Text messaging has been used as a marketing platform for years, but in relatively ineffective ways. Some may view Short Message Service (SMS) marketing as costly for businesses, since sending out a massive amount of texts can be expensive. Moreover, critics may point out that text messages can only convey limited information or that recipients may find it intrusive and consider the messages as spam. However, these drawbacks only apply to the current way in which SMS marketing is being employed–in a uniform, impersonal manner. When used in a hyper-personalized and automated way, SMS can be an extremely effective avenue to both engage and re-engage customers.
Universal Advantages of SMS Marketing & Communication
- Instant communication
In today’s day and age, the majority of people who own a mobile phone carry it with them at all times. This makes SMS an especially effective medium when it comes to communicating messages that are dependent on time, such as a notification that a promotion is ending soon or a reminder that another customer might take the item a user left in his or her cart. Being clear-cut and convenient, unlike lengthy emails or tedious phone calls, time will be saved on the sides of both the sender and receiver. This leads to an efficient, effective transmission of information.
2. Highly Likely to be read
While not everyone has email notifications turned on, most people receive text notifications. According to research, 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of being delivered and 82% of people report reading every SMS they receive. This is about four times the open rate of emails, which is around 20%. Even if one does not open your message, a preview of the text is likely to show up on their phone, still reaching your consumer.
3. Unsaturated form of marketing
It is estimated that the average person is bombarded with 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements a day. With social media and digital advertising being the more commonly used platforms at the moment, users become desensitized to these ads, making them more likely to scroll past and ignore the content. The usage of ad-blockers also inhibits these tactics. A text message, on the other hand, stands out because it is more direct and eye-catching, which is important considering the high volume of ads one sees in a day.
4. Can maximize user reach
While Whatsapp, Facebook, and other mobile messaging apps require smartphones, text messages are accessible to all mobile users. In the United States, for example, while 95% of the population owns a mobile phone, only 77% of those are smartphones, which renders 17% unable to receive communication through push notifications, app notifications, or emails on their phones. Globally, only around half of all mobile users have smartphones. Using SMS will enable you to contact a significant portion of users you could be missing otherwise.
5. Less likely to be marked as spam
Research suggests that while a whopping 53% of emails are marked as spam, only 2.8% of text messages are. Thus, SMS can increase both your overall reach and chances of user re-engagement.
Benefits When Used in an Hyper-personalized Fashion
Using automation and behavioral targeting, Frizbit can mitigate for the general faults that SMS advertising is thought to have, as well as add further benefits to those listed above. Reach your highest engagement rates ever thanks to the following capabilities of hyper-personalized text messaging:
- Call the users by their names
- Let them know they are important
- Use advanced personalization parameters
- i.e. price, product name, product category
- Trigger messages based on user behavior
- i.e. geolocation, related products, cart abandonment
Sample Use Cases of Hyper-Personalized Text Messages Sent via Frizbit
1) Incomplete transactions
Remind customers to complete their purchases if they left any products in their carts.
2) Appointment reminders
Make remembering appointments easier on customers and reduce no-shows. This is perfect for salons, dentists’ or doctors’ offices, restaurants, or any other service that offers reserved timeslots.
3) Event Promotion
Behavioral targeting will enable you to recommend content your users will enjoy.
4) Geo-location
When a customer is in a certain area at a certain time, it can trigger a relevant SMS.
5) Promotions & Sales
Encourage users to take advantage of limited-time discounts.
6) Travel Alerts
Arranging travel can be complicated for clients. They will be more likely to return to your agency if their experience flows smoothly with helpful reminders and suggestions.
7) Holidays
Wish customers a happy holiday and encourage them to let your company help them celebrate.
8) Opinion Polls
Figure out how to improve customer service and ratings by encouraging feedback.
You can start utilizing automated and hyper-personalized SMS to bring customers back effectively and generate targeted conversions having high return on investment. Frizbit will enable your business to create timely, meaningful connections with users, via behavioral text messages. Register to Frizbit now for an online demo to see how you can take your communication with your users to the next level!
