Posted on

Proven Strategies for More SMS Marketing Conversions

Proven Strategies for More SMS Marketing Conversions

Over the years, text or SMS marketing has remained as an effective channel for ensuring your customers receive and read your communications directly. As a matter of fact, research shows that customers who receive text marketing campaigns are 40% more likely to convert than those who don’t. 

When you deliver the right marketing campaign and trigger the right actions, SMS can be an excellent strategy to boost your conversions and win more customers through your SMS-specific conversion tactics. Roughly 96% of marketers using this channel say it increased their revenue, with nearly 60% saying it also drove revenue generation. With this, it’s a no-brainer to include SMS in your marketing efforts. 

It can be challenging to nurture and generate returns from your SMS marketing efforts if your conversion rates aren’t looking good. This article details some of the most effective ways to increase your conversion rates and get better returns from your campaigns. Read on to learn more about how you can make the most out of marketing with SMS.  Continue reading “Proven Strategies for More SMS Marketing Conversions”

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.
Posted on

Top 8 Marketing Channels That Yield Maximum Results for Businesses

Effective Marketing Channels for Businesses

The age of information has brought about a host of new ways and channels for you to reach your audience and grow your brand, not to mention the overwhelming feeling you get as you try to figure out where or how to allocate your marketing resources. 

“Will SEO generate more ROI than PPC? Should I pull the plug on email marketing and shift to SMS marketing instead?” 

Understandably, you want to go for whichever mix has the potential to give the biggest bang for your buck (ROI). But if you try to be active on every channel, you may well be spreading your efforts too thinly and not optimizing your marketing budget.

In this post, we give our take on the most effective marketing channels for your business, so you know which baskets to put your eggs in.

Effective Marketing Channels for Businesses - Infographic

Most Effective B2B Channels

 

  • Email

Email will probably never be dislodged from its position as a go-to B2B marketing channel. With email, you can do a myriad of things and get positive results in the way of high open rates, audience reach, and revenue attribution. 

And because users don’t become your subscribers until they opt in, you can take it as a signal that they want to learn more about your products or services. By delivering personalized content to targeted accounts, you get to demonstrate the value you can deliver, leading to a relationship based on trust.

  • Social Media

Undeniably, B2C and B2B social media marketing don’t operate in the same way. B2C focuses on building brand awareness, driving traffic, and increasing sales, which are all primarily focused on revenue-generation.

On the other hand, B2B social media marketing aims to engage potential partners and provide informative content that they can share within their networks. For B2B marketers, social media can be a valuable tool in building new partnerships and solving customers’ problems.

  • Search Engines

If Google receives over 8.5 billion searches per day, that’s the number of chances that your brand has for its name to show up on the search engine results pages (SERPs). To put it more realistically, search users will almost always click through the links that appear at the top of the SERPs—which is, of course, where you want to be found.

Your position on SERPs depends on a combination of marketing strategies, which may include search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing. You need to be creating content that not only highlights your authority and expertise but also allows you to rank for your SEO keywords. Alternatively, you can utilize search engine marketing (SEM) or pay-per-click (PPC) ads to be more visible on search engines.

  • Referrals

Customer referrals can drive quality leads for your business. When satisfied customers spread word about their positive experience with your company, product, or service, their contacts are likely to respond more positively simply because referrals are synonymous with credibility.

Since customers who have been referred to you are already willing to buy, it won’t take much of your marketing or sales efforts  to get them onboard, meaning a lower customer acquisition cost (CAC) and higher profits.

  • SMS

SMS marketing works in the same way as email marketing, where people are supposed to opt-in to hear from you. However, the advantage of SMS lies in how attached—literally and figuratively—mobile phone users are to their devices. In fact, statistics say that users in the Philippines are most likely to spend at least 90% of the day with their mobile phones at 53% compared to a 41% average across all markets..

SMS marketing applications for your B2B brand are as varied as can be, including delivery of your web content via URL, status notification, and poll invitations, among others. Needless to mention, you’ll need to communicate your message to B2B customers using a more formal and professional language than what you would use for B2C customers.

Most Effective B2C Channels

 

  • Social Media

Social media makes it on the list again as a powerful marketing channel—this time for B2C audiences— because it’s where highly engaged customers are. Social media users are actively searching for brands that their friends like and advocate.

One of the best practices in B2C social media marketing include paid ads, which is how 27% of internet users find brands and products. However, it also pays to simply be active on social media for community building if your goal is to allow customers to get to know you on a more “human” level.

  • Podcasts

In marketing, storytelling is the strategy for appealing to consumers’ emotions, influencing their purchase decisions, and ultimately, cultivating customer loyalty. Among various content formats, podcasts are arguably the most compelling medium that you can use to incorporate brand messages into your marketing campaigns.

