A couple of years ago SMS was the most popular medium to communicate. Back then call charges were high. Gradually things changed, online marketing- email marketing caught the pace. But, SMS marketing hasn’t lost its charm; it is still effective and useful. It is believed that on average people check their phones around 80 times a day. No wonder why the open rate for SMS marketing is 82%. Thus, there is no doubt that it is the best way to stay connected to consumers.
Today, brands have many mediums or platforms to connect with customers. People make changes to their social media profiles. But people don’t change their phone numbers frequently thus, to stay in touch with a consumer for a long period of time and develop a connect with the brand, SMS marketing is the best choice.
Now, that we have discussed how SMS marketing has stood the test of times, let’s look at the trends for 2019:
1. Triggered messages:
You can send pre-defined triggered messages to your consumers. In fact, the use of such messages will increase this year. For example, You’ve shopped for some clothes at a shop, you will immediately get an SMS about the bill number, total bill amount and the loyalty points you have gathered.
This is a triggered message exclusively meant for you as per your purchase. This develops a direct connection with the customer.
2. Links in text messages:
Technology facilitates marketing in a big way. We can add links to text messages that can land on a website, blog or a video. All this can lead to a world of information for the consumers.
Marketers can increase the traffic to their website and direct consumers to the landing page through SMSs. Sales can surely boost and this trend is going to be popular among marketers this year.
3. Lead generation:
Text messages until now have been used for promotional purposes. But, in 2019 they are going to be used extensively for lead generation activities. Younger people will choose SMSs over other types of communication. Marketers who want to generate leads through texting or SMS have to provide value to consumers every time they communicate with their customers. They should get relevant messages through the buying cycle.
Millennials dislike being bombarded with marketing messages that are irrelevant to them at any point of time. Thus, now marketers will develop an off-phone relationship with customers before they shift the relationship to the text mode.
Let’s suppose you had dinner on your birthday at a restaurant. You develop a connect with the place and love dining there. The restaurant staff takes your feedback about your experience and requests for your details. They also ask for your phone number, which can be used for texting you about offers, wish you on your birthday or for many more purposes. So, before you receive a message from the restaurant on your mobile, you’ve already developed a connection with the customer.
4. Personalized message:
Text messages need to be focused on prospective audiences and develop a bond with them. Just sending random messages to the entire list of customers won’t work out. Most people ignore messages sent to them since they are irrelevant as per their needs and don’t add value to their lives.
This year marketers will take efforts to send the right kind of messages to their audiences. Marketers will have to develop a relationship with consumers by sending relevant messages and connecting with them on special occasions. The data available to them need to be used wisely.
5. Offline experiences:
As people are bombarded with information by being online, they crave for offline experiences. In fact, online many messages are competing for your attention; social media platforms, emails, notifications from various websites, apps, and much more.
The attention span of the consumer is limited. Online communication is for a short period and the consumer is distracted. While offline communication leads to a much better connection. The Internet allows several devices to connect and information is shared across many devices. Our consumer is submerged in this networked world. Thus, SMS marketing could be the right choice in 2019. This will give a native feeling to your audiences.
6. TCPA consent:
TCPA stands for Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It is an act that protects people from being harassed with random and irrelevant activities through phone calls and SMSs. Brands cannot text consumers without their consent. Isn’t it annoying to receive messages from companies who only push their products/services without considering the privacy of consumers?
This year marketers will follow the TCPA guidelines and send SMS updates only to people who have approved or subscribed to the SMS updates.
7. Connecting with other platforms:
SMS in isolation won’t be effective. It has to blend with other marketing channels to result in higher customer engagement. SMS marketing can be integrated with email marketing, social media, direct marketing, etc.
Only then will it be effective. For example, You’ve just ordered your dinner online through an app, a message is triggered. You receive an SMS confirming the order and it will mention the name of the person who will deliver your food, his phone number, what you’ve ordered and the order number.
You will also receive an email about your order. This is how you will be connected to the brand on different platforms. Later, you will be asked for the feedback. These SMSs will contain the URL to the website and the social media page. The email too will have social media handles and when you click on them you will reach the brand’s social media page. Integration of various marketing channels will be the future of marketing.
SMS marketing is here to stay and let’s make the best use of it. Get in touch with the Juvlon team to know more about the SMS marketing choices for your company. Keep reading our posts to know more from the world of SMS and email marketing.