The benefits of SMS marketing to your business

Advantages of SMS marketing

As a business owner, you wouldn’t be alone if you were skeptical of SMS marketing. The two major objections to SMS are that it’s a dated marketing technique and that it’s too intrusive. The refreshing truth paints an entirely different story. SMS is an extremely powerful, efficient, and effective way of communicating with your customers and it’s high time that businesses took note of it. Here are just a few reasons why SMS communication and Clickatell Platform can be your greatest marketing weapon.

Related: Why Clickatell Platform and SMS make all the difference to your business

The potential open rate

Did you know that 98% of all SMS messages are opened and read by the recipient? What’s more, is that these messages are typically opened within 3 seconds of receiving them. Compare that to the 20% average open rates of email and SMS marketing becomes a no-brainer. When a customer feels that vibration in their pocket or hears the PING notifying them of a text message, chances are they’ll have a look. It is literally lightning-fast communication that you can almost guarantee gets seen.

Speed and flexibility

Your business will need to adapt to the day-to-day fluidity of the modern business world. Flexibility is key to these constant adaptations. SMS marketing has virtually zero lead-time, allowing communication to be created and delivered to the target audience within a matter of minutes. This can be used to drive footfall on a slow day or clear old stock ahead of imminent new arrivals. Clickatell Platform allows businesses to instantly respond to the events of the day or to a competitor’s promotion. It allows you to stay one step ahead of the game, and that’s a vital advantage to keep.

Low cost compared to the extremely high return on investment (ROI)

If you think about other forms of advertising: newspaper ads, TV commercials, any form of outdoor advertising, the costs involved are enormous. In fact, for a lot of small to medium-size businesses, these costs are a stumbling block to using these channels. A well-timed SMS marketing campaign launched through Platform, on the other hand, can be executed at a fraction of the cost associated with the more traditional marketing methods. And, as already mentioned, the amount of money that’s being invested will be well worth it, considering the instant impact of the communication.

Highly targeted SMS marketing communication

The more traditional methods of marketing are also at a disadvantage when it comes to who sees and reads them. For any savvy business owner, it’s essential that every marketing message that’s put out is as targeted as possible. This keeps the costs of the communication down. As SMS marketing is mostly permission-based, you’re most likely to be reaching out to people that you already have a relationship with and have agreed to receive marketing messages from you. If you consider that it’s at least five times easier to resell to existing customers than to a new customer, then you’ll see the benefits of this. You’re marketing to an already plowed, seeded, and prepared field, meaning your returns are likely to be that much greater.

Unmatched personalized communication

SMS marketing messages can be personalized to your customer base and delivered to their pockets within seconds. This personalization is built around anything from their name to their buying behavior or demographic. They can even be location-based, crafting a message based on different stores or different regions of the country. And make no mistake, personalized messages are powerful.

Short, concise communication

Often seen as a major disadvantage for SMS, the 160 character limit is actually one of the channel’s main strengths. It forces you, the business owner to be as clear and concise as possible. And, in today’s goldfish-attention-span-society, it allows your customers to get your point immediately, with little effort.

Instant opt-in and opt-out

One of the more annoying things in life is receiving spam communication. But, with the advent of shortcodes, opting in and out of an SMS stream is instant for your customers. There are very few, if any, hoops for your customers to jump through, should they not wish to receive your communication any longer. This contributes to a positive brand opinion and a high subscriber satisfaction level.

Smartphone adoption rates are at an all-time high. And, considering the general trend towards mobile user behavior, your chances of getting your message across are incredibly high. Clickatell Platform allows you to seamlessly tap into this market behavior with virtually limitless potential. Since mobile phone users represent every kind of demographic, the SMS channel is a marketing gold mine. Isn’t it time you put it to work? Try our free trial for Platform today or read more about the benefits that our system can offer your business,.