With 75% of customers indicating they want to receive text messages from brands by 2022, small business SMS marketing makes it easy for you to reach and connect with your customers.

Mass text messaging services, such as SMS, are an effective way to build trust and let customers know you appreciate their patronage.

Main benefits of SMS marketing

You’ve come this far and it’s time to discuss the benefits of SMS for your growing business:

1. Reach a Wider Audience: SMS marketing allows businesses to reach a large number of people quickly, ensuring messages are seen and read by their intended audience.
2. High ROI: SMS marketing is one of the most profitable marketing strategies, with a high return on investment.
3. Easy to personalize – SMS marketing makes it easy to personalize and personalize messages, ensuring they are tailored to the target audience.
4. Low Cost – Compared to other marketing channels, SMS marketing is relatively low cost, making it accessible to businesses of all sizes.
5. High open rate: SMS messages have one of the highest open rates of all marketing channels, with an average open rate of 98%.
6. Fast delivery: SMS messages are delivered quickly, ensuring recipients receive the message within seconds of sending it.
7. Easy to track – Businesses can easily track the performance of their SMS campaigns, allowing them to measure success and adjust their strategy accordingly.

How can a text messaging service help your small business grow?

Text messaging services can help small businesses grow in a number of ways. These are some of the most prominent:

Connect with customers:

Text messaging services provide a direct line of communication between businesses and their customers. This can help build customer relationships and allow companies to provide personalized customer service.

Increase visibility:

Text messaging services allow businesses to send promotional messages to their target audience, increasing their visibility and helping drive more sales and leads.

Automate communications:

Text messaging services can be used to automate customer communications and reduce the amount of time and effort required to manage customer interactions.

Collect Feedback:

Text messaging services can be used to collect customer feedback, allowing businesses to better understand their customers and tailor their services accordingly.

Improve the eficiency:

Text messaging services can be used to streamline processes such as appointment reminders and order confirmations, helping to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

Choosing an SMS marketing software: what to pay attention to?

SMS marketing is much more than sending messages to a large audience. A good omnichannel marketing platform should offer features to make your campaigns highly effective.

Here are some things to put on your checklist when looking for a good SMS marketing platform:

bulk SMS

Bulk SMS is the act of sending a message to a large number of people at once and is the most sought after feature in SMS marketing.

two-way messaging

Can your customers reach you conveniently? Or do they have to go through an obstacle? With two-way messaging, you can resolve disputes and answer questions in one place.

Automation

Schedule posts, set autoresponders, and confirm subscriptions without the human touch.

integrations

Can your SMS service provider integrate with other related platforms?

SMS Marketing Pricing

Here are some popular SMS platforms and their prices:

GBP prices

BSG gives you a demo mode to get familiar with their platform and then a trial mode to run simulated campaigns and test delivery before rolling out your actual campaign. SMS messages are priced at $0.01 per SMS

EZ Text Message Pricing

EZTexting has four pricing options and you get 200 credits each month, but you can purchase additional credits at $0.04/credit. They also offer a free trial with 20 message credits.

Simple Text Message Pricing

SimpleTexting offers a two week free trial with 50 outgoing text messages. Your monthly payment is then based on the number of text messages you can send.

Prices by text message

They offer 50 test SMS and a custom keyword. The prices of their premium plans are based on the number of text messages and the number of keywords.

SMS marketing setup step by step

Choose a text messaging platform

The first step in setting up an SMS marketing program is selecting a text messaging platform that meets your needs. Consider factors such as the number of messages you will send, the type of messages you will send, and the cost associated with the platform.

Decide your target audience

Before launching an SMS marketing campaign, decide your target audience. Who are you trying to reach and how will your message be tailored to them? Consider factors such as age, gender, interests, location, and demographics.

Create a list of mobile phone numbers

Once you’ve chosen a text messaging platform and identified your target audience, you’ll need to create a list of mobile phone numbers to send messages to. You can obtain mobile phone numbers from a variety of sources, such as customers who have opted in to receive messages or from known customer databases.

Write compelling messaging content

Writing compelling message content is key to having a successful SMS marketing program. Think about the message you are trying to convey and make sure it is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

Test and launch your campaign

Before launching your SMS campaign, it’s important to test it to make sure it works as expected. Once you’re happy with the results, launch your campaign and start sending messages.

Monitor your results

Once your campaign is active, it is important to monitor the results. Track metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to gain insight into your campaign’s performance. Make adjustments to the content of your messages as needed.

SMS Marketing: Tips for writing the best texts

• Keep it short and sweet. SMS messages should be short, to the point and to the point. Avoid using too many words, as this can make the message difficult to read.
• Personalize your message. Using personalized messages can help increase the response rate to your SMS campaigns. Use the recipient’s name or other personalized details to make the message more appealing.
• Add a call to action. Every SMS message should have a clear call to action. Whether it’s a link to a website, an offer code, or a reply to the message, make sure the message is actionable.
• Include an opt-out. It is important to give recipients the option to opt out of receiving your messages. This will help your messages comply with SMS marketing guidelines.
• Make the message relevant. Make sure the content of your message is relevant to the recipient. Focus on adding value and do not send overly promotional messages.
• Test your messages. Before you send your messages, test them to make sure they look and read correctly. This will help ensure that your message is clear and effective.

Need help getting started?

You can get started with BSG today. We offer your business a complete set of features to choose from with standby support available to answer your questions and give you peace of mind.