Corie Stark — March 13, 2020 Have you ever thought about adding SMS marketing to your inbound strategy, but stopped short due to a lack of campaign ideas? Sure, you could text your contacts with a welcome message, but what comes next?
More than you may think! There are several examples of SMS campaigns you can implement on day one of your SMS marketing journey. Take a look at some suggestions and industry examples to jumpstart your strategy.
Appointment or Service Reminders
Chances are, you’ve received a text from a business reminding you of an upcoming appointment. An SMS campaign like this is a simple, yet effective way you can ensure your contacts are on time for their appointments– whether you’re a B2C company or a B2B organization.
Example: Service Reminders for the Automotive Industry
Guilty of letting your “change oil” light come on in your car? You’re probably not alone. Marketers in the automotive industry can use SMS to get customers to show up to their next scheduled service and avoid the dreaded dashboard alert.
Customer Service
Research shows consumers prefer texting to traditional phone support, so why not give them the option? Engage in 1:1 communication by letting your users text your customer service team questions, comments, or concerns. You can set up automated workflows for basic questions, and for more complex situations, you can try live texting.
Example: Customer Service for the Support Industry
Approximately 4.54 billion people worldwide have access to the internet, and even on the broadband providers’ best days, an issue might occur. Taking your business’s customer service to SMS when a user has a problem with their connection or something else could help resolve their problem quicker, increasing their happiness.
Promo Codes or Coupons
Like appointment reminders, SMS campaigns involving promotional offers or coupons are tried and true. This form of advertising lets companies use SMS workflows to alert their contacts of upcoming seasonal sales or get their business by providing text-only codes – without piling on to their already stacked email inbox.
Example: Promo Codes for the Retail Industry
Department stores looking to increase their sales during the holidays can send text reminders of Black Friday sales or even offer a special discount. Other organizations, like B2B software companies, can provide promotions for interested buyers to help seal the deal.
Demos or Consultations
Not everyone actively reads their email, meaning they may miss some critical communication about a product or service. Nurture them by sending out meeting links or calendar invites to their phones.
Example: Demos for Start-Ups
Start-up companies eager to close deals and grow revenue quickly (and maybe reach Unicorn status?) should consider setting up an SMS marketing workflow to aid in the decision stage of the buyers’ journey. This method allows you to personally send a link to a demo rather than digging for an appropriate form on your site by themselves.
Grassroots Campaigns
Instead of knocking on doors or asking people to sign something in person, you may get a stronger reaction by texting your grassroots efforts to people’s mobile devices. An SMS campaign like this benefits from SMS marketing’s high open-rate.
Example: Donation Campaigns for the Non-Profit Industry
Nonprofits or charities can jump on the SMS campaign bandwagon by engaging with their valuable donors. Workflows can be created then automated to ask for donations based on their status – new, recurring, or one-time donors.
Payment or Bill Reminders
Businesses that struggle with getting paid on time can create an SMS campaign to remind their valuable customers of invoices and due dates gently. Creating an automated workflow based on their renewal dates can simplify the process even more.
Example: Payment Reminders for Marketing Industry
Marketing agencies with retainers can keep their contacts in the know by texting payment statuses and updates regularly. Credit card companies, or other places with monthly or annual bills, can also use SMS to contact their patrons.
Mass Communication
Need to send an alert to every one of your customers or marketing lists? SMS marketing allows for simple bulk imports, mass texts, and more. Your extensive database, who’s probably already looking at their phones, will never miss an important update this way.
Example: Mass Communication for Education Industry
For large universities, mass communication can seem tricky. That is if you ignore SMS. You can engage with your entire student body by sending out alerts or interacting with students 1:1 by letting them ask questions on a wide-range of campus issues.
Internal Communication
SMS marketing isn’t solely effective for your inbound efforts. It’s also helpful in spreading messages to your employees. Large and small businesses can benefit by keeping everyone in the loop on the milestones of your organization.
Example: Internal Communication for Construction Industry
Any business can use SMS to send information internally, but some may not realize it. Consider the construction industry. Employees there could use text messages to send out updates on the status of a Request for Proposal (RFP) that was submitted so that employees could anticipate new work.
What Else?
Businesses in almost any industry can use SMS marketing to stay in touch with their users, whether it’s by sending them an appointment reminder or providing a coupon. But those are just two of our examples – and many more exist beyond the others we’ve outlined.
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