SMS Marketing and Ideas

guide to marketing with SMS

SMS (Short Message Service) is a text message service that enables messages of 160 characters to be sent to cell phones. SMS's are stored and forwarded so the message will be sent later if the phone is not immediately available.

BulkSMS has expanded the capability of SMS by implementing the ability to send multiple SMS's simply. Whether you want to reach one person or thousands of people, BulkSMS provides an easy, reliable and cost effective way to keep in contact.

Provided SMS marketing is permission based, with the receiver desiring the message, SMS offers one of the highest response rates in marketing. Using this resource wisely is one of the keys to success, as will be discussed later in this guide.

Reaching groups of people on the go used to be difficult if not impossible. Bulk SMS messaging is the only communication medium capable of reaching groups of people instantaneously regardless of where they are.

SMS provides several advantages over other forms of communication. Research has shown that SMS has the capacity to access instantaneously a large number of people with mobile connectivity. Mobile users also show a high probability of reading SMS messages.

making SMS marketing work

SMS is unique as a marketing channel because it offers Low Cost, High Reach and High Retention. Compared with marketing via Email, with it's low retention, or Mass Mailing, with it's high cost, SMS provides a better way to market.

Successful SMS Marketing has to be permission based. Since it is nearly impossible for a person to stop incoming messages it is very important to make sure that the receiver either wants the message or finds the message to be very beneficial. Sending unwanted messages to people could be very damaging to your brand. Working with the customer to ensure they want the message will be a key to success.

There are many ways to get a customer to 'volunteer' to receive messages. Of course the easy way is to offer incentives. Here are some suggested guidelines.

As a starting point offer the potential or existing customer some tangible incentive for giving there mobile contact information. Perhaps offer a discount within the first message.

Once they have signed up and have responded to your incentive, increase the incentive over time. Keep the incentives fresh by offering different types of incentives. This will also allow you to judge the impact of the incentive.

When possible make the SMS as personalized as possible. Using shopping histories, for example, for incentives on like items.

Create a value index and reward accordingly. When shoppers respond to 5 incentives - they receive an additional incentive as a reward.

Always keep in mind that to be successful with SMS marketing it is very important to respect the customer and they way they feel about SMS. With that in mind building a long term relationship will be that much easier.

personalized SMS's

Personalizing the SMS is the key to increasing the value over time. If for example you are a car rental agency and want to promote the rental of luxury cars, sending an incentive SMS to someone who only rents economy cars probably won't be relevant to that customer. On the other hand sending the SMS to those customers who rent luxury cars or the level below probably will elicit a response as the SMS is relevant to that customer.

Another example is that of a restaurant who wants to generate business on less busy nights. Determining what other night a customer might be likely to dine out would be important. Send the customer a discount voucher to be used within one week on a non-weekend night as a first step. Then track which night they came and perhaps what they ordered. Then send them a follow-up SMS with an incentive to dine on the same night the next week and enjoy a similar meal.

There are many ways to personalize SMS's and make the most out of your marketing investment. Creating personalized SMS's that are relevant to the receiver does take more planning but with a greater impact rate this will be worthwhile.

making the most of the SMS

In order to to make SMS work it is important to make sure the message is clear and respects the delivery medium. A clear message of 160 characters means that the sender needs to make sure that all pertinent information is included.

Create clear messages. Making sure that the message is clear and concise is very important. A clear message will increase the impact of the message.

Include contact information. This ensures that the receiver will know who the message is from and will allow them to contact you if necessary.

Don't send SPAM. Because SMS goes to phones, which people view as a personal resource, junk messages or too many messages will degrade the value of this communication medium.

There are three general goals that most marketing tries to achieve. These are: increase business from existing customers, gain new customers in established and new markets and improve profits.

The message you deliver will be set by these goals. Determining which goal you want to achieve is key to creating a clear message that impacts the receiver. Before writing the message it is important to determine what action you want the receiver to take. This is also how you will judge the success of your efforts.

To do all this and achieve the marketing goals in an SMS of 160 characters does take planning. Sending test messages to people with whom you are associated but who are not knowledgeable about the campaign can help make success.

SMS abbreviations

In order to fit the most information into the message there are some standard accepted abbreviations. They can be very helpful but it also should be noted that since clarity is very important using unclear abbreviation can diminish the impact of the message. Listed below are some of the common abbreviations.

conclusion

SMS marketing is an exciting and promising tool. Used correctly it is one of the best ways to reach people at a low cost with a high level of response. With it2sms.com, by Celerity Systems, a large investment is not necessary to prove that SMS marketing works for you. A low cost test can be preformed and the response can easily be measured. Let SMS marketing work for you. Let it2sms.com show you how.

ideas for using SMS

SMS is a great way to communicate and there is no end to its uses. From businesses to individuals and groups, keeping touch is easy with it2sms.com, by Celerity Systems.

BulkSMS-Banking: SMS services enable banks to provide better customer service. These include sending transaction notifications, balances summaries or statement notifications or information services such as rates and special offers.

BulkSMS-Bid: SMS services extend the functionality of auctions services to the mobile/wireless devices such as mobile bidding and special interest alerts.

BulkSMS-Company: SMS services to help a company stay in touch with their staff and customers by sending meeting confirmations, important notices, incentive messages and product announcements.

BulkSMS-CRM: SMS services which allows enhanced interaction with the customer like promotion campaign, complaint management system, logistics support and supply chain management.

BulkSMS-Credit Card: SMS services to notify when purchases are made, of current balances and special offers.

BulkSMS-Financial: SMS services to send portfolio information, stock quotes, price alerts and news headlines.

BulkSMS-Groups: SMS services to help groups communicate with each other about activities, meeting and special interest information.

BulkSMS-Info: SMS services that send news, sports scores, weather, horoscopes, classifieds and exchange rates.

BulkSMS-Locate: SMS services offering driving directions, yellow pages, street address directory, e-taxi, traffic delays and flight arrival/departure updates.

BulkSMS-Marketing: SMS services to support marketing campaigns and promotional activities via coupons, special offers and incentives.

BulkSMS-Personal Info: SMS services offering reminders for birthdays, anniversaries, festivals, gifts, public holidays, bill payments, meetings, tasks & events.

BulkSMS-Reserve: SMS services for the notification of availability of movie tickets, restaurant reservations and hotels availability.

BulkSMS-School: SMS services to send absentee alerts, special announcements, exam notifications, result notifications, event notifications and parent notifications.

BulkSMS-Shopper: SMS services to announce product availability, holiday specials and mobile coupons.