text message marketingx

Text Message Marketing for Your Small Business

David McCammon MarketTrainingCenter.Com

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Introduction

SMS, short message service or, as it’s become more commonly

known, text message marketing, has become so huge today that many

customers don’t even realize that they’re part of a text message

marketing campaign.

Do you receive texts from your cell phone company telling you about a new

product or service? Or does your gym text you telling you when there’s a new

class or promotion available?

If you get a text message from any business, or from someone you don’t

know, the chances are good that you’re part of a text message marketing

campaign.

More companies today are jumping onto the text message train and with so

many benefits; it’s not hard to see why.

Still, so many small businesses can’t see those benefits because they’re so

overwhelmed at the thought of this kind of marketing.

Doesn’t it cost a lot of money? And how is a business to

build a list of numbers for the text message campaign? When

are you supposed to even have the time to text all of those

hundreds, or even thousands, of numbers?


It’s no wonder small business owners quickly give up even the thought of

text message marketing.

But there is an answer for each of those questions, and they’re all within this

guide. This report will walk you through, step-by-step, on how to create a

text message marketing campaign from beginning to end.

Within you’ll find out what you’ll need to begin, how to find a short message

service company that works for you, how to set these campaigns up to run

automatically, and tips on what texts work the best, and how often you should be

texting customers.

So go on! Start reading and finding out everything you need to know about

text message marketing for your small business!


Text Message Marketing for Your

Business

Text Message marketing Challenges

Text message marketing doesn’t pose many challenges to the small business

owner; that is, once they’ve already embarked on creating a campaign.

Getting to that point where it’s no longer overwhelming and starts to

become profitable though, can be a bit of a challenge in and of itself.

Here are the biggest obstacles faced by small business owners when they

first start considering text message marketing for their business.

Challenge #1: Not knowing the benefits

Some business owners know the benefits that come with text message

marketing. Others have heard of it, but don’t really see how sending out a few

texts can translate into bigger profits.

For this latter group, here are just a few of the biggest benefits that can be

derived from text message marketing.

It’s incredibly fast.

With other types of marketing campaigns, it could take weeks or months

before your campaign is even off the ground; and it could be even longer

before you start seeing any results from that marketing.


Text message marketing on the other hand, can be done within a second,

and customers can respond right away.

It allows you to target certain audiences more effectively.

With billboards, newspaper ads, flyers, pamphlets, and radio ads, you either

need to blanket all of your customers with the same advertisement, or you

need to spend a huge amount of time sorting them out into different target

groups and then marketing only to them.

However with text message marketing you can automatically target certain

people and certain groups, or you can send the text to every customer –

both will take the same amount of time.

It garners more results than email marketing.

Email is still king when it comes to many online and digital forms of

marketing; but not text messaging. Studies have shown that while

customers are more likely to ignore or block marketing email addresses,

they’re much more likely to open – and be open to – marketing and

promotional material sent via text message.

It’s environmentally-friendly.

Everyone’s concerned about “going green” these days, including your

customers.


Text message marketing includes paperless campaigns; something that’s

more budget-friendly for you, and more enticing for your customers!

Challenge #2: Having no time

Business owners already find that they have no time in the day. So how are

they supposed to find time to create a campaign, gather numbers, and then send

the marketing material to all those people?

Creating the campaign and sending text messages isn’t difficult and

can be done by the small business owner if they’re interested in doing

things themselves.

For those who aren’t, a marketing consultant is a valuable resource that

will be able to do both for them.

Whether you’re looking for a step-by-step guide, or just need to know how

to hire the right marketing consultant to do it all for you, this guide will show you

how to do both.

But what about the time involved?

Short messaging service companies can set you up so that everything,

all of your campaigns, run automatically – to only the people that you want it sent

to. How do you find that short messaging service company? It’s further on in this

report.


Challenge #3: Having no numbers

Too many business owners think that just because they don’t have

any numbers to send their text messages to, they shouldn’t even bother

with this type of marketing.

