SMS marketing has a number of advantages over other marketing channels: campaigns can be palnned and implemented in a matter of minutes and because of the personal relationship users have with their mobile devices response rates are usually higher than other forms of marketing. Most importantly text message campaigns are cheap to execute and cost effective if planned correctly.
SMS marketing can also be a lot simpler than other forms of marketing because you only have 160 characters in an SMS text message at your disposal, so you certainly won't need to go to the expense of hiring a creative agency. However, for an SMS campaign to be successful it is neccesary to use some common sense and planning to get your message across effectively. Below are 5 simple pointers to help you plan a one-way SMS marketing campaign.
Target Audience
Identifying and understanding your target market is possibly the most important part of any SMS campaign. For any form of marketing to be successful it needs to be relevant to the target audience, this is especially true for SMS marketing. A 2-for-1 offer for a restaurant in London is unlikely to appeal to someone who lives in Glasgow!
The Offer
Your offer needs to something you audience will want and compelling enough to prompt them into action. Just reminder customers of you existence may be enough to increase numbers through the door, usually discounts or offers on purchases work well.
Timing
Timing is everything! Get the timing of your message wrong and you'll just be wasting your money, get the timing right and you will see the rewards. In the example of the sandwich shop there is no point sending out a lunchtime offer at the end of the day, people will probably have forgotten about it by the next day. However, If the message was sent at around 11.30am when workers are starting to feel those hunger pangs it will have a much greater chance of success.
The Message
Text messages can be a maximum of 160 characters in length, so try to keep your message simple and clear and try to avoid text abbreviations unless you know your target audience will be completely au fait with them.
By giving these four point some common sense planning before sending out your SMS campaign you should receive very good response rates and returns on your investment in SMS marketing.