Brian Mikes — October 28, 2016 Follow @betwextI see small business owners making the same mistakes over and over again when trying to send bulk SMS messages to their customers.
These mistakes are obviously hurting their ability to connect with customers and prospects! Yet, they keep making these mistakes over and over again.
Let me be blunt – If you’re making these mistakes it’s costing you money – lots of money.
Today, I’m going to expose these mistakes to the world… and show you exactly how to fix these mistakes.
Before long, you’ll be able to send bulk SMS messages to your prospects and customers, and get a great response!
Let’s start with the major mistakes. Then, I’ll share with you how to use bulk SMS messages to skyrocket your business!
Five Major Mistakes Owners Make When Trying to Send Bulk SMS Messages
Let’s jump in with both feet. Here are the five big mistakes owners make over and over again.
Mistake #1 – Not using bulk SMS messages for marketing.
Mistake #2 – Not using a professional SMS texting platform to send text messages
Mistake #3 – Not sending Interesting bulk SMS messages
Mistake #4 – Not including a call to action in EVERY SMS message
Mistake #5 – Not giving Customers and Prospects a reason to be on your sms list.
I’m not messing around here. I’m going to jump into each of these mistakes. I’ll show you what mistakes other business owners are making… then share how to fix it.
Mistake #1 – Not using bulk SMS messages for marketing.
I’m a marketing guy… I love marketing. It’s a puzzle for me.
How do you reach out to prospects and customers, and get them to engage with your company? How do you get a prospect to buy for the first time? How do you get a current customer to buy again?
One of the most effective ways I’ve found is with mobile marketing… specifically by sending bulk sms messages to different groups. I’ve found success… but I’m not the only one.
Big companies like Coke, Dunkin Donuts, Wendy’s, and thousands of others are using SMS messages to market… but many small business owners just won’t!
It drives me crazy. I think every small business should be using SMS messages for marketing… but they don’t.
If you’re on the fence at all about marketing with bulk sms messages, let me ask you to do one thing… look around. Seriously, look around and track how many different businesses you see using SMS message marketing.
You’ll start to see them everywhere.
My car wash uses them, my barber… the grocery store I go to… the local bar, the fast food joint up the road. I’d be hard-pressed to find a single industry that doesn’t have at least one business using mobile marketing.
So, get started today!
Let’s look at another mistake business owners are making…
Mistake #2 – Not using a professional SMS texting platform to send text messages.
This is a huge mistake many business owners make when first getting started with sending bulk SMS texts. They want to save a little money… so they start collecting phone numbers from customers and prospects.
Then they start texting from their own phone.
Some may even go out and buy a new phone just to send messages.
What they don’t realize is this is just fraught with danger. Have you ever lost your phone… or had it stolen… what happens then? Someone else has your customer list!
How do you backup your data on the phone?
What happens once you get 1,000 or 3,000 or 5,000 numbers on your list?
Simply plugging phone numbers into a phone doesn’t meet the legal requirements for sending marketing messages over SMS… are you tracking everyone who wants to be unsubscribed?
Here’s a quick story.
I recently interviewed a nightclub owner who was promoting his events with bulk SMS messages. He did it with a phone that had 5,000 customer numbers in it. Every weekend he sat down and started sending messages to his list.
It took him hours and hours to send everyone a quick text.
Then he ran into a real problem.
The cell phone carriers started blocking his messages! They viewed his messages as spam. He kept sending the same message over and over again. What’s worse, he didn’t track unsubscribe requests very closely… so some people were complaining about his messages. It was a mess!
Eventually, he realized he needed a professional bulk sms platform to send messages. It saved him hours of work, and he didn’t have to worry about complaints and tracking customer signups and unsubscribes – the system did it all for him.
Just imagine all the revenue he lost… while trying to save a few bucks!?!
If you’re going to send bulk SMS messages, sign up for a professional bulk SMS platform. I’m partial to my company Betwext.com, we have a great SMS marketing platform… but there are dozens out there.
There are some basic things you want to look for in a bulk SMS service…
- You want a dedicated phone number (don’t share numbers)
- The ability to pick your keywords
- A system that lets people automatically sign-up… and unsubscribe.
