There is a lot to consider when it comes to marketing for your business. You not only have to put an effective marketing strategy in place, but you need to tailor it to reach your target audience. So where do you start? What is the best way to reach your customers and get them through the door?
One of the first things that you’re going to do is market research and customer analysis. It’s important to know what’s happening around you and what your competition is up to.
As well, understanding who your customers are is equally as important. This can include their interests, buyer behavior, and demographic, for example.
Your marketing strategy sets the foundation for increasing revenue, boosting retention, and targeting new customers. One of the best things about a marketing strategy is that it isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach. Each business is going to have a slightly different approach and implement varying tactics.
A marketing strategy might consist of things like paid advertisements, social media marketing, and email marketing. It can also include other tactics like personalization, influencer marketing, and email campaigns
But there is another strategy that can be just as effective that often gets overlooked: SMS marketing. But what exactly is SMS marketing, how does it work, and what are some of the main benefits?
We put together an in-depth guide that covers everything you need to know about SMS marketing. Plus, we compiled a list of the best SMS marketing platforms for you to leverage.
Keep reading to learn about one of the most effective ways to reach more customers in an engaging way.
SMS Marketing: An Overview
There is so much that you can do from your mobile device these days. You can scroll social media, check emails, surf the internet, do online banking, and millions of other things. But when it comes to marketing in general, text messages can provide for a powerful strategy.
SMS marketing can also get referred to as text message marketing. It’s a tactic that businesses can use to send everything from promotions, coupons, specials, alerts, and more to customers.
Your customer’s opt-in to text messages and receive permission-based targeted texts. But an important thing to remember is that your customer needs to opt-in to receive these messages. You can’t just send text messages to the entire contact or customer list you already have.
While that might seem like it can be difficult to get customers to opt-in, it can be incredibly powerful. This is since the marketing contact list you generate is extremely targeted and concentrated.
Similar to other types of marketing platforms, you can modify how the text messages get sent. For example, you can specify the timing, the message, and whether or not you want to allow responses.
You can also benefit from being able to measure the results. This can include monitoring the opt-in and opt-out rates, the open rate, and overall engagement.
It’s a great mass communication tool that you can use for instant connection. Almost everyone owns a mobile device and there is a high likelihood that most can receive text messages. Unlike email, where users might only check it once in a while, text messages are delivered instantly.
This can help you have a little more control when it comes to the date and time a customer receives the promotion or marketing you’re sending out. Still not entirely sold on the concept of SMS marketing? Check out a few of these powerful text messaging stats to help paint the picture:
- Almost 95% of all text messages get read within 5 minutes of receiving them
- When a text message provides value, they are 22% more likely to get forwarded to friend and family
- The mobile coupon redemption rate averages at 20%
- 70% of Americans would rather have offers and discounts from their favorite brands sent directly to their mobile devices
Benefits of SMS Marketing
For any marketing strategy, there can be several benefits that come from effectively launching, monitoring, and adapting your plan. It’s no different with SMS marketing, however, it can bring a new range of benefits you might not get anywhere less.
Here are some of the biggest benefits to SMS marketing:
- It boosts customer engagement. Engaging with your customers is critical for a successful marketing strategy. With SMS marketing, you can send things like surveys and polls to find out more about your customer’s interests and preferences. This way, you can further tailor your efforts to provide your customers with exactly what they want and need.
- It generates higher conversion rates. Think about this for a second: the average email conversion rate is just over 3%, whereas the average text message conversion rate is closer to 30%. There is much more opportunity to engage with your audience when you send them relevant messages.
- It’s cost-effective. Things like social media marketing campaigns and paid advertising campaigns can get really expensive, really quickly. They can still bring a ton of benefits in return, but SMS marketing is more cost-effective. Why? Because the customers you’re engaging with have opted-in to your service. This means that they already have an interest in what you offer.
- You can get responses immediately. Most people keep their mobile devices close to them at all times. So when you send a text message, it won’t take long for them to see it. That makes sending updates and getting real-time feedback as easy as possible. Your customers can quickly respond with a simple yes or no if they liked what you offered.