However, those same business owners are currently sitting on a vast

amount of numbers and don’t even know it. And for those that aren’t, or that need

more numbers to add to their pile, this report will show you how.


Before You Create a Text Message

Marketing Plan

Before you start creating your own text message marketing campaign, you’ll

need to know about a few things.

These are listed below.

Know the rules

Each state has different rules when it comes to text message

marketing and because this type of marketing is still quite new, the laws

are very vague.

You need to thoroughly do your research on the laws pertaining to your

state and area to ensure that you’re staying within them.

Spam is not as common in texts as it is in email, but spammers and

hackers are still out there, and you don’t want to be labeled as one of them. To

keep yourself completely protected, it’s best to also stay within the email

marketing laws, which are a bit clearer and easily found.

If you find that you don’t have the time to research the laws yourself, it’s

best to speak to a marketing consultant; they’ll know exactly what the laws are in

your area.


Traditional marketing

Text message marketing is a very lucrative form of marketing, but it

was never meant to replace other types of marketing.

While this is true with many of the new forms of marketing, it’s especially

relevant with text message marketing.

This is because this form of marketing typically points back to a blog, a

website, a phone number, or some other type of marketing – direct or indirect.


Types of Text Messaging Marketing

Campaigns

Once you’re armed and ready with the few things you need, it’s then

time to start deciding on which type of campaign you want to run.

You can rely strictly on one, or use different methods depending on the

promotion.

You can also use the trial-and-error method, although a good marketing

consultant will be able to advise you on which campaigns work best, and when.

Text blasting or bulk messaging

With this type of messaging one message is sent to a mass group of

clients, much like you would send a group message within email.

Providers that offer this type of SMS marketing will typically have an

address book feature. Here you can import all of your numbers, and continually

add to them and store them. This list can typically be broken down into smaller

groups, allowing you to create better-targeted campaigns.

With this type of marketing campaign you have to be extremely careful; you

can’t just save every number you ever get and continue to text them messages.

Instead, you must give your customers the option to both opt in to the

campaign, and opt out. While they may be interested in your product or service


for a little while, it might not be forever; and they might not appreciate receiving

texts two years after they gave you their number.

Most states and other regions are also very particular in their laws regarding

unsolicited emails and text messages – another reason to be extremely careful.

So how can you get phone numbers when using this type of

marketing?

Here are a few ways:

Existing customer database (you can email them an invite, don’t

just add their number)

Place a request in your monthly/weekly newsletter or magazine.

Include a request in all offline marketing material.

Place a request on the company’s website.

When asking people for their phone numbers, always stress that privacy is of

your utmost concern; and explain the benefits they’ll receive just by being part of

the program (special discounts, coupons, etc.)

Keyword response

With a keyword response marketing campaign, customers will

contact you first before you send a text message back to them.

This type of marketing campaign is usually designed to increase direct

interaction between the company and the customer.


For example:

A real estate agent may include on their business cards, “Text

LISTINGS to find out what I have in the area!” When a homebuyer

texts the number, an automated response is set up to immediately

text the buyer back. In this case it would read something like,

“Thanks for the interest in my listings! I’ll contact you within

the next hour!”

While keyword response can be a highly effective form of marketing

and really get customers involved, the downside is that you, or someone

at your company, must be available at all times specifically to return

those calls.

An ignored call is a failed campaign; and that’s worse than no campaign at

all.

Smart texting

This kind of campaign is highly complex, and not even all providers offer it.

This is a type of keyword response campaign, but it begins a

complete interaction that can involve calling other people or contacting

other programs.


In the case of the real estate agent or firm, the buyer could

text the word “LISTINGS” to the specified number. A few seconds

later they’d get a text back asking, “Which price range were you

looking for?” to which they’d reply, and so on.

