An ongoing issue is inbox overflow, which lowers the success rates of costly marketing initiatives. Which performs better? Consumers respond quickly to messages sent to them on their phones, which is unmatched by other channels.
SMS, or “short message service,” also known as text messaging, is still not widely used. The following is our manual for understanding the prices, features, and potential benefits of your SMS texts.
Steps to take before investing in SMS services
Your SMS services must suit your company objectives, fit within your budget, and be integrated with your current customers’ processes. How to accomplish all of this is as follows:
1. Ascertain how SMS can benefit your consumers’ duties or messaging:
SMS replaces undesired emails and phone calls, among other sources of distraction, in the noise that customers must deal with on a daily basis. SMS messages have a 98% open rate, and 90% of them are read within three minutes.
Whether it comes to abandoned shopping carts, customer care inquiries, marketing new product launches, and seasonal deals, SMS has been shown to be effective in the retail industry.
Whether SMS is a good fit for your audience the question. Instead, ask them how and when they would like to hear from your business. Starting with SMS notification services is a great idea.
2. Determine every SMS feature you have access to:
Using an SMS API is not limited to sending messages. One-time password-based SMS consumer verifications increase conversion rates while fostering confidence and thwarting fraud. Product marketing teams can send tailored offers, news, and rewards to customers using bulk SMS that are personalized for their unique requirements and prior actions. Find out what your objectives are, how they relate to SMS, and what tools are available to help you achieve them.
3. Consider how SMS fits into your current activities:
Initiatives involving SMS messaging can complement current client operations and frequently replace ones that aren’t working well. Analytics are frequently included in SMS deployments, giving information into how well it performs in targeted marketing. In order to increase productivity and business outcomes, SMS solution providers frequently combine their solutions with email, scheduling, polling, and other marketing platforms like CRM or support.
4. Calculate the total cost of SMS:
Although SMS sending is cheap, there are other factors to take into account. According to Business News Daily, “Pricing for text message marketing services vary depending on numerous factors: the vendor, how many messages you need to send each month, how many specific keywords you require, and whether you anticipate exceeding your monthly restrictions at all.” Unsurprisingly, discounts are frequently offered for large purchases.
Making the proper investment will lower your overall communication costs and cut SMS expenditures, which can improve customer relations.
Find out if the solutions you’re contemplating have any astronomical setup fees or secret recurring expenditures as you compute costs. Does your team have any trouble integrating the technology with your measurement tools? Your cost-savings calculations and, ultimately, your ROI, may be impacted by these responses.