Load One - Blog #sms marketing

The Year in Review: Top 5 Posts of 2020

Wed, 30 Dec 2020 09:00:00 +0800

#5 How to Attract Customers Using Online Channels

Whether you're an old hand at online businesses or transitioning from a brick-and-mortar business, attracting customers through online channels has never been more important that now. We hope our post has given you some ideas on how you can continue to do business online regardless of the quarantines.

#4 Raising Customer Loyalty with SMS and Chat

With online consumption and online shopping at an all-time high, it's even easier to stay connected to your market and build a relationship with them. SMS and Chat is a great way to stay connected through these months of social distancing.

#3 Top 5 Ways to Acquire and Retain Customers on Your E-commerce Store

E-commerce continues to be an important piece in today's business climate, and it shows, with two out of five places in our top 5 list. Customer loyalty and retention is important, especially now when customers are spoilt for choice.

#2 4 Ways to Adapt to the Lockdown Reality By Going Digital

Traditional business owners, we hear you. Transitioning your pre-COVOD-19 business to the digital world is an important undertaking, and one that so often feels like too much of a challenge. We hope this short guide can help you manage these new waters of technology.

And our top #1 post for 2020 is...

#1 5 Reasons To Take Remote Offices Seriously Now

Our top post is about remote offices, naturally. One of the biggest shifts in today's world is the move to remote workplaces and offices. Health and safety reasons called for the change, and many workplaces have had to adjust quickly. Remote work does bring many positive benefits other than health concerns, which we focus on in this post.

Conclusion

As we move into the new year, let's continue to work smartly and diligently in this new normal. Whether it's through learning more about the digital landscape of business, or continuing to make our remote workplaces a better place for our teams, let's move forward together.

Did our top 5 posts surprise you? What is your top topic for 2020?

Raising Customer Loyalty with SMS and Chat

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 09:00:00 +0800

Getting new customers can be difficult. Oftentimes, this can be one of the most difficult tasks a company can have. In today's economy when the market is tightening their collective belts, new customers can be a challenge. However, being able to depend on your loyal customers can significantly ease concerns on cash flow and longevity.

Notably, the top 1% of your customers can spend more than 30 times your average customers over time. This makes them even more valuable. Turning new customers into regulars must be a focus for any business.

Thankfully, with online consumption and online shopping at an all-time high, it's even easier to stay connected to your market. When businesses use chat and SMS together, the effectiveness of conversational marketing is even more pronounced.

How Chat and SMS Help Retain Customers

Engaging with your customers in the channels they prefer is important to build goodwill with your customers. Remember the following facts:

82% of customers expect an immediate response when they have questions (source)
53% of buyers are more likely to buy from a business they can communicate with (source)
61% say that messaging as a way to communicate is the easiest way to connect with a business (source)
Millenials are increasingly gaining the predominant purchasing power, prefer instant messaging as a support channel (source)

Whether it's a conversation through instant messengers or SMS, consumers expect quick responses to their questions to the businesses they interact with. Failure to respond quickly can mean loss of opportunity and sales.

Making sure that your business can interact with your customers through both SMS and chat can be a differentiator. If they're on Facebook, Messenger can be a key communication tool; otherwise, SMS can reach those who do not have mobile data.

Follow Through After First Contact

Make sure you follow through after the first time they interact with your business. This is why automated responses are important, whether it's on instant messenger apps or SMS.

Regardless of whether it's an actual purchase or simply an inquiry, making an impression afterward can be favorable to your business. This is why setting up a message to thank them for their purchase is important.

Don't be pushy, but give them the option of signing up for further updates through a mailing list or an SMS list. If you have a website for your products and can set up membership for your customers, even better. Make sure they know the perks of building a better relationship with your brand: saving their details for faster checkouts, accessing past orders, remembering their favorite products, and so on.

Give Back to Your Customers

Don't underestimate the power of lead magnets. These are offers, promotions, or other incentives that you can give potential customers in exchange for email address or phone number.

These can serve two things: as freebies and support for your current customers, but also ways to grow your own customer base.

What's great about this is that once you provide these, you can leave it available for your current and future potential customers alike.

Evaluate and Update

Don't forget to always review your customer retention strategies. The market is always changing, and what works a year ago might not be as effective now. This is even more important in a fast developing marketing landscape like conversational marketing.

Always check to see if your marketing efforts to keep your customers engaged are working as you want it to, or if you need to change it up.

