How to Grow Your Opt-In SMS Database

An SMS campaign is nothing without a profitable opt-in database. And when growing your list, there are rules to follow.

While easy, buying a purchased list is a big no-no. It should be permission-based and grown organically. Unsolicited commercial text messages can be seen as spam and damage your brand’s reputation, whereas permission-based messages target customers that have shown interest in your product or service. Obtaining your recipients’ permission first will result in higher response and conversion rates.

If you have collected information from your customers, you can ask them for their mobile numbers. Sometimes, customers can be hesitant in sharing their personal contact information, and you’ll need to work to build their trust first (or properly incentivize them).

Here are some tips and strategies to help you grow your opt-in list for text blast.

Ways to Grow Opt-In SMS Database

1. Incentivize Signups with Valuable Offers

People value on their privacy, they will be hesitant in giving personal information away without good reason. However, they can often be incentivized to do so, if they can gain something in exchange. It can be a discount code, an exclusive promotion, valuable information, or important notifications.

When you’re getting customers to sign up for your SMS marketing campaign, it’s important to focus on what benefits they can get out of it. Be sure to convey the level of exclusivity that opting in to your SMS list offers.

2. Use SMS Keyword and Short Code on your Advertisements

If you run a brick-and-mortar store, you can put up a sign that drives customers to text a specific keyword to a short code number for special discounts, promotions, and exclusive freebies. You can also place this information on your billboards, flyers, website, and other marketing materials.

Keep your instructions and benefits clear to readers, and use a simple and relevant keyword that is easy to remember and spell.

In the sample below, WCCB-TV implemented this strategy to grow both its opt-in database and community. By texting WCCBVIP to 31401, subscribers do not only get a chance to win two advance screening passes. They also become a member of its text club.

3. Integrate SMS with Other Marketing Channels

Exhaust all possibilities to reach potential subscribers by asking them to opt-in to your SMS list using other marketing channels.

You can add a banner image to your website with simple instructions on how they can sign up to your SMS list. Place a reminder in your email newsletter about how they can receive SMS notifications for more exclusive discounts and promos. In your online sign-up forms, try adding a field for mobile numbers. Consistently posting on your social media channels about your SMS campaign is also helpful in growing your SMS database.

Here are the other marketing channels where you can include your SMS opt-in message:

Flyers and print advertisements
Social media posts and ads
Search ads
Email newsletter
In-store signs
Billboards
Events and conferences
Radio and TV

Final Thoughts

Since you want your SMS list to include customers who are interested in your business, it is also your responsibility to give them the ability to unsubscribe when they no longer want to receive notifications or messages from you. This will also help you manage and filter your SMS database.

Of course, opting out is the last thing you want your customers to do, so do your best to keep them engaged!

Want to grow your business using SMS? Sign up for Semaphore here!

Alex Alabiso

Alex built Semaphore’s tech backbone and keeps it running smoothly. With deep experience in tech: Over 20 years in Web Development, IT and Infrastructure; 10+ years management experience in technology; and an expert in enterprise application architecture, development and tech processes, Alex is an old-hat in bridging the gap between geeks and suits as well as applying tech to real-world business problems. Connect with Alex on LinkedIn.

August 31, 2017June 14, 2023

SMS Metrics You Need to Measure [Infographic]

Performance measurement and analysis are important in any business strategy. The same goes with SMS marketing campaigns. Metrics allow you to determine whether your campaign reached its goals and targets.

By analyzing the key metrics relevant to your SMS gateway and knowing the industry standards for every metric, you can determine which areas of your campaign need improvement. Furthermore, you can adjust your targets to be more realistic and attainable for your campaign.

Check out our infographic to learn the 5 key metrics you need to measure when launching an SMS blast. Included are tips and fast facts that can help you boost your SMS performance.

Please include attribution to https://semaphore.co/ with this graphic. <a href=’https://blog.semaphore.co/2017/08/31/sms-metrics-you-need-to-measure-infographic/’><img src=’https://blog.semaphore.co/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/SMS-Metrics-You-Need-to-Measure-768×2009.png’ alt=’SMS Metrics You Need to Measure [Infographic]’ width=’800′ border=’0′ /></a>

1. Delivery Rate

Your delivery rate pertains to the total number of messages successfully delivered out of the total number of recipients included in your SMS blast. It tells you how reliable your SMS marketing provider is. Cheaper SMS marketing platforms sometimes fail to send SMS messages successfully due to weaker infrastructure.

