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| SMS
A guide to successful SMS Marketing
Easy ways to gather mobile subscribers and send more effective messages.
Whether you’ve sent out a few dozen messages to test out SMS
marketing, or you’ve sent out thousands of messages and would
like to take your results from average to exceptional, this ebook is
for you.
It contains advice on growing your subscriber list, the sort of
messages people like to receive, when they prefer to receive them,
and quick tweaks that’ll mean you get much better results.
Contents page:
Grow subscribers ................................................................................................................................................................................... pg.4
SMS marketing and the law .................................................................................................................................................... pg.5
Incentives that really work ...................................................................................................................................................... pg.6
Promoting your offer ................................................................................................................................................................. pg.8
Setting expectations ................................................................................................................................................................... pg.8
When to use SMS and when not to .............................................................................................................................................. pg.9
What to send ............................................................................................................................................................................................. pg.12
Thefirstmessage ......................................................................................................................................................................... pg.13
Leading with value ....................................................................................................................................................................... pg.15
Personalisation ............................................................................................................................................................................. pg.16
Timing is everything ................................................................................................................................................................... pg.17
Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................................................... pg.18
3
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Grow subscribers
The hardest part of SMS marketing is getting a list together of
people who want to hear from you. Here’s where we explore how
you can grow your list, starting with the legalities.
SMS marketing and the law
A lot of businesses collect mobile numbers from customers as a matter of course: from buying something
online to registering for a service. Sending marketing messages to these people is called a ‘soft opt-in’, and
ICO provides the following advice:
Although organisations can generally only send marketing texts or emails with specific consent, there is an
exception to this rule for existing customers, known as the ‘soft opt-in’. This means organisations can send
marketing texts or emails if:
they have obtained the contact details in the course of a sale (or negotiations for a sale) of a product or
service to that person;
they are only marketing their own similar products or services; and
theygavethepersonasimpleopportunitytorefuseoroptoutofthemarketing,bothwhenfirstcollecting
the details and in every message after that.
In an ideal world, customers will actively opt-in to receive text messages from you, and we’ll look at how you
candothisshortly.
Every marketing text message you send needs to show:
Who you are
What you are selling
What the promotions are, and if there are any special conditions attached
A way to opt out of future marketing.
5
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Incentives that really work
As mentioned earlier, the general rule of thumb for SMS marketing is that you must have the recipient’s
consent to send them messages.
You’ve probably seen tick boxes saying ‘tick here to receive mobile offers’ if you shop online; most people leave
these unticked because they don’t see the value - what’s in it for them?
Here are two ways to give customers a great reason to sign up receive messages from you.
1. Give something away
As our example shows (and our apologies for
the dreadful pun), giving something away as an
incentive to sign up to a mobile mailing list is a
familiar and effective tactic.
You could also offer a discount, or a prize draw
for a gift card, driving experience or spa treatment
if you offer a service that can’t be given away or
discounted easily.
These kind of adverts can appear on your website,
in print, on signs or in your email signature – and
they appeal to both new and current customers.
6
JAVABEAN
C O F F E E C L U B
TEXT ‘BREWTIFUL’ TO 24792
MORNING
WAKE UPCUP
JOIN TODAY FOR YOUR free weekLy
Example giveaway
A guide to successful SMS marketing
The Information Commissioner’s Office has a helpful checklist
to ensure you’re compliant.
2. Offer something exclusive
This is more long-term than a single giveaway or
prize draw and needs a bit of planning.
The sort of things you might offer to customers
here include promotional codes, offers or event
invites: ‘Get exclusive news, events and deals
by joining our mobile VIP club’, ‘Exclusive offers
straight to your mobile device’ and ‘Receive
exclusive contests, events and more!’.
If you have an email newsletter, and distribute
promotional codes or event invites via email,
it’s important that these are separate from your
mobile offers. They really do need to be exclusive.
7
Example Call-to-Action
A quick note about short codes
Shortcodesarespecialtelephonenumberswhicharesignificantlyshorterthanfulltelephone
numbers–justfivedigitslongintheUK.Theyareprettymuchessentialforsigningupnewmobile
subscribers because they’re a lot easier to type in than a full telephone number!
How do you get one? Ask your SMS service provider about your options and expect to pay
a small monthly fee.
A guide to successful SMS marketing
75% of people want to receive messages from businesses sent to them via SMS, and almost 1/3 have
actively subscribed to mobile marketing (source).
