Reduce Marketing Costs and Reach New Customers with SMS Marketing

Every day, billions of text messages are sent and received all over the world. What was once a simple means of communication has become a marketing tool for some of the world's leading brands. Despite advances in smart phone technology, the text message continues to be the most used function. It is simple, personal and a highly effective way to target a wide consumer base of people who might have an interest in your product.

Key advantages

It is estimated that 40 million people in the UK carry a mobile phone. Most people keep their phones with them throughout the day, so mobile messaging enables immediate communication in real time. While an email or leaflet is quickly forgotten about and discarded, a text message is an instant call to action, taking seconds to arrive and read by over 97% of recipients. It is also significantly cheaper than the price of a postage stamp or telephone call.

SMS marketing can be used for a wide range of purposes, including store openings, new product announcements, discounts and promotions. It can also be used to remind customers of appointments or to alert them that items are back in stock. The real time aspect is one of the most attractive features. A retailer could alert customers already shopping, to a sale or promotion in-store and offer a discount or incentive to redeem immediately. It is particularly effective for contacting people locally with offers, promotions or community news.

Targeting new customers

SMS Marketing is a great way of reaching new customers but you will first need to create an opt-in list, so your potential customers are open to receiving your messages. You can do this via other marketing channels such

as social media, a website or via print ads. To help build your list, customers can be asked to text a keyword to receive an exclusive reward not available on other channels.

It is important to allow consumers to opt in to the service - sending unsolicited texts is unlikely to make you popular.

Once you have gained their trust, your customers will stop seeing your SMS messages as an advertisement and start seeing it as valuable content, especially if you are offering deals and promotions that are not available elsewhere. Many leading retailers utilise this strategy to promote text-only promotions.

SMS text messaging is a highly effective marketing tool that could reach millions of customers in an instant. A text message costs just a few pence to send, making it an extremely cost effective form of marketing.

At a time when marketing budgets are squeezed, every single channel utilised must have a tangible return on investment. According to the Mobile Marketing Association, people are five times more responsive to SMS marketing than direct mail, and the vast majority of text messages are read.