(Number of Successful Delivers / Total Number of Recipients)*100

It’s important to note that several factors are involved in the delivery of your SMS including the size and health of your contacts list, message frequency, and prepaid phone number composition. Cellular signal in specific areas of the country can also affect your delivery rate.

It’s easy for users to discard prepaid phone numbers and switch to a new one. This is especially common in the Philippines, where prepaid SIM cards are either given for free or sold for ₱10 to ₱50. Check your list health regularly to determine the active numbers from the inactive ones. Delete the inactive numbers from your contacts list to improve your delivery rate.

2. Opt-Out Rate

The opt-out rate shows the percentage of users who unsubscribed to your SMS marketing list after reading your text message. The average industry opt-out rate is usually below 5%. You don’t want to lose subscribers! A high opt-out rate tells you that you might need to take a second look at your campaign offering to improve retention rates.

(Number of Unsubscribes / Total Number of Recipients)*100

Some users don’t want to be bombarded with frequent messages, especially if they receive these messages during inopportune times. A high opt-out rate could also mean that you’re targeting the wrong audience, or your messages don’t provide value to your subscribers. Find a way to engage your users with compelling text messages.

Split testing your SMS campaign can help you isolate the areas for improvement, and decrease opt-out rate.

3. Response Rate

SMS has a 45% response rate while email only has a 6% response rate. This means that users respond to almost half of all text messages they receive on their mobile phones. Placing clear calls-to-action in your SMS message encourages subscribers to take the next step.

(Number of Users Who Responded / Number of Successful Deliveries)*100

If you’re reaping low response rates, the simplicity of your call-to-action may have something to do with it. Make sure to refrain from complicated requests. Provide clear instructions to avoid confusing your audience. Keep things easy and simple. You can even ask your subscribers to text back with a single word or code.

4. Click-Through Rate

The use of smartphones and mobile internet increases every year, enabling marketers to adopt multichannel marketing campaigns. If you include a website link in your SMS blast, you need to measure your click-through rate. According to recent surveys, the average click-through rate of URLs included in an SMS blast is at 36%.

(Number of Users Who Clicked / Number of Successful Deliveries)*100

If your campaign generates a low click-through rate, then take a second look at your target demographic. Do they use a cell phone or a smartphone? You may want to include this in your next SMS blast. Ask your subscribers if they own a cell phone or a smartphone. You can also try to determine whether your smartphone users have access to mobile internet, as this can greatly affect your click-through rate when using CTA links.

5. Conversion Rate

Conversion rate refers to the percentage of users who completed your goal by taking your desired action. This can pertain to when users sign up for a service, purchased a product, visited your store, clicked through to your website, or called your company.

(Number of Users Who Took Action / Number of Successful Deliveries)*100

Overall, the conversion rate tells you whether your SMS campaign is on the right track to generating leads and increasing your revenue. Industry standards show a 328% conversion rate for leads who are sent three or more text messages after their initial contact.

6. Unsubscribe Rate

SMS unsubscribe rate is the percentage of subscribers who opt-out of receiving SMS messages from your business. This is important because it indicates the level of engagement and satisfaction of your SMS subscribers. A high unsubscribe rate may indicate that your messaging is not resonating with your audience or that you are sending too many messages.

(Number of Subscribers who Opted-out / Total Subscribers)*100

To reduce SMS unsubscribe rates, businesses can take several steps such as ensuring that their messages are personalized, relevant, and valuable to the recipient, limiting the frequency of messages, and providing an easy opt-out option for subscribers.

Measuring the Right SMS Metrics

SMS is the fastest way to reach your target consumers or audience, as it is still the most popular messaging tool used by cellphone and smartphone users. Make sure that you’re tracking your progress by measuring the relevant SMS metrics.

Reach your bottom line faster with an SMS platform that delivers results. At Semaphore, we help businesses grow by providing an SMS service at low costs. Make sure that you partner up with a reliable SMS blasting service so that your SMS messages are sent to the right recipients instantly.

Contact the SMS experts at Semaphore to learn more about our Smart SMS Solutions for Businesses!