So the appetite is there, but now you need to make sure that your customers know that you offer this service.
You don’t need to have a big budget, either:
Add a form to your website allowing customers to opt-in with their mobile numbers
Useemailtoencouragecustomerstoopt-intomobilemarketing
If you have a shop, put up signs inviting customers to join your mobile mailing list
Tell people how to sign up for your mobile mailing list in your magazine or directory adverts
Add a banner graphic to your website and social media pages
Put your invite on your letterhead paper, invoices / receipts and compliment slips.
Our attention span keeps getting shorter so keep your message simple!
Setting expectations
Don’t expect overnight results; building a mobile database takes time and energy, and one of the reasons
some companies don’t succeed is that they give up too soon.
It’snotunusualforittotakeseveralmonthsforasmallbusinesstogetyourfirst500or1,000subscribers,
sodon’tworryifthingsseemslowtostartwith.Keeponconsistentlypromotingyourmobileoffer,andthey
will come in time.
Promoting your offer
8
A guide to successful SMS marketing
75%
When to use SMS and when not to
Marketing by text message has a lot of stats to boast its success:
93%ofUKadultsownamobilephone(source); SMS boasts a 98%
open rate (source);and70%ofpeopledeemSMSasagreatwayto
win their attention (source).
However, receiving a text feels much more personal than an email,
and obviously you have limited space to get your message across.
Think carefully before committing to an SMS campaign and as
yourself these questions:
Pre-send checklist
1. Can my message be put across in 160 characters?
It’s not easy to write advertising messages that are interesting, entertaining or useful AND encourage
someonetotakeactionwithin160characters.Therewillbetimeswhenemailworksbetter.
Don’ttakeyouremailcampaignandtrytosquashitintoanSMS:alwaysthinkSMSfirst.
160 characters is the length of one text message.
10
A guide to successful SMS marketing
2. Is this message urgent?
One of the great things about SMS is the speed in which they’re read. MobileSquared, a mobile research
firm,reportedthat90% of people read text messages within three minutes of them being received.
But that great strength is also a weakness; if your message doesn’t demand immediate attention, it’ll be read
and then forgotten. Reminding someone that their car is due for a service a month before the actual date
will be less effective than the same message sent *when* the service is due.
Equally a one day promotional sale should be promoted on the day, not three days before. This is where
coupling SMS with an email campaign can be very effective; use email for the build up, and SMS to really
drive action.
3. Is this message really valuable?
Don’t waste your customers’ good will; every message you send out is a chance for them to unsubscribe,
and if you send them something unimportant, they’ll do just that.
This is best practice for any marketing message, but with SMS being so personal, you need to be particularly
selective about what you send.
11
A guide to successful SMS marketing
What to send
The first message
Thefirstmessageyousendtobothactivesubscribers
and new customers (the ‘soft opt-ins’ mentioned on Page 5)
is absolutely key to the future success of your messages.
This is your opportunity to tell people what they can
expect to receive from you, how often, and how they
can stop receiving messages if they choose (this last
pointisalegalrequirementintheUK).
Thanks for signing up
to mobile alerts from
Cactus Recruitment!
We’ll send you 2-3
messages per mth with
the best vacancies for
your skill set. Text STOP
to opt out at any time.
Cactus Recruitment13:34
Text Message
Example 1
Welcome to Esendex’s
Mobile VIP Club! You’ll
receive exclusive invites,
promotions and news
3-4 times per month.
Opt out any time by
texting NOTHANKS to
80800.
Mobile VIP Club13:34
Text Message
Example 2
Hello & welcome from
Daybrook Surgery! We’ll
send you special offers &
important surgery news
via SMS. Text STOP to
opt out.
Daybrook Surgery13:34
Text Message
Example 3
13
Example welcome messages for subscribers:
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Already sent out your
first message? Don’t
worry: it’s never too late
to let people know what
to expect and when.
While you’ll probably want to keep
most of your messages to 160
characters (the length of one text
message), the welcome message
is often longer as there’s more to
communicate. If you go over 160
characters, your message will still
look like one message, but you’ll be
charged for two messages by your
SMS provider.
14
Example welcome messages for new customers:
Thank you for registering
for Cactus Recruitment’s
services! We’d like to
send you 2-3 messages
per month with the best
vacancies for your skill
set. You can opt-out at
any time by replying
STOP.
Cactus Recruitment13:34
Text Message
Example 1
Thank you for shopping
with Esendex! We’d like
to send you exclusive
invites, promotions and
news via SMS 3-4 times
per month. If you’d
rather not receive these
messages, please text
NOTHANKS to 80800.
