At it’s most basic, marketing is the communication we have with our clients. It is the cunning advertisement that lured them to businesses, the smile at the door and the wish for a pleasant day as they leave. Are you utilizing text messaging in your marketing strategy the way it could be?
Text messaging is a direct form of communication between you and your audience, and needs to be examined as such.
Most people have mobiles that can receive texts, but businesses should treat SMS campaigns with the same care that an advertisement in the paper would receive. A text message provides a broad appeal, but is this link with customers tarred with the same magical brush that Facebook has received? There seems to be an expectation that, if we put the number or offer on the screen, they will come.
Respect Thy Audience
The benefit of SMS campaigns is the instant contact with consumers. The overriding characteristic of today’s consumer is that they are busy. They have lives, jobs, family, friends, and hobbies, and much more; they need to be accorded respect when communicating with them.
A bad or annoying approach by your marketing could earn you a retreat in potential customers or subscribers.
A successful campaign would start with marketing in it’s most basic form. Who am I talking to with this message? Who do I want to talk to? What action do I want in return?
We get what we want, when we help others get what they want. How do we apply this principal to text messaging and marketing?
What Have You Done For Me Lately?
The text message represents social communications at the most basic level in today’s society. There is not a lot of social grace to be found in “B there soon. Thnxnbi.”
Therein lies the charm of text campaigns, albeit one with an acquired taste. The point is that the message is instantly accessible, and we have the information at a glance, when we have the time to glance.
Look closely at what you are offering in exchange for their time. Offer them what they want; which is value for themselves, time and money. If you have subscribers, you could try a reward for being on your list. It does not have to be a holiday away, why not an exclusive opening for subscribers on a special night?
Look At Your Expectations
As we mentioned before, the cult of Facebook has resulted in an expectation that alike will equal a sale. Look at the pages upon pages of products on Facebook – soups, coffees and cars that offer quirky comments, and pictures to like that do not require the customer to actually do anything.
In the same way, look at the message you send with your text messages. How much of a result are you expecting? What are you basing that expectation on? MAKE IT PERSONAL.
Studies have shown that text messaging is more effective than email. A text is personal. They are viewed in personal time. So make your message personal. Like a telemarketer, you are offering a service that may or may not be accepted. Over time, you build data on responses, lines that move faster than others, and offers that were successful.
Start there and build, not just a marketing strategy, but a relationship with customers that will bring them back for more. Face to face, we farewell our customers with a “Have a nice day.” Who says that text messaging isn’t able to do the same?
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Donna previously worked in the field of film distribution. These days however, she keeps herself busy with being an online entrepreneur.