- A scheduling system helps if you really want to use the power of mobile marketing
- A system that doesn’t cost an arm or leg!
Just keep a few of those items in mind when you start looking for your own bulk SMS system.
This brings us to mistake #3…
Mistake #3 – Not sending interesting bulk SMS messages.
If there’s one mistake I see every marketer making… especially small businesses… it’s this mistake.
Too many marketers feel like they have to send out a message every chance they get… so they rush to send a bulk SMS.
Or worse still, business owners don’t think about the message they are going to send. They just send any old thing… and frankly it’s boring – useless – and a waste of time.
Suddenly, customers and prospects start to unsubscribe from their sms list, and the business owner doesn’t know why!
The solution is simple… give people what they want, when they want it.
You wouldn’t try to sell a breakfast burrito at dinner time. Most people are not thinking about work on a Sunday morning. And, you’re probably not thinking about your weekend plans on monday!
Remember, when you send bulk sms messages to your customers and prospects, the majority of them will see the message within 10 minutes.
So, send them something timely, interesting, and useful.
How about a car wash discount after a major dust storm… or a pizza coupon on a Tuesday at 5 pm… or a offer for Friday night theatre tickets on Thursday afternoon.
Do you always need to send a discount, special offer, or coupon?
NO – you can keep people informed about cool things with your business…
Here’s an idea… If you run a restaurant, create a secret menu item (like an appetizer or dessert), then let everyone on your mobile marketing list know about it! And ONLY share it with your mobile marketing list.
Tell them they have to use a secret codeword to order it!
Want to take this offer to the next level?
Take a picture of the item, and send it via MMS message… so they not only read about the item, but see it too!
Like I said keep it interesting.
That brings us to the next SMS messaging mistake…
Mistake #4 – Not including a call to action in EVERY SMS message.
This is a huge mistake many business owners make.
A few weeks ago we had a phone call from a paid subscriber. They had been sending bulk SMS messages to customers, but didn’t get a single response.
We were perplexed. We asked them about their product, and their customers. We asked about where the names came from… and how they were added to the list. It was all on the up-and-up!
We had our IT team dig into their account to see if there were delivery issues… nothing was wrong.
We were stumped…
Then we looked at the bulk SMS messages the business owner sent.
What he sent out was the name of the business… that’s it. No phone number, no link, no message. He thought by simply reminding people he was around, he’d get business.
Talk about a boring and useless message… what’s worse, he never included a call to action.
- Never once did they say call us.
- Never once did they say click this link.
- Never once did they ask their customers to take an action.
All of the sudden their poor results made sense.
The business owner was expecting sales to skyrocket just by reminding people he was in business… once he started thinking about the customer… and giving them a reason to take action did he see the powerful results of sending bulk sms messages!
So, don’t forget – always include a call to action when you send bulk sms messages.
Now onto the final mistake…
Mistake #5 – Not giving customers and prospects a reason to be on your SMS list.
This last mistake is a simple one… and it’s all about thinking like your customers.
If you run a business, you are in business to serve your customer’s problems. So use that to your advantage and always be helping your customers.
Give them a reason to join… and more importantly stay on your sms marketing list.
Here’s an example…
One physical trainer I know sends inspirational messages to his customers and prospects daily!
Every so often he includes a recipe for a favorite, tasty, and healthy meal. Then he’ll text out a free “do-it-at-home” workout routine.
He engages with his customers over and over again… but he’s always giving them something they need… something they want.
Maybe you give them information, or a coupon, or breaking news… it can be anything. But make sure they really want it!
Now, I’ve gone through and highlighted 5 major mistakes business owners make when trying to send bulk SMS messages. Is that all the mistakes?
Not by a long shot.
There are dozens and dozens of other mistakes business owners make… but I’m out of room for today.
But before I go…
I promised to share with you the right way to do things…
Like I said earlier… if you’re on the fence about trying to send bulk SMS messages to promote your small business keep an eye on what others are doing! For more information, we wrote a special report just for you… “The Ultimate Guide to Mobile Marketing”
Remember, bulk SMS marketing is a very powerful tool that many small businesses use to grow sales. It’s a cost-effective way to communicate with your prospects, customers, VIPs, and even employees!
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