How to
By -

Guest Post

According to CIO Magazine, the number of wireless messaging service subscriptions has topped 320 million in the United States. Ironically, that’s just about as many subscribers as there are people in the country. Of course, young children may not text, but many adult consumers have multiple subscriptions for different mobile devices. Ignoring this potential market is bound to cost customers. On the other hand, exploiting this resource can help increase revenue quickly.

Besides the great number of U.S. consumers who use text messaging, there are other reasons why marketing with text is so powerful. For example, a lot of consumers have email accounts. However, CIO magazine also reports that text messages are generally read within minutes of getting them, but it takes an average of 48 hours for people to read their emails. To begin exploring how mobile marketing can help increase your company’s sales, consider these five tips.

1. Try Mobile Coupons

According to Peter Conti, a marketing consulting firm executive, advertisers enjoy a mobile coupon redemption rate that is ten times higher than they do with old-fashioned paper coupons. Electronically delivered coupons are also easy to switch, test and target to specific consumers. The same may not be said for coupons that are sent out by mail or delivered inside of a newspaper.

2. Focus on Building a List

Just as with email marketing, text marketing campaigns require a list of people who have indicated an interest. Businesses can use trade shows, advertisements in other kinds of media, social marketing, and even store space to instruct customers in the advantages of signing up for special offers and of course, instructions on how to do so.

3. Make Your Website Mobile Friendly

If you intend to attract mobile phone users, you need to make certain that your website and your website and marketing platform work well on smaller devices. If your website doesn’t look good or function right on phones, you either need to get a responsive website design or have mobile users redirected to a special mobile site or a mobile app. In fact, mobile apps provide a very cost-effective way to distribute promotions.

4. Try Targeting New Device Owners

With the holidays approaching, lots of people are bound to find new phones under the tree or in their stockings. The number of smartphone owners will shoot to 2 billion by 2016. You might try offering special promotions for new sign ups to your mobile lists right after the holidays. It’s particularly effective to give these offers a sense of urgency by limiting the time that consumers have to enjoy them.

5. Plan Your Text Campaign Wisely

Just as with any other kinds of marketing, text marketing needs to offer value. Otherwise, you will risk losing your hard-earned subscribers. In some cases, you might even lose a customer. In some cases, you might even lose a customer. You might consider using past consumer behavior as a way to target messages to recipients. For example, a department store is more likely to enjoy better success by offering specials on baby clothes to customers who have recently purchased strollers or started a baby gift registry than with those who have purchased a suit for a teenaged boy.

 

About the Author:

Sophorn Chhay is a marketer specialized in helping businesses and organizations communicate effectively with their customers or members through SMS and marketing automation. Connect with Sophorn on Linkedin.