Esendex13:34
Text Message
Example 2
Hello from Daybrook
Surgery! We use SMS
to let people know
about special offers and
important surgery news;
they’re free to receive
and you can opt out
at any time by texting
STOP.
Daybrook Surgery13:34
Text Message
Example 3
A guide to successful SMS marketing
160 characters looks like this. It’s
true that you don’t have a huge
amount of space, but not so short
that you shouldn’t consider how
you structure your offer.
15
Example promotional messages:
Save 20% on all
footwear at Bella’s
Boots. One day only -
show this text to the
cashier to get your
discount!
Bella’s Boots13:34
Text Message
Example 1
Free garlic bread
with every 10” pizza
ordered from Freddie’s
Fry Up this weekend!
Order online at www.
freddiesfryup.co.uk &
add FRED10 when you
checkout.
Freddie’s Fry Up13:34
Text Message
Example 2
Buy 2 get 1 free
tanning sessions in our
new state-of-the-art
tanning booth. Call
07870154769 to book
today & quote 2-4-1
SMS.
Tanstar13:34
Text Message
Example 3
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Leading with value
You should always open your SMS with the most exciting part of your message. If that’s a giveaway or a
discount, start with this and then go into detail.
Personalisation
As we’ve said before, receiving a text feels highly personal, which can work for or against you when sending
marketing messages.
It can work for you if you use all of the information you have about your customers to improve the
relevance of the message you’re sending.
Itcanworkagainstyouifyousticktoone-size-fits-allmessageswithoutthinkingabouthowthepeopleat
the receiving end will react to them.
Personalisation can start small: just including your customer’s name will help them feel like the message was
crafted just for them.
Taking this further, you might want to consider grouping your customers by:
Age
Gender
Purchase history
Location
You can then tailor your promotion to each group - for example, a discount on a new celebrity perfume
mightbeofgreaterinteresttowomenaged18-34thantomenaged60+.Equallypromotinganew
restaurant opening in Birmingham isn’t going to be of much interest to people in Edinburgh.
If you don’t have this level of information about your mobile subscribers, don’t panic; use what you do have,
and segment and personalise your messages as much you reasonably can.
16
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Timing is everything
How often should you send SMS marketing campaigns?
Pretty consistently: three to four times a month should help you stay top of mind with your customers.
However, don’t feel that you have to stick to an absolutely rigid schedule - better to miss a week than to
send through a poorly thought-through message.
When should you send SMS marketing campaigns?
Most text messages are read within three minutes of them being received, so they don’t work as well for
‘teaser’ style content (i.e. ‘coming soon…’). They’re better used when you want someone to take action
NOW.
Marks & Spencer ran a highly successful text message campaign to promote their dine-in-for-two offer
(source). Their texts were carefully timed to reach phones as busy commuters were leaving work, reminding
them that they’re hungry, they’ve mouths to feed, and there’s an affordable solution to this problem just
down the road. The same message sent at 9AM wouldn’t have had the same impact.
For most people, working out the best time of day to send out a campaign is down to good judgement and
a degree of trial and error. If your customers are working professionals, and your message isn’t work-related,
try lunchtimes and evenings when they’re at liberty to take action.
Test different days of the week, and different times, and, based on the volume of response to your
promotion, you’ll be able to work out what works best for your customer base.
17
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Conclusion
We hope this ebook has given you some ideas for how you can start to actively grow your mobile
subscriber list, and what content works well sent through SMS. Our top tips for quick wins are:
Set expectations - don’t just send a promotion out of the blue to unsuspecting customers!
EmailandSMSworkreallywelltogether;sendanemailfirstandfollowupwithanSMSwhenyou
want action
Pick your moments - use the immediacy of SMS to your advantage
Open your message with the most exciting part
Tailor your promotions to the individual as much as possible.
18
A guide to successful SMS marketing
Designed and published by Esendex Ltd.
Esendex Limited 2017 | Registered company number: 04217280
About Esendex
Esendex is a mobile business communications provider helping
thousands of customers worldwide.
We offer 1-2-1 account management to help you get the best out of your marketing campaigns,
and have direct network connections to all of the major networks, meaning that your messages
will be delivered quickly, securely and reliably.
To contact your account manager:
Call 0345 356 5758
Visit www.esendex.co.uk where our agents are available on LiveChat(officehoursonly).
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