Growing a Business Around Your Family Life? Here’s Why Mumpreneurs Need SMS Marketing

Mums are natural entrepreneurs. And now they’re turning that entrepreneurial spirit towards running a business, using their organisational skills to turn a profit from franchises and hobbies, fundraisers and baking. Mumpreneurs are on the march and they need smart marketing strategies that fit around their busy lives.

There are currently 800,000 women in the UK running their own business – over 200,000 more women than men are self-employed. And they’re successful, too, generating £7.2 billion for the UK economy. Victoria Beckham is the mumpreneur par excellence, juggling family and business while generating jobs and income. And of course, you can sign up for text alerts from her Victoria Beckham clothing brand.

Mumpreneurs are already networked and connected, making the school gates the ideal place to hand out business cards or catalogues – and to swap phone numbers. If you’re a mumpreneur, you’ve already cleared the first hurdle towards building a database of mobile numbers, clearing your pathway to creating a killer SMS marketing campaign. Don’t let words like compliance put you off: run your own SMS marketing campaign and the ICO demands you follow just four simple steps to be compliant with the regulations.

As a mumpreneur, you’ll know your target audience are already on their phones, and that text is by far the most popular method of communication, with 86% penetration in the UK alone. In fact, according to Deloitte research, 31% of smartphone users make no calls at all.

Text messages have immediacy, whether you’re planning a play date or alerting your customers about a special promotion. There’s no design and no printing costs, nothing between your customer and your message. And text messages get read – 90% within 3 minutes. They’re also a cost-effective solution and integrate seamlessly with your social media presence. SMS is highly personal and relatable and texts have an elegant simplicity when you keep them short and to the point by using a URL shortener. Simplicity can be an important factor when you’re juggling family and the demands of your business.

Before you press send:

• Make sure you’re sending the right content to the right customer
• Tell your customers who you are in your text label
• Grab their attention
• Keep it short and sweet
• Have a strong call to action
• Check the time – don’t send at 1am.

If you’re concerned that SMS marketing is intrusive and you’ll lose customers, there are some fairly straightforward rules of thumb about frequency for you to follow. The first is obvious because it’s something that we all find deeply annoying: don’t bombard your customers with texts at all hours of the day and night. You wouldn’t schedule an SMS for a time that you wouldn’t want to receive one yourself, right? On the other hand, scheduling an SMS for the school run might just start a buzz around your latest product or promotion and drive opt-ins.

The general rule is to send 2-4 messages a month. It’s frequent enough to be consistent and not so frequent that you’ll feel you’re pestering your clients. Work on some scheduled messages so you always have content available and ready to go. Depending on the nature of your business, designing campaigns around half terms, summer holidays and Christmas is a safe bet for engaging with customers who are looking for activities, birthday cakes or beauty tips.

Because you already have opt-in from the customers on your list, it’s safe to assume that they’re expecting to hear from you. What they hate is spam, not a straightforward communication. By making your SMS relevant and timely, you’ll add value for your customers. Value doesn’t just take the form of discounts, it can be hints and tips or a personalised birthday message, or a secret club with special targeted discounts and vouchers. Any information your customer will find useful will build your reputation as a value provider, not a spammer.

Metrics are your friend when you start using SMS for marketing. Intuition will only take you so far, measuring your customer’s response can do the rest. Comparing metrics across various campaigns is an invaluable aid to knowing when to schedule your next text.

Opt-out rate will tell you what works and what doesn’t, particularly when compared across campaigns. The higher the opt out rate, the less relevant and timely your message was. And while low opt-out rates mean you’re getting it right, don’t be tempted to up your frequency. If you include a HELP message, then you need to know how many customers are looking for support so you can fix any problems with your content.

Finally, you’ll want to measure click through and redemption rates. Whether you send a link or include a buy now button, you need to know how many users are actually clicking your link. If you routinely use vouchers, then it’s important to know how many are being redeemed.

• It’s simple, personal and effective
• You can handle compliance issues with ease following the ICO’s four steps
• You can use metrics to target and schedule content and check your campaigns are working
• You can add value for your customers
• It’s cost-effective
• You can get creative with opt in campaigns and themed discounts to build your database
• You can work an SMS marketing campaign around your family and business commitments

If you want to know how every mumpreneur can make the most of SMS marketing, contact us at FastSMS and browse our SMS solutions. We’ll be happy to help you find the right SMS marketing solution for your business.