With the emergence of mobile marketing trends like geotargeting, cloud computing and social media, it can be easy to overlook the many uses of SMS marketing.
However, the effectiveness of SMS is undeniable – a 2010 Singlepoint report found that SMS boasts a staggering 99 per cent open rate. Yes, that’s 99 per cent!
Then, how’s this for an open rate. Singlepoint research also found that 90 per cent of all SMS messages are opened within three minutes of being received.
If you’re not already using SMS marketing, here are four reasons your business should be exploring its possibilities:
1. It won’t break the bank
Relative to direct mail, print, TV and outdoor advertising, bulk SMS is far more cost-effective to produce and distribute. When actual impressions are taken into account, the ROI of SMS surpasses all other channels, including email.
Savvy use of SMS allows you to conserve your marketing budget for the areas that have the most impact.
2. It’s like email, but better
Two of the most frequently cited benefits of SMS marketing relate to the nature of its distribution – opt-in, and sent direct to prospects. Email also shares these characteristics, but is unable to match SMS when it comes to effectiveness.
According to email marketing service provider Silverpop, the average open rate for marketing emails in 2012 was 19.7 per cent. Further compounding this issue, Mailermailer’s Email Marketing Metrics report estimates that it takes two weeks for all subscribers to open email marketing communications.
By contrast, SMS delivers an impressive average open rate of 99 per cent, while an estimated 90 per cent of all messages are read within three minutes of being received.
With SMS, your messages are sent instantaneously, to pre-qualified leads, and read virtually in real-time. What’s not to like?
3. Target and segment your audience
By making use of an online SMS Gateway, you can achieve the same level of targeting and segmentation as email.
Options include the ability to send personalised messages, schedule messages for optimal delivery time and date, and the ability to manage SMS replies from your email client. Advanced options enable SMS communications to be targeted according to customer’s previous purchase behavior, local store, or demographics.
4. Bulk SMS: Automate what you hate
By utilising a bulk SMS messaging platform, you can automate operational tasks and devote more time to strategic, value-adding activities.
With a variety of applications, from sending reminders, alerts and service notifications, to managing customer relationships and billing operations, there’s bound to be some “grunt work” that SMS can take off your hands!
Agus Echagüe is the Marketing Manager (or Capocha as she calls herself) at SMS Central, so she always has an excuse to be texting at the office. A marketing nerd all the way from Argentina, Agus has worked previously in tech for Paycycle as well as for consumer brands such as Unilever. Agus believes in balancing hardcore number crunching with airy-fairy, go with your gut style creative thinking and so far it is working out well.
