While some businesses spend all their time and effort developing elaborate, expensive campaigns to drive business and get customers in the door, there’s a simple and cost-effective tool that’s quite under-utilized in the industry: texting or short message service (SMS).
Everyone loves getting text messages, and, unlike email, most people read them. A recent study showed that nearly 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of being received. Email, while great in its own way, could never compete with that. There’s also research that shows people who receive SMS advertisements are much more likely to take action from them. Here are a couple reasons that may be.
There’s less spam.
In order to run an SMS campaign, there are a number of strict guidelines businesses must follow – one of which is permission based marketing. In order to send texts to customers, you must receive expressed consent from them. There are a number of ways this can be done, but the three most common are:
- Web form/widget
- Submit phone number on sign-up form
- “Text to join”
Most companies utilize “text to join” services, as they’re the simplest option for both parties involved. For those who want to receive text updates, they simply text a keyword or phrase to a number, usually 5 or 6 digits, and they’re signed up. Then, to unsubscribe, they reply “STOP” at any point.
Texts are simple…and seen.
Unlike email, most people will open all of their text messages. Because of this, people are more likely to take action in response to a text. They have to be short, simple, and to the point, which resonates well with many customers. They don’t have to sort through fluff to find out what they want to know. The key here is to make sure you’re not over-utilizing the platform and bombarding people with tons of messages. That sort of defeats the purpose of text messages being less invasive.
Text messages can be a great tool for your business. Whether offering text-exclusive promotions or using it as another way to communicate sales, it’s worth a try. If you’d like to learn more about the benefits of text message advertising, get in touch with the experts at Vertz Marketing of Milwaukee today!