by | Apr 6, 2015 |

Developing a SMS Marketing campaign requires creativity and finesse. There are lots of factors you have to take into consideration and things that have to “click” with each other. Have a look at the first four of eight secrets we will be sharing with you. Have clear objectives “Hey, let’s do a SMS Marketing campaign to see what happens,” is not an objective. You need to have an achievable objective or clear goals of what you want to achieve with your campaign. And those goals should always be S.M.A.R.T – specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time specific. Also, try to align these goals with that of your overall business objectives so it fits with the bigger picture. Involve the whole company It is easy to push everything onto the marketing team, but they aren’t flying solo. Everything that happens on their side will influence every other division – from sales to the IT department right through to the receptionist. Every single employee should be given the opportunity to contribute their skills to the campaign and should also be kept in the loop. Clear call-to-action SMS Marketing has little room for error. So you have to make 100% absolutely sure that your call-to-action is so clear that even a 10 year old can understand it. One example of this is SMS keywords. You might think it will make your keyword stand out to put it in a “quotation”, but if the consumer texts the word with the quotation marks it might not register on your side. Incentivise We know you have heard this one a million times – give your...

The pros versus cons of SMS Marketing

by | Mar 9, 2015 |

SMS Marketing has its own set of pros and cons that makes it more suitable for some certain circumstances, or less suitable for others. Understanding all the aspects involved will help you to make better decisions for your digital marketing. The Pros of SMS Marketing Because users have to subscribe to your list, you know you are reaching an audience who is actually interest in your brand. Texts are delivered in real-time and almost instantly. That means if you decide right now that you are going to have a summer sale, you customers will also know it within a few seconds. It is a great way to elicit two-way communication. Not all customers are comfortable talking over the phone or have the time to speak to a consultant. But typing a text takes only a few seconds and the customer can do it anytime, anywhere. It is a practical method for gathering data for marketing research – e.g. polls, surveys and questionnaires. It is just an equally great platform for hosting competitions. The Cons of SMS Marketing Keeping your audience interested can be hard sometimes. Because you don’t have the luxury of rich media, texts can easily become repetitive and boring. You are restricted to 160 characters only. This means that marketers will have to dig a little deeper and get a bit more creative when constructing messages. It also doesn’t allow much in the ways of advertising space. Getting customers to subscribe to your mobile list can be tricky, but luckily there are a few reliable ways to achieve this. Marketers often lose heart because of this, but the...

Common SMS Marketing mistakes and how to fix them Part 2

by | Feb 11, 2015 |

How difficult can SMS Marketing be? Well, it is fairly easy actually, but that doesn’t imply that you can’t make mistakes or use it in the wrong way. The following common mistakes are best to be avoided. Not providing an Opt-out option Not only will this drive customers insane who no longer wish to receive your messages (resulting in the boycott of your business) but it will land you in hot water. According to the WASPA guidelines, you must always give your subscribers an opt-out option. The solution: Tell customers that they can reply “stop” or “no” at the end of your text.  Spamming your customers You are excited about your products/ services and you can probably talk about it all day long. Unfortunately you can’t apply that to SMS Marketing. If you send too many texts, customers will get annoyed and angry and unsubscribe from your list. Always remember that you are entering your customer’s personal space by texting them. The solution: How many is too many? Put the shoe on the other foot and ask yourself: How many times a week would I want to hear from MY favourite brand? Not telling your customers what action to take Your customer opens your SMS Marketing message and all it says is: “Summer sale now on.” Your customer is most likely thinking: “Okay, so what?” Why? Because you didn’t tell her what to do with the info. Should she visit your store or order the goods on your website? Oops, you just wasted a golden opportunity! The solution: provide a clear call-to-action telling your customer exactly how to respond...

Common SMS Marketing mistakes and how to fix them Part 1

by | Feb 9, 2015 |

Mistakes are part of life, but when it comes to you business, unnecessary mistakes can affect your bottom line. We take a look at a few common SMS Marketing mistakes and how you can avoid them. Not telling customers who you are You might put your company’s name in your texts the first few times, but then you either forget to do it again (you assume your customers know who you are by now) or you simply don’t have enough characters to spare for a name. Don’t assume the message receiver automatically knows the message is from you. The solution: If your problem is that your business has a lengthy name, simply shorten it. E.g. “Johnny’s Car Repairs” can become “JCR”. Sending out error-filled messages Spelling and grammar might not seem like a priority for SMS Marketing, but it could actually make customers opt out of your messages. It creates a bad image if you don’t pay attention to details. Who wants to spend their hard earned money at a company that can’t even spell – how will their service be? The solution: Always double check your texts before you send them out. Having a second pair of eyes to scan your messages, is a must. Not using all the marketing tools in your arsenal Okay, so you might think that running a SMS Marketing campaign across all your channels, defeats the purpose of it being a mobile based campaign. While there might be seem truth to this, the actual mistake you are making is creating exclusivity – and not in a good way. The only people who will...