Customers may be spending record amounts of time on their phones, but marketers are also facing record levels of competition for their attention. It’s important to not be lulled by statistics stating how the average person checks their phone 160 times a day. There’s only so much mental real estate that your customers can reserve for you when they’re being pelted by a flurry of 1,500 ads and brand communications within the same timeframe.

And if you thought that was the end of your competition, think again. Between private messages, work emails, and notifications from various apps, mobile phone users receive an average of 46 alerts from push notifications alone.

When subjected to so much simultaneous stimulation, the brain filters out unnecessary information through a process that psychologists call selective attention. It’s how, for example, we’re able to reply to our emails while blocking out the sounds of chattering, traffic, or even a coffee grinder in the background. Similarly, marketers have to earn the attention of their customers with SMS messages. With the right promotional messaging tactics, less can be more. This article will shed light on SMS strategies that you should consider, as well as ones that you might wish to retire.

The Do’s: SMS messaging strategies that work

The principle behind positive marketing communication remains the same no matter which medium is used. A help-first approach will always beat a sell-first one when it comes to encouraging people to stop and listen to what you have to say.

Do give customers SMS-specific incentives to subscribe

In a poll conducted by 8x8, businesses lose more than 10% of their SMS subscriber base because they do not differentiate their messaging between channels. While brand consistency is important, there’s no reason for customers to stay subscribed to several channels if they’re receiving the same information from each one.

This problem can be easily circumvented by offering SMS exclusive content and offers. Such exclusive deals incentivises customers to keep their eyes peeled for the next promotional SMS, rather than relegating your messages to their archive. They also elicit stronger positive emotions with your brand by making customers feel included.

Do reach out to customers with proactive customer support

Business should always be proactive. Period. Why? Because solving customer problems creates new opportunities for businesses to sell, re-sell, and upsell their services to existing customers.

According to our own calculations, automated SMSes that provide customers with information on how they can troubleshoot their issues can save businesses up to $28,000 per 400,000 customers. This is all at the initial investment of just $0.015 per SMS! Businesses can also go one step further with real-time communications that allow customers to receive help from human agents either via chat apps or video channels.

Do leverage customer engagement metrics

When competing in a hyper-competitive environment, the only way business can stay relevant is through constant strategy refinement, which requires constant customer feedback. And feedback does not have to necessarily be limited to surveys.

It’s important to look at how customers are interacting on your SMS channel through metrics, such as open rates, response rates, and cost-per-interaction. If you see a low engagement rate, you might want to look into the SMS content or even the traffic route. If you are experiencing a decent result, you might want to segment your customer groups to further optimise your campaigns.

The Don’ts: SMS messaging strategies that harm your business

Without directing the right message, tone, and offer to the right people, promotional SMS messages can actually do your business more harm than good. Avoiding common pitfalls is key to ensuring that you don’t spend marketing dollars tearing down your business’ reputation.

Don’t spam customers with irrelevant messages

Not all messages are created equal. Messages that indicate to your audience how little you know about them, such as student exclusive discounts directed at working adults, will only alienate them from your brand and benefit your competitors. Being selective about the messages you send based on relevant information, such as a customer’s age, gender, geolocation, and purchase history, can make all the difference between rising engagement numbers and plummeting subscriber counts.

19.2% of mobile users click “unsubscribe” when they receive irrelevant messages.

Sorting your audience into neat buckets is just the first step. You’ll want to space out your promotional messages and line them up with festive occasions, birthdays, and other relevant events in order for your messages to have the most impact. Sending the right message at the wrong time will only come off as spammy.

Don’t overlook in-country SMS regulations

With data privacy and fraud prevention being hot topics, government agencies all around the world are implementing regulations on how businesses can send SMS messages to their customers. While the guidelines are largely the same, there are subtle differences between countries. And, keeping track of these guidelines will contribute to a far more effective communication strategy.

For example, in Singapore, it’s prohibited to send SMS messages that advertise or promote money-lending services. And in Malaysia, messages containing URLs, requests for personal information, and phone numbers are blocked.

Don’t contact customers without consent

If unwelcome calls are intrusive, unsolicited marketing messages can be outright illegal depending on which jurisdiction your business operates in. Even if they are legally compliant, you’re far more likely to drive customers to click the unsubscribe button than the purchase button.

Omitting the opt-in form before adding customer contacts to your emailing list has been shown to cost businesses their subscriber base. On the other hand, businesses that are transparent earn the respect and loyalty of 94% of consumers. It may be just one tiny step, but the results couldn’t be more different than night and day. If you can only take away one thing from this article, never forget to include an opt-in form.

Make every promotional SMS campaign a hit with expert tools and advice

Understanding the do’s and don’ts of promotional SMS messages is great, but being able to implement personalised care and attention at scale can prove to be a challenge if you do not have a large enough team in place. Automated messaging tools such as 8x8 Connect allow you to save and tweak message templates, so that you always have the perfect messages ready to go, no matter who your audience may be.

Contact us for expert help on optimising your promotional SMS messaging campaigns.