SMS Marketing For Local Businesses: Reaching Your Customers Where They Are

No. It isn’t old tech. SMS is one of the best direct marketing methods. It has a considerably higher response rate than email, for instance. It works especially well for local businesses.

If you can get an SMS marketing campaign in full swing, then you should have no issues reaching your customers. It isn’t that hard to put an SMS campaign into action either. Let’s explain.

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What Is SMS Marketing For Local Businesses?

SMS marketing for local businesses is simple. You use text messages to reach your customers. It is pretty much the same as running an email marketing campaign, just your marketing message is going to be delivered via text instead. This has a whole host of advantages.

SMS marketing works especially well for local businesses. You can use it to do all sorts of marketing. You can use it to drop advertising messages (e.g. share coupons), ask for feedback on sales, send out surveys, etc.

You can even use SMS marketing to keep people up to date with the latest happenings with your business e.g. new product launches (make sure that you use SMS marketing sparingly).

The Advantages Of SMS Marketing For Local Businesses

SMS marketing has an incredibly high read rate, especially compared to email. When people receive emails, the vast majority of people will ignore anything that seems ‘promotional’ in nature. In fact, they will just delete it. Not SMS. People read their SMS messages.

As soon as their phone beeps, they will open up the message and read whatever you say. Some will even respond.

The response rate is high too. Most SMS marketing messages, If sent at the right time, SMS marketing can generate a high conversion rate, especially for local businesses.

The best part is that it is easier to send out SMS marketing messages than ever before. There are plenty of tools for you to use, and SMS marketing companies that can run the campaign for you.

It is incredibly affordable, and a well-run SMS marketing campaign for a local business would be an investment. A good campaign will always generate money.

Top Tips To Put Together A Successful SMS Marketing Campaign

If you want to run a quality SMS marketing campaign, and you really want to reach your customers, then it is important that you do things properly.

Luckily for you, marketing companies have had decades of experience in SMS marketing, and you can lean on that experience to get your marketing campaign up and running, hopefully generating some serious cash for your business.

Get Customers To Opt In

You shouldn’t send SMS messages blindly. Everybody that receives your SMS should have opted into doing so. Thankfully, this isn’t too difficult. You can include sign-up forms on your website.

If people buy from you in person, then you can ask if it is fine to add them to your SMS marketing list. Most will say it is. In fact, you will probably get more sign-ups than if you had an email marketing campaign.

People are more likely to want to receive SMS, for some reason. Using an app like Auto Forward can help you receive return text messages on your email.

Your SMS messages should always allow people to opt out too. So, whenever you send a message, let people know that they can stop receiving them whenever they wish.

Putting Together Your SMS

SMS should be short and sweet. No more than 160 characters of information. It is tricky to do. You may need to hire an SMS copywriter to do this for you. Your 160 characters should:

Identify your business (people won’t know who you are).
Let the person know why you are texting.
A call to action (CTA).
Details about opting out.

If you are using links in your SMS messages, then make sure you use a link shortener. It will save some characters.

The Most Effective SMS Marketing Messages

The ‘right’ message to send will be completely dependent on your target market. You should only ever send messages with a purpose. Don’t just SMS because you feel like it. Here are some ideas of why you may want to send an SMS message:

Share discount codes.
Share information about a sale.
Ask for feedback on a purchase.
Ask the customer to fill in a survey.

If you want to really get a response, then dropping an SMS on a person’s birthday and offering them a ‘birthday discount’ will really go down a treat.

Send Messages At The Right Time

Your messages need to be sent at the right time to increase your chances of a response. You may need to work out which is best for your business, but here are some guidelines:

SMS targeted at business users should be sent between 12pm and 1pm on a working day.
SMS targeted at individuals works best after 8pm Thursday to Saturday.

Remember, don’t send SMS too frequently. 1 message a week is enough.

Track Your Campaign

Like all marketing campaigns, you should always be tracking data for your SMS marketing for local businesses. Keep an eye on when you receive the most responses to your SMS (i.e. the time and day), check which messages generate the best response, which wording you used, etc.

If you track your campaign and make relevant changes to any issues that you may spot, you can keep pushing your conversion rate higher, earning even more money for your business.

Conclusion

SMS marketing for local businesses works. It is the best way to reach your customers, and it is incredibly affordable too. It is even more effective than email marketing. If you are a local business trying to reach people, then look into running an SMS marketing campaign today.

You will boost your sales.