The rise of mobile commerce has given small business owners opportunities to reach more customers. By developing an online presence, small businesses can sell their goods and services to people worldwide. However, reaching potential customers can be challenging, especially for small businesses that don’t have the budget for marketing campaigns. Fortunately, there are many cost-effective ways small businesses can reach prospective customers without paying for intrusive advertising or a marketing agency.
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS stands for “short message service,” and it’s often a text-based communication method used within a mobile phone network. Unlike SMS, MMS (multimedia messaging service) allows photos and videos to be sent from your business’s mobile phone to a recipient’s mobile phone. SMS and MMS are both messaging services, which means they’re used to send and receive short text messages. Companies can use these services to send messages to registered customers on their mobile phone plans. Text message marketing includes customers who have an active mobile phone number and those who have ported their number to a mobile device.
Why Use SMS Marketing for Small Businesses?
Mobile devices are the primary method through which most people communicate with businesses, including potential customers. If you’re not planning to reach out to potential customers through their mobile devices, you’re missing out on potential revenue. Of course, you can’t send messages out to every mobile phone number. You need to be strategic about whom you message, which can be challenging. You can save a lot of time by reaching out to a segment of your customer base through text messaging.
Understanding the Benefits of SMS Marketing for Small Businesses
SMS marketing has many advantages for small businesses:
Low Cost – Sending text messages is significantly cheaper than sending traditional email, and it’s often more affordable than using a marketing platform. Plus, most text messages are free, so you can send as many as your customers will receive before they opt-out.
Easy to Use – Sending SMS messages is easy, even if you’re new to marketing. You can set up a marketing campaign in just a few clicks, and you don’t have to worry about any design or technical considerations. You can also create your templates, so all you have to do is copy and paste.
Constant Contact – You can segment your marketing efforts with constant contact because your customer records contain their phone number. This helps you determine who you should message, saving you a lot of time. It’s also helpful for keeping your customer list up-to-date, as you won’t miss adding new people to your database.
Finding the Right Customer With SMS Marketing
If you’re new to marketing with SMS, you may wonder how to find the right customers. This is especially true if you’re in a competitive market. To find the right customers, you need to do two things: target your audience and understand your customer base.
Targeting Your Audience – You want to find the right customers for your business; however, not every customer qualifies for this group. You can use marketing strategies like segmentation to determine your ideal customer. You can also use customer relationship management software tools to help you track customer data.
Understanding Your Customer Base – Once you know your ideal customer, you can better understand your customer base. For example, you can use customer feedback to determine what customers appreciate about your business and what needs improvement. You also want to check for complaints so you can resolve issues as soon as possible.
Final Words: Are SMS Marketing Strategies for Small Businesses?
SMS marketing is a great way for small businesses to reach existing customers and potential customers. Since it’s easy to set up and doesn’t require a lot of upfront costs, it’s a cost-effective way to reach large numbers of customers. It can help your business grow and provide you with more income, so it’s important to consider whether SMS is right.
Make sure you find the right customers to text. For example, people who are too busy or not interested in receiving many texts may not be good candidates for this strategy. Although if you find the right demographic and your message effective, SMS marketing can be very successful.
