How to send an SMS message that your clients will actually read

Let’s talk about our cellphone. We have it glued to our hand from the morning coffee up until we fall asleep, already at reach. That already tells us everything we need to know about the tremendous potential embedded in mobile marketing and in SMS messages in particular.

Text messages have become an extremely efficient marketing tool over the past years. Yes, even in a world where WhatsApp exists. Text messages are relevant for all business types, from fashion to health care. And to be honest? It’s pretty clear why when the percentage of people who open their text messages is over 90%, which makes them a must-use marketing tool. Yes, this does apply to a world where WhatsApp exists since while it conveys friendliness, text messages convey urgency, which increases the percentage of people who open them.

The secret is knowing how to use them. Text about certain topics, formulated in a precise way will increase the ROI (return on investment) rates, while text messages that do not comply with these standards can cause damage.

How can you maximize marketing text messages in your business?

Personalization: THE buzzword of the business marketing world in general and especially for text messages. Using personal elements gives your client the impression that the content was made especially for them, thus increasing the chances of them even reading your text. For example, a text on your client’s birthday accompanied by a small happy birthday wish and a unique discount code will enhance the feeling that your business ‘sees them’.

Maintain transparency and focus: We all know how it is getting these blurry messages, the kind you have to read all the way through or several times to understand what they want from us, right? That is why it’s important to be as transparent and clear about the purpose of the message. Clearly explain what the purpose of the message is, and what you offer, and avoid ‘pushing’ non-relevant products or information.

Respect your users: There is nothing more annoying than Spam – and the last thing you want to do is to have your business associated with aggravating and unwanted messages. That is why it’s important to only use phone numbers of people who approved your service and provide a clear and simple option to “Unsubscribe” when needed, replying “Stop” to cancel, or using a dedicated link to cancel.

Specify the name of the business or at least a phone number: The need behind the text will determine if you choose to use the name of the business or the phone number. In order to avoid the “spamming” feeling and maintain a certain consistency of the messages, define the name of your business in the ‘sender’ zone. To create a sense of interaction and two-way conversation, choose the number and mention in the text the possibility to answer the text.

Carefully choose your texts: Text messages are a wonderful marketing tool, as long as you dose it correctly. If you choose to send marketing content using text messages, it’s important to have a strategic logic behind your choice, since the slope towards overdosing your clients with texts is slippery. As an example, the texts we receive before the elections have become a synonym for ‘spam’.

This is how to do it – four ideas for marketing SMS that will work wonderfully:

Notifications for promotions

Timing is everything, research has shown that notifications for limited-time promotions increase the chances of reading the text messages. Tell your clients about the offers that are valuable to them, accompanied with a personal tone and which refer to fields that are relevant to them – for example, fashion brands can send a client an update about a limited promotion on a certain product they took interest in, accompanied by a link to purchase the product.

Operational messages

These are immediate and important messages for your users, such as updates on scheduled appointments, verification codes, updates on deliveries, and various kinds of reminders. For example, HMOs sent updates to their clients regarding appointments using operational texts specifying the location of the clinic, the time of the appointment, and even the possibility to cancel the appointment.

Update on events

Reminders are a great option for marketing texts that will make your business be perceived as one that takes care of their clients’ schedules, and at the same time will help your organization. Under this category are the following messages: Save the Date messages, ticket purchases, updates on times of events, and even interactive content during the event. For example, when a text is sent to you during a concert with a link to send photos that will be projected in real-time on the screen during the performance.

Product launch for VIP clients

Every business gathers its most loyal audience around it. Here, you have the opportunity to share with them unique content that will increase their sense of loyalty toward your business. For example, if you are about to launch a new product, send it to the same exclusive group message telling them they were carefully chosen to be the first to try out the product, and only later on, send it to the rest of your clients.

In the end, no matter what business you have, using marketing SMS text messages will generate great value for you, so all you have left to do is start using them, wisely of course.