Alex Alabiso

August 23, 2017October 25, 2024

How 4 Startups Used SMS for Customer Loyalty

The future of the Philippine startup ecosystem is bright. With an active startup community of over two thousand companies and a strong push from the government, the country has seen a 20% growth in terms of deal count, reflecting investors’ confidence and interest in the country’s startup scene as a possible investment destination.

As the local startup industry grows, a key area that entrepreneurs need to look into for long-term better returns is customer retention. Up to 70% of companies agreed that retaining a customer is cheaper than generating new ones. A 5% growth in customer retention can yield a 75% increase in a company’s user base, with happy customers sharing through their social media channels driving most of the growth.

Many customer retention strategies exist today, but SMS remains to be a powerful means to engage customers and encourage brand loyalty. In the Philippines, over 450 million text messages are being sent every day, emphasizing the importance of reaching and engaging the Filipino customer via SMS API and other text messaging strategies.

SMS Customer Loyalty Success Stories

Here are some success stories on how Philippine startups have used SMS to provide a better customer experience and improve customer loyalty.

1. ZAP

ZAP is a loyalty-based rewards program that lets users earn points from partner merchants. With the goal of re-targeting existing customers, ZAP created an automated customer journey program, which enabled them to automatically send SMS when certain triggers are met. The objective is to encourage users to make a return visit by sending them reminders about rewards and freebies they can claim with partner merchants.

The triggers were activated after the first visit (to encourage a second visit as soon as possible), after 30 days, 60 days, and 120 days with no transactions, and 7 days before a customer’s birthday to encourage the user to celebrate with a partner merchant.

The messages were based on how many points a user had, and the length of their inactivity. For example, users with more points were offered bigger redemption options, as seen below:

Claim your FREE Steak & Frites at DRAFT Gastropub by redeeming your 1000+ ZAP points! More places to use ZAP: www.zap.com.ph/app

ZAP’s SMS strategy returned impressive results. Within a week, 17.1% of the customers who had received an SMS returned to make another purchase. Within a month, the number of returning customers increased to 41.5%. And after implementing the program for a year, they saw an ROI of over 100% for 95% of their merchants, 1000% for their top 6 merchants, and a whopping 5000% for the top merchant.

2. Kalibrr

A job-matching platform that allows talent and companies to connect, Kalibrr learned that most candidates do not always have immediate access to a computer or even mobile internet. So, they decided to facilitate communications between themselves and jobseekers, as well as recruiters and jobseekers. Using an SMS API, Kalibrr automated sending text notifications for job opportunities and interview reminders to applicants.

Since every single mobile phone has SMS capabilities (and there are more cellphones than people in the Philippines), texting has enabled Kalibrr to reach and engage with 100% of their user base at all times.

Based on qualitative feedback, Kalibrr’s texts to jobseekers have been “very useful and well-loved” for giving timely updates.

3. PinoyTravel

PinoyTravel is an online long distance bus, ferry, and hotel booking website. Similar to Kalibrr, PinoyTravel has found that the Philippine market is not yet ready for a purely online strategy because many of their customers do not have continuous access to the Internet or mobile data.

Thankfully, Filipinos almost always have enough cellular reception to receive texts. So, PinoyTravel uses SMS to send reminders about customer bookings, payments, and other updates.

PinoyTravel received positive feedback on their SMS strategy and their customers enjoyed receiving the text notifications.

4. OLX

OLX (now Carousell) is an online marketplace that hosts the largest buy and sell community in the Philippines. To make sure the sellers are legitimate and easy to contact, OLX vets their numbers with a 2-step SMS verification process.

They also find that most of their users are not always online to receive email and app push notifications, making SMS the best way to connect with their user base. OLX users are notified via SMS when important action needs to be taken, including but not limited to: messages to buyers when sellers accept their offer, and messages to sellers when buyers are interested or when they need to repost their advertisement for better results.

Build Customer Loyalty with the Power of SMS

The startup scene in the Philippines is ripe for growth, and these case studies have shown that SMS will remain an important channel for customer engagement, retention, and overall experience. Since every mobile device can receive texts even without internet connection, marketing messages sent via SMS are almost impossible to ignore.

Use SMS to your advantage today and reach the widest possible number of customers, engage them, and retain them through text messaging campaigns.

Contact Semaphore today to get started!

Alex Alabiso