SMS marketing is the marketing by use of mobile phone. By using a mobile phone the marketing communication is transferred to the interested customers. It’s an area of marketing which has garnered a lot of interest of both small and large businesses which is understandable because about 70% of the population in world now has a mobile phone and about 50% of the searches are done from a cell phone. It is a more personal and direct form of marketing and is very affordable.
But there are some things to consider before you go towards the SMS marketplace:
- COLLECTING MOBILE NUMBERS:
People see their mobile phone numbers as private so they won’t give it to you as easily as their email addresses. You will need to develop a relationship of trust to gain their mobile numbers. The numbers can be collected by giving them a number, through which they can subscribe to your SMS campaign, asking them while on phone, by help of a signup sheet or by submission forms on your website.
- FOLLOWING GUIDELINES:
Follow the guidelines below and try being clear with your customers when introducing SMS marketing:
- Message infrequently, once a month perhaps. Never more than two times per month.
- Make sure that the offers which are given to customers that share their mobile phone number with you are exclusive.
- Use SMS to send customers premium notices e.g. an appointment reminder, an upcoming service date or an order coming in.
- DOING THE DUE DILIGENCE:
When you have collected the numbers and started the SMS campaign be sure to remove customers from the SMS list when they unsubscribe as it’s illegal if not done.
- LAWS PERTAINING TO MOBILE MARKETING:
Some of the laws pertaining to the SMS marketing are:
Only Opt-In
Consent is necessary to be taken from customer before sending a text message.
Unsubscribe
unsubscribe option is necessary and if its selected by customer, then further SMS shouldn’t be sent.
Aware of the Costs
customers should be made aware that additional fees may be charged if they aren’t on unlimited SMS messaging plan.
- START SMS CAMPAIGN:
Once mobile numbers have been collected and there has been verification of all legal responsibilities then the SMS marketing service can be started. By the use of a 3rd party service provider it’s ensured that there’s a track on the return on investment for your campaign, embedding of an unsubscribe message and the SMS marketing database is easily manageable including unsubscribed.