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What if there was another, much older, but equally effective tool that can reinforce this strategy - and that is right in front of your targets throughout the day? This tool is SMS (Short Message Service), which has been reinvented over the years to enter its 2.0 version. Learn how to launch well-planned SMS marketing campaigns, whatever your goal is - whether it's to reach new customers or retain existing ones.
When used properly, SMS is an ideal communication channel to pursue your marketing goals.
First off, it is undoubtedly the marketing tool that is closest to customers and prospects, as it is so deeply rooted in the daily life of your audiences. Moreover, according to a Finance Online study conducted in 2020, no less than 45% of consumers prefer SMS as a communication channel. Not to mention that 80% of people who have received an SMS say they are interested in its content, and that 75% find that a promotion sent by this channel is easier to use.
But the SMS 2.0 is also extremely effective, with, on average :
Interesting for your mobile marketing strategy, isn’t it?
Tempted by these figures, you also want to launch your SMS 2.0 marketing campaigns. Here are the tips of our SMS marketing experts to make them successful.
“Contrary to popular belief, SMS marketing is a communication channel that is well received by the general public. And according to some studies, it is also part of the most effective marketing tools, both in terms of memorizing the advertiser's messages and of encouraging a prospect to take action. However, like any other tool and to achieve successful SMS marketing campaigns, it must be used intelligently and in complementarity with other tools.”
First of all, it's not just about sending mass SMS to make your campaign successful. As in any marketing strategy, the idea is to precisely target the people you will include in your contact lists.
To do this, you have many targeting criteria, more or less relevant depending on the core target you want to reach. Based on your Ideal Customer Profile or persona, select among these criteria:
This segmentation can take place in your own database, or in a rented database. If you choose the second option, make sure that this database is 100% optin, in order to respect GDPR.
Note that GDPR requires you, as in your emailing campaigns, to give your targets the opportunity to unsubscribe: make sure to include a "Stop SMS" option in each of your messages.
There are various SMS formats to help you reach your target audience in an impactful and effective way. The best practice is to pick the ones that match the marketing goals you have set for your SMS marketing campaign, and the specific moment in the customer journey your targets are in.
Here are the 4 types of SMS to activate depending on your strategy:
To ensure optimal effectiveness of your campaigns, SMS marketing must also be used at all levels of maturity of your targets. You then have to link the way you use this tool to the marketing goal behind your campaign. You can then determine which SMS format (and which complementary levers, if any) to implement at each stage of the marketing funnel.
For instance:
In order to reach your audience at the best time and achieve your goal, your SMS marketing campaign must be designed according to your targets' device usage habits.
So think about when your ideal target is on which devices (mobile, tablet, desktop), then define which levers to activate at which time.
Let's take the example of Camille and the highlights of her day:
She wakes up checking her smartphone, then listens to the radio while getting ready, before leaving for work around 8am.
Then, during the morning, she spends a considerable amount of time on her computer and mobile at work, from 10am to noon - a time slot associated with a peak of attention according to many studies. It can be relevant to launch your tactical SMS at this precise moment, as well as a desktop campaign.
At the end of the day, another peak of advertising attention occurs, from 6pm to 8pm, during her after work hours: all campaigns on mobiles or tablets (including SMS) can then be interesting, but above all very effective.
Note that SMS can be used during the peak audience times for mobile, but that it will be even more effective at the time of the attention peaks (between 10am and 12pm, then between 6pm and 8pm).
This advice applies to SMS marketing campaigns as well as to your other advertising campaigns: for a maximum ROI, it is crucial to take into account the complementarity of the different levers you can activate.
For an SMS marketing campaign, set up a real multi-levers strategy, by activating the most relevant levers according to the "warmth" of your lead and the goals of the campaign. Think of digital marketing levers (social media advertising, for example) as well as display (DOOH, for example).
For instance, in a campaign with a drive-to-store goal, it can be interesting to first activate traditional or digital display, to then retarget the exposed audiences to the campaign. Then, it will be possible to send a 2.0 SMS in the area of your store, to make people want to discover your services directly in store.
Here is a last important tip: measure the performance of your campaigns. This is a crucial element, both to continuously optimize them and to measure their return on investment.
Thus, depending on the marketing goals set beforehand, track the following key metrics:
Regarding this last detail, be sure to distinguish the metrics related to your drive-to-web strategy and those related to drive-to-store. It is indeed possible to differentiate the visits and sales made on your e-commerce store from those made in physical stores.
Thanks to these best practices, you will have ROI-oriented SMS marketing campaigns, full of efficiency and dynamism!
Do you need support in this area? Our Gamned! experts are at your disposal to launch or optimize your advertising campaigns: contact them now.
Tell us who you are, we will tell you which digital activations to adopt!
