SMS Messaging Is One Of The Most Powerful New Tools At Your Disposal

You can expect to own your audience when you use text message marketing! With more than 400 million wireless subscribers in the United States alone, you're missing a lot of customers if you aren't using SMS marketing.

Small Business Owners are in a better position to use mobile for customer engagement. With a Texting-Powered mobile marketing campaign you can reach hundreds (or even thousands) of customers in seconds.

*As more brands look to target customers on the move, SMS is becoming an increasingly essential part of effective multi-channel marketing.

I’ve spent hundreds of hours working on SMS marketing for clients and I’ve learned a lot along the way. If you're like any other small business owner you'll examine any & all ways to boost sales.

What you need to keep in mind is that mobile is simply another way for you to connect, engage and convert your customers.

Embrace mobile as a new marketing vehicle and you’ll be able to extend and enhance what it is that Makes Your Small Business So Unique.

You’ll have a new-found ability to personalize your messaging to engage with customers in a way only your Small Business can.

With our web-based software you can conduct Mobile Couponing Campaigns ... a popular and quickly growing solution that is portable, individually targeted, and best of all it's completely paperless.

*Also SMS does not require Smart-Phones or anything to download, which means your potential reach includes just about anyone with a mobile phone - It doesn't even require an Internet connection or Wi-Fi connection.

E-Mail Marketing isn’t going away any time soon and still plays an important role in reaching your audience ... But with average open rates at 20-30 are you sure you are reaching all the people you want to reach?

*Including mobile into your marketing mix allows you to extend existing traditional channels such as TV, radio, direct mail or print and add a layer of interaction that wasn’t there before.

TEXT MESSAGES GET READ

Average open rates for E-Mail hover in the 15-22% range and they are more likely to hit the spam folder before anyone ever sees them … On the other hand open rates for Text towers over E-Mail at 98%!

*It takes 120 minutes or more for the average person to respond to an E-Mail … but it only takes 90 seconds for the average person to Respond To A Text Message.

SMS LIST BUILDING STRATEGIES

Once you've determined what types of SMS texts to send, you need to build a list of customers to send these messages to.

For example, if you're attending a trade show create some signage that instructs attendees to text a key-word to your personal short-code in order to receive special offers, product information or specials and discounts.

*You can also put up these signs in retail stores where your products are sold.

Mention your call to action in radio and TV spots. Ask listeners to text your personal key-word to your individual short-code for more information or a special offer.

Finally, don't forget to include your call-to-action in all the other platforms you already use to reach customers, including social media such as Twitter and Facebook, E-Mail signatures and newsletters too.

10 TIPS TO WRITING EFFECTIVE SMS MESSAGES

1. Be clear with your offer.

2. Use a compelling headline that immediately grabs the reader's attention. This could be a dramatic announcement for example something that arouses curiosity.

3. Quickly show customers the benefit of your product or service.

4. Use only common abbreviations -- Avoid industry jargon or specialized terms.

5. Your carrier may place restrictions on using certain special characters in an SMS text message. Verify this before sending the message.

6. Make the message easy to understand -- Don't try to cram in too much info. Tell the customer exactly what you have to offer, what it means to have it and a call-to-action for motivation.

7. Tell the customer in as few words as possible what you want them to do and why it's important to respond … ‘VALID TODAY ONLY’ or ‘CALL NOW'.

8. Use a strong call-to-action. Examples: include Act Now - Don't Miss Out - Last Chance … or One-Time Offer Only.

9. Include a time-sensitive message to get users to respond quickly (or else they may miss your special offer).

*A restaurant for example could send an SMS text message to hours before lunch when people are thinking about where they want to eat.

10. Holidays and popular shopping days such as: Black Friday and President's Day or Christmas are a great time to send out these offers.

THERE ARE MANY WAYS A DATABASE CAN BE BUILT

The 1st thing that a business needs to do in having a successful mobile marketing campaign is to create a data-base of interested customers. The simplest is to just ask your current customers for permission to contact them via mobile.

If you have a brick and mortar store, you can have a business card drop box. You can also ask customers to fill out customer satisfaction survey as well. Some businesses choose to buy these lists, but they are quite expensive.

*Let's not forget that this information can be filled out by the customer in the store, or via an E-Mail sign-up form you can send to them via SMS.

RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL COUPON CAMPAIGN

A Fortune 500 marketing company watched 125 merchants’ behavior pattern over the course of one year. In that year the merchants ranged from Small Businesses to National Chains and they conducted about 9,000 campaigns.

They determined that over $6 billion in mobile coupons will be redeemed over the course of a that year … and the survey showed about 50 % of all mobile coupons are redeemed … compared to just a measly 2% percent for print coupons.

The 1st step in preparing a coupon campaign for mobile is to examine the customer’s previous buying habits. This allows the business to deliver targeted coupons based on previous behavior.

*When delivering these coupons make it easy for people to share these coupons with their friends ... Most companies have an average database of 731 contacts.

Another key is to offer a great product at a reasonable price. Many people are not looking for the cheapest price. They are looking for the best value for their money.

After building your database list, then you should offer your customers a better deal by sending maybe a buy one get one free coupon once a month or so.

*Deliver the coupons during the week when opting out is at the lowest. Target the delivery of the coupon for when people are thinking about a new product.

For example, offer a dessert coupon in the middle of the afternoon. Offer a clothing coupons as people are preparing for their work day, particularly on Friday mornings.

The next step is to offer your most loyal customers a special reward. You can base this reward on what you know about the customer.

Create a Rewards Club!

By doing this you will encourage these customers to send their friends news about your great company ... sharing the fantastic coupon you sent them and how they can expect to be treated when they visit your store.

*Just imagine that if you offer 731 coupons and 50 percent of those people respond, that is an additional 385 sales.

Get Started With Personalized Mobile Messaging Today!

We Have All Types of Custom Text Message Programs To Fit Your Needs.Visit us at http://www.smarttextmarketing.com/