Lean e-business systems as a conceptual practice are emerging, and more specifically SMBs are realizing the need to manage simple and effective text marketing solutions.
Irrespective of the IT systems set-up, the challenges are multi-dimensional.
One in terms of securing the information systems, secondly managing the complexities of the systems, and third, in terms of training and adaptation of the systems by the teams.
Seeming too complex, let’s break it down simply. The fact is many small businesses are moving to simplified solutions that are resourceful for managing business services at a lower cost.
Thus, the significance of SMS marketing or text marketing using instant messaging platforms is evolving fast.
Short Message Service (SMS) has evolved into a conventional solution for businesses to reach out to target customers.
SMS marketing is used by brands for communicating with customers, and text marketing campaign promotions are turning resourceful for businesses.
Falling under the category of owned channels, the channel is pertinent for touch points with customers.
Some of the marketing trends and predictions (Updates 2024) one must consider in SMS marketing for:
Table of Contents
1. Use Text Messaging Based on Customer Retention
Text messaging can be a powerful tool for improving customer retention. By sending relevant and timely updates and reminders to customers, businesses can keep them engaged and informed about their purchases and services.
For example, businesses can use text messaging to send order confirmations, payment receipts, shipping updates, and appointment reminders. This helps customers feel informed and valued, increasing their likelihood of staying loyal to the brand.
Nowadays, businesses are now emphasizing the importance of customer retention and not solely focusing on acquiring new customers. Retaining old customers is a crucial part of any successful business strategy.
Therefore, text messaging can also be used to gather customer feedback and address any issues they may have. Quick response times and efficient resolution of customer inquiries through text messaging can improve customer satisfaction and reduce the likelihood of churn.
Moreover, businesses can use text messaging to offer exclusive deals and promotions to their customers, further incentivizing them to continue using the brand’s services.
Overall, text messaging can be a crucial component of a customer retention strategy, helping businesses maintain and strengthen their relationships with their customers.
2. Growth of Transactional SMS
Transactional SMS updates have seen substantial growth as businesses adopt SMS for critical notifications.
This type of SMS is used to send essential information to customers, such as order confirmations, payment receipts, and account updates.
Its ease of use, instant delivery, and high open rates make it a popular choice for businesses of all sizes.
Brands can offer their customers more value by sending timely updates through transactional SMS, such as order confirmations and shipping statuses.
This also provides businesses with an opportunity to engage customers and cross-sell and up-sell their products and services.
According to Jess Meher, CEO of Wonderment, consumers prefer real-time updates via text message over email. This is due to the growing prevalence of pay-over-text features.
The growth of transactional SMS is supported by advancements in SMS infrastructure and the increasing use of mobile devices.
As a result, the demand for transactional SMS services is expected to continue rising.
3. The Rise in Mobile Commerce
Research studies from a few sources in the public domain refer to $432.2 billion as the mobile commerce revenue estimations by the end of 2022.
Around 62% of smartphone users are expected to have made one or the other kind of online purchase using smartphones in the last six months.
SMS marketing is enabling mobile commerce solutions more dynamic and actionable.
In an illustrative scenario, when a fintech company is sending an SMS marketing campaign offering flexible loans, users interested in the loan service is clicking the URL to download the app or register an inquiry.
The whole system is so dynamic and simply resourceful.
Text message is gaining more popularity than email campaigns as the hit rate and viewing rate is higher in the case of text marketing than the conventional email campaign.
Also, increasing spam content in email marketing is leading to lower results in email campaigns.
When effectively used as a medium for mobile commerce, SMS marketing is a potential medium.
Advancements in SMS marketing solutions have created ease of managing text marketing more resourcefully.
Different versions like Gif, shortened URL links attachments, and call-for-action kind of transactional message systems are enabling strategic SMS marketing.
However, one difference between email or SMS campaigns is consent.
While email marketing has less exposure to compliance, SMS marketing must account for the local compliance practices for customer consent.
4. Wide Reach to Target Groups
With billions of users carrying smartphones or other mobile devices having a mobile carrier network, the chances of reaching out to a wider group of customer segments are easier with bulk SMS marketing solutions.
The competition prevailing among the service providers is turning beneficial for the brands, as one can fetch the bulk SMS marketing or bulk text marketing package deals at competitive pricing.
Text marketing or SMS marketing is no more used for the marketing touch points alone, rather it is being used as a medium for customer engagement.
In an illustrative scenario, a pharmacy store sending a text message to patients about their prescribed medicine purchase stands as a potential SMS marketing and a kind of customer engagement solution.
5. Interoperability
Today, for many Point-of-Sale applications, the SMS facility is interlinked, and businesses can send transaction messages to the customer’s mobile devices as a text messages.
While some text messages simply carry the transaction confirmation message, few services have the scope of text marketing interlinked to the message.
For example, in sending a text message confirming the payment receipt, a shortened URL can be linked to seeking feedback.
The kind of user experience management evolving in the SMS marketing medium is phenomenal and supports easier ways of managing customer engagement.
6. Customized SMS Marketing Trend
Businesses have advanced customization practices for SMS marketing.
Unlike the past practices of sending generic SMS text messages, today businesses are more interested in SMS marketing for a specific target group and having more customized text message offerings.
Few of the advanced bulk SMS campaign models have the scope of adding the username for SMS marketing.
And true to the development, such measures are resulting in more success rate for SMS marketing and text messaging campaigns.
Audiences are expected to interact with the brand and take actionable measures for personalized messages from the brands.
Customization takes place in different forms as businesses use personalization in different touch points.
While some text messages as wishes are sent by the brands on the anniversary or birthday of customers, some other text marketing happens on public occasions like festival wishes combined with call-for-action messages combined.
7. SMS Marketing as a Customer Service Channel
For many businesses, the scope of SMS marketing has become a medium for handling customer services too.
Today, many restaurants or café kind of outlets are handling SMS marketing -based promotions, and even receive confirmation orders as a response to the text message.
Some of the other common trends integral to SMS marketing trends are
- Information management using an automated response system for text messages
- Scheduled bulk message campaigns classified for different target groups
- Instant messaging and response system over text marketing for customer support
- AI (artificial intelligence) powered SMS chatbots
- Advanced Text marketing tools like instant messaging tools.
Using the resourceful trends emerging in the domain, if the brands can focus on an integrated approach of SMS marketing, and text marketing using the other instant messaging systems, the process can leverage potential scope for customer engagement, and sale conversions.
How best to use SMS Marketing for business?
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- Coupons and discounts.
- Updates
- Services
- Contests and sweepstakes
- Polls
- Newsletters
Despite all the challenges SMS marketing has, if used right, Bulk SMS helps give a strong push to customer relationship management, customer engagement and increase in sales.
Reach out to the expert team at Exabytes Malaysia to assist you in a selection of right-fit bulk SMS marketing solutions and text messaging models that can increase the return on investments and reach out to more customers.
View the product here:
Bulk SMS Marketing Solution
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