Business text messaging is a communication strategy that can be used by companies to improve their customer engagement. We live in a highly competitive world, which right now is in the midst of the Corona pandemic. In this situation, businesses need to redouble their efforts to perform well. Business text messaging offers them a great way to do this. It can help them run campaigns, interact with customers, offer service through messaging. All these can help them reach out better to customers and thus work to double their business.
If you are running a business and wanted to know how to improve your business, then you need to start using business text messaging. The use of SMS for marketing can help you get more leads that can then be converted into sales. There are different ways by which SMS marketing can help you do this. 8 powerful tips are presented to help you use business text messaging to double your business.
1. Send attractive offers to customers
Business text messages reach 97% of recipients within 3 minutes. They have a response rate of around 50%. This makes them a powerful way to reach out to customers and get a response. You can make the best use of this by sending attractive offers. Customers will be attracted to a marketing campaign when they receive promotional offers. The offer may be in the form of a discount, voucher, or buy-one-get-one-free. Such offers are attractive and the chances of customers making a sale are very high. This is the best way to use business text messaging to increase sales.
2. Build loyalty of customers
The biggest asset for a customer is a loyal customer. A loyal customer not only keeps making purchases but also recommends others to purchase products. You can nurture your loyal customers and convert happy customers into loyal customers through business text messaging. You can send exclusive offers to your loyal customers regularly. Loyalty points can be offered to customers and they can be given different options to redeem the points to get gifts and free products. You can even invite loyal customers for special events through SMS. All these help you build loyalty, which is guaranteed to boost sales.
3. Be customer-friendly while sending messages
When you send business text messages, you need to ensure that the process is customer-friendly. Your messages should not become an irritant for customers. To ensure this, you can follow these guidelines:
• Ensure messages are sent only to customers who have opted to receive them. Give an option for the customer to stop receiving messages whenever they want.
• Don’t spam the customer by repeatedly sending messages. This can be irritating and counter-productive.
• Send messages infrequently and whenever your message comes, the customer must find something of value in it.
• Do not send only marketing messages, send useful content also. For example, if you are in the health sector send tips to improve health and immunity, tips to protect from Corona, etc.
• Do not send messages early morning or at night time.
4. Use keywords for better effect
You can use keywords to make your text messaging more effective. You can indicate keywords in your message and ask customers to reply using the keyword. This will allow you to send more information to them. For example, if they use the keyword brochure in their message, you can message them the brochure or a link to download the brochure.
5. Offer service over SMS
SMS can be used even to offer service. Instead of asking customers to make a call, you can encourage them to send a message when they want service. Booking appointments at a restaurant or a doctor’s clinic, booking a product service maintenance, registering complaints, asking queries, etc. can all be done over SMS. This is a value addition for customers.
6. Understand customer feedback
Understanding customer feedback is vital. You can send a customer survey through SMS and get a response instantly. This will allow you to find out if your customers are happy. You can identify problem areas and take action to be more customer-friendly.
7. Promote SMS opt-in
Promote opt-in by requesting your customers to opt-in to receive messages. You can do this on other media like your social media accounts, email, website, etc.
8. Be personal
Business text messages don’t have to look like mass text messages. You can personalize the message by including the customer’s name and other details. This will help you be personal and make the customer feel the message is sent exclusively for them.
All the tips presented above are simple and easy to implement. You can start applying them to your business right from today. All you require is business text messaging software and a complete database of customers. Your business can double if you take the right step today.