Lead generation is a key activity for most organizations. Leads are inquiries by people who are interested in the product/service that the organization is interested in. Once leads are generated, then the sales team can start working on the leads and convert them into customers and generate revenue. The more the number of leads, the higher is the potential revenue. A variety of marketing activities are done to generate leads. One of the simple yet effective ways of generating leads is by using SMS marketing.
An SMS or a text message is a short message of around 160 characters that can be sent to the mobile phone of a person. SMS is used for instant communication where the message is short. The benefit of using an SMS is that it can be used to communicate to a mobile phone user, wherever he/she may be. It does not need internet connectivity; neither does it require the use of a smartphone. This is what makes the use of SMS popular even in today’s digital age, where internet messaging is prevalent.
If you are running a business, then you can use mass text messaging to generate leads.
The following are six effective ways of doing this:
1) Send introductory text messages
One of the simple ways of generating leads is to start sending introductory text messages to potential customers. A database of potential customers is needed. To comply with the legal norms it is required to obtain the permission of the recipient. There must also be an option for the recipient to unsubscribe or opt-out of receiving the message. The initial message sent can be an introductory one, where information on the business and its product/service can be provided. This can be followed up with promotional messages. Keywords can be used to elicit responses from interested customers, thus leading to a lead being generated.
2) Use email lists
Most businesses have an email list where they build a list of subscribers and send emails to them for product promotion/lead generation. Email, as an activity produces lesser results than text messaging. Email to text and text to email can be used so that email lists can be effectively used for lead generation. Studies show that email lists have an open rate of 15%, with around 1 to 2% clicking on the link. An SMS list has a 99% open rate and a click-rate of around 40%. An SMS can be sent to all email subscribers and this can be a very effective way of generating leads.
3) Integrate texting in your website
You can offer an option on your website to contact your business through texting. You can ask the customer to share his/her mobile number or fill a form to capture the mobile number. This can be helpful in getting a database of mobile numbers that you can use for texting online. Most website visitors will be ready to receive messages through text, as they find it less intrusive. When website visitors want information, they would not have the patients to chat with a bot or a live agent. Here is where texting can be effective.
4) Convert event attendees to leads
If you are conducting an event or participating in an exhibition/conference, you can display the number used for texting prominently. You can invite people to send messages to the number for more information. You can even list keywords that people can use to get specific information. Display all this on a slide or on a poster will help you to convert event attendees to leads. You can then work on these leads later through your normal sales channels.
5) Use texting in stores to create more leads
If you have a physical store, then you can make use of texting to generate more leads. All you need to do is prominently display signs asking people to text you. This can even be incentivized by saying Text
6) Use holidays as an opportunity
Public holidays can be used effectively for lead generation. You can run a special marketing campaign on public holidays. Special offers on certain products can be offered through text messages. Such attractive offers can be very helpful in generating leads for your business.
The above methods can be very helpful in lead generation. All that is needed is a database of potential leads and texting software to send mass text messages. These methods can provide results and the leads generated can be used to generate revenue.
