Business are always looking for new and improved ways to reach their customers and interact with them in ways that are effective without being overbearing. With so many people using their cell phones for a large majority of the day, one of the best ways to keep in contact with customers is for businesses to use mobile phones to their advantage. With SMS, businesses are able to do just that.
SMS, or Short Message Service, is a great way for businesses to keep their brand in front of their customers. According to Andy Shirey at OpenMarket.com, SMS is a gateway for businesses to get even broader customer engagement. But why should you use this form of marketing and advertising over others?
- Open Rate
Compared to other forms of digital marketing, SMS is shockingly effective. According to Michael Essany of Mobile Marketing Watch, SMS has an open rate of 98 percent. This means that of the 100 percent of people who will receive your SMS, 98 percent of them will open it. When compared to email, billboards, direct mail and others, this number is almost unheard of. Part of this success has to do with users opting in to this form of marketing. Generally, in order for someone to get an SMS from a company, they have to have already texted an SMS number associated with that company, giving you a more targeted demographic to cater to.
- Cost and Time Effective
Think of the resources it takes to create a beautiful flyer, billboard, or other ad. You need hours of planning and executing, not to mention the price of the ad space in the first place. However, Aine Doherty of Business2Community.com reminds us that an SMS can be created from start to finish in a matter of minutes. You don’t require any special tools to use SMS either. This saves you both time and money when you compare SMS to other marketing and advertising practices.
- Easy to Measure
One of that hardest parts of marketing and advertising is knowing which avenues are working and which ones are just drains on your resources. But with SMS, tracking and measuring your success is simple and easy. David Wachs of VentureBeat.com tells us that you can see how many people have subscribed to specific numbers and services and how many people are opening the message. This information will help you to know just how effective overall this path is for your business, giving you exact metrics and calculations.
Finding a marketing idea that can give you all that SMS can is quite rare. With the ability to reach a larger audience, save time and money, and measure the success with confidence, it’s no wonder so many businesses are using SMS.