Using SMS messaging for your business


SMS marketing is a great tool for companies, both small and big, to utilise, says Saoirse Blaney, business development executive at Sendmode. It's quick, easy, and effective, with high open rates and high conversions –it's a tool companies cannot afford to ignore.

Choosing the most effective way to communicate to your target audience is essential. We know that SMS is the quickest way to market a business, however, many still think that bulk SMS services.

Businesses worry that SMS marketing may seem intrusive, and so, they are sceptical about using it as a marketing tool. This is not true. You must get permission from your customers before you text them, and when you do, the message is both well received and acted upon.

We are inundated with messages from all different forms of communication, including email, messaging apps, and social media. The benefits of text messaging are hard to ignore, and many businesses are now choosing this simple and effective way to communicate.

SMS messaging is effective, as it is immediate and has the potential to reach customers on their personal communication devices. It’s extremely affordable when compared to traditional advertising channels.
Web text is used by marketers and businesses to run a wide range of marketing campaigns for customer retention and acquisition through personalised birthday greetings, appointment reminders, payment confirmations, as well as promoting sales and special offers; and communicating with employees.

Financial institutions, retail outlets, service companies, and the hospitality industry are using SMS to great effect to increase awareness around their brands and offer added-value service to their customers. SMS is used for customer acquisition, as well as driving direct sales.

Below are five innovative ideas on how you could best utilise SMS to suit your business needs.

1. Using SMS to aid email marketing

Many companies are integrating SMS marketing into their email campaigns. With SMS open rates at 98% within the first three minutes of delivery, they have realised the importance of boosting email open rates, and, ultimately, conversion rates, by incorporating web text.

URLs promote website traffic and encourage subscriptions. Total customer views are improved, and companies can track customer activity back to SMS. These companies are driven by short codes and keywords and need to be clear and beneficial to the recipient. Companies need to think of new ideas and keep up with trends to keep their customer’s engaged.

2. Two-factor authentication

There are many ways two-factor authentication (2FA) can improve your application security. We’ve seen it become a crucial verification step for internet banking and e-commerce. Modern two-factor authentication takes advantage of push technology found on smartphones to allow users to authenticate with the tap of a finger.

By requiring a second factor of authentication after the password, two-factor can prevent attackers from accessing your systems, with passwords captured through the use of phishing or other similar scams.

3. Communicate with Employees

The main focus of web text is as a way to target customers. However, what a lot of companies tend to forget is that text messaging is also a great tool to use for easy communication with employees.

4. SMS Polling

Asking your customers for feedback encourages them to participate while giving you valuable feedback. It is an effective method of yielding results and efficient way of opening this two-way communication. It is also an inexpensive method of getting customers to engage with your brand.

5. Appointment Reminders

Take advantage of web text by sending reminders to clients. This will reduce your businesses no-show rates, saving you time and money that could be used elsewhere. With high open rates, customer engagement, and high conversion rate, SMS messaging is a tool that businesses simply cannot ignore.
Ref: https://www.mediaupdate.co.za/marketing/135767/using-sms-messaging-for-your-business


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