The Power Of SMS Marketing (Infographic)

SMS marketing has exploded in popularity over the last few years. It’s becoming one of the most effective methods of marketing for businesses who have repeat customers and need to reach them at specific times. If you’re unfamiliar with this stream of marketing, it allows businesses and organizations to send targeted, opt-in text messages to people who have subscribed to a particular list. Here’s the skinny on how it works…

1. Customers text a special keyword to a “shortcode” or short phone number (usually 5 or 6 digits). A keyword is unique to your business and represents it’s own SMS marketing list.
2. After that text is sent, the customer receives an automated response back called an “auto reply”. This reply usually contains a thank you, some type of reward for joining, and instructions on how to opt out, should they choose to. The customer’s number is then also added to an SMS marketing database for that particular keyword.
3. Now when business is slow or you need to get the word out about a specific promotion or event, you can instantly send a mass text message to the entire list of customers who have subscribed.

Your customers’ phones essentially become a “mobile coupon”. You control the offer, and the exact time that they receive it. One reasons why SMS marketing is so effective is because 99% of text messages are read. 95% of them within the first 5 minutes. Another reason is that the list of people you’re blasting your promotion out to is extremely concentrated. You’re landing your promotion into the hands of people who have said “Yes, I want to hear about what your business has to offer.”

To put the power of SMS marketing into prospective, check out this infographic by SlickText.com. It highlights some extremely impressive statistics on why SMS marketing is so powerful.