Referral Marketing Through SMS Messaging
What is one almost guaranteed way of getting new customers? Ask for them. Really. Studies show that 83% of satisfied customers are willing to recommend a company, product or service to their family and friends. In reality though, only about 29% of those customers actually do.
How can you improve the chances of that other 54% actually sharing how much they love your company? Start using referral marketing. Whether you have just a few customers or a thousand, a quick, easy, and reliable way to reach out and ask is with SMS messaging.
Here’s how the process would work:
- A customer makes a purchase or uses your service.
- You follow up with them to see how they are getting on.
- After the follow up send them a text message with a coupon code, link, or special offer for them and a friend (or many). Let them know they can forward the text message directly to a friend to make it as easy as possible to share.
Surveys have shown 92% of people trust recommendations from people they know. A satisfied customer is the best marketing you can have, if you can get them to share their opinion.
You may be wondering why you should use SMS messaging to ask for referrals. Why not email, or social media? Well, you can do that too and probably should. But given the generally poor email open rates and high SMS read rates, it’s much more likely your customer will see the offer (and request) in an SMS message than in an email. The same is true for social media. You can tweet or post a referral offer, but what is the likelihood your customer will see it given how much we are all inundated with social media updates?
Another advantage SMS messaging has it that it can be immediate and automatic, but also personal. Sending a text message to a particular customer in response to an action they took (a purchase, customer service call, survey completed, etc.) will make them feel appreciated and probably even more enamoured with your company. A general blast across social media or email won’t have that same impact. Yes, email can be personalised too, but they aren’t perceived by people as personal messages as much as a text message is.
And if you’re still thinking this sounds like too much work, maybe an example can help.
Have you ever heard of Etsy? It’s a company offering a virtual marketplace online for artisans of all sorts from every corner of the globe to sell their wares. They have 40 million members, 1 million “shops”, artists in over 200 countries, and a total sales volume of $1.35 billion in 2013 (£615).
Ninety percent of their business comes from referrals.
Want to know how to put that kind of power into your marketing? Contact us today to see how we can help you integrate SMS messaging into your business.
Related Articles
Getting a Reply: Should You Choose a VMN or Shortcode? Part 1
Part 1 of a 2 part article comparing Virtual Mobile Numbers (VMNs) and SMS Shortcodes as means of receiving inbound SMS messages. The first part focuses on how VMNs work, what they are typically used for and what they cost. Part 2 follows with details of SMS Shortcodes.
Advantages & Disadvantages of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is very different to most other more traditional marketing tools, specifically because of its short-form, text only nature. This certainly shouldn't put you off though. We have put together our guide to both the best things about SMS marketing and some of the potential problems, and how to work around them.
5 SMS Marketing Ideas for Easter [Infographic]
3 Tips to Help You Time Your SMS Marketing Campaign
Timing is everything. While it’s an axiom everyone can understand and agree on, it’s doubly true when it comes to SMS marketing. If you send your messages at the wrong time, you’ll see your opt out rates jump and your ROI plummet. So when should you send your text marketing messages? Here are three key guidelines to help you schedule your next campaign.
The Never-Ending Conflict of Email vs. SMS Marketing
Many marketers think they need to choose between email and SMS marketing. And depending on what you read, you’ll find one is “better” than the other. But that isn’t necessarily true. Learn how a united effort using both can increase your profits with only a little bit of effort.
SMS Marketing – 4 of the UK’s Best Ever Campaigns
Discover how to come up with an SMS marketing campaign in this article which looks under the surface of some of the UK's most successful ever SMS marketing campaigns. Whether you are looking to boost revenue, improve customer satisfaction or help your brand stand out with a unique and memorable promotion, this article shows how a simple approach to SMS messaging can work wonders for your company.
6 Tips To Help You Get The Most From SMS Marketing
What are the dos and don’ts of SMS marketing? How can you get the most from your business text messaging? We’ve put together six actionable tips to help you get the best from your SMS marketing campaigns.
24 Key Research Statistics that Prove You Should be Using SMS Marketing
If you find yourself needing to justify putting budget towards SMS marketing or convincing your manager that it's the right decision for you, here are some key research statistics to keep in mind for why you should pursue an SMS campaign...
The Psychology of SMS Marketing
In marketing, everyone wants to be more influential and persuasive in order to build loyalty and return custom. To gain the highest ROI, businesses want their marketing campaigns to speak to every individual in such a way that makes them feel connected and yet, with every will in the world, an SMS marketing campaign is only going to achieve this high conversion and success if it manages to tap into consumer psychology.
4 Simple Steps to Staying Compliant When Using SMS Messaging
Yet another company (Quigley and Carter Limited) have been fined by the ICO for not having permission to send SMS messages. In this case, they had outsourced their marketing to a third party who then sent messages on their behalf. So is staying compliant with the regulations regarding SMS messaging so difficult? It doesn’t have to be.