- They can reach a wider demographic. Not everyone is active on social media or constantly checking their email. Things like social media apps require the user to download the app, sign in, and allow certain permissions like notifications. Typically, text messaging is already set up on most devices. This means you can reach a wider demographic with an SMS marketing strategy.
SMS Best Practices
With some marketing strategies, like paid advertising or influencer marketing, you can get in front of your audience without asking permission. But no matter the type of marketing strategy, there are certain things that you can and cannot do. And it’s no different for SMS marketing.
Here are some best practices to follow for SMS marketing:
- Make sure that anyone that you’re messaging has opted-in to receive SMS
- Try and tailor your strategy to align with the optimal times customers are active, avoiding odd hours
- Keep messages short, to the point, and direct
- Include informative and relevant links when necessary
- Make sure you include your brand name and have a level of personalization in the messages, like addressing the customer by name
- Don’t forget to include important disclaimers when needed
What Should You Consider When It Comes to SMS Marketing?
There are several SMS marketing platforms that you can use. But not everyone is made the same. Some will provide different functions and features compared to others. So it’s important to know what you want and understand what the platforms offer.
This way, you can avoid wasting time and money on a strategy that might not deliver the way you want it to. Here are a few things to keep in mind when looking into an SMS marketing platform:
- Try and make sure they’re easy to use and don’t require a ton of technical knowledge or expertise
- Look for the capability of two-way messaging so you can engage with your customers
- Make sure the platform can integrate with a range of other apps and services
- That they can scale as your business and customer list continues to grow
15 Best SMS Marketing Platforms
Ready to dive into some of the best and most effective SMS marketing platforms? Keep reading to find the best way to engage with your customers.
1. Gleantap
Gleantap makes for a more intelligent way to scale your business. They simplify everything from sales to marketing and make it incredibly easy to engage with your customers. The Gleantap Inbox platform provides a seamless way to interact with prospects and customers through one-to-one messaging.
Almost 95% of text messages are opened and read within 5 minutes of receiving them. With Gleantap Inbox, you can easily send and receive SMS and email messages whenever you need to. It even allows for the handling of large volumes of text messages.
It’s easy to set up and includes templates to answer frequently asked questions and respond to common messages.
2. ActiveCampaign
ActiveCampaign helps keep customers engaged through SMS marketing. You can quickly reach customers and benefit from being able to provide an excellent experience. It allows for SMS automation to do things like notify agents and send follow-ups.
The platform also lets you schedule delivery times by day and time to help maximize engagement.
3. SalesMSG
SalesMSG provides some features and functionality that might be a bit more basic compared to other platforms, but it’s still an effective tool. The only features are conversations, contacts, triggers, and broadcasts. That said, if you want to take it to another level and gain other features, you can integrate it with another software you’re already using.
4. Textedly
Textedly is another great option when it comes to an SMS marketing platform. It includes over 25 features, which include mass group texting, scheduling texts, text keywords, and auto-reply texts. You can also benefit from picture messaging and other multimedia messaging to create more engagement with your customers.
5. Omnisend
The Omnisend platform lets you integrate your SMS needs with your email requirements. You can personalize the content you send and create a more consistent experience for your customers. You can even combine email and SMS when needed and add things like push notifications.
The app allows you to benefit from automation workflows to set up things like flash sales and promote your latest product or service with SMS. It even provides functions for extra engagement, like including GIFs or images.
6. EngageBay
EngageBay provides great functionality to market and sends text messages to customers about new offers, products, or services that you have. You can track everything, including responses, directly from the dashboard.
It will compile and organize customer information, as well. This can include their name, company, location, age, and other important metrics. The platform also allows you to use automation workflows and send text messages based on specific customer behavior.
For example, this can include things like specific product updates, promotions, cart abandonments, and failed payments.
7. Sendinblue
Sendinblue is a great way to connect with and interact with your customers through SMS marketing. You can schedule messages based on a specific date and time. And you can tailor the messages with relevant text or send them based on a customer’s location.
The platform also lets you track and monitor how effective your SMS campaign is. Knowing everything from deliverability and engagement statistics will let you make necessary adjustments where needed. You can know exactly what’s working and what isn’t, as well as why.
