Pop Quiz: What type of marketing can be used to get customers into your business at the drop of a hat?
Hint: print ads require too much lead time; online advertising requires your customers to be actively searching for you; emails may not be delivered or read promptly (or even at all).
Answer: text message (SMS) marketing allows you to craft a compelling offer (discount, freebie, special of the day) in the morning, and create a customer stampede in the evening!
Permission-based text marketing is the wave of the future. We all love our phones and carry them with us everywhere. Nearly every phone is capable of receiving texts. Most text messages are read within 30 minutes. Imagine if you could build a database of customers eager to receive a few text messages offers from you each month. No other form of marketing has the immediate response rate or measurable ROI that text marketing has.
Here’s how it works:
You offer ‘something cool‘ to anyone who will sign up to receive your text messages. Something cool = deals, discounts, coupons, free stuff, buy 1 get 1, information, use your imagination.
Your customer texts your keyword to an SMS short-code. They receive a reply message telling them they have opted in (subscribed) to your messages. Legally, you are required to explain exactly what messages they will receive and how many messages they’ll get per month. They’ll be informed about how to opt-out of your campaigns, specifically be replying with the word STOP to any message you send them. You are now permitted to send targeted messages a few times per month giving them more cool stuff. Believe me … they will LOVE it!
I’ve created a brief demo to show you how it works:
Text the word KGMDemo to phone number 72727.
The number 72727 is a short-code, which is a special number that sends the contents of your text message to a database. These short-codes are strictly regulated and very secure, so do not worry about spam. Simply respond to any message with the word STOP, and you’ll be automatically removed from the database. The KGMDemo will send you a series of 6 text messages so you can see a few of the possibilities.
Try it now!
One of the most powerful features of text messaging campaigns is the ability to segment your list based on your customer preferences. You might have one promotion/list for lunch diners, another for dinner and a third for happy hour and other events. This allows you to create different keywords for different lists so you can send highly targeted offers only to the customers most interested in receiving them. There are endless possibilities for segmenting your customers, and your database becomes a marketing asset that costs very little to create and maintain.
On an ongoing basis, you’ll decide which segments of your business to grow – and create special offers to entice those customers to visit more often (and increase their spend). You can reward customers who come in during slow times, move inventory quickly, and keep your business in “top of mind” so that your customers think of you, even without a special deal.
One final piece of advice: never take a loss! Be careful crafting your offers. Make sure you offer something that you can live with, even if the offer is used more than once. Always define the terms and expiration dates clearly. This will ensure that your customers are happy, and your business remains profitable. Win, win!