Benefits of SMS Marketing for Small Business

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Benefits of SMS Marketing for Small Business

Compared to other forms of advertising, SMS marketing provides the lowest cost and highest return rate that is crucial in today’s shrinking economy and budgets. Most have cut back on traditional marketing due to costs. But that just drives down your sales. SMS marketing scales with your campaign and sales growth making the ROI higher the larger you grow, not the other way around. SMS marketing is also permission based. The customer has given you permission to contact them through our SMS platform. Customers that opt-in to receive information are most likely to buy over someone who receives a direct mail piece, reads your ad in the newspaper or hears your ad on the radio.

Other main advantages of SMS marketing over traditional advertising:

• Cost:  The larger your campaign gets, the lower the costs become on a per customer basis.
• Reach: Your customer’s always have their mobile phone with them. No matter where they are, your message will reach your target audience. No more searching for the right medium to find you ideal customer. Over 90% of your customers already use their mobile phone for text messages and your SMS campaign is a natural extension of their daily life.
• Redemption: Average SMS marketing redemption rates are 20%. Other marketing such as email, direct mail and newspaper rarely reach over 2%-3%.
• Speed: New campaigns and messages are set up in minutes. When you send out a new text blast it reaches your customer in minutes and is read. If you need business that day, no other marketing has the power of text marketing.
• Control: You have full control over your marketing. No waiting for sales reps, changing ad positions, rising costs. You control your subscriber list, timing and message without outside interference.

Mobile allows you to truly shrink your advertising budget without sacrificing sales but increasing them. You control every other aspect of your business.

SMS has proved a great way to get closer to customers, particularly those in the youth market who are difficult to reach with other media. Some of the marketing applications used by marketers

1.       Text and win

2.       Voting and participation on TV

3.       Quizzes

4.       Games

5.       Mobile content (pictures, ringtones, video)

6.       Applications (e.g. B2B inventory and order tracking)

7.       CRM (can be helpful e.g. if your bank tells you you ’re just about to be overdrawn, or, imagine if Alex Ferguson calls you with a recording saying ‘I love you mate ’ after Manchester United win a trophy)

8.      IVR (Interactive Voice Response connects you to the right department or can direct you to premium rate services in response to TV advertisements)

9.       Multimedia messaging (MMS is not fully compatible with all phones yet)

10.   Direct ad response (where the mobile is used to text a short code to receive content, messages, coupons)

11.    Barcodes (can be sent to mobiles and then used in store to redeem via the standard EPOS system)

MOBILE (WIRELESS) DEVICES

12.   Location based services (LBS allows shoppers to opt-in to receive offers from nearby stores)

13.   WAP portal (the mobile version of a web site)

14.   Java portal (content is downloaded in line with your preferences)

15.    Mobile search (e.g. Google mobile search)

16.   Mobile music (handsets are now designed to play and store music)

17.    Podcasting (streamed delivery of a radio programme to a phone with MP3 playing ability)

18.   Blogging and RSS feeds (keeps you up to date with all the latest from your favorites web sites and blogs directly into your mobile)

19.   Moblogging (blogging from your phone)

20.  Bluetooth/infra red.

 

References:

eMarketing eXcellence  book

http://www.motomessage.com/benefits-sms-marketing-small-business/

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