Best SMS Marketing Services for successful returns. Your ROI should be instantly achieved when you take these easy steps.
Who has the best SMS platform?
First of all it is never about price, it is about your returns and the income generated.
Secondly every country will vary and have different carriers so always pick a premium one that has support and maintains a unsubscribe list.
Finally different carriers provide different services so pick the one or more that suits your objective. I use thee different carriers because the platforms all vary and I want the best for me and my clients.
What services can you do with SMS?
Mobile messaging is very versatile and can be used in many different ways.
- A single SMS to transact with one person
- A bulk dispatch of a single messages to a group
- Thank you messages.
- Support for email messages, dual touch
- meeting or agenda reminders
- Sale advice, 30% off today
The list is a lot longer but this gives you some ideas on how SMS can be used.
Instant Gratification
I am not sure what else to call it when the open and act rate is so high. We find that people generally respond immediately or not at all. This is unlike emails where you may park them for future consumption.
Furthermore with many carriers you can get a read response so that you know they have been received the message, it may cost you but in some cases it can be great for analysis.
A dual target campaign
We all understand the principle of multi touch and SMS provides a great opportunity for you to deliver your message and expand the acceptance.
I am seeing many more examples of this everyday by high profile marketers, in fact The BMW group use it often when they really want to get a message across.
SMS generally works far better than email and even though it has a greater cost what we are looking for is results..
You are limited in the number of words so you do need to be specific however this is often a better approach for the time conscious consumer.
Receiving an sms, an email and a Facebook post provide those extra touches that will deliver results and should be used at every opportunity.
Surveys
I had a message today after completing some work for a telecommunications carrier, they thanked me for my effort and then asked if I would rate their product on a 1/10 scale.
As a national carrier they must carry out customer feed back and this was a cheap and easy method.
It is also very easy to answer a simple question in a return text. It takes but a few seconds and will increase your participation rate.
Providing links to a webpage or other location
I just had a message from a national chain of clothing stores. They are offering a special discount today on a range of clothing which I can see at www. etc.etc.
The interesting part of this is that they will be able to see who clicks the link providing valuable feedback and the ability to really track the marketing.
Fixed number marketing for better results
Most carriers use a whole host of numbers to send out messages so the number shown bears no relationship to your message. You can respond to that message only and not use it for any other purpose.
Some will provide you with your own personal number however that comes with a monthly cost. The benefit is that the receiver will recognise the number and may have it in their memory. Furthermore they can respond at any time on any subject.
Automated reply message
This can be very helpful in many circumstances and I will give you an example;
A sporting body runs a fixed number SMS access to cancel appointments, because it offers training classes there customers are charged if the kid does not turn up. Having an SMS service offers a quick and easy access for all parents to use.
Because the service operates SMS to email anyone on the counter can action the request.
When we originally installed this many parents would do a second or third SMS to make sure it had worked. Therefor we instituted a reply email that said something like ” Thank you for your message and it has been actioned, make sure to re-book your next lesson”
This stopped all the extra traffic and is a service that works really well.
SMS TO Email
The nature of SMS has changed from a purely mobile function to an interaction with email. This is particularly handy in an office or business situation where anyone can have access.
Your office computer can send and receive emails almost like a mobile phone. This provides a permanent record and alleviates the need to carry around a business mobile phone.
Because incoming is always the same number a fixed number is needed at a small monthly cost.
Is SMS more expensive than email?
SMS is more expensive than email and where email may be virtually free you may pay upward of $0.20 a single SMS. A fixed number may cost you between $25 and $45 a month.
However the one factor you must consider is return on investment, you get the value you pay for and often much more.
By incorporating a SMS cancellation service and reply message the sporting club saved the salary of one extra person for the day shift that more than compensated for the small outlay.
Best SMS Services
As previously stated price is not the most important issue. Fulfillment makes a difference and providing those attributes you want in a service. I use three different carriers so that I can provide my customers with the best options for purpose.
Pricing does play a part as I can trade them against each other. Extra volume will always bring further opportunities and advantages
Best for instant returns
Conclusion on SMS for business
Best SMS Marketing Services for successful returns are many and varied however all have a hugely successful return rate. I retail SMS Services to about 50 outlets and see the positive results everyday in all sorts of programs.
Invitations, promotions, reminders, updates are just a few of these that work well.
I have a courier service where all the team is pinged whenever anything is updated and yes the thousand SMS has a minor cost however everyone is up to date no matter where they are.
I can go on for a lot longer but my intention was to make you more aware of the many ways to use SMS and provide ideas how you might incorporate them into your business.
