Do Your Customers Trust You?
Mobile marketing is personal. SMS marketing in particular is even more so. In many ways, it’s like a real relationship. Say the wrong thing, or at the wrong time, and your customer will unsubscribe. And you may never get them back.
It also turns out that whether or not your customers trust you depends on more than what your SMS marketing messages say. Last week at the Mobile World Conference (MWC) a panel discussed mobile marketing, trust and engagement. During that conference they discussed the fact that people trust their mobile and content providers less than they did three years ago. That’s certainly not a trend in the right direction.
What's going on?
I think for much of the last decade, people used the Internet and then mobile devices, without giving too much thought about what they were doing. Or more accurately, what other people were doing with their information.
But then came Edward Snowden in 2013 who revealed governments were collecting and using our personal data in ways we hadn’t imagined. In fact, many of us probably didn’t imagine our information was that vulnerable, or that so many global agencies would be cooperating to gather and examine it.
Whether you support what he did or not, his actions and the resulting publicity made everyone much more aware of the fact our personal data is available online. That, combined with many companies pushing “Big Data” and how it can be used, probably made even more people nervous. Privacy became an even bigger issue on the main agenda for many governments, corporations and individuals than ever before.
How has it affected mobile marketing?
According to a study discussed in that MWC panel, 89% of people have “some concern when sharing data with brands and mobile operators”. People are suspicious of you from the start! Only 40% will share basic personal information if it will make their mobile experience better. Even fewer, less than 20%, will agree to providing more detailed data such as location and browsing data.
The main issues people have with sharing their information is security, transparency, and control. They want to know that the companies that have their information will protect it (security) and not provide it to third parties (control). About 21% of people “worry about how their data may be used in the future” (transparency).
Brands and mobile operators collect data as part of interacting with customers whether it’s browsing, using an app, or acting on SMS marketing. That’s just how it all works. But people expect that these organisations are supposed to take care of their data. The study showed 55% hold brands responsible, and 30% hold mobile operators responsible for their personal data on mobile.
What can you do?
SMS marketing has the potential to provide great value to both your customer and to your profits, but not if they don’t trust you. Since it seems people are a bit wary even before you begin, it would be best to start off being very upfront about what they are signing up for on your list.
If you market your list by offering discounts and coupons, make sure all your offers are discounts or coupons. Stick to those when sending offers to that list. You might think they’re interested in that special promotion or contest too, but you run the risk of losing their trust by sending them content they didn’t sign up for initially.
There’s usually “fine print” on promotions, even SMS marketing. It usually details how you’ll use the information you gather. If you don’t sell the information to third parties or “partners”, maybe you want to bring that out of the fine print and make sure everyone knows. Or if you use that information to ensure they get the best personal offers, you can let them know that too.
They know you’re using their data, if you make an effort to let them know it is being used to improve their experience or offers they’ll feel better about it. And better about you as a brand. But if you say that’s how you’ll use it, then you don’t, you’ll be violating their trust in you. That, is something very hard to get back.
SMS marketing customers are already one of your best assets. They’ve taken a step to trust you by signing up. Do everything you can to keep them trusting you and you’ll both live happily ever after. At least as far as your marketing goes.
Related Articles
More People Prefer SMS Loyalty Programmes
Loyalty and rewards programs can help your business retain your best customers. But they only work if customers see your messages and can check their reward status. A new survey shows most people prefer companies use to SMS for loyalty programs. Find out why in this blog.
How SMS Can Help Your Local Business Optimise Your Local Campaign
One of the great advantages of SMS: it's completely trackable so you know exactly how your campaigns are engaging your opted in customers and clients. And if you’re a small business, operating in a specific geographical location, then that local knowledge can be invaluable in targeting your campaigns to a local audience.
Do This One Thing and You’ll Improve Your SMS Marketing ROI
SMS marketing is not quite like most other marketing. You have such a limited space to get your point across, just 160 characters, more or less. It’s not unlike having to create a print advert for a small space, but somehow it can seem more intimidating. That’s why sometimes it seems like marketers forget one basic rule about writing offers: Always lead with the offer! Sounds simple, right?
3 Retail Predictions to Increase Footfalls This Holiday Season with SMS Messaging
Last year footfalls for some high street shops dropped during the Black Friday weekend. Even though the UK spent a record breaking £1.1B, some saw their in-store sales slump. Find out the three things retailers need to do to get customers to come back.
Marketing Review for 2015 Holiday Season
Comparing SMS and email marketing results for the 2015 holiday season, this article taps into reports from Expedia and Adobe to share important insights.
The Biggest Lie in SMS Marketing
Have you seen articles telling you SMS marketing can’t be used to acquire new customers? Or that it isn’t a good way to so? Don’t believe them. You just have to know how to use SMS to get new people to sign up for your list. Read on to find out how.
SMS Marketing for Artisan Food Producers
Do Your Customers Trust You?
I think for much of the last decade, people used the Internet and then mobile devices, without giving too much thought about what they were doing. Or more accurately, what other people were doing with their information. But then came Edward Snowden in 2013 who revealed governments were collecting and using our personal data in ways we hadn’t imagined.
Proof SMS Messaging Gets Results: Increase Traffic
One retailer increased their online mobile traffic by 93% year over year using SMS messaging. Another increased foot traffic by 21% after adding mobile coupons to their marketing. Do you want to know how? Find out in our blog on increasing traffic with SMS messaging.
How 2017 Will Change SMS Marketing
Setting New Year's resolutions for your business can be risky since it feels like you're only really setting yourself up to fail. It's much better instead to try and focus on one achievable goal and do everything to succeed and improve in that area. With its meteoric rise to popularity and outstanding success in 2016, businesses should be using 2017's welcome reprise to integrate SMS marketing into their business development strategy.