Today’s businesses are harnessing mobile technology through text message marketing, allowing them to reach their entire customer base with the convenience of one simple text message. Since most people carry their phones with them at all times, this can be an instantaneous way to get information in the hands of a target market, and new changes in technology allow businesses to improve their productivity even while utilizing this effective marketing method.
Why It Works
Why does text messaging work as a marketing platform? The phone or mobile device is the one piece of technology that most people are tethered to at all times. Because spam is still relatively rare on this particular venue, largely because people protect their mobile numbers so well, an astonishing 97 percent of all text messages are opened, with 83 being opened in the first hour after they are sent, according to an article in the New York Times. This means that people will get these messages in a timely manner. This instant access trumps email, which may not be opened for several hours or days after it is sent.
It also works because people ask to receive these texts. For example, in the 2008 campaign for the presidency, the Obama camp had a text messaging service. Nearly 3 million people signed up for this service in order to get first-hand information about the campaign. This kept the soon-to-be president in the forefront of their minds, and also gave the campaign the ability to recruit volunteers and donations.
Effective Text Messaging
The most effective campaigns are those that offer something of value to the customer who signs up for the text messages. For example, an airline can offer last minute discount ticket information for its customers who sign up for text messaging. A restaurant can offer coupons to customers on its texting campaign. Stores can promote last minute or secret sales to those who sign up for these texts. Those who are not trying to sell a service can promise breaking news delivery through text messaging. The key is for the text to contain something the customer values.
Text Messaging Can Save Money
Text messaging is actually a very affordable marketing technique compared to those that rely on paper. For example, if a business is hosting a dinner showcasing its products or honoring its customers, purchasing paper invitations and getting them in the mail takes budgeted marketing money. A simple mass text can have the same power as a paper invitation, reaching hundreds of people at once, for very little investment.
Technology Making Text Messaging Effective
The only way for this form of marketing to be effective is for it to be streamlined. Sending out millions of texts is not an effective use of time for any business. However, new technology makes it possible for businesses to set up a database to use to send the same text to millions of people. These spreadsheets can be optimized with coding to insert the customer’s name and make the text appear to be personal.
Technology also impacts the effectiveness of texting as marketing on the recipient’s end. Internet-enabled mobile devices mean that text messages can link directly to a website. In this way, the person receiving the text can instantaneously go to the website and see more about the offer or report, according to the Denver Business Journal.
In the end, because the customer asked to receive the text message, has the phone available at almost any time of the day and is offered something of value, text message marketing is a highly effective way to reach a target market. Planning the texting campaign to effectively bring in business is essential to success. With careful planning and the use of new technology to better target mass groups, businesses can benefit from this growing trend in the marketing industry.
Recent Comments