Text message marketing has become one of the most trustworthy digital marketing methods, with results that have helped companies from all industries better relate to their customers, promote their products, and improve the overall success of their business. Ever since its early stages, SMS has taken the role of an intimate, simple, and effective channel of communication, therefore, its use in marketing and the reputation it has today should not come as a surprise. According to statistics, the application-to-person SMS market worldwide value will amount to $78 billion by 2022, making it one of the most valuable marketing methods available.
Yet, regardless of its usefulness and popularity, SMS marketing can prove ineffective for marketers and companies, when not implemented properly, which is why today we are going to address the 5 common SMS marketing mistakes to avoid. With more and more people relying solely on their mobile phone to interact with the brands they love, companies must understand that providing excellent text message marketing solutions goes beyond promotion and brand identity—it addresses a vital need of customers: being able to do more in less time. Identifying customer needs and being able to provide them with fitting solutions is mandatory for all businesses, and making sure marketing methods are implemented correctly is an important part of the process.
Essential Aspects of SMS Marketing to Have in Mind
Threading lightly when it comes to contacting customers with promotional information is the key to drafting and implementing successful text message marketing campaigns. This means not only making sure you are respecting industry guidelines and regulations, but also utilizing methodically gathered information on customer needs and the goals of your company. With SMS having an open rate of almost 98%, delivering the message right from the first time is essential for all SMS marketing campaigns, and for that you need to have a comprehensive database with customer data upon which to draft your strategies.
Some of the key features of SMS marketing:
Short code implementation
Mass texting
Instant results
Personalized messaging
Audience segmentation
Broadcast scheduler
Auto responses
Implementing SMS marketing strategies through a fully-featured solution will allow you to make the most of this digital marketing method, and also keep track of how your campaigns are doing.
5 Common SMS Marketing Mistakes to Avoid
Marketing fails happen all the time. In 2017, during hurricane Harvey, Airbnb sent out an email advertising floating homes and water slides, and the example is not a singular one. Yet these mistakes don’t always happen over email or other promotional channels—it can also impact SMS marketing. Understanding the benefits of text message marketing and knowing how to fit them with the needs of customers and those of your company will inevitably lead to having to learn about the common SMS marketing mistakes to avoid and updating your strategies accordingly. And although most of these mistakes might sound as things you are already familiar with, the temptation to nonetheless include them in your text message marketing strategies does not disappear without careful revision.
1. Conducting a SMS Campaign without Proper Consent from Customers
Text message marketing compliancy is mandatory for all companies conducting their marketing via SMS, and it should never be bypassed, no matter what. Yet there are still marketers making this mistake of not providing customers with opt-out solutions—or even sending the SMS without prior consent. This kind of mistake will not only cost you the respect of your customers, but it can only result in financial loss in the form of fines from the regulatory authorities. Therefore, make sure to always be in compliance with text marketing best practices.
2. Including Links to Websites that are Not User-Friendly
One of the best things about SMS marketing is being able to include URLs guiding your customers to either more information on a campaign, a product page, a feedback request page, your company’s website, or any other information that does not fit in a text. The moment you use a shorted URL to redirect your customers to a website page, you need to make sure that the page is updated, and most importantly, mobile friendly. The immediacy of the SMS is a wonderful thing for marketers, but it also means that customers won’t come revisit your campaign in the case of a malfunction such as a broken URL or one that redirects to a page difficult to read on mobile.
3. Using Unprofessional SMS Marketing Solutions
The success of a text message marketing campaign does not rely solely on having a comprehensive customer database and sending out perfect messages. Using professional solutions that have a wide array of features is mandatory for properly implementing your SMS campaign. One of the most common mistakes companies make is thinking that they do not need to monitor their campaigns or gather feedback from customers. Without this information, amending future plans and strategies will be difficult to accomplish and might results in other mistakes.
4. Failing to Personalize the Offers
When it comes to the message itself, there are plenty mistakes you can make, such as sending too many messages, not shortening URLs, or including useless information, but one that will most hurt your business is failing to personalize your offers. If you have a methodically drafted customer database, use it to personalize our offers and messages so that not everyone gets the same message. Knowing what your customers are interested in and having in-depth demographic information is mandatory in order to avoid making this mistake. Also, consider pairing SMS marketing with proximity marketing for improved results.
5. Not Including a Call-to-Action
The urgency and intimacy of text messages make it a perfect marketing channel for brands that want to engage with customers and get them to engage back—either with product promotions, events, or other endeavors, such as signing up for loyalty programs. Yet, oftentimes, marketers forget to include a call-to-action in their SMS, thinking it might be implied from the content of the message. Making this mistake can cost you the attention of your customers, and the opportunity to have them sign up for a program or confirm their attendance to an event. Make sure that all your text messages include a call-to-action, regardless of the marketing campaign you are sending them for—it can be a simple invite to offer feedback on your brand, products, or services.
Regardless of what kind of messages you are broadcasting through SMS marketing, the intended audience, or the sector you are operating it, avoiding mistakes will help your business with achieving the goals of your campaign, attracting new customers, promoting products, increasing marketing ROI, and more. Make sure to have upgrade your customer database as to not send messages to invalid numbers, and keep in mind that with SMS, timing plays a highly important role in the overall success of the campaign.