A little planning can help you easily turn potential customers into loyal customers.

How to Convert Your Email List to SMS Subscribers [Tips]

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0800

If you're planning to start focusing on SMS marketing, you're on the right track. SMS is a great channel to reach customers, especially here in the Philippines. 159% of the local population have mobile phones--that's more than half owning two phones!

It might be daunting to start. But if you already have an email list, you've got the beginnings of a great SMS subscriber list. You've already put in the work to build your email list. Your email subscribers are already interested in your brand. They're the best people to start with in moving forward into SMS lists.

Use your list to your advantage--you don't have to start from scratch!

Here are a few things to keep in mind to help you convert your email list to loyal SMS subscribers:

Tell Them The Benefits

Be clear in your email what they can get out of subscribing to your SMS list. There should be a clear difference between having only an email subscription (definitely a valid option!) or changing into an SMS subscriber (or maybe even both!).

Since SMS have fast open rates (90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt) compared to email, perhaps super-hot limited-stock deals will be exclusive for your SMS subscribers. Maybe SMS subscribers get personalized deals depending on the nearest branches to them.

Whatever your offer is, make sure you clearly state what's in it for them.

Set Expectations

You should let them know how often you plan to send messages, and what kind of messages they can expect to get. Don't tell them you'll get them exclusive deals, but they later find out it's open to everyone. Or that you'll send them messages twice a month but they end up getting a message every week.

SMS is by nature more intimate than email marketing. Don't betray their trust in you by spamming them and ignoring expectations.

Make Signups Easy and Hassle-Free

Don't make things harder for them to sign up. Give them different ways to sign up -- keyword shortcodes work, but make an online method available to them as well. After all, 46% of emails are opened on mobile phones, so they're likely to be able to quickly sign up with a form rather than typing out numbers on a text message.

Look into website forms or even automated chatbots that can get your customer's data and integrate it with your SMS solution. Maybe you can even just have them reply to your email--many successful email campaigns employ more personalized tactics to great effect.

Start On the Right Foot

Not everyone will want to move into an SMS subscription list, and that's okay. What's important is that you are able to provide a better experience to those that do, without harming the experience of your other customers.

If you have a clear benefit to "upgrade" their subscription, set expectations, and make signing up as easy as possible, you'll get subscribers who are excited to be on your SMS list. Build on their experiences and move forward.

7 Ideas to Start and Grow Your SMS Subscriber List

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 09:00:00 +0800

Many people think that SMS as a marketing tool is outdated and old-fashioned. It's underutilized and often forgotten, with more focus placed on online advertising, email lists, and other tactics.

But a channel that has an open rate anywhere from 82% to 98% can't be ignored. Especially here in the Philippines: with 159% mobile connections compared to the local population and 14% don't even have data connectivity, the reach SMS can bring you is well worth a shot.

It's never too late to start your own SMS subscriber list for your business. We've got seven great ideas that you can use if you're starting your list, or if you need help growing it.

Promise and Deliver VIP Treatment

People love feeling like a VIP. Getting exclusive rewards and promotions, breaking news, early access to products and services--all of these are great hooks to get your customers to opt into your SMS list. The promise of having exclusive deals can be very attractive to your customers.

But make sure you deliver. Don't promise something and end up spamming your subscribers with unrelated messages or promotions.

Reward Subscribers On Signup

It's important to start off with a bang. An instant promotion or reward when your new subscribers sign up gets you off on the right foot.

You can also look into rewarding your subscribers the longer they stay signed up with you. Try scheduling sending rewards to your subscribers on the anniversary of their signing up with you. They'll be delighted and possibly tell friends of the surprise you had in store for them.

While we're talking about telling friends...

Start a Referral Program

A great way to grow your list is having a referral program in place. Your subscribers can be some of the best promoters of your brand and products: if you can offer them incentives to share your list with their friends, you might get a steady stream of new signups.

You can do something super simple such as a one-time reward for signups, or an ongoing points system. Make sure it matches the product and brand you're promoting.

Use Existing Checkout or Signup Forms

If you've got an online shop, try to maximize the use of your current forms for signing up and checking out. They're already on your website and giving you information -- why not use that to get more subscribers?

A simple checkbox at the end of the form that customers can check if they want to be signed up to your SMS subscriber list is all it takes.

