Do you know that over 90% of customers want to receive SMS from businesses? This stat shows how important it is to start investing in SMS marketing strategies as one of the most effective means of boosting sales.
SMS has a great conversation rate of around 30%, which makes it a unique marketing channel, especially for small and medium businesses.
Of course, reaching success in SMS marketing needs a strong plan. That’s why we’ve tried to gather 6 best SMS marketing strategies that help you boost your sales.
#1 Define SMART Goals for Your SMS Campaign
The first step of any successful marketing campaign is setting SMART goals and SMS campaigns are no exception.
Here is what SMART means in an effective SMS marketing strategy:
Specific
You need to clearly define what you want from your SMS campaign. In fact, you’ve to write down what exactly you want to achieve in detail.
For example, instead of "Increase sales", you have to define something like "Increase sales of the product by 20% in the next quarter."
Measurable
Your goal should be measurable, which means you need some metrics like:
- Click-through rates
- Conversion rates
- Revenue growth
These metrics determine the performance of your SMS marketing campaign. If you define something solely based on quality, you’ll face problems measuring your performance. So quantify your goals.
Achievable
Your goals should be realistic, which means you can achieve them despite all the challenges. Remember that overambitious targets will lead to financial losses and disappointment.
For example, if you define an unrealistic goal like “1000 subscribers a day,” you’ll highly likely fail.
Relevant
Your goals must align with your business objectives. For example, if you want to increase your online sales on your website, your SMS campaign goal should be driving traffic to your site.
Time-bond
A deadline is a must for each goal. Without setting a strict deadline, you can’t measure your performance and compare it with your competitors. For example, achieving a 20% sales increase within three months is what you need to define.
Last but not least, you have to note that without setting goals, you can’t run a successful SMS marketing campaign. So don’t worry if you spend time on this step because it will impact all of your efforts in the future.
#2 Laser-Target Your Audience When Creating SMSs
One of the advantages of SMS marketing is the ability to reach a highly targeted audience. It’s recommended to segment your audience according to various characteristics like:
Demographic Segmentation
Demographic characteristics like age, gender, location, and income level can significantly impact people’s choices when it comes to shopping.
So you have to pay attention to these factors to be able to target the most relevant groups to get maximum results. Demographic segmentation is a great bulk sms marketing strategy that allows you to create SMSs that resonate with specific groups.
Behavioral Segmentation
It’s also good to analyze your customers' behavior in terms of purchase history, browsing patterns, and engagement levels. This helps you send personalized messages that are most likely to encourage them to engage.
Customer Preferences
The preferences of your customers might be different. So you have to if they prefer promotional offers or if they’re interested in updates or news. This way, you can target them in an efficient way.
So try to use customer data and analytics to create detailed buyer personas. This is one of the best SMS marketing strategies that helps you create messages that speak directly to the needs of your audience.
#3 Integrate Your SMS Campaign into Your WordPress Site
By integrating your SMS campaign strategy into your e-commerce website’s goals, you can get the maximum traffic possible and boost your sales.
Here are some tips to achieve this integration:
Use WordPress SMS Plugins
There are various plugins that help you integrate SMS marketing strategies with your WordPress site.
For example, WP SMS offers lots of add-ons to help you send SMS alerts, notifications, and marketing messages directly from your WordPress dashboard.
Capture Leads to Increase SMS Recipients
Put contact forms and opt-in forms on your website and ask users to enter their phone numbers. This way, you can build your SMS subscriber list. Ensure that your forms are user-friendly and comply with data protection regulations.
Sync Your SMS Marketing Strategy with CRM
Integrate your SMS campaign with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This helps you manage and analyze customer data better. As a result, you can make sure your messages are targeted and personalized.
Track the Traffic Derived from SMS Campaigns
Use tracking tools to monitor the performance of your SMS campaigns, especially the traffic coming from the campaign to your website.
