One of the best things that a business can do is implement a SMS marketing strategy during the holiday season. With customers being bombarded by emails, print, TV ads, circulars, and push notifications there is no better way than to cut through all the noise and put the brand message right into the palm of their hand anywhere they go by using SMS marketing. After all, it is estimated that 85 % of people now have a mobile device, according to Pew Research Center.
SMS (short message service) marketing is a mobile marketing technique that uses permission-based text messaging to spread a promotional message from a brand. It works by the customer subscribing to a company’s mobile marketing opt-in list and in return they get exclusive rewards and other engaging communication pertinent to their interests. According to the Transparency Market Research organization, SMS advertising accounts for over 90 percent of the total mobile marketing revenue. While email marketing is still widely used by many of today’s leading brands, companies are beginning to recognize the effectiveness of mobile largely due to the success of its open rates and engagement. According to The Radicati Group, a technology market research firm, SMS marketing has a 98% open rate compared to email marketing with open rates of 22%.
With two-way SMS, companies are able to engage and build a relationship with their customers. One way a customer interacts back with the company is by sending a reply to a message that was sent for them to receive a coupon, reward, or further information. This allows the company to understand what coupons and behavioral patterns attract the customer. Instead of customers having to call and wait on the phone to ask a question, with SMS marketing they can send the questions through a message and get a quick response. This is also beneficial during the holiday season because it allows more time to be distributed to helping customers and improve sales than answering questions. As an example of mobile marketing best practices, Best Buy, one of today’s leading retailers, uses SMS marketing as a key component to their marketing strategy.
Their primary purpose for the SMS strategy was to keep their customers informed and aware of the deals and discount opportunities that would be available in the stores during Black Friday. More businesses are turning to mobile marketing after seeing sufficient results from big retailers like Best Buy. They have found that through SMS, they can target a majority of the population while being able satisfy the customer’s wants. Would you like to implement a SMS marketing campaign before the holidays? Schedule some time to speak with a Merit Mile marketing specialist to review your campaign.