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Stand out with SMS
We’ve looked at some case studies and reports to find out just how useful SMS marketing can be for your business.
SMS marketing allows you to send out messages to a huge number of contacts at one time, to inform them about upcoming events, spread the word of recent news, promote discounts and offers and even conduct surveys. Its versatility allows you to find out what your customers want and then send it to them accordingly.
Opting in to an SMS campaign is just the beginning of the blossoming relationship between business and consumer. It is their way of letting you know they are interested in what you have to say and want to keep updated so they never miss out.
A Success Story
Pizza Hut UK successfully ran an SMS campaign which ensured people were never kept in the dark about what was going on around the corner. The restaurant would notify customers when they were in a half-mile radius of a Pizza Hut store and then sent them deals. The campaign, which lasted 15-months, bought a 142% rise of sales efficiency to the table than other marketing channels.
SMS marketing has proven to boost company sales and even consumers themselves are aware of their revitalised spending habits. According to a Millward Brown Digital 2013 report based on more than 1,500 consumers in 8 countries, 59% of respondents prefer SMS and push campaigns over other forms of mobile marketing, including video advertising, banner or standard display ads, and email. In 2013, 63% of respondents stated they had agreed to receive SMS messages from businesses, compared to 57% last year and 47% in 2011.
The study showed that consumers plan to increase their current use of the mobile phone. They said that after reading an SMS or push message, respondents were more likely to be pro-active; 22% redeemed the deal featured in the message; 14% shared the message with their friends and family and 13% made a purchase. More than 54% made a successful purchase on their mobile phone in the last 12-months.
How's It Happening?
In terms of which type of medium they were most likely to engage with, 81% chose TV commercials, 76% opted for SMS’ offering coupons whilst 73% decided email marketing was most effective. Of course, SMS marketing avoids the costly price tag of TV commercials.
When looking into some more specific case studies, it is clear to see the usefulness of SMS marketing in terms of increasing revenue, especially in Seattle Sun Tan’s instance. With the use of a short code, the 35-location tanning salon, located in Washington, set up a popular SMS campaign. They offered a ‘‘$20 off your next purchase‘’ in their first message to encourage sales for higher beauty packages. Expiration dates prompted customers to use their voucher quickly and they used their existing email database of 80,000+ customers to advertise the campaign launch.
The company built a mobile database of 4,750 customers during the first month of their SMS campaign. With 57% of recipients redeeming the text message offer, their sales rocketed sky high with $196k of new revenue during this time. Interestingly, those that redeemed the offer went on to spend 500% more than the customers that didn’t.
Clearly, SMS marketing is on the up. Potential campaigners – take note. There are many, many ways that SMS can help you get to where you want by relationship building and effective advertising. The stats speak for themselves.