Why SMS marketing must be the cornerstone of your marketing strategy

Effective SMS marketing tips

SMS is an essential part of every mobile marketing strategy. Yes, it may have been around for many years. But that doesn’t mean it’s best forgotten. In fact, SMS marketing is more successful than ever before with business to consumer (B2C) messaging enjoying double-digit growth.

Despite being more than 20-years-old, a geriatric in the technology sector, SMS still is one of the most effective ways to communicate with consumers. Consider that messages are typically opened within just a few minutes and that 98% of all SMS messages are opened. There’s just no getting around the fact that SMS marketing remains an incredibly cost-effective method of communicating with consumers.

Related: 7 Tips to Improve your SMS marketing

According to Mike McGuire, research vice president at Gartner for Marketing Leaders, marketers need to exploit the capabilities of smartphones and tablets. This, he says, will lead to a connected mobile strategy that starts with some key principles. These principles for mobile marketing success are:

Implement mobile analytics

Make sure your website or app is enabled to provide mobile analytics. This will ensure that you're getting the data you need to understand how to engage with consumers on mobile devices.

Know your mobile value proposition

Where and how your consumers use their mobile devices impacts your ability to engage with them during their purchase journey. And knowing how your consumers use their devices ensures you meet them along the way. In addition, understanding their use of these devices enables you to make decisions like whether or not to develop an app.

Get permission to send SMS marketing messages

One of the top rules of SMS marketing is to ensure you have permission to contact the people on your list. It may seem basic, but ensuring you have SMS opt-in reflected in your consumer relationship management (CRM) software is an essential part of every mobile strategy. Whether you plan to send in-app notifications or SMS with special offers, it's mobile marketing best practice to have consumers’ permission for these interactions.

Millions of text messages are sent daily

And many of these are sent via third-party apps like WhatsApp and iMessage. This leads to segmentation which makes life infinitely more difficult for marketers. The solution? Use the one messaging service that everyone with a smartphone is 100% certain to make use of – the humble SMS.

Research has shown that consumers want to communicate with brands via mobile messaging. Businesses need to learn how to refine and optimize their mobile marketing strategy in order to fully take advantage of consumers who have continuously shown themselves to be willing and interested in converting leads to sales. SMS will long continue to be the messaging cornerstone for every mobile marketing strategy as the only messaging channel capable of reach just about every person on the planet.

Related: The benefits of SMS marketing to your business

There are almost as many cellphone subscriptions as people on earth

And, research has found that more people around the world have cellphones than toilets. Now, that lack of sanitation speaks negatively about the provision of basic services. But it's the proliferation of cellphones which speaks to the largely untapped power of SMS. As many as six out of 10 consumers believe that businesses should use SMSes to communicate with consumers more often than they already do. And a massive 91% of people who receive SMS messages from businesses find them to be somewhat or very useful.

SMS marketing works even better with two-way messaging

Interest in receiving SMS marketing messages increases even further when two-way messaging is enabled. That’s why Clickatell’s SMS Platform should be a part of every successful SMS campaign. Clickatell Platform is a powerful, customizable, and scalable communication system that enables you to manage your business communication more effectively. Sign up for an account today and take advantage of unlimited free testing in our sandbox environment to get your SMS marketing campaigns started.

And, if you’re interested in some great tips on how to use mobile to create an integrated, personalized customer experience, have a look at our new Mobile Marketing guide. It shows you how to get the essential building blocks in place that'll enable you to get your mobile engagement right - and make you look like a mobile marketing superstar.