These can be as long or short as the business owner wants; but the more

complex they are, the more targeted the marketing can be, and the more

knowledgeable the salesperson can go into the call.

These are the biggest benefits that come with smart texting.

Premium-rated SMS

These campaigns are available only if you are using a commercial provider

(the preferred method) and not setting up your own desktop server; and only

certain commercial service providers offer them.

With these campaigns customers text in, but they are charged a

higher-than-usual rate for doing so.

The difference is then split between you and the service provider.

When using this type of campaign, it’s important to consider the average

income of the group you’re targeting. Those with lower incomes likely won’t be

able to afford the higher rates. However, this can be a good way for companies to

make more than they would with a typical campaign.


SMS-to-email and email-to-SMS

Most providers will allow a certain amount of these kinds of text

messages free every day; and they can be another terrific opportunity on

how to best capitalize on your text message marketing campaign.

However, you’ll need to know what providers your customers are using for

their cell service.

Cell broadcast

This is much like bulk messaging except that one message is sent

out to every single cellular phone number within a certain area.

It’s been found useful for things like emergency and disaster situations (such

as Bangladesh recently announced it would use it for,) but it could very easily

violate privacy and security terms.

This type of service also requires the consent of every cell phone provider in

the area.


SMS Server, Desktop Server, or

Commercial Service Provider?

Once you’ve decided on which type of text message marketing

campaign, or campaigns, you want to use, you’ll then need to decide on

whether you’re going to use a desktop server, or a commercial service

provider.

With an SMS server you’ll most likely need a marketing consultant, or a

team of them, to maintain and update.

Desktop servers, while easier to start up and maintain, are much more

limited. Commercial service providers are the more popular choice, although

both have their benefits, and their place.

Desktop Server

Desktop servers can be a great way to find a marketing campaign

that really works.

However, those that use a desktop server find that at some point when their

marketing needs grow, they’ll need to switch to a commercial provider anyway.

A desktop server consists of two things: the actual SMS software, and a

mobile phone or GSM modem that will be used to both send and receive text

messages.


Modems are the preferred choice, as mobile phones can be much more

limiting when used as server; but even when using the proper modem, you still

won’t be able to send and receive as many texts as you may like.

In addition, if you happen to exceed the number of messages allowed, the

provider may stop services on your phone’s SIM card when using a cell phone.

The biggest benefit that desktop servers have is that companies can

try out different marketing techniques and campaigns to find which one

works best, without paying a great deal for it.

RapidAndroid and Frontline SMS are two of the most popular companies

offering desktop servers.

SMS Server

Starting up and running an SMS server is the only way to truly get a

fully customized text message marketing campaign, or campaigns, that

allows you to do whatever you want (while staying within the law,) gives

you much better performance, and will be able to both send and receive

many more messages.

The downside to this server? The cost.


These servers can be extremely costly just to purchase, and then maintain.

Additionally, there’s no question – any business owner is going to need at least

one marketing consultant to help them work with the server, no matter what

work is being done.

Kannel, Gammu, RapidSMS, and PlaySMS are some of the most popular

companies that offer SMS servers.

Commercial service providers

Do a quick search in any search engine for “SMS providers” and you’ll be

returned with a list of hundreds of companies.

Commercial providers have become so popular today because set up

can be very simple and they sometimes come with features such as web-

based or desktop management at no additional cost.

Speaking of cost though, every provider is going to have their own fees and

monthly costs, and they’re as varied as the text messages they send themselves.

Because of this, you’ll need to seriously consider the cost of any provider,

and if it’s worth the value of what they’re offering.

That being said, the cheapest provider isn’t always the best deal; and the

most expensive isn’t always the best.


Finding an SMS Provider

Your SMS provider could be your best friend, or your worst enemy;

so it’s best to choose wisely.

This is the company that will be providing you with all of your SMS needs,

including setting up the automatic texts; gathering your numbers from you

and in many cases, supplying you with a list of numbers; and just about

anything else that you want to do in order to move forward with your marketing

campaign.

