SMS marketing to the publicity-deprived entrepreneur is like the Gold rush to the small-time miner. You have an easy mine of gold found at very low cost, mined like crazy without a process or a plan, profits reaped, other miners join in for scale, more competing miners rush in and before you know it the gold mine is empty.
Today the cell phone user is inundated with marketing SMS and it is increasingly difficult to catch user attention. Check out my friend’s frustration on the number of mobile spam he receives: “51 unread SMS in just 3 days!”
Just like how gold mining improved in the prospecting, extraction, purification and transportation, mobile SMS marketing has to find ways of getting effective – finding the right, needing audience, at the right time and with the right message. Here is a quick checklist before you send out that SMS:
- Who is in your database of mobile numbers? Have you got their permission? Even if it means reading through every entry and investigating, make sure you know your list.
- Make sure your SMS has a value offering, not just an introductory SMS. e.g. “Reply YES to join the XYZ 25% discount promo“
- SMS is very personal. Never send an SMS without the customer’s name being mentioned.
- Get the message worded perfect. I loved this one from this site.
“Beat the queue! Show this text at Metropolis Nightclub before 10pm tonight and we’ll take you through the members’ only entrance. Free single shot at the bar with this text.”
Any club in Chennai reading?
- Always include an ‘unsubscribe’ or opt-out option such as “reply STOP to be removed“
- Never send the same SMS twice!!!
- When you have many messages to be sent(highly discouraged though), never have the SMS sent in a flurry, space them out over time.
- make sure your website has a mobile friendly version
Here is one that I received recently, it did not follow much of the above list but it caught my attention and it stays in my inbox!
Dear Customer,
Stay Indoor to Get Outdoor!
Bicycle service at your doorstep – BSA Hercules Care,
Call Toll Free 18001022324.
Mon to Fri (9 am to 5 pm)
“Stay indoor to get outdoor”… I liked that 
#1 by Ashish on October 10, 2009 - 11:50 am
Nice post and thanks for the mention, Sreelesh.
Good points on SMS marketing but I doubt if anyone will listen. Adding value to a service that costs so less would be of zero priority. Reaching out to the masses would be the goal, in the hope that someone would respond. I wonder if people respond positively because the number of SMS’ seems to be going up. Is it actually working for someone?
#2 by Sreelesh on October 10, 2009 - 8:44 pm
Thanks for the comment Ash.
Adding value to a service that costs so less would be of zero priority. Reaching out to the masses would be the goal, in the hope that someone would respond.
It’s exactly this zero priority thought that has to change for each bulk SMS sent to be more effective. And it’s not just seeking new customers. Upselling, alerts, etc – remember Parfait 3? I still get their personalized alerts, I think they once sent me something about burgers
#3 by Ashish on October 12, 2009 - 7:36 am
Ah! Now it makes sense why you suggested Parfait3 on Friday!
#4 by John Taylor on November 7, 2009 - 10:04 am
I found your blog on Google. I’ve bookmarked it and will watch out for your next blog post.
#5 by hkarthi on November 18, 2009 - 3:33 am
I agree with Ash that its about reaching masses. Value addition is not something that has caught on (or at least in India). If the advertiser is able to get 10% respond i think its considered as a successful campaign for him. There is big bucks to be earned if SMS marketing is done right. Increasing SMS is just an indication that advertisers are working out to find the right solution to get end-users attention.
#6 by Sreelesh on November 18, 2009 - 4:19 am
Thanks for stopping by Karthi!
The post is ‘for effective SMS marketing’ accepting the fact that it is very much about reaching masses. Picking from your words, it’s about helping one get a 30% response instead of considering a 10% response as a successful campaign. And yes value addition – definitely not yet there in India, outright silly SMS fills the inbox anyday!
#7 by iText Global on May 13, 2010 - 12:46 pm
Thanks for the article, SMS is pretty new but seems to be growing pretty fast. Do you have any resources I could look at that talk about pricing for SMS marketing? Thanks again!