Jonathan Morgan, CEO, OpenMarket – November 11, 2015
No matter who your customers are, just about all of them have one thing in common – there’s a mobile phone in their bag or pocket. So whenever you need to know your message has been seen or you’d like a quick response, mobile is still the best way to do it.
This isn’t to say you should abandon all other marketing tactics and start cold-calling customers on their mobile numbers. However, mobile communication can be integrated into all of your existing marketing strategies to ensure your customers have a convenient and positive experience no matter where they are or what they’re doing. Here are three ways to deliver a Smarter Mobile Service using SMS:
PROMOTE OFFERS
Your customers are 10 times more likely to redeem an offer sent to their mobile phone via SMS because it removes the hassle of tearing it from a magazine or searching through email to find it. If you want to direct customers to an exclusive online sale, sending a link via SMS lets people access the deal no matter where they are or what they’re doing. Sending online coupons will also lead to higher engagement as 19% of links are clicked through in SMS, compared to just 2% in email. If you’re already driving traffic via social media, text messaging can complement your efforts by prompting customers to look at the offer again. Unlike other platforms, there’s no danger of customers scrolling past and losing your message in a deluge of other posts. Your message will be part of a one-to-one conversation with your customer and they’ll see the notification as soon as they pick up their phone.
SEND REMINDERS
While email marketing is still a consistent feature of most digital marketing strategies, it doesn’t need to stand alone. Email has its benefits, but it can be hard to get accurate numbers on how many customers have interacted with your emails, or even received them in the first place. Whether you’re sending a one-off deal or your regular weekly e-newsletter, there’s a good chance a lot of your emails are being picked up by spam filters or buried in the noise and quickly forgotten. If you’re lucky you might see a high open rate but today’s mobile-focused customers are prone to flicking quickly through emails on their mobile without actually stopping to read before they’re onto the next one. If you want to draw attention to a particular marketing campaign, like a competition deadline or the opening of a new store, SMS is a great way to remind your customers of the important details. In fact, 90% of these messages are read within 3 minutes, whereas only 20% of emails are ever read at all.
GET FEEDBACK
Any good marketing strategy revolves around testing and analysing results. A great way of measuring the success of a campaign is to get feedback directly from your customers. Unfortunately, asking them to take time out of their busy schedule to complete a survey or talk to a telemarketer is likely to damage your brand reputation. You need to make it quick and easy to provide feedback in a way that’s convenient for your customers, wherever they are. SMS surveys have a 20% response rate, which is five times higher than online forms and twice as effective as interrupting people with phone-based interviews. Sending out a brief targeted survey shows you’re in tune with the needs of your customers and keen to make things easy for them. This kind of positive customer experience means they’re more likely to want to get involved and help you out in return.
SUMMARY
In today’s mobile world your customers are demanding cohesive, integrated experiences. If you want your marketing campaigns to pay off, you need to communicate in a personal and convenient way. Adding SMS to your existing marketing strategies will boost your results and lead to greater customer engagement. Download our free workbook to learn more about delivering a Smarter Mobile Service.