#4 Schedule & Automate Your SMSs
Scheduling & Automation are powerful tools in all marketing channels, and SMS marketing is no exception. Scheduling helps you send messages at the best time to get maximum exposure and automation offers the ability to send messages effortlessly.
Scheduling and automation increase the consistency and efficiency of your marketing efforts. These SMS marketing strategies for bulk SMS save time and also ensure that your messages are timely and relevant.
Here are some tips in this regard:
Automate Welcome Messages
You have to automate messages to welcome new subscribers. Remember that a warm welcome message increases your intimacy with your customers.
Birthday & Anniversary Messages
Special occasions are also great for automated messages. For example, birthday and anniversary messages make your customers feel appreciated. It’s good to offer a discount or special offer on these occasions to make them loyal customers.
Follow-Up Messages
You have to schedule follow-up messages after a purchase to thank customers and ask for feedback. This shows that they’re important to you and you’re committed to providing the best service.
#5 Personalize Your Messages
One simple but important rule in SMS marketing is that generic messages are often ignored. This is what many businesses do in a bulk SMS marketing strategy.
You have to create personalized messages so that your audience feels intimate and engages with you.
Here are some tips in this regard:
Use the Recipient's Name
When you use your recipient's name in the message, they’ll get a sense of familiarity. For example, "Hi John, check out our latest offers!" is a personalized message and leads to better results than "Hi, check out our latest offers!"
Create Compelling Messages
Send messages that include the interests of your customers. For example, if a customer has shown interest in a particular product, you’ve to send them updates or promotions related to that product. This makes your messages more interesting and increases the conversion rate.
Enable Two-Way Messaging
This is a great way to increase the engagement rate of your SMS marketing campaigns. Using a Two-Way messaging tool, you can allow your subscribers to send back messages to you. This way, they feel that they’re important to you and their opinions play a role in your business.
Include a Clear & Nice Call to Action (CTA)
Remember that you have to ask nicely! Guide your customers on what to do next. For example, visiting your website, redeeming a coupon, or making a purchase, can be your CTA. This is one of the most important parts of your SMS marketing strategy so spend enough time to create a suitable CTA.
#6 Analyze & Optimize Your SMS Marketing Campaign
If you want to achieve long-term success, you need to regularly track and optimize your SMS marketing campaign.
Here are some tips for performing an effective tracking and optimizing process:
Use Analytics Tools
You need analytics tools to track key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and unsubscribe rates. Using tools like Klaviyo, SlickText, and Omnisend, you can get insights into the effectiveness of your messages and campaigns.
A/B Testing
A/B testing is a great way to compare different versions of your messages. You can choose test variables such as message content, timing, and call-to-action. After using both versions of a test item, you can determine what resonates best with your audience.
Feedback and Surveys
You can collect feedback from your customers through surveys and polls. Feedback is the best way to refine your messaging strategy.
Adjust Strategies
After analyzing your performance, you can optimize your strategies to get the best result. You can recognize your weaknesses through your analysis and try to remove them to reach a higher ROI.
Conclusion
SMS marketing is one of the most effective channels to boost sales. Of course, succeeding in SMS marketing is not that easy. If you use smart SMS marketing strategies for bulk messages, you’ll be able to generate more leads and convert them into loyal customers. Try to use the strategies we offer in this article to get the best result in your SMS campaigns.
FAQs
What are the 6 P's of marketing to grow your business?
The 6 P's of marketing are:
- Product
- Price
- Place
- Promotion
- People
- Process
These are essential elements in creating a comprehensive marketing strategy.
How can SMS marketing help to grow a business?
SMS is a direct, immediate communication means with customers. Therefore, it offers benefits like high open rates, enhancing customer engagement, and driving sales through targeted promotions.
How to make SMS marketing effective?
To make SMS marketing effective, you can follow the strategies below:
- Define SMART goals.
- Target your audience precisely.
- Personalize your messages.
- Schedule and automate your SMS campaigns.
- Integrate SMS with your website and CRM.
- Track and optimize your campaigns regularly.