Bear in mind that an SMS provider is not the same thing as a marketing

consultant.

While an SMS provider will set you up and give you the ability to text

thousands of people at a time, they often won’t do more than that. A marketing

consultant is the one that will need to create the actual texts, and set up the

automatic systems that your SMS provider offers.

There are many things that you’ll want to look for in an SMS provider; and

if you are working with a marketing consultant, they’ll be able to take over this job

for you as well if you’d like.


If you’re going it on your own, here are a few things to look for:

They deliver messages using a shortcode.

Shortcodes are typically keywords that a customer can enter in order to be

taken to your marketing campaign, collect or redeem coupons, or answer

surveys and polls. It’s generally understood that only the best SMS providers

use shortcodes.

They have Mobile Marketing Experts on staff.

These are marketing professionals that have studied in the specific field of

technical requirements. They are all members of the Mobile Marketing

Association and have specialized knowledge about SMS. Still, they will not

usually create content for you or set up any systems to send out messages.

They are there strictly to work for the SMS provider and advise them on the

best services to offer their customers with today’s SMS needs, and help with

a few technical aspects on the provider’s end.

They have a phone number.

This one may sound a little crazy, but it’s true. Providing SMS is one of those

industries that is fraught with scammers; and those scammers typically rely

solely on online communication since it’s less traceable and they don’t

actually have to deal with any customers. Make sure that yours has one and

that when you call it, you get another person on the other end.


They are strictly focused on text message marketing.

While it’s fine for your marketing consultant to dabble in other forms of

marketing as well (and preferred, since they can tie it all together,) this is

not what you want from your SMS provider. As their name suggests, they

provide a specific service – and that service should be all they’re thinking

about.

They have a website that’s easy to navigate.

This one also may sound like you’re just being difficult but if an SMS

provider doesn’t have a website that uploads quickly and is easy to get

around, it could indicate that they don’t have a good grip on how to best

utilize the digital and online world. You may want to find a provider that

does.

Their customers are raving about their customer service.

This is an obvious one. There’s still nothing that can be guaranteed quite like

word of mouth can, and it holds so true when looking for an SMS provider.

Look at testimonials and reviews not located on the provider’s site (third-

party) and see who is saying the best things about which company. This will

probably be the biggest help when narrowing your list down.


Three Most Popular SMS Providers

EZ Texting

EZ Texting allows you to send anywhere from 10 to 10,000 messages in

just minutes, and with just a few clicks.

This company uses keywords that customers can text in to receive coupons,

schedule appointments, and more. They’ll also allow you to segment and sort your

contacts into groups – as many groups as you want – so that you can have more

effective, better-targeted marketing strategies.

Here are some of the features you’ll receive when using EZ Texting:

Web-based service, so the amount of information you store is practically

limitless

Can take polls, and display results on the screen

Uses, and provides, shortcodes

Compatible with PowerPoint

Can create reports

Can create as many groups as you’d like, with as many numbers in each

group as you’d like

Does not allow repetitive voting in polls

Results can be downloaded in Excel format

Free trial

Importing and adding contacts is easy

Multiple choice polls


Customized polls

Automatic replies

Provides keywords for polls with ability to buy additional keywords

International voting

Facebook widget

Photo and YouTube attachments allowed

Customer support is available through toll-free number; email; FAQs; and a

blog

Product demo available

Plans start as low as $10/month for 400 messages and go as high as

$149/month for 6,600 messages; additional messages are available for

purchase at the cost of $24 for 1,000 messages.

Ahoy Messaging

Ahoy Messaging is actually much more than simply an SMS provider.

With this company you’ll be able to import contacts easily for SMS purposes;

as well as send out campaigns that include audio files, mobile e-cards, and a

shuffle responder that will place all of your text messages into a “scrambler” and

send them out randomly.

Also from right within Ahoy, you’ll be able to create QR codes, and update

your Facebook and Twitter accounts.

