The role of SMS marketing in your B2B strategy

B2B mobile marketing case studies

Most consumers prefer to access content via mobile. And business buyers are no different. They’re using their devices to research everything they might need and to identify sources of information, possible vendors, and service providers. Embracing mobile in B2B marketing, and creating a vigorous SMS marketing campaign, allows your business to follow current and potential buyers, wherever they might be in their customer journeys. And there’s not a successful business which doesn’t benefit in some way from mobile marketing. Think about the last time you placed a quick order on Amazon or reviewed your neighborhood coffee spot using Yelp. According to Google, more than 50 percent of all searches are performed on mobile devices, so it’s more important than ever that your mobile marketing strategy is on point.

Related: 7 Tips to Improve your SMS marketing

According to the most recent ‘State of B2B Mobile Marketing 2016’ survey by Regalix Inc, digital marketing was quickly gaining traction as the face of mainstream marketing in B2B. These stats, especially, point out:

• 77% of respondents identified digital marketing as a high priority

• 37% picked digital marketing over offline marketing when asked which was more effective

“With the rise of digital, marketers today are battling with a dynamic medium in which they must constantly embrace newer practices each day even as they continue to master the old. Digital versus traditional marketing is no longer the debate; the way forward is to see both perfectly integrated into a unified whole,” says the report.

If you’re looking to make use of mobile B2B marketing, here are some tips to create effective strategies.

Optimize your website for mobile

To put it simply, Google favors websites that are optimized for mobile over those that aren’t. These are the sites that are more likely to appear in top-ranking search results. Called The Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) Project, it strives to improve search results. Says The AMP Project: “The AMP Project is an open-source initiative aiming to make the web better for all. The project enables the creation of websites and ads that are consistently fast, beautiful and high-performing across devices and distribution platforms.”

Marketing automation

Research has found that almost 75% of consumers become frustrated when websites display content that is not relevant to them. Marketing automation helps businesses offer personalized experiences to customers while saving them time and money. In addition, automation helps marketers automate repetitive tasks like sending out SMS messages, emails and posting on social media.

Related: The best ways to use SMS campaigns in B2B marketing in 2017

Use SMS marketing to reach clients

Studies have shown that business decision makers use their mobile devices to make choices and decisions. The studies found that almost half of B2B researchers use mobile devices for research while at work. These researchers are using mobile more than ever, so it makes sense to communicate with them through the channel they're using most often. This is where SMS marketing campaigns are so useful. Statistics show that people are becoming used to receiving business-related texts. So, there's absolutely no reason you should be reluctant to use SMS as part of your B2B marketing strategy to communicate with existing clients and pursue new leads.

With B2B marketing, it’s also important to remember who’ll be reading your text messages. They’re likely executives at companies, so a formal tone is required. You wouldn’t send out a business email using informal language. Why would your SMS marketing be any different? These messages are not the type that is going to be responded to immediately, these are not consumers caught in a rushed customer journey. There’s going to be some thought and behind-the-scenes conversation going on before any decisions are made. That’s why it’s also important to think carefully about the time of day to send the messages. While consumers prefer to receive messages in their free time, B2B messaging should be sent within business hours, preferably in the afternoon.

If you're interested in including SMS marketing in your B2B strategies, read our recent article about why two-way messaging makes sense for B2B. It looks at a number of considerations for any brand thinking about two-way messaging.