5 Ways to Put the Spring Back into Your SMS Marketing

It’s that time of year when the days are getting longer, the evenings are getting lighter and there is a hint of warmth in the sunshine. The birds are beginning to sing, and new shoots are starting to appear all around. Spring and Easter are traditionally times when we celebrate new life and rebirth – and it is a great time to put the spring back into your step when it comes to SMS Marketing. So how can you breathe some new life into your campaigns and make the most of this low cost and effective channel? Here are five suggestions from the team.

1. Spring clean your SMS Marketing list

With the best will in the world, lists get untidy over time. It’s true for to do lists, mailing lists, customer lists and any other list you can imagine. It’s also true for your SMS Marketing list. Now there are several reasons why now is a perfect time to go through your list and clean it up.

Firstly, you can check for errors in your data such as incorrectly spelt names or addresses, incorrectly input numbers that are missing digits and will never be usable, duplicate entries and more. The more accurate your data, the better your return on investment. In addition, accurate information makes it much easier to conduct a meaningful analysis of the data around your campaign.

Secondly, reviewing your SMS Mailing list gives you an opportunity to check the opt-in status of your customers and ensure that those who have chosen not to continue receiving SMS messages have been correctly blacklisted. As well as maintaining compliance with the law, this is a good way to be sure that you don’t accidentally damage the reputation of your brand by sending unintentionally sending unsolicited or unwanted messages.

2. Expand your list

Assuming you’ve given your SMS Marketing list a thorough weeding, it makes sense to invest some efforts into growing your list. There are many ways to encourage customers to sign up for SMS Marketing, and it doesn’t have to be complicated. You might want to add a sign-up option on the checkout stage if you operate an eCommerce website, or even add a site-wide pop-up message to encourage registrations.

If you operate a brick and mortar store, why not ask customers if they would like to register when they are paying for their goods. Have your registration forms at the ready, so that your customers opt-in is recorded in a retrievable form as a verbal agreement does not satisfy the regulations. You may also consider adding a call to action for your SMS marketing list to your wider marketing campaign, be it online, television or print media. An SMS Shortcode/Keyword combination is worth considering if you want to really streamline the process for customers.

3. Incentivise your customers

Whether you are looking to get your existing customers back on board or to appeal to a new audience, in a world where people are increasingly resistant to any form of marketing, it is important to offer an incentive for customers to join your SMS Marketing list or update their details.

A simple and proven method is to run a lottery style prize draw, often called ‘Text-to-Win’, where all customers who subscribe or update their details are entered into a draw with the chance of winning an attractive prize such as a discount voucher or even products or services.

Alternatively, a voucher code offering a fixed percentage or fixed value discount on future purchases can be highly effective – everybody likes something for nothing and even a voucher of nominal value will see high redemption rates as customers simply don’t want to miss out.

4. Make SMS messaging natural

Just as with any new habit, sometimes starting is the hardest thing. Once you’ve made that first visit to the gym, it is so much easier to go back again. The same is true of SMS Marketing – coming round to the idea of texting customers on the one hand, and getting them used to receiving messages from you on the other, is an important part of the equation.

The key is to keep it natural. If you operate a business where customers need to book appointments, then an appointment confirmation SMS is a great way to get started. If your customers have placed orders for your goods, then an order confirmation SMS works equally well. This can then be followed up by further informational messages, which over time can build up to more direct marketing messages. For best results, aim to add value to the customer with every message you send.

5. Start texting regularly

Time is always a challenge, especially for smaller companies who often lack the resource to have dedicated teams and individuals to cover every aspect of the business – especially when it comes to areas like marketing which often come second to core duties. The result of this is that certain elements of the marketing mix can easily get put-off. The result is that blog posts, social media updates and of course, SMS Marketing messages become very sporadic, often with little or no action during peak times, and then a sudden burst of activity when the dust has settled.

Having a regular schedule with a balanced frequency of updates is much better and tends to get the best results in the longer term. A simple way to start is to plan out a calendar for the next six to twelve months. Note down the marketing focus for each month, then start to sketch in what activities you will do using each available channel – SMS Marketing included. It might be as simple as sending out a ‘Hello Spring’ SMS message inviting your customers to check out your new collection.

Get your SMS Marketing off to the best possible start this spring with Fastsms. To learn more, give our award winning team a call now on 0800 954 5305.