The science of marketing is in constant flux, expanding its capabilities by introducing new techniques for interacting with the customer. Such are sms mailings. With their help, you can solve a lot of marketing tasks, with minimal costs.
We will talk in detail about the advantages of this method of interaction with the customer, ways to create a mass mailing, methods of collecting a database and much more. This technique will have a positive impact on profit growth in any field.
Tasks solved by SMS text messaging
Surely you yourself have received messages from your favorite stores, services, restaurants, bank, etc. many times. In the modern world sms mailing does not bypass any mobile user. But what tasks can such a marketing move solve?
Lead generation.
New leads can be generated through the newsletter by obtaining formal consent from the user to process data.
Attracting additional traffic to the main internet page.
Often through the message the company lures the buyer to its site. Bonuses, promotional offers, coupons, personalized discounts can act as bait. Offers must necessarily be accompanied by a link to the site.
Improving Customer Experience.
The right business sms helps to improve business customer interaction, increase customer loyalty, and provide a personalized experience. You can customize the messages so that they have a name, personalized data from the base, relate to a special date, etc.
Leading the sales chain.
Customized newsletters can guide the user through the entire sales funnel, from interest to order placement. In many cases, you don’t even need the help of a manager.
Re-selling.
Messages allow you to stay in touch with your customer and offer them products depending on their interest, remind them to buy the product again (e.g. vitamins when it is time to complete one course).
Benefits of bulk SMS mailing for business
Of course you can provide an exclusive service, and write messages to each customer personally. However, this is unlikely to be appreciated. Much more effective is sms mailing to your customer base. This method is used as a sports club in a bedroom neighborhood, and a brand of luxury clothing and accessories. Why? Here are just a few advantages:
SMS messages are not obsolete at all, and all over the world companies are actively using this method of communication. Not least because of its versatility. This program is sewn into any phone. The client does not need to install third-party messengers, applications. He will definitely not miss a notification from you.
In support of the above, we would like to cite data from a Statista study, which states that there has been a 76% increase in the number of customers who have a positive attitude towards communicating with businesses via standardized messages.
You get a wide audience coverage. On average, there are 116 mobile numbers per hundred people. This is a good reason to attract the audience through this resource.
Nowadays, geolocation sms texting is strictly regulated by law. This generates additional trust among users, which increases the conversion rate from this marketing process.
Personalizing messages helps to increase user trust. Having a name and any personal data increases the sense of exclusivity of the offer.
Seamlessness allows you to run a complete sales funnel without leaving the app.
By conducting such a campaign you can easily track the result, get new data for your base, and improve the customer experience. All of this leads to increased sales and also to brand name building.
Types of SMS messages
You can distinguish several types of mailings that you can organize through services. Each of them has its own purpose. There is no reason to stop at one of the options, they can be combined.
Service mailings.
These are informational messages that are intended to notify the user. They do not contain advertising or a call to action. For example:
- You have created a new user agreement, and you send out notifications about the changes.
- A user’s order status has changed, and you notify the user.
- Account login notification.
- You send a code to log in to your personal account.
Advertising Newsletters.
A marketing mailing is aimed at increasing sales. It can be a presentation of a new product, information about discounts and promotions, a call to action. Such messages can be segmented (mailing to a specific group of users), individual (aimed at one particular customer, for example, a birthday discount), general (informing the entire base about discounts and promotions).
Transactional.
Such sms mailings notify the user about the payment for free and provide a code to confirm it. More often this type of mailing is used by financial institutions. Banks, online payment systems, etc.
How to organize an effective mass SMS mailing
Quickly and effectively sending sms cheaply can be organized using special services. They help to automate most of the work. Just a few minutes to create an account and a little time to control the work of the service. Organizing a mailing can be done in just three steps.
Registration in the system.
Go to the service page and register. As a rule, it takes no more than 5 minutes. Many services provide similar messages and emails for the first mailing. This allows you to make sms mailings over the Internet for free, and try out the functionality of the site.
Download the contact database.
Before uploading, make sure the file is in a suitable format. Most companies accept xls, xlsx, csv, txt files. The more data, the more detailed the mailings can be. But to start with, it is recommended to use only two formats – name and phone number.
Create your first newsletter.
Using the functionality of the site, create a message. You can enter text, plan the time and date of sending, add a group of recipients. It is also worthwhile to familiarize yourself with the capabilities of the service privately. The functionality and process of sms delivery may vary. For this, study the instructions on the site. If you have any questions, it is worth using the help of the contact center.
Optimal time for sending SMS messages
Although marketing is a science of creativity and interaction, it is still a science. Here it is important to integrate clear and thoughtful steps, analyze and apply already established laws.
According to one such law, the best time to send a message is in advance. This is not a joke. It’s a cardinal rule. You need to send messages so that the person has time to think about your offer, and come back to it when it’s convenient for them.