Get Opt-Ins from Previously Collected Phone Numbers

Don't forget that you probably already have a number of previously collected phone numbers from past orders and customers. While you cannot immediately sign them up to your new SMS subscriber list, you can send them a one-time message inviting them to opt in.

Make sure you explain why you're contacting them now, and how they can continue to hear from you if they wish. You can use keyword opt-ins for this as well. For example:

You gave us your number for an order before.
We started sending exclusives to SMS
subscribers recently, do you want to hear
about them? Reply Y or N

Promote on Packaging and Receipts

Don't underestimate how effective printing your SMS subscriber list call to action on your product packaging and receipts.

It's something you have great control over, so why not maximize that space that your customers can see? Check out Papa John's invitation for reviews via mobile:

Source: https://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/papa-johns-brings-customer-feedback-to-pizza-boxes-with-sms-and-qr-codes/

Combine Facebook Ads and a Chatbot with Automatic SMS Opt-In

Everyone's on Facebook, and Facebook Ads can be a great way to extend reach. Facebook Click-to-Messenger Ads can send your ad's viewers directly to Messenger to chat with you, which is an added touch of intimacy with your potential customer.

You can then use a Messenger chatbot to have an interactive conversation with your customer, and sign them up to your SMS subscriber list during their conversation.

Get Started Now

SMS may be a little more traditional than your usual marketing channels, but handled correctly, your subscribers may become one of your most loyal and active customers. But your subscriber list won't grow without some work.

Take your pick, or use all of them:

Promise and deliver VIP treatment.
Reward subscribers upon signup.
Start a referral program.
Use existing checkout or signup forms.
Get opt-ins from previously collected phone numbers.
Promote on packaging and receipts.
Combine Facebook Ads and a chatbot with automatic SMS opt-in.

You can get started with your SMS subscriber list anytime. But the longer you wait, the longer before you can harvest the great returns a great marketing strategy can give you.

Great Ways to Use SMS in 2020

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 09:00:36 +0800

SMS is a great channel when you want to reach your customers. Everyone who has a mobile phone (159% here in the Philippines--many own two!) have access to SMS, while only 86% have data connectivity.

Plus, SMS has high open rates -- anywhere from 82.1% to 98%, in fact. Many people have notifications set up for SMS, because they typically expect important information and updates to come through via SMS. Even better, 90% of SMS messages received are read within 3 minutes. Compare that to email that has only a 15-20% open rate!

SMS is not dead. It just needs to be used wisely and effectively to make sure people don't send UNSUB when you start sending your campaign texts.

We've got some interesting ideas you might want to use for your next campaign.

Offer Time-sensitive Mobile Exclusives

Everyone wants a good deal, and the people who have signed up for your mobile subscriber list are no different. Better yet, you need to give them a really good reason to stay and keep opening those texts you send them.

How?

Send them irresistible, time-sensitive exclusives via SMS. Perhaps hold a flash sale until 5pm with a valuable freebie or significant discount. Limited editions with limited stock are great incentives for people to order quickly and via SMS.

Make sure they see the urgency in your SMS copy: if they don't act now, the chance to snag a great deal is gone.

Raise Convenience by Offering Quick Order Features

If your business is one that customers typically return to order the same things, giving your customers the power to quickly order something via SMS is a great idea.

In the US, Domino's Anyware initiative allows patrons to order pizza just by texting a Pizza emoji. It’s a great initiative and one that you can do locally.

Own a coffee shop with regulars coming in every day to order? Let them quickly send a text message to alert you they’re coming in, and they can get their coffee fix as soon as they come in.

Do you sell specific grocery staples that need regular replenishment? Let your suki drop you a quick emoji and they get their staples delivered to them instantly.

Ask Receivers to Present OTP for Security

Ecommerce is all the rage these days. Everyone is buying things online and getting their goods delivered straight to their doors. At the same time, many are still hesitant and wary about online shopping for fear of losing their purchased goods.

Take a leaf from local courier Gogo Express. Recipients are required to provide an OTP code to receive their parcels -- ensuring that the parcels are released to the right people. This not only ensures where parcels go, but also gives people peace of mind when it comes to sending or receiving their items.

For the best online ordering flows, asking customers to confirm their contact details via OTP is a great way to signal that you’re serious about giving them the service they deserve.

Hold Exciting Competitions

Holding a contest in your SMS subscriber list can raise engagement and tell your subscribers the value of keeping an eye out on your messages. Similar to giving them mobile exclusives, holding these contests must be time-sensitive.

