What is SMS Marketing?

JTNDaWZyYW1lJTIwc3JjJTNEJTIyaHR0cHMlM0ElMkYlMkZ3d3cuYnV6enNwcm91dC5jb20lMkYyMTEzMTk0JTJGMTIwMjE5ODEtbGUtc21zLW1hcmtldGluZyUzRmNsaWVudF9zb3VyY2UlM0RzbWFsbF9wbGF5ZXIlMjZpZnJhbWUlM0R0cnVlJTIyJTIwbG9hZGluZyUzRCUyMmxhenklMjIlMjB3aWR0aCUzRCUyMjEwMCUyNSUyMiUyMGhlaWdodCUzRCUyMjIwMCUyMiUyMGZyYW1lYm9yZGVyJTNEJTIyMCUyMiUyMHNjcm9sbGluZyUzRCUyMm5vJTIyJTIwdGl0bGUlM0QlMjdGbG9qbyUyMEFnZW5jeSUyQyUyMExlJTIwU01TJTIwbWFya2V0aW5nJTI3JTNFJTNDJTJGaWZyYW1lJTNFOn On December 3, 2022, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of a revolution that changed our lives forever. It feels like it's been around for decades, but it hasn't been more than three. The Short Message Service, more commonly called SMS, celebrated its 30th birthday in early December. It may seem simple, but at the time, it was a revolution, so much so that it was sent from a computer because the phone didn't have a keyboard yet. It was written by a Vodafone employee, with the message "Merry Christmas". This mode of communication revolutionized the modern world and was the beginning of the marketing we know today. It changed the way people communicated in the 1990s and 2000s, but it was especially the pioneer of the digital marketing we know today. In this article, we'll look at the definition of SMS marketing and its advantages.

What is SMS Marketing?

It is the practice of sending promotional or transactional campaigns via text messages through SMS. These messages are primarily intended to communicate limited-time offers, alerts, or other types of notifications to customers who have voluntarily requested to receive them. Not everyone respects this last rule, but in most cases that's how it works.

Developing a relationship with your customers can take time. We saw in another article the power of WhatsApp and communication between businesses and their customers, with regard to after-sales service or any other type of request. Today, most users have a smartphone, so SMS is an effective way to communicate with your target very quickly. SMS marketing is therefore a very good way to promote your offers at the precise moment chosen by the company.

What are the best practices for SMS marketing?

Make sure you have the recipient's permission.

It is essential to ensure that you have permission to send an SMS to your correspondent, otherwise you risk annoying them. SMS has a very high open rate. Even if users open your message, as long as they haven't asked to receive it, they will be dissatisfied, they can ban you while blocking you, and they can also give you a bad reputation.

I'll take this opportunity to remind you that requesting permission in a clear and transparent manner is a legal obligation in France. The new European data protection regulation, GDPR, requires you to inform anyone who uses your services of how their personal data will be used.

Pay attention to when you send your message.

Unlike emails which may only be checked a few times a day, SMS arrives immediately to your correspondent and is very often opened in real time. It is therefore illegal to send marketing SMS in France on Sundays and public holidays, or on weekdays after 10 p.m.

Brand your message.

You can't include your graphic image in an SMS, but you can incorporate your company name into your message. If the person doesn't have your number, they won't be able to know who sent it. When in doubt, it costs you nothing to put your name as a signature, it just looks more professional. With the tools we have today, we can manage the name displayed directly on your phone. Thus the optimization of this channel seems optimal.

Use SMS marketing as a complement to your digital marketing strategy.

The whole point of digital marketing is that there are channels to use to interact with more and more customers. All these channels, when combined, create a marketing strategy that allows you to build relationships with your customers, more or less personalized. SMS and emails are complementary means, each with their own weaknesses, but especially their strengths.

Is SMS marketing still effective?

It is an increasingly effective communication channel for a number of reasons:

First, more and more phones are smartphones.

Two-thirds of French people own one, so SMS is an excellent way to reach these targets directly. You can include a link directly in your message to be redirected to your website, for example.

Second, reinforce your existing marketing.

You can use SMS marketing for real-time offers, which could be described as urgent.

And finally, third, effective for emerging markets.

In places where Wi-Fi is not good, or 3G or 4G is expensive, SMS is an effective way to communicate with your customers, because they will always be sent, compared to emails or social networks.

How does SMS marketing work?

Messages are sent by short numbers. They consist of five or six digits, they can be associated with a single sender, or shared between several different clients. You can send 2 types of messages with this communication channel:

Promotional campaigns are messages that are sent in bulk at the same time to multiple recipients, generally used for promotions, general events, or to alert as many people as possible in real time.

They can also be transactional, which are messages sent following an event that you requested. For example, an order confirmation, or the receipt of a password to secure your account. These messages are delivered as a result of an action on your part, at a specific time, with a very limited time period, so it's an additional security measure.

When should you use SMS marketing?

It can be used in several ways to help grow your business.

Flash sales for e-commerce sites. Coupons and promotions are a good way to bring people into your physical or online store. If you had promotions, you could use this channel to promote your brand or this promotion. They serve the same role as social networks, while being much more personal, and with a much higher engagement rate.

Event updates. You can use a traditional SMS marketing campaign to handle last-minute changes, for example. With SMS, you have near certainty that your message will be received and read very quickly.

Appointment reminders. If your business operates on an appointment basis, you probably know the frustration of having customers who forget the time and show up late, or not at all. A little reminder is never too much to deal with occasional forgetfulness. It reminds customers of their appointment and keeps your target loyal.

Internal notifications. This can be a very clever way to communicate urgent messages to everyone within your company, for example during office closures, rules of conduct, etc. SMS is therefore an excellent way to ensure that your employees have the same information very quickly.

Can SMS marketing be used by everyone?

Some businesses benefit from it, others can't do without it. For example, e-commerce stores, so you can send promotional campaigns or booking confirmations, SMS is an excellent way to communicate new promotions.

Travel companies. Customers need real-time information from them. This includes flight departure times, any changes, gate configurations, possible cancellations, weather alerts, or any last-minute emergencies that add to the stress.

Businesses that only take appointments. Sending reminders via SMS reassures you that customers will come. You remind them in real time, a few minutes before the appointment, to ensure they will show up.

Large-scale enterprises. It's definitely easier to use SMS rather than email to communicate on a large scale, especially if it's about providing information without necessarily an image or link.

To put it briefly, we can recall that its sending is reliable. It creates a direct line with your customers. Its open rates and engagement rates are high. It is a complement to your email marketing strategy.

If you're already using email campaigns in your marketing, try including SMS in your strategy and you'll see the difference. At Studjoow, we work with a partner who specializes in SMS marketing campaigns. We can manage your campaign, don't hesitate to reach out for more information.