Podcasts allow you to create engaging narratives about your company’s milestones, values, and culture with a lot of creativity as you decide on the theme and topics that will best capture the story that you want to share. Whatever size or type your business is, podcasts provide a venue for you to share your thought leadership in your niche market.

  • Point-of-Purchase

Some years back, the New York Post delved into a research about retail therapy, which is when people shop to improve their mood or emotional state. It should also be known that retail therapy makes up more than a fifth of all shopping purchases among Americans. 

If you’re in the retail business, you can utilize point-of-purchase (POP) displays to sell to in-store shoppers whether they’re part of the impulse buyer or practical spender demographic. The rationale here is that POP marketing materials help in highlighting the product that you want to promote, helping shoppers narrow down their choices and make a final decision as to which they should buy.  

  • Websites

Having a business website is a must because this is where users go for information about your company, including your contact details, company profile, customer testimonials, and branded content. These things can help you build credibility, make a positive impression with your visitors, and give them a reason to explore your brand. In the same manner, your e-commerce website should include ratings, reviews, or any other type of endorsement that can help boost your business’ social proof.

  • SMS

SMS connects brands and consumers in more ways than one. As a built-in tool or feature found in virtually every mobile phone, SMS lets you communicate with your target audience, which includes 47% of consumers who prefer to reach or be reached by brands through native text messaging. Perhaps this preference has something to do with the idea that when there’s an alternative to face-to-face interactions with businesses, consumers will still choose to communicate via a messaging system.

On the marketing side, SMS is the fastest way to reach customers and get a response at the same time. This can be extremely useful for time-sensitive promotions where a single text lets you direct consumers immediately to your website or app to make a purchase. In case they’re not ready to buy, you can always send reminder texts the next time around for them to come back and finish shopping.

Need Help with SMS Marketing?

Your B2B organization can benefit from marketing channels that have the ability to generate leads, build relationships, improve ROI, and boost revenue for your business. If you’re a B2C brand, you need to choose marketing channels that allow you to facilitate transactional purchases by motivating customers to buy and simplifying the buying process for them.

Although SMS marketing ticks all of these boxes, not too many businesses recognize its potential as a valuable marketing and communication channel. Often, the problem lies not so much on the technology but rather on the way that it’s used.

 

If you need assistance optimizing returns on your SMS marketing campaigns, contact the bulk SMS experts at Semaphore.

Get the best results with Semaphore’s secure SMS marketing solutions!

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.
Posted on

5 Inspiring Case Studies That Will Make You Reconsider SMS Marketing

5 Success Stories That Will Make You Reconsider SMS Marketing

These days, modern marketing involves looking into a range of communication channels, such as social media, search ads, email, websites, and more. However, many brands and businesses miss out on one of the most important channels they can consider for growth—SMS marketing.   

Think about it. Communicating through text messages is far easier, feels more personalized, and is more accessible to mobile consumers—both smartphone and non-smartphone users—since it’s a passively active channel. In comparison with social media ads, search ads, email, and website, your audience would need to be actively using these channels to get your message. 

Mobile marketing is an excellent way to break through the noise and draws in your target audience’s attention quickly. Thought email brought it good ROI? Think again. Statistics show that SMS marketing campaigns perform up to 7x better than email marketing campaigns. 

Still on the fence about it? Don’t fret.

We’ve gathered a few SMS marketing success stories that will inspire you to reconsider the benefits this channel can bring for your business. 

5 Success Stories That Will Make You Reconsider SMS Marketing-Infographic

The Proof is in the Pudding with SMS Marketing 

Seattle Sun Tan 

Seattle Sun Tan

Seattle Sun Tan used SMS marketing to notify customers of offers and discounts. The amazing thing about their success is the fact that they didn’t have a database of customers’ mobile numbers before trying out a text marketing service. This means they built their database from scratch.

The team promoted their text campaign in-store, to their pre-existing email database, on their website, and other channels. Not long after, they were able to grow their SMS subscribers to exactly 4,774 in 30 days. Their initial SMS campaign offered new text subscribers $20 off their next purchase, and it saw a redemption rate of 57% and generated about $196,100 in sales. What’s more impressive is customers who claimed the SMS offer also spent $500 more than those who didn’t receive the text offers. 

Offers, discounts, coupons, and other gift campaigns that attract impressive redemption rates are some of the best uses of text marketing. Thanks to the direct and immediate nature of text messaging, these time-sensitive messages are almost guaranteed to reach your customers and get read right away. By leveraging the power of SMS to offer irresistible deals and promotions, you can build stronger relationships with your customers, boost your sales, and grow your business.