In addition to all of these features, these are the text messaging features

they offer:


Web-based service

Online set-up

On-screen poll results


Creates reports and groups

Prevents repetitive votes

Results can be downloaded as an Excel file

Free trial offered

Contacts can easily be imported and added onto

Multiple choice polls available

Customized polls

Automatic reply messages sent

Will accept votes made through a mobile browser

Keywords for polls are provided

Facebook widget provided

Photo and YouTube attachments allowed

Customer support available through email and FAQs


Plans available from $28/month for 200 messages to $800/month for

10,000 messages; additional messages can be purchased for $110 per

1,000 messages.


Trumpia

Trumpia is another very popular SMS provider that allows many of the same

features as Ahoy.

These include text-to-screen services, shuffle responders, and picture and video

messaging.

In addition, Trumpia also comes with these features:

Web-based service

Online set-up available

Poll results displayed on screen


Creates reports and groups

Prevents repetitive voting

Free trial available

Can import, as well as add onto, contacts

Multiple choice polls

Automatic message replies sent

Votes can be made via mobile browser

Uses, and provides, keywords

Facebook widget available

Photos and YouTube attachments allowed

Customer support available through toll-free phone, email, FAQs, and blog



Packages available from $50 a month for 1,000 messages to $1200 a

month for 30,000 messages; additional messages are available at $50

for 1,000 messages.

Once you’ve decided what type of campaign you want to run, and

you’ve chosen the service provider that’s going to help you do it, its then

time to move on in the text message marketing plan.

What are you going to say, and what are you going to use it for?

That’s what will be discussed in the next section.


How to Most Effectively Use Text

Message Marketing

There are a number of different ways you can not only use text message

marketing, but use it to its fullest advantage.

The chances are, once you’ve completed your first couple of campaigns,

you’ll be filled with tons of ideas on how you can most effectively use text

message marketing.

Here are a few to get you started:

Appointment reminders.

It’s incredibly frustrating, and incredibly profit-eating, to make appointments

with customers only to have them cancel at the last second. Sending

appointment reminders via text a few days, or the day before, can help cut

down on the number of those appointment cancelations.

Appointment availability announcements.

Even with the best campaign running appointment reminders, you’re not

going to be able to eliminate cancelled appointments altogether. So when it

happens as it’s bound to, you can instead send out announcements to

customers on the waiting list that one’s become available.

You can fill the spot, customers will be happy you fit them in, and other

customers won’t walk away angry with the cancellation fees you’ve charged

them.


Event announcements.

It can be incredibly disappointing when you take weeks or months to plan a

company barbecue, a customer appreciation event, or any other event, and

have a poor turnout simply because people didn’t know about it. Text

message marketing can send announcements about the event months

before, and then several times leading up to the event.

Flash sales.

Having a slow business day? Need to drum up some business to balance the

month’s books? Messaging your customers that you’re having a sale for that

day only can do the trick.

Newsletter signup.

This form of marketing works best when using keyword response campaigns.

Place a keyword on your website, slides during presentations, business

cards, and anywhere else you can think of. When customers text in, they’ll

sign up for the newsletter.

Share your presentations.

This particular use has revolutionized the way people speak and present at

conferences and seminars. Gone are the days of copying agendas, notes,

schedules, and other handouts. Now when you get up to speak you can

simply give the attendees a code that they can text. This code will allow

them to download all of the data – to their phone, email, or laptop.


Polls.

Polls are everywhere today, and they’re a great way to obtain direct, and

quick, customer feedback. Want to know what product your customers are

looking for? Want to know whether or not they’re enjoying a particular

feature of your website or service? Polls will answer all of these questions

and more.

Coupons.

Also one of the biggest uses of text message marketing, sending your

customers a coupon via text message is a huge way to increase profits and

increase customer interaction. Coupons, gift certificates, special previews,

insider info on sales and promotions – it’s all up for grabs with text message

marketing.