It’s also best to encourage them to respond to your SMS messages to participate, rather than visit a separate webpage -- remember, many may not have access to data when they get your message.

Provide Order Confirmations and Reminders

Giving your customers peace of mind when they order or set up an appointment with you is a no-brainer. SMS is a classic avenue for that, and with its high open and read rates, cannot be left off this list.

Whether you confirm orders or ask them to provide an OTP to confirm their mobile number, the acknowledgement that you have received their order and are working on it will give them peace of mind and raise their anticipation for their order.

Conclusion

It’s important to retain the trust of your subscribers when dealing with your SMS campaigns. Massive text blasts should be a thing of the past--don’t alienate them by sending inappropriate offers and messages.

If they see that your text messages are of good value to them, they’ll stay on and look forward to hearing from you. An engaged list can do wonders for your business--take care of them, and they’ll take care of you.

10 Tips for Compelling SMS Campaigns

Wed, 05 Aug 2020 09:00:00 +0800

Tip #1 - Get Permission From Your Subscribers

Just like any email mailing list, you need to get explicit permission from your recipients before sending them marketing text messages. This is the most important tip!

There are many ways to entice people onto your subscriber list--perhaps offer them special offers, product updates, and other perks when they opt into the list.

Remember that if they gave you their email address only as part of their online order, that isn’t an invitation to start messaging them about your new products. So take the opportunity to invite them to opt in while they’re checking out their online cart or in your order communications.

Tip #2 - Provide Great Value

It goes without saying that the best way you make sure your recipients are happy with your SMS program is to provide value to them. Remember that the high open and response rates enjoyed by SMS campaigns is due to how intimate SMS messaging is for most people. Subscribers have less patience for unwanted, useless messaging in their SMS inbox than in their email inbox.

This means that while you have higher chances of getting noticed with SMS, make sure that your message is something that they would really want to know about, and act upon. Your subscribers need to feel like a VIP.

Tip #3 - Tell Subscribers What to Expect

Managing expectations is important. You don’t need to have a long explanation of what your program is about. But it’s important to be clear what subscribers can get from joining your list. This minimizes disgruntled recipients and can be a compelling reason why subscribers might join.

Make sure to reiterate your program in the auto-response that subscribers receive after they join.

Tip #4 - Don’t Nag Your Subscribers

Nobody wants to get too many messages per month, or about the same campaign. Don’t annoy your subscribers, or you’ll see more people removing themselves from your list in short order.

It’s also good practice to tell your subscribers up front how many times they can expect to receive messages from you. Anywhere from 2-6 messages per month is a good number.

Tip #5 - Time Your Messages Right

Aside from regulations that limit promotional messaging to normal hours, your recipients are more likely to take action on your message during the daytime.

A message they receive while they’re getting ready to sleep will not likely inspire them to take your offer, and may even annoy them if they wake up to your notification. In addition, sending messages after office hours can also be counterproductive for your business.

Tip #6 - Be Professional and Don’t Use Shorthand

While many people use shorthand forms when messaging their friends and family, using the same in your promotional messages may come across as sloppy and unprofessional. Sending out your promotion copy in full will rarely cause readers to think negatively of your brand, while shorthand may be detrimental.

Additionally, the shorthand forms you know may be different for your target audience. Minimize the chance of misunderstanding by sticking to normal word forms.

Tip #7 - Respond in Real Time

One of the best aspects of SMS channels is the ability to develop customer relationships through conversational marketing. By giving them an opportunity to respond to you and start a conversation, you’re building long-term relationships and loyalty.

It’s important to keep these customers engaged. While manually responding to subscribers may not be ideal, usage of autoresponders can help in many scenarios, from instantly giving them access to purchase products in your catalog to responding to their feedback appropriately.

Tip #8 - Track and Measure Your Campaigns

As with many marketing campaigns, it’s important to measure your SMS campaigns effectiveness in order to maximize current and future efforts. Don’t just send your messages blind and hope that something comes back.

Check your provider if they have tracking tools available, but you can also use third party tools like Google Analytics to track your SMS campaigns’ effectiveness. These need to be embedded in the message you send out, so don’t forget to include it as you hit send.

