How Does SMS Marketing Work?

SMS Marketing is one way to reach your customers and the potential ones and keep them updated about your services. SMS marketing is the best option if you want to expand your marketing reach and connect with more consumers without breaking the bank. In plain terms, SMS marketing uses text messages to market and communicate with your customers.

SMS marketing campaigns are simple. They typically follow two simple steps.

1.Opt-ins

The first step in an SMS marketing campaign is to get your customers to opt-in to your messages. This is a crucial step because their consent is very important. Unsolicited text messages usually come as spam messages and can eventually deter your customer from engaging with your business or brand.

In general, SMS marketing opt-ins consists of two things:
Keyword – the phrase or word that customers need to type to opt-in to an SMS campaign.
Short code – the number that customers have to message the keyword to.

For instance, if you own a food delivery business and you’re looking to get more customers, you can use an SMS service to deliver text messages. Here’s an example:

Delicious treats are just a text away! Text “TREATS” to (000)111-222 to get the best food delivery promos!

In the above example, the word “TREATS” is the keyword, while the (000)111-222 is the 10 Digit Long Code. Once a customer texts “TREATS” to the given code, they will be part of your SMS campaign.

2. Sending marketing campaigns

Once the customer has successfully opted-in, you can start sending SMS marketing messages. Companies usually utilize SMS marketing software to deliver targeted messages to their customers at the right time.

One example is you can send your customers a loyalty offer via your messaging service. This will encourage them to buy or avail of your offers and services.

Uses of SMS Marketing

Understanding what SMS marketing also means you need to know the different ways you can use SMS marketing.

SMS marketing services and text marketing tools can be used in several ways, but it is commonly used for the following :
1. Updating customers
2. SMS advertising
3. Sending surveys

Aside from the ones mentioned above, SMS marketing is also used for:

Promotional message

Most companies utilize text marketing for advertising. It is used to promote coupons and offers to its customers. Promotional messages encourage customers to make a purchase that increases sales value.

Transactional messages

Businesses and brands also utilize SMS marketing services to send out personalized text messages triggered by customers’ actions, like making a purchase. Credit card companies often use transactional messages to keep their clients informed and updated about their purchases.

Reminder and Update messages

Most companies also use SMS marketing services to keep their customers updated about their products, latest offers, and other important messages.