8. Message Launch
Message Launch utilizes effective SMS marketing software to maximize your reach. It lets you create custom workflows to cater to the preferences that your SMS subscribers have. You can use online signup pages and benefit from mobile keywords.
As well, you can send mass texts, set appointment reminders, send SMS coupons, and much more. It also includes two-way texting to provide more value to your customers and engage with them on another level.
9. Podium
Podium has a broad range of services and features to help maximize your SMS marketing efforts. You can do everything from collecting payments, generating reviews, and sending text marketing campaigns. It’s easy to use and everything you need is included in the platform.
The platform also lets you gain immediate insights. This can make it easier to understand what’s working and what isn’t. It offers the functionality for two-way messages so you can interact and engage with your customers even more.
10. SlickText
SlickText has established itself as one of the best SMS marketing platforms to use for businesses. It helps drive more revenue and includes a ton of features to customize the entire experience. You can attach pictures and send bulk messages to customers highlighting promotions, new products, or discounts.
It also has a free mobile app where you can manage all your text messaging needs, and it works on any device. Plus, you can integrate SlickText with other software that you’re already using for a more seamless experience.
11. ClickSend
Quickly and easily send text messages to all your customers with ClickSend. You can manage everything you need from their web-based portal and can even control transactions with their SMS Gateway API.
It’s simple to use and once you add customer details, SlickText will handle everything you need it to. You can even send bulk messages, event reminders, promotional content, and much more.
12. Textlocal
Textlocal is an effective way to engage with your customers through SMS marketing. The platform makes it easy to enhance the customer journey, increase brand awareness, and optimize communication. It’s a scalable platform that also offers a high level of reliability.
You can also integrate Textlocal with a range of other apps and software to gain even more insights and benefits. Plus, you can add things like videos, images, website links, and personalized vouchers.
13. Klaviyo
Klaviyo can be integrated with hundreds of other e-commerce tools so you can maximize your efforts. The platform has the functionality to greet the customer by name, share product order details, send birthday wishes, and send important reminders.
The automation workflow lets you choose a specific date and time to send your text messages. It also includes several templates that you can benefit from. Klaviyo is a great way to monitor and track your sales performance with SMS marketing.
14. TextMagic
TextMagic is another powerful SMS marketing tool that lets you send notifications, alerts, and confirmations. It has features to help send personalized text messages in bulk to everyone you might need to. This includes customers, but you can also set it up to send messages to suppliers, vendors, and staff members.
You can convert emails directly into text messages and automatically send them to a customer’s number. The platform also lets you send either short or long text messages depending on the message you want to convey to customers.
15. Drip
With Drip, you can send SMS to help drive more traffic, increase profits, and highlight product recommendations. It has an easy-to-use workflow that lets you automate all the processes you want to use. You can also use the platform to send customers discount codes or your most recent promotions.
The SMS marketing platform lets you grab the attention of your customers, increase their brand loyalty, and add a sense of urgency. This can be beneficial for things like product launches, holiday promotions, VIP campaigns, and even time-sensitive offers.
Key Takeaways
Some marketing strategies are going to work better for some businesses compared to others. It’s all going to spend on the specific needs and what a business wants to get out of its campaign. These can include everything from email campaigns, paid advertisements, and social media strategies, for example.
But SMS marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool for you to engage with customers in a faster and easier way. And with SMS marketing you can receive a ton of benefits. It helps boost customer engagement, generates higher conversion rates, and it’s relatively cost-effective.
It also allows for you to receive responses from customers immediately and you can reach a wider demographic. But there are certain things to keep in mind when it comes to SMS marketing.
It’s important to keep in mind that you should only send text messages to customers who have opted-in to receive them. You should also try to keep messages short and to the point. You can send promotional items, discount codes, coupons, updates, birthday messages, and everything in between. There are also several great SMS marketing platforms that you can benefit from. Just make sure that you choose the one that offers the features and functionality that you need for your marketing efforts.
Gleantap can help take your marketing and SMS strategy to the next level. It’s an intelligent way to scale your business through simplifying sales and marketing. You’ll benefit from higher engagement and be able to offer your customers a more personalized experience.
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