Eu Natural 

Eu Natural Affiliate Program

Eu Natural, a herbal supplement brand, used text messaging to draw in additional sales, retain customers after their initial purchase, and offer exclusive promos. Their initial campaign involved encouraging customers to text in an exclusive customer keyword to redeem a free bottle with their purchase. This free bottle promotion that ran for months permanently increased their customer base, as a large portion of them came back for more. 

They also used SMS marketing for time-sensitive alerts, such as their Black Friday campaign, which registered a 563% ROI. SMS marketing has also helped Eu Natural to create their exclusive inner circle community, where VIP and loyal customers get to access special messages, be the first to find out about new products, and get exclusive discounts and freebies. 

With text marketing, you can be sure that your customers will receive and read your messages right away, making it ideal for time-sensitive announcements like product launches, limited-time promos, sales offers, and coupons. By leveraging the power of text marketing, you can get your message out quickly and effectively, driving engagement and conversions with ease.

4theCultr

 

4theCultr is a relatively new superstore that helps bridge the gap between consumers and black-owned businesses. They used text marketing to connect with customers and provide the best experience possible, as it’s one of the brand’s primary missions. 

They aim to make a positive impression from the first point of contact, which is when someone opt-ins to their SMS marketing. One of the ways to generate subscribers is through checkout, and it proves effective since 86% of their customers that have subscribed to their text marketing did so at checkout. 

They also started to send abandoned cart notifications within 30 minutes of leaving their cart along with an acknowledgement of their current situation (i.e., difficult times brought by the pandemic). This first automation step pulled in an 18% CTR with a conversion rate of 100%. With the psychological touch-point and abandonment reminders through SMS, customers ended up pushing through with their order. 

SMS marketing helps you realize the importance of communication from the moment they opt-in to post-purchase care. Being understanding of their situation and keeping them in the loop at every stage of their customer journey builds trust and loyalty that lasts for years to come, which can be better achieved with a personal channel like SMS at your disposal. 

Dreamland Baby 

Dreamland Baby was founded by a mother of four, who aimed to help other parents (and babies) out there get a more restful sleep with a weighted blanket. They used social media to drive traffic, but not a lot of visitors made it to checkout, so they enlisted the help of text marketing to encourage customers to check out their cart. 

When Dreamland Baby started using text marketing and sent out its first SMS marketing campaign, their ROI was an astonishing 2000%, with their first month’s sales climbing up to 300%. Tara Williams, their founder, said the boost in numbers was possible due to customers being exposed to promotions from different channels, with text messaging as the final call-to-action personal approach that helps seal the deal. 

Since 94% of Dreamland Baby’s audience were on mobile, SMS marketing made it easier and convenient to reach them instantly compared to email campaigns. With text messaging, customers get to see a personalized message along with a discount code immediately. 

With the power of targeted, personalized SMS campaigns, you can re-engage even the most disengaged customers and bring them back into the fold. Whether it’s reminding them about an exclusive offer they might have missed or simply offering a friendly nudge to visit your website again, SMS campaigns are a powerful tool for rekindling customer relationships and driving long-term engagement.

Yesterday’s Books 

How Yesterday's Books Uses SMS to Accept Orders During COVID-19

Yesterday’s Books is the largest independent bookshop in California and has been around for decades. Instead of setting up an e-commerce store, they opted to have their landline number text-enabled to manage customer orders. 

The bookstore started using SMS marketing to continue its operations during the pandemic in 2020. Initially, the store owner set up an online form where customers could place their book request. However, problems like customers missing the response and lags between the follow-up and customer’s response with the approach kept happening. Since their customers had known their landline for 40 years, they had it text-enabled. 

This allowed the owner to follow up with book requests by SMS. The primary upside to shifting to text was the speed of response. Around 90% of their customers appreciated their text messaging. The convenience and speed of text make it easy to manage orders and minimize the unnecessary back-and-forth with customers. 

The fast and direct nature of text messaging makes it a fantastic channel for delivering excellent customer service. You can even use SMS bots to address basic questions while directing complex and sensitive inquiries to your trained support team. 

Ready to Reconsider SMS Marketing? 

SMS marketing success stories, especially during recent times, prove that this channel is here to stay and it remains just as effective and efficient for boosting sales, improving the customer experience, and driving growth in support with other marketing channels. This indispensable medium’s targeted communication lets you have a 1-on-1 conversation with your customers like no other.

If you’re considering incorporating SMS into your marketing strategy, Semaphore can help you extend your reach without the complicated setup.

Ready to discover your success story with SMS marketing? Contact the SMS experts at Semaphore.

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.