Text marketing is meeting its moment in today’s world. With the boom in mobile apps, there were those who predicted the end of text messaging. They could not have been more wrong. Not only has SMS marketing survived but is the preferred option today for engaging with customers.
Organizations that want to engage with customers can do so in different ways:
Over the phone: This is considered intrusive and people who are busy at work do not like to be disturbed. They may block the call as a spam call.
Through email: Email marketing is no longer effective, thanks to the stringent spam filters available with all email providers.
Through SMS: This is the preferred way since the message is not intrusive. The recipient can check it at his/her leisure. It is easier to check and reply to a message while working than to answer a call. This is why most customers prefer to receive text messages. 97% of all text messages would be read by the recipient. It has a higher response rate than email marketing giving it a distinct advantage.
It can be clearly seen from the above that business text messaging is the most popular and cost-effective marketing strategy for businesses. Irrespective of the business sector, text messaging can be used effectively for reaching out to customers. This is why text marketing is meeting its moment and growing in popularity.
The following are some reasons to explain this:
The reach of mobile phones is unparalleled. Almost everyone has a mobile phone. This ensures that mass text messaging would work effectively. It is not necessary to have a smartphone to read messages. Even a basic feature phone will do. Even internet connectivity is not required. This is the reason why text messaging is so popular. It covers virtually every area in the nation, including remote areas.
With the popularity of mobile apps, people use Facebook, Whatsapp, and other such applications to messaging each other. In the wake of such competition, there were many who predicted the demise of text messaging. They have all been provided wrong. Text messaging is popular even today and there are many who use it to message each other. The main benefit is that it does not require internet connectivity and data charges don’t apply. Studies have shown that mobile users make use of text messaging 3 times more than internet-based apps.
Texting is convenient to use. Sending text messages is easy as is group texting. You can type out the text message on your phone using the keyboard and send it instantly. There is a limit of 140 characters but this doesn’t matter since the objective of texting is to send short messages. This is useful for marketers since they can ensure the message they send is short,
simple, crisp, and effective.Businesses can get texting software that will help them send messages to multiple people easily. The software can be helpful since you can segment your customers and send specific messages to them. You can even schedule text message to be sent so that messages are sent at the dates and times you specify. Having a database of customers will allow you to send messages easily.
You can use online text message to engage with customers. Most customers respond to email messages within 3 minutes. 90% of recipients reply within 30 minutes. This is great news for marketers since text messages are not just one-way traffic but can be used to interact with customers. You can make use of keywords for customer engagement. You can configure the keyword in such a way that when a customer sends it, an automated reply can be sent providing the information sought. This is a great way to provide information to customers instantly.
Once your customer starts doing business with you, it is easy to provide updates. You can send information on order status like expected delivery date/completion date, etc. You can even send links to webpages through which you can send the invoice and other details through SMS.
In today’s world, an organization that wants to succeed needs to keep its customers happy. To do that you need to know if they are happy. Customer surveys can tell you what your customers think about your services. You can get valuable feedback through surveys. Text messaging can help you in this. You can send a survey text message and customers can reply to provide ratings for your services that will help you assess their satisfaction levels.
Text messaging has multiple benefits for businesses. From sending promotional messages to collecting feedback, you can do it all through short messages. This is the reason why text marketing has become so popular and is truly meeting its moment today.