Tips for Writing Marketing Texts

While no one except a good marketing consultant can tell you word for word

what to write in your text message marketing campaigns, here are some ways to

form and create your text messages that will help:

Keep it simple.

With text messages, just like Twitter, you’re forced to keep it simple

because you’re typically limited to about 160 characters. However, you can

still become very confusing within those few characters, and you have to

make sure that that doesn’t happen. Stay focused, offer no more than

one thing in your message, and then get out.

Include a call to action.

The last thing you want is a great message that gets customers excited, and

then leaves them feeling confused as to what to do next. Make a call to

action and be very specific about what they need to do. Remember,

some people could be receiving a text message for the first time when they

receive yours, so walk them through it – exactly.

Include a sense of urgency.

You also don’t want people putting off action on your offer, as that leads to it

eventually being forgotten. Include an expiration date, a “limited time

offer” announcement, or a deadline. It will make it stick in people’s

heads better, and make them take action right away.


Brand yourself.

Millions of companies and businesses are already using text message

marketing, and millions more are about to start. Because of this, as you

continue to send text messages, they have a better chance of getting lost in

the crowd. Help customers remember your messages further by

branding yourself within them. Place the same tag line, logo, or slogan

at the top of every single message that you send – every single time.

Make it personable.

Every company has their own tone they like to use in their marketing

campaigns, whether it’s professional or casual. But even the most

professional corporations need to learn to keep it casual in their text

messages. Texts by their very nature are casual, and people are used

to being casual in them. While you don’t have to use slang and be super-

casual, you can’t be super-corporate, either.

In addition to the things you should do, there are also a number of things

that you should not do. The last section will cover what those are.


What to Avoid in Text Message Marketing

When text message marketing doesn’t work, it’s usually because

business owners have inadvertently used it incorrectly, or made mistakes

when creating and following through with their campaign.

Below are the biggest mistakes to avoid in text message marketing:

Ineffective promotion of the campaign.

Text message marketing is just one approach, and you’ll need your other

forms of marketing to keep generating profits. But you’ll also need them to

promote your text messaging campaign; it’s the only way to keep getting

numbers and to make the campaign as effective as it can really be. Promote

your campaign on social media, business cards, radio broadcasts, newspaper

adverts, and leaflets.

Not using collected data.

While you can’t keep messaging people years, or maybe even months, after

one campaign, you should keep the numbers you get on-hand and ask them

to opt in to further campaigns. Furthermore, any results from polls that you

take through a campaign should also be recorded and retained. These can

prove to be valuable resources later on when you’re searching for the same

kind of information.

Leaving inquiries unanswered.

How turned off would a customer be if they asked you a question when

standing right in front of you and you didn’t reply? It’s the same thing that


happens with unanswered text messages. When people text in, they are

showing a genuine interest in what you do and what you’re offering. The

worst thing you could do would be to turn them away.

Buying lists of numbers.

The numbers that you get from your SMS provider you can be fairly certain

are legitimate and legally obtained. However, those that are for purchase

from random individuals or companies are typically not legitimate, and

messages will be identified as spam. Prevent this from happening, and don’t

buy lists from people you don’t know.

Over-texting.

Text too often and you’ll soon have people opting out of your campaign like

wildfire. This one’s really simple: don’t text the same customer any more

than twice a month, unless you’re responding to a question or comment of

theirs.


Conclusion

Text message marketing has so many benefits that are all too often

untapped by business owners, if only because they’re too overwhelmed by

the thought.

But there’s no reason to be intimidated, or to think that you can’t do it.

Anyone can really, but not everyone has the time. If that’s the case for you,

call a marketing consultant that can explain all of the benefits, help you find the

right service provider for you, and even write all of your text messages for you.

If you do want to do it all yourself, what are you waiting for?

Start researching the different SMS companies, find one you like, and get

writing your very first text message campaign!