Why To Use Text Messaging for Marketing Automation

Why You Want To Use Text Messaging To Enhance Your Marketing Automation

Statistics that are consistent show trends. One important trend is that text or SMS messaging open rate is on the rise. In fact, many surveys are showing that text messaging open rate as high as 98%, while the email open rate is down to around 20%. Are you involving your customers on their mobile phones with text messaging? If not you can be missing out big time. After 20 years text messaging seems to now be hitting its stride when it comes to business potential. While being easy to use and with instant communications in real time, it is quickly becoming the go to method for businesses in many different businesses that market to consumers (B2C), and businesses that market to other business (B2b) industries.

Here are a few fun statistics to get your brain thinking:

• Globally, 33% more people have access to mobile phones than toilets! (I think we have our priorities mixed up)
• 97% of Americans use a text messaging app (comes standards on phones) at least once per day.
• Over 80% of American adults text, making it the most common cell phone activity. (Usually it’s easier to get a hold of my wife via text than a call, what a wise investment unlimited minutes were)
• 80% of people currently use texting for business purposes.
• 44% of consumers with texting capabilities would prefer to press a button to initiate a text conversation than wait on hold. (Giving us a chance to multitask while we wait, of course)
• 54% of consumers receive at least one SMS message daily, and 50% of US consumers receiving branded SMS texts go on to make direct purchases. (Hmm, maybe a possible way to increase sales automatically?)
• If you aren’t sold enough yet, the retention rate for SMS/text messaging is much higher with a solid ROI

So in short, if you are not collecting mobile numbers to text current and potential clients with…start doing so, yesterday.

Not sure how to get started? Start simple. Most of my clients start with a reputation management campaign involving text messaging. Requesting feedback from customers can not only give you insight into how they feel about your business, but can prep them to receive additional SMS notifications of upcoming marketing campaigns. It’s an easy way to boost sales on slower days, up sell a current product or package and maintain a long term customer with much more value per customer than without it. Who wouldn’t want to send a text message to thousands of clients only to have more sales and profitability?

Why automate your campaign? Initially a lot of business owners and managers like to be in control and manually send out a text message campaign, it’s kind of exciting with the first few campaigns. But if you are a small business, you may be like me…40 hours a week is part time and some days you get so busy that you easily lose track of time. Automating will save you time, money and can save your sanity. Remember to automate with a personal touch, customers are not robots and need to feel like they are important to your company and prefer a non robot text. A text messaging campaign can be partnered with a variety of other automated campaigns such as email, mailer or whatever, depending on your industry and client demographic, so don’t limit yourself to only one type of automated campaign.