There are a wide variety of falsities circulating the internet that paint SMS marketing in a bad light. Here we have listed some of them and will attempt to explain the reality behind the myth.
1. SMS marketing is for young people: Although SMS started off as a method of communication used mainly by young people, its potential was soon uncovered by the older generation. Nowadays, texting is used regularly by participants of all ages due to having such benefits as being cheap, simple to use and having the ability for instant delivery.
2. SMS marketing only works for big businesses: SMS marketing can work well for businesses of any size so long as you have a database of customers to market to. SMS is also a great marketing tool to use since it is cheap to use, costs nothing to create, and delivers your messages instantly – perfect for small businesses with a limited marketing budget!
3. SMS marketing is spam: Because SMS marketing is an opt-in service, messages are only sent to those who actively agree to receive them. Anyone who sends messages without having prior consent from the receiver is breaking the law. For this reason, unlike other forms of marketing such as email marketing and ‘cold calling’, SMS marketing cannot be considered as spam. If marketing messages do begin to irritate the recipient there is always the ‘opt out’ option which usually involves texting a keyword such as ‘STOP’ to a given short code to terminate the agreement. After this has been done the recipient will no longer receive any marketing messages from that number.
4. SMS marketing is cold and detached: It can be argued that the true tone and intention of a message cannot be conveyed through written word. However, if this were always the case then other forms of marketing such as poster advertisements, email marketing and leafleting would also be labelled this way and wouldn’t generate the impressive profits that they do.
There are also a variety of ways to make SMS marketing more personal such as ensuring that customers are targeted with messages containing information that is relevant to them such as addressing a loyal customer personally in text messages, sending out personalised messages on birthdays, and exclusive vouchers on special occasions to the recipient.
Finally, because text messages are delivered directly to the recipient’s mobile phone, this instantly makes them a much more personalised form of communication than communicating through devices such as a desktop computer or landline for other marketing methods.
5. SMS marketing can only be used by select businesses: Just as SMS marketing can be used by businesses of any size, it can also be used by any type of business. SMS marketing has clear benefits that can be used by any company such as sending customers information, alerts, and special offers. From travel agents,health service providers, nightclubs, retail stores, caterers and education services, SMS marketing has clear advantages for any user.
For more information on using SMS marketing for your business please call one of our Customer Service team on 08451 221 302.