What is SMS Marketing?
Short Message Service (SMS) marketing is a form of mobile marketing that involves sending text message advertisements to potential and current customers. Businesses may also use SMS marketing to offer special discounts and other offers to encourage more sales of specific products.
Why Your Business Should Use SMS Marketing
Large Market – According to a 2011 report from Pew Internet, a staggering 85% of all Americans own a cell phone, with 72% of this number regularly texting. When you use SMS marketing, you have hundreds of millions of people to market your products to.
High Read Rate – Unlike email, most cell phone users read all incoming SMS messages. That means marketing SMS messages sent by your business will almost always be seen, which in turn will boost your marketing response rate.
Cheaper than Other Forms of Marketing – Mailing advertisements or coupons to your potential customers can cost your business a lot of money–and these ads often end up in the trash. With SMS marketing, your advertising money is efficiently used and your messages are almost always read.
Impressive Response Rates – Response rates for traditional forms of marketing (TV, radio, print etc.) are only 1.5%, while response rates for SMS marketing are estimated to be between 20-70%. That’s a huge difference that can really add up to bigger sales for your business.
Target Your Customers – Why advertise to people who won’t buy your product? With SMS marketing, you can send messages to only those who are interested in the products that you sell.
It’s Effective – High read rates and excellent response rates mean that SMS marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing available to your business.
How Your Business Can Use SMS Marketing
Your business can use SMS marketing to:
• Advertise new products and services to existing customers
• Reach out to potential customers
• Offer exclusive coupons and deals
• Remind customers of upcoming sales events