The second rule is to send out messages at a convenient time. It is definitely not a good idea to send messages in the early morning or at night. Otherwise, the timing may depend on the nature of the product or the person’s activities (if you know these indicators). As some studies show, sms texting for business gets the most response if it is done at lunchtime or evening time. It is at this time that the user has time to familiarize themselves with your offer, click on the link and take other requested actions.
Criteria for selecting an SMS distribution platform
It is very important to choose a quality sms mailing service. Cooperation with professional platforms will be your guarantee of achieving your goals with minimal costs. To become part of a successful project, evaluate several indicators of the internet product:
- Cost. The first thing to compare is the cost. Of course, the quality and comfort of the process is more important, but rarely any company can boast an unlimited military budget.
- Website functionality. Not only the services are important, but also your comfort in interacting with it. Study the features, look around the site.
- If targeted sms mailing is not the only intended channel of communication with customers, make sure that the service can offer additional services.
To choose the right service, you need to do the most important thing – determine your needs, from functional to financial, and compare them to the service’s capabilities.
Ways to collect a contact base for SMS distribution
Now let’s talk about where to get numbers for further mailings. It is not so easy to do this, if we are talking about legal methods. Of course, you’ve probably received messages from companies that have taken your number inexplicably. But, not many people know that this is illegal, and if you want, the consumer can go to the police with a statement. That is, even if you bought the base, and got ten thousand numbers, it does not mean that you can send messages “right and left”.
So how to organize sms mailing for free having received a number, and not to break the law? You can use several methods to obtain consent to the mailing:
When you register on the site, you can ask for a “check mark” next to the consent line.
When placing an order. This is a convenient time to take contacts, as the person is in good spirits when buying.
Offer additional discounts for contacts.
“Bring a friend” promotions. Bonuses for both, and you have the numbers of two customers in your database.
Store cards with a savings system.
You can also use other marketing tactics to legally get a person to agree to send messages. Of course, there are some less-than-honest moves. For example, “hiding” consent in a user agreement. However, a modern user is more likely to click on a message that he or she did not consent to receive.
Getting started with SMS distribution
Working with the database is not difficult. You just need to create several scripts, and prepare the text to be sent to each script. If necessary, you can insert a “variable”, for example, the client’s name, his date of birth, the size of a personalized discount, etc. It is important that each indicator acting as a variable is entered in a separate cell.
For better performance, you can use OpenVPN for Windows on PC. It will allow you to send sms to different countries of the world, bypass blocking.
Signs of successful SMS distribution
Of course, a successful mailing can be called a mailing that is useful and has a response. But in order for it to be so, it is necessary to follow a few rules at the stage of message creation.
- Messages should be short but very succinct. At the same time, you should not skimp on the number of characters. Personalized messages with a link will sell better than a quickly thrown “15% off. Hurry up!”.
- A sms notification program will help guide the user through the entire sales funnel. If you want to create a successful informing with a high return rate, be sure to track at what stage your sales “fail”.
- The ability to exit sms informing. Don’t be afraid to lose a customer. If he wants to exit from sms informing, make his exit as comfortable as possible. The probability that he will come back will increase significantly if the client feels free to communicate with you.
Advantages of using SMS constructor
You can type messages manually yourself, or have your staff do it. However, this system only works if you send one or two messages per week. In all other cases, you need to connect the designer.
Automatically sending out a personalized message minimizes the chance of “losing” a customer, their birthday or other occasion to remind you.
Time saving. If you have a large customer base, you will have to hire an additional employee to create a mailing list.
Using mobile anonymous proxies together with the service, you will be able to bypass blocking if the operator considers your activity suspicious.
Eliminating the “human factor”. Your receptionist or salesperson (depending on who you trust with manual mailings) may simply forget to text on time due to other work, poor health, distractions.
The designer doesn’t just send messages, but responds to incoming inquiries, guiding the person to a purchase.
Why businesses should use SMS text messaging
To summarize, we would like to emphasize several reasons why businesses should use automated mailings. At the same time, these reasons are universal, and the system of informing via sms is suitable for absolutely any type of activity.
- Unobtrusive informing. Calls often annoy customers, and no one will check promotions on the site, since every modern customer uses the services of a variety of companies. With the help of sms you can gently and unobtrusively inform about any changes, promotions, bonuses, etc.
- Unlike messenger, sms notification is available to every user. You don’t need to work with dozens of messengers to reach all users.
- You won’t lose your customers and will always stay in touch with them. Such exclusivity will set you apart from your competitors. Often, even with a positive experience, the customer simply forgets the name of the store, forgets to check for promotions and special offers. You will be able to remind him about yourself, and lead to a new purchase.
This is an effective method of handling communication with your customers so that they don’t lose you. It is only important to choose the best service. To do this, study the rating of sms mailing list services, evaluate the performance of each, and enter into cooperation with the best option for you.
