5 Ways to Use Text Marketing Beyond Announcements
2017 has seen a sharp rise in text marketing. You receive a text message from practically every business entity you transact with. Be it a restaurant, baby shop, salon, clothing chain or even a small time eating joint. Text messaging is everywhere and it is here to stay.
The sheer number of users with a smartphone is an encouraging fact for making text marketing a part of your telemarketing campaigns. Adding to this trend is the fact that an SMS is the shortest route to your customer’s attention.
Data proves that more than 98% of texts are opened well within 3 minutes of receiving them. It can’t get any faster than this! There is probably no other channel that is as effective as this, even good old email marketing.
Email still works there is no doubt about it. Put yourselves in the shoes of your customers. If you receive an SMS and an email at the same time, what will you open first and why? SMS, because it’s faster to access and read. You don’t need special time to sit and read an SMS!
160 characters that convey a clear message directly to your customers within 3 minutes! If structured well, these 160 characters can boost your business, aid your marketing mix, improve conversion rates, solidify customer loyalty and build long lasting customer relationships. Wow, that’s a list of things you definitely want happening to your business.
More often than not, SMS is viewed as a one-way channel to announce a deal, sale or a discount. True, this is the major bulk of your business in keeping your customers engaged. But, what if there are more ways to use text marketing? What if an SMS tunes in your stakeholders, beyond the customer? That would be fun, isn’t it?
This post is all about the various ways the humble SMS has been put to use beyond announcements.
How many times have you got a call from your dentist asking if you are free in the next hour for a dental check-up? Not many times. But if such a call comes, will you not jump at the opportunity, if you really have a free hour on your hand? Yes. I knew that.
SMS’s marketing can be used for fixing real time appointments. You can broadcast a generic message for a location specific target audience, informing them about a free slot. Just think of the possibilities this opens up for you if you are salon, spa or even a tart card reader!
You can also use this approach for home service providers like cleaners, plumbers, carpenters or even pest control. You can make sure your open slots in the appointment calendar are advertised enough to get some attention.
64 Aye’s and 36 No’s, the Aye’s Win!
Polling for a mass audience was never as easy as it is now. Text messages make it simple and easy to execute. There are web based technologies that help you gather poll responses from your customers. Needless to say, these technologies are cost effective when compared to a full-fledged people driven surveys. The response time is also super-fast compared to an email survey, a much-used mode to conduct surveys.
Polling via an SMS can be put to many creative uses, all in real time. You can use a text poll for assessing audience view in a presentation or tie it up with product sales. Text message polling and social media channels can be intertwined to predict trends. It’s a way to hear the voice of your consumers.
No Meat Conference, Nearest Vegetarian Outlet, 2 Blocks Away!
Text messages are a brilliant channel to facilitate conferences. Right from the point of conference information to agenda to speakers to a venue to a discussion room, everything can be shared on an SMS. Dynamic plans that make a conference such a fertile ground for sharing ideas can be facilitated via an SMS.
People travel the world over to be part of global conferences. They can be given useful local information that will make their stay more memorable.
Valet, at the Door Step Sir!
SMS can be used to order a valet service towards the end of the meal. No need to wait for the car to show up at the door. It is already there for you as you step out. This can do wonders to your image in front of your clients, future in-laws or even a fiancée.
As a restaurant or a hotel, if you can relay a message like this and provide a service to back up the message, it will simply turn up your brand value. This is an age of people who bank on technology for almost everything to make life simple. If an SMS can do it, why not!
Bagel or Burger for the Retreat?
SMS is a brilliant way to engage your employees for company events or retreats. You can put this channel to use in multiple creative ways. For instance, if you have a company retreat on a Friday, you can start getting your employees involved from day 1. It could be opinion polls for the venue, the menu, the activities or even the food.
Since SMS is a very private channel and is one to one, every employee feels his/her voice was heard. It goes a long way to foster employee engagement. It also makes event/retreat planning a lot more easy.
It is only now that many companies are waking up to the full potential of using text marketing as a potential channel. The smarter you get with your SMS, the faster you reach your goals!
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