Benefits and Trends of SMS Marketing

Use the power of SMS messaging to improve your digital marketing.

As the world around us becomes more mobile, it’s important that our marketing tactics follow. When you consider that 67% of the buying process takes place digitally, it’s easy to understand how important mobile marketing has become. 

Now, you’ve likely already converted your website and email marketing to be mobile-friendly. But to truly upgrade your mobile marketing strategy, you need to implement SMS messaging into your toolkit.  

SMS marketing sometimes called text message marketing, is exactly what it sounds — communicating to your customer via text messaging. It’s a great way to reach customers whenever and wherever they may be.

Think about the last time you were away from your phone for more than 30 minutes, you probably can’t even remember when that was. That’s why SMS marketing works. People always have their phones and are always checking their messages. Communicating with them via text just makes sense. 

Still not sure why you should use SMS messaging as part of your mobile marketing strategy? Here are a few stats to show you just how beneficial SMS messaging can be for your brand. 

• SMS messages have a 98% open rate
• 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes
• They have a 209% higher response rate than phone, email, and Facebook marketing tactics
• Coupons are redeemed 10 times more when sent by SMS than other types of coupons

Adding SMS marketing to your mobile marketing strategy will inevitably increase your monthly metrics. Here’s a quick look at what we’ll cover in this article. 

• How SMS messaging increases your conversion rates
• Creating loyal customers with SMS messages
• Utilizing transactional messages to keep customers in the know 
• How personalization can take your SMS messaging from good to great

Benefits of SMS Messaging

Beyond the astonishing statistics around SMS messaging, there are a few additional benefits that you’ll expect to see. From the increased visibility to increasing customer retention and loyalty — text messaging your customers will benefit your bottom line. 

Let’s take a look at a few of the benefits you should expect to see when using SMS messaging. 

Increased Conversion Rates

We already know that 98% of SMS messages are opened and they are generally read within 3 minutes. That means that your customers will be seeing and reading your messages. You need to make the message enticing enough to turn those captivated readers into purchasing customers.

This is when understanding your customer base comes into the picture. You need to know what your customers want to receive from your company. Are they interested in learning more about flash sales, or are they there for the discounts and coupons? 

If you don’t know what your customers want, they’ll likely read the message and move on with their lives. Including a strong call to action and leading them down the path you want them to take is important. 
With the right content and a clear call to action, you’ll quickly see an increase in conversion and response rates. In many cases, it’s possible to see response rates as high as 45% — meaning your customers will be interacting with your brand more than ever.

Create Loyal Customers

Frequent communication with your customers will help build stronger relationships and increase loyalty with your brand. Sending the content they want around discounts and sales will encourage customers to shop more with your company and keep coming back for more. 

Since SMS messages allow for a more one-on-one communication method, it’s a great way to get customer feedback. It’s been said that an average of 31% of consumers is willing to respond to a survey sent through SMS messages.

This will benefit you by knowing more about what your customers have to say about your brand, while also giving them the chance to voice their opinions. This will help them feel more connected with your company and feel like they have contributed. 

Trends in SMS Marketing

So, now that you know the benefits and impressive statistics around SMS messages, let’s take a look at some trending topics. As with all marketing tactics in the digital world, it’s an ever-changing environment — but these are trends that you should expect to see stick around for a while. 

Use Transactional Messages

Transactional SMS messages are based on triggered events such as an order confirmation or appointment reminder. These types of messages are welcomed by consumers, in fact, 75% of consumers want companies to communicate with that via text message — and transactional emails are a great way to do this.

Here are a few different types of transactional messages you can include in your mobile marketing strategy: 

• Account verification and security alerts. If an unusual login is detected or you forgot your password, you’ve likely seen a message like this before. It’s a notification to let you know someone is requesting information about your account.
• Shipping and delivery notifications. Used to confirm an order or let someone know their items have been shipped or delivered, this is another common transactional SMS message. 
• Appointment reminders. Customers will never forget about an appointment or an upcoming event with SMS reminder messages. Simply set a time-triggered reminder and a message will be sent out to the customer a day or two ahead of time.

We all live busy lives, so a quick text reminder about an upcoming appointment or delivery notification about a recent purchase can be very helpful. 

Add a Personal Touch 

With text messages, personalization is a very important step. Because you will be communicating with them through an outlet that they use regularly with their friends and family, you need to talk to them on a personal level.

Personalization in SMS messages will help attract customers and grab their attention when they look at the text. If they continuously open messages from your brands and they aren’t relevant to their wants and needs, they will unsubscribe from your communication.

So, by serving your customers with content that pertains to their interests and shopping behaviors will help to build a stronger relationship. Once you’ve got the personalization down and your customers are receiving the right content, your conversion rates will show it.

Improve Your Mobile Marketing with SMS Messages

If your mobile marketing strategy does not include SMS messages, now’s the time to get started. When done right, your SMS marketing will increase open rates, conversions, and boost sales. All you need to do is find the right service partner and get started providing your customers with the communication they want. 

So get out there and start communicating with your customers they want to hear from you, through SMS messages.