Proof SMS Messaging Gets Results: Increase Sales

One of the most consistent results I see with SMS messaging is an increase in sales. Retailers can use different methods in the messages – coupons or limited time sales for example – but the result is almost always a bump in sales (assuming the campaign is done well, following best practices).

In this entry of the Results Series, I’ll share examples of just how big, and fast, those bumps can be.

The sales numbers I list below come from businesses across the UK, US and Canada. It doesn’t seem to matter what country it’s used in, SMS gets great results.

Here are some of the best sales results published to date:

• A specialty home improvement store had a 32% increase in sales within one day of sending its first campaign.
• A pizza restaurant saw a 33% increase in sales in three weeks.
• A beauty salon and spa had $196,000 in sales in 30 days from one SMS campaign.
• Sales turnover increased between 30-50% for a travel agency after ditching PPC and email for SMS marketing.

It’s hard to argue with sales numbers like these. But not every company is ready to dive in all at once. An international cosmetics company launched a pilot program to test the effectiveness of SMS marketing with their customers. The pilot ran for six months. They found that by the end of the test period, 73% of their SMS list had made an in-store purchase based on their SMS campaigns. Wow!

In the case of the pizza restaurant listed above, they found that the people who acted on the initial mobile offer ended up spending 500% more than regular customers who were not on the SMS list. That is an incredible comparison.

The good news doesn’t end for that pizza company either. That same campaign ended up making them 4,200% ROI. That’s not an error. I really mean forty-two hundred percent! That sort of number is possible because SMS messaging is one of the most affordable channels.

It costs just a few pence per message. So it doesn’t take too many customers acting on a promotion to break even with such a low cost. That makes it easy to see how the sales increases can result in unbelievably high ROI numbers.

Did you notice that the travel agency above achieved their increase in sales by going all in with SMS messaging? This particular company decided that their results were so good with SMS that they no longer needed to invest as much in PPC campaigns or email marketing. In just 12 months they completely changed how they interacted with their customers.

In fact, their SMS campaigns get them about 100 well-qualified leads per week for their travel offers. Using it has completely changed their business and led to growth opportunities. If you want to see how SMS helps businesses grow and with customer service, come back for the rest of The Results Series. Or, if you missed out on the other posts in the series, you can start at the beginning with Free Account.