Tip #9 - Personalize Where You Can

While there’s only so many characters you can include in an SMS, it’s important to show your business’ personality and care for your customer through the copy that you use. It’s easy to send an impersonal message through, but it has less chances of grabbing your recipient’s attention.

Where possible, try to personalize your messaging, whether it’s by adding their name or tailoring an offer for their interests. You’re more likely to catch their attention and they’ll feel closer to your brand if you make them feel like a VIP.

Tip #10 - Stay Transparent and Compliant

Lastly, using SMS for marketing purposes is more than just making sure they’ve explicitly opted into your program. There are many important laws regulating marketing on this channel, so make sure you’re following them.

These are things like:

Informing recipients about extra message/data rates that they may incur when they respond to your campaign messages.
Letting subscribers know how to remove themselves from your program.
Sending promotional messages only within allowed times of the day.

Keep up to date with the current regulations, and make sure your bases are covered.

Conclusion

SMS is a great channel that can fully round out your existing marketing efforts. Don’t ignore newer channels such as social media ads, messenger and chat apps, and the like, but don’t dismiss this veteran marketing channel. A solid marketing plan must harness all available channels to deliver a powerful message.

If you follow all the tips outlined below, your program and campaign has a better chance of delighting your customers.

Get permission from your subscribers.
Provide great value.
Tell subscribers what to expect.
Don’t nag your subscribers.
Time your messages right.
Be professional and don’t use shorthand.
Respond in real time.
Track and measure your campaigns.
Personalize where you can.
Stay transparent and compliant.

A happy subscriber list can help you build strong customer relationships and encourage brand loyalty to your subscribers. Taking care of them and making sure you bring value through your SMS program can give you great long-term results.

3 Reasons To Use SMS Marketing in 2020

Wed, 29 Jul 2020 09:50:48 +0800

With the first text message sent in 1992 and launched widely in the Philippines in 1998, Short Message Sevice (SMS) almost feels like ancient technology. It's normal to think twice about how relevant SMS is over 20 years later. Many millenials don't even give friends and contacts their phone numbers, opting for digital messaging on social media channels instead for communication.

However, it's possibly because of this that SMS remains a strong channel to reach customers. While many people have mobile phones (there are 159% mobile connections compared to the local population--many Filipinos own more than one mobile phone), not everyone will have data--locally, only 86% have data connectivity.

Source: https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2020-philippines

SMS marketing has previously been seen negatively due to the harmful practices of untargeted, invasive SMS blasts. However, a careful and thoughtful approach to using SMS to approach your customers will be beneficial to any business. Combining SMS with other marketing tools like email or digital messaging can provide a reliable, scalable communication experience to your customers.

Not yet convinced? Here are 3 reasons to start using SMS marketing in 2020.

Reason #1 - SMS has High Open Rates

Email, one of the most popular communication tools in marketing, only has a 15-20% open rate, while text messages are opened anywhere from 82.1% to 98%. You would sooner find people with zero unread text messages than zero unread email, and for good reason.

Text messages are shorter and more straightforward, easy to skim and take action on if needed. People give their mobile numbers only to select individuals, making it a more intimate medium.

Of course, this intimacy also means recipients are more sensitive to breaches of trust when it comes to SMS. They are more likely to be irritated with unwanted and unsolicited messaging.

Reason #2 - Fast Delivery

An SMS call to action is quick to write and finish--after all, you only have to worry about the words and the message length. There are no designs to sign off on, or additional media you need to provide.

But SMS is also fast when it comes to results--90% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt. Potentially 90% of your recipients have seen your offer and taken action on it. That’s an unprecedented number for any marketing tool.

Reason #3 - Encourages Two-Way Interactions

SMS is intimate and designed for two-way interactions. This is perfect for when your business needs quick confirmation, like for appointments and reservations. Your recipients are already in the frame of mine to address a text message, and you can leverage that with thoughtful updates.

Businesses can use this in more ways than providing delivery updates and reservation confirmations. Perhaps offering mobile exclusives can help build a loyal audience (as long as recipients have opted into your offerings). Building more intimate relationships will help you retain and grow your customer base.

Don’t Ignore SMS in 2020

SMS is the often-overlooked tool in any marketer’s arsenal. Don’t let its plain looks and mature years fool you: it is a strong contender for any business looking to maximize its marketing tactics.

Its high open rates, fast delivery, and great engagement is unprecedented for marketing channels. Discerning businesses who harness SMS marketing well will see long-term benefits to customer loyalty.