Spike Mobile | 5 Reasons You Need to be Using SMS in Your ...

SMS is huge! What started out as a single message back in 1992 from a computer to a cell phone has exploded into a worldwide phenomenon. Some important milestones by year:

• 2000: text messaging first arrives in Canada ? people send about 35 texts/month
• 2007: first year that SMS surpasses phone calls for means of communication (218 texts/213 phone calls average per month)
• 2011: people ages 15-45 sent between 400 ? 3,700 text messages per month. Worldwide, over 8 trillion were sent.Average age of a texter is 36.

Even with these amazing growth stats, many marketers overlook this powerful tool for customer engagement. Here are a couple of reasons why:

1. Many are still stuck in old ways of thinking. Even though people may throw out their direct mail, delete their mass emails, or turn the channel on their TV commercial many people still believe that this is the best way to attract new customers. While these methods still work to a degree, they do little to engage your current clients & bring them back in more often.
2. Secondly, I think we move ahead too quickly. Apps are great, but not everyone has a smartphone yet. Why do you think an app would be a better choice for your business? Apps cost thousands more than SMS. What makes your app worth downloading? Is it going to provide an ongoing value, or something that is deleted soon after it?s downloaded?
3. Most people aren?t familiar with how SMS can be used as a marketing tool. They think of it as those ?Joke A Day? commercials you see on TV that charge you $3/message. They often say ?oh we?ve already got Facebook? or ?isn?t that just like Groupon for cell phones?? Some who try to use SMS just don?t do it right. They make simple mistakes that can really affect the effectiveness of their campaign.

Here are 5 reasons to use SMS to boost the effectiveness of the marketing system you?ve already got in place.

1. Instant traffic. This is probably the most important way that SMS can help your business. 97% of text messages are checked within 7 minutes versus 50% of emails that are checked ever. SMS is also quick to send out. If you?re having a slow day or want some old stock cleared out, send a text & people will start to come in ? right away!
2. Permission based. There is NO SPAM with any of Spike|Mobile?s SMS campaigns. The only people who receive your SMS messages are people who have opted-in to your SMS group. It?s far better to have a small group of highly engaged customers, than a large email list that doesn?t want to hear from you.
3. Have fun. Use SMS to poll your customers on their favourite menu item, tell you what kind of brands they want to see in your store or give fast feedback regarding your customer service. All of the results are sent & calculated in real-time, so you don?t have to wait to know what they think.
4. Reminders. How many times have you heard: ?Oh ya! I completely forgot!? Whether you?re reminding them about their dentist appointment, the live band you have at your bar or what your daily special is, people actually check text messages. You can reduce no-shows, increase attendance & put butts in your seats.
5. Affordable. Not only will SMS combine well with everything you?re already doing, it?s also much cheaper than anything you?re already doing. Reaching people who you know want to hear from you couldn?t be easier or more cost effective. It?s also completely FREE for them to receive the messages from you.

Everywhere you look, people are texting. It?s about time you started using SMS to engage with your customers. Greg Lehman

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Source: http://www.spikemobile.net/5-reasons-you-need-to-be-using-sms-in-your-marketing-mix?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-reasons-you-need-to-be-using-sms-in-your-marketing-mix

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