Mistakes to Avoid In SMS Marketing

 

Sending short messages has become very common in today's world and it is the most popular form of communication. It is cheap, reliable, and easy for customers, and very lucrative for businesses. SMS is among the top three methods of communication that people engage with today alongside email and voice. Let us now look at the mistakes most people have when it comes to SMS marketing and how you can avoid them in the future.

•  Texting without people's consent.

Sending promotional messages without permission from the other party is becoming a common trend in many businesses today. The problem is that most people do not like to receive promotional SMS if they are not aware of where it came from. People will end up blocking your number which is a waste of time and money not forgetting the serious damage it will do to the loyalty of your customers. To avoid losing customers and money, you should always use opt-in messages. Here customers will either consent to receive the promotional messages or not. It is better than just sending nagging messages to everyone.

• Sending lengthy messages.

The number one reason why people use SMS is to send short messages. Never expect the long body message that worked in your email campaign to do the same when it comes to SMS campaigns. The whole point here is to have a promotional message that is short and straight to the point. For your SMS marketing to work well, you need to make them short and always be sensitive to time. Make sure that you avoid using weird formats, numbers, and links. Remember that the main goal of your message is that it should have the urgency feeling embedded in it.

• Wrong timing.

When it comes to SMS marketing, the most impact can be felt when your call to action is followed or clicked immediately. You never want your customers to ignore the message just because you sent them at the wrong time when it is not effective to the audience. You do not expect people to read your message at 2 A.M. Most people will just ignore them. Make sure that you have a clear knowledge of the time zone of your customers before starting the whole process. Also, make sure to send short messages which customers can respond to quickly. People will always get back to you if your message is short and conveys urgency. Do not forget to include a call to action (CTA).

• Sending a lot of messages.

Short messages have a high conversion rate of up to 90%. With that in mind, you might be tempted to start sending many short messages considering the high chances of conversion. When it comes to SMS marketing, that can be the biggest mistake you can ever make. Just because people can read short messages with ease, many will get bored and irritated when the messages become too many. The key point here is relevance. Only send promotional messages when you are sure that your recipients will be interested in the offer and act quickly. Start with one or two short messages per week and monitor the results.

• Not personalizing your messages.

The same way you personalize your emails, you should also do the same with SMS marketing. This may include addressing your audience with their first name or getting to know their interests and send the message addressing them. You can know what your customers want by checking previous messages to which they responded or by checking your analytics section. When you know what your customers want, you can easily draft your message targeting those interests and actions. Customers always love it when you know what they want.