In today’s digital world, where inboxes are filled with promotional mail and social media is full of mixed content, enterprise businesses are turning to a surprisingly old-school channel to connect with customers: SMS text messaging.
Why SMS marketing? Studies show that 97% of Americans own a mobile phone, and 85% own a smartphone. Most of these people prefer texting over talking on the phone, which makes SMS (Short Message Service) a desirable marketing solution.
Before understanding why enterprise businesses start SMS marketing, let's know what SMS marketing is. In this blog, we will cover the following things:
What is SMS marketing?
SMS marketing, also known as text message marketing, is a type of marketing that uses text messages to connect with customers and potential customers. Enterprise businesses use SMS marketing to send promotional offers, appointment reminders, shipping notifications, and other messages.
In the USA, SMS marketing falls under two primary federal laws, i.e., the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act (CAN-SPAM Act). These laws exist to strike a balance between allowing businesses to contact potential customers and protecting consumers from unwanted marketing practices.
Now that you have understood what SMS marketing is let's learn about its benefits to enterprise businesses.
Why do Enterprise Businesses Start SMS marketing?
Enterprise businesses opt for SMS marketing due to its high open rates, cost-effectiveness, and instant delivery, making it a fantastic tool for creating brand awareness and increasing reach.
Personalization and having no spam filters improve engagement, resulting in high conversion rates, while quick feedback fosters customer loyalty and retention. It is easy to implement, making it worth investing in for businesses to seek direct and effective communication with their audience. Let us understand these benefits in detail.
13 Benefits of SMS marketing for Enterprises
Here are the benefits of SMS marketing and why businesses should opt for enterprise text messaging.
1. High Open rates
People have become aware of promotional emails and don’t open them often. However, the chances of ignoring a text message are less. People tend to check their phones immediately when the phone buzzes or beeps. The average SMS open rate is more than five times that of the average email open rate. Making SMS marketing more effective than email marketing.
2. Personalization
The personalized text shows the recipient that you are putting in the extra effort. This can help build trust and foster stronger relationships with your customers. Customers appreciate the extra effort. For personalization to succeed, it should extend beyond just capturing someone’s name. This can be done by segmenting customers based on your interactions and the number of times you visited them. Another thing that can be implemented in SMS marketing is using friendly language instead of the traditional formal sales pitch we provide in email marketing.
3. Cost-effective
SMS marketing is cost-effective compared to traditional marketing methods like print media, radio, TV, and billboards. It also has a greater return on investment. SMS marketing’s personalization and segmentation of customers help target the right audience without wasting time and resources on everyone.
It is the most reliable low-cost marketing method that helps reach a more extensive customer base and helps businesses get value for their money.
4. Brand awareness
SMS marketing is an excellent way of increasing brand awareness because people check their phones multiple times daily. This can be done by sending exclusive discounts, running SMS contests, sharing informative content, and running interactive polls. With effective SMS marketing, you can attract and engage customers.
Customers who engage with your business are more likely to recommend your product or service to friends and family, expanding brand awareness.
5. No spam filters
People opting for SMS Marketing don’t have to worry about their promotional text messages ending up in the spam folder, as the issues with filters that email marketers face do not exist in the SMS world.
6. Instant delivery
SMS is usually delivered within seconds. Most mobile carriers' average SMS delivery time is less than 10 seconds. Brands can send time-sensitive messages quickly. Given the challenges brands face in improving email deliverability, the consistently high deliverability rates of SMS marketing can make it a valuable investment.
7. High conversion rates
SMS marketing has a high conversion rate as mobile users respond to calls to action in text messages more than any other marketing channel. The response rate of SMS messages is 45%, while the email response rate is just 8 %.
Conversion rates are higher with SMS because text messages are short and straightforward and don’t include links or images. Businesses can use SMS marketing to turn potential customers into regular customers by including clear calls to action and tracking results.
8. Quick Feedback from customers
Customer feedback helps in improving the company’s product and service. It also drives innovation. You can initiate surveys and polls via SMS to get quick and accurate information about your product and service. This will help you get results quickly.
This also helps in learning about market trends and better understanding customer preferences.
9. Increased reach
SMS marketing helps enterprises of all sizes to reach a much larger customer base than traditional advertising methods.
With text message marketing, enterprises can send SMS directly to potential customers and customers on mobile phones, increasing access to larger audiences that were previously difficult or expensive to target.
10. Higher engagement
As mentioned earlier, text messages have a higher open rate than emails, which increases the opportunity for engagement. As text messages require less effort to read and respond to, customers are likelier to interact on SMS rather than with emails or other digital marketing methods.
11. Loyalty building
As marketers use text messages to engage customers in meaningful conversations, this can help foster long-term relationships and create a sense of loyalty. With a personalized approach, enterprises can give discounts and share promotions over text messages, incentivizing them to return and purchase again.
If marketers implement message automation like scheduled texts and SMS autoresponders, those text messages can help remind customers of upcoming offers to increase engagement and loyalty.
12. Customer retention
SMS provides a personal touch that an email won't provide. Birthday wishes, loyalty program updates, and exclusive customer offers can be offered to build trust and loyalty, resulting in customer retention.
13. Easy Implementation
Once your customer opts in to receive the message, you can create an SMS campaign and efficiently track the messages. With the help of SMS marketing automation, enterprises can create, schedule, and automate campaigns for targeted customers.
Top 5 Enterprise SMS Marketing Service Providers
Falkon SMS: Known for being the best enterprise SMS marketing software, offering high reliability and competitive pricing with user-friendly, feature-rich texting software.
Simple Texting: This software is customizable and can meet the needs of your business. It has various plans to fit your budget.
Podium: A feature-rich platform focusing on customer engagement that is well-suited for businesses seeking a comprehensive solution.
EZ Texting: A user-friendly option with good customer support, particularly suitable for beginners.
Twilio: Popular for its powerful APIs and scalability, ideal for large businesses with complex needs. But expensive.
Best practices for effective SMS marketing campaigns
Here are a few best practices for effective SMS marketing :
Timed messages - It is important to send messages when your customers are likely to make a purchasing decision. For example, if your restaurant has ladies' night, you should send promotional SMS messages in the early evenings.
Messages about exclusive deals - Personalize and send limited time offers to your customers to buy your products.
Reminders and appointment confirmation - To show efforts, use an SMS marketing tool to remind your customers about their scheduled appointments or book an appointment using a link in your SMS message.
Opt-out options - In most countries, there are government regulations that provide opt-out options. If it's not there, give your customers the freedom to opt out anytime by clearly providing them with steps.
Is SMS Marketing Better Than Email Marketing for Enterprises?
There is no correct answer to this question. SMS marketing and email marketing each have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, a customer is more likely to read about shopping offers sent via SMS than an email reminder. However, customers will expect thorough information about the product only by email.
Conclusion
In conclusion, SMS marketing is a powerful tool for enterprise businesses seeking to engage with customers. With its high open rates, personalization options, and cost-effectiveness, SMS marketing offers an advantage over traditional marketing channels. It increases businesses' reach to a broader audience, builds brand awareness, and drives higher conversion rates. As the world turns mobile-centric, SMS marketing's role in the marketing mix is expected to grow. With the right strategy and implementation, businesses can benefit from SMS marketing.
By partnering with reputable B2B SMS marketing software service providers and using the best practices, enterprise businesses can use SMS marketing at their full potential and stay ahead in the competitive market.
SMS marketing is not just an old-school channel making a comeback; it's an effective marketing strategy that enterprise businesses must pay attention to. SMS marketing can enhance customer engagement, increase sales, and increase the growth of companies in the long run.
Comments