SMS marketing has a weird reputation.

On one hand, there are statistics that show how amazingly effective it can be. On the other hand, marketers are worried about rubbing their customers the wrong way.

But you can achieve success with SMS marketing without spamming your customers and alienating them in the process. Let’s take a look.

Don’t people hate getting SMS messages from brands?

The surprising answer is they don’t. According to MarketingProfs.com, 75% of consumers are comfortable receiving SMS messages from brands as long as they opt-in.

The opt-in is the key part there. And it’s also the reason why customers who are receiving SMS messages enjoy them. In fact, 64% of consumers think businesses should contact them via text messages more often, according to TextBetter.

If you’re interested in more stats that show why you should be investing in SMS marketing, MobileMonkey has a fantastic article with over 60 SMS marketing stats.

SMS marketing 101

Let’s look at some basic use cases for SMS marketing that customers love. These use cases also deliver measurable results to your business.

Getting the opt-in

The first important thing you need is to get your customers to opt-in. The key is to clearly articulate the tangible value customers will get out of the exchange. This could include notifying them about deals, a welcome coupon after opt-in, their order status, or news in the store closest to their location (e.g. available curbside pickup slots).

Keep a finger on the pulse of your customers

SMS messages have much higher average open rates than emails (98% vs 20%). If you want a clearer idea of how satisfied your customers are with the experience, send an NPS survey via SMS. You can even follow it up with a request for a review if the score was good or follow up to improve the experience.

Promotions and Loyalty Campaigns

Reward your customers with promotions, deals, early access, or other bonuses via an SMS message. Your chances of them taking action based on an SMS are 7-10 times higher than when you send an email. While you’re at it, use predictions to identify customers who are likely to churn and use a well timed SMS message to retain them.

Save Abandoned Shopping Carts

If you’re running an abandoned cart campaign via email, it’s likely one of your better performing ones. If the customer hasn’t read the email, you can give that campaign another chance to succeed with an SMS message.

Provide an Easy Way Out

To ensure the long term success of your SMS strategy it’s critical to give your customers an easy way to opt-out. You don’t want to be seen as a brand that spams customers. Provide them an easy option of replying “stop” to any message and opt-out of receiving more messages. Who knows, maybe after they get a bit of space they will opt back in.

SMS marketing with Exponea

With Exponea, it’s easy to add SMS as a new channel to your existing campaigns. This will allow you to personalize the messages with the breadth of all customer data you already have in the platform. You will also exercise full control over the length of the messages thanks to message previews.

Once you connect geo‑location data with customer preferences, you can target them with personalized offers that not only suit their specific taste, but are also relevant to their location (e.g. discounts in their favorite nearby brick‑and‑mortar store).

Customers are 7-10 times more likely to interact with an SMS compared to email. Take advantage of that and delight them with a loyalty reward. Or find out how satisfied the customers are thanks to 2-way messaging. Whatever you want to communicate, SMS ensures you get the message across.

A simple SMS message can drive a customer toward a richer experience on your website or in your app. Use SMS strategically to drive customers to richer channels and amaze them with a magical experience.

Are you intrigued but not yet an Exponea customer? Don’t worry, it’s easy to get started. The first step is to watch our short demo video to get a better understanding of our Customer Data and Experience Platform.

The CDXP will help your business take previously siloed customer data and turn it into marketing automation campaigns that drive revenue. It allows your company to deliver magical customer experiences through a single solution.

Don’t delay. Your customers are waiting to hear from you.