Marketing direct to consumers’ phones has long been viewed as a Pot of Gold for businesses. Both large and small companies can now have an instant connection with their customers, offering them the right message at the right time increases brand loyalty and also greatly impacts sales.

SMS Market Snapshot

• In Q4 2011, 100.9million smartphones were shipped
• One-third of Irish homes are mobile only (with no fixed landline), 15% of UK homes are mobile only
• 3billion text messages are sent in Ireland annually, 129billion text messages are sent annually in the UK
• 95% of messages are read within five minutes of being received with a response rate of 5- 25%

^{* figures from both ComReg (IE) and Ofcom (UK) figures 2011}

Why Use SMS?

Perhaps the most obvious advantage to companies adopting SMS messaging strategies is that SMS can be implemented into every stage of the customer lifecycle. At every point in the process, contact can be made with the customer to tailor to their needs and help them should they need it. With a single low- cost messaging campaign likely to get at least a 5% response, text messaging is increasingly the way forward for communication.

Reach:

Reach is defined as the likelihood of gaining someone’s attention. With everyone in your target market bombarded daily with competitors’ offers, how do you make sure that its your company, your brand that reaches them at the right time to encourage them to invest in you?

Adding the additional channel of mobile messaging as part of your marketing and communications strategy can prove useful. SMS messaging puts you in your customers hand and by providing you with their number its already an indication that theyedd like to know more- all you have to do is use the opportunity to rein them in. SMS messaging allows you to personalise each message with various details specific to the customer, making them feel less “automated” and more personal. This in turn is more likely to result in a response than a robotic, generic text received.

Reach can sometimes be difficult to measure, the number of people who actually read and think about your marketing message is always inaccurate at best, however when sending an SMS message our system can provide full and real- time information to tell you when the message was sent, if it was received, if it was read and then track the responses to allow you to alter your campaigns as needed.

example: After gathering and cleaning your data for new customers you wish to attract, you can quickly send a text message to them offering a discount off their first purchase. The message can be tracked and measured, the promotional code can then be measured to calculate the acquisition rate. Real-time feedback allows you to test response rates, and constantly tweak to get the best results.

Grow:

Once you have garnered some attention and acquired some new customers, an alternative SMS messaging campaign can then be implemented to strengthen the connection. A Messaging is also increasingly used as a powerful promotional medium, ideal for turning once-off purchasers into long-time, loyal customers.

Text messaging in this phase of the lifecycle can be used to remind or “nudge” the customer of your offers, a subtle reminder of why they chose to trade with you. The message can include personalised promotional offers, or simply update information on the a product range, or use it to prompt customers to check back in with your website to get the latest (this last idea can be tracked and measured to provide statistics to feed into your online marketing campaign.)

Manage:

You’ve tested and retested your messaging campaigns and sales are starting to hopefully appear in your pipeline. How now do you use messaging to manage those customers?

If we take one specific area like debt collection- managing and keeping control of customers debt is crucial. In this role, messaging can be used to notify of account arrears, remind the customer a payment is due or inform them of how to make their next payment easier. A simple solution, yet it ensures customers are aware of their account status, and it ensures the risk of a late payment is reduced and tackled pro-actively instead of reacting harshly prior to the default on payment.

Retain:

So now you have your growing customer base all organised and under control, how do you go about keeping them active and purchasing from you?

Text messaging can be used in this phase somewhat similar to the Growth phase.. subtle reminders of your offers, nudges to use you again or tailor the message offer to provide them with an offer that’s inline with their previous purchases with you.

example: Messages can be sent as a reminder their account is up for renewal, offer a discount code via text to prompt the customer to renew and that they can do it immediately, over the phone with no hassle. Our system allows the response to notify an agent in your call centre to establish a call-back to the customer to finish payment in their own time.

So, at a quick glance text messaging is a highly useful and profitable tool in your marketing and sales arsenal. Does your company use some of the strategies mentioned? Or are there other ways you implement the messaging into your customer lifecycle stages?

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