While getting your audience to read your messages might seem like the hard part of SMS marketing, in reality it’s the easiest portion of the whole process. People can’t get enough texting, so it’s pretty clear that simply sending out a message is at least worth a momentary glance from this customer on the go. However, it’s not so easy to get these interested shoppers in the door if your messages don’t hit them the right way. Thankfully, you won’t need to do too much to revamp your SMS approach; just follow these five simple tips and you’ll be heading toward radically improving the redemption rates on your latest text message deals and offers.
Don’t Forget to Identify Your Brand
While this one might seem painfully obvious when you first read it, you’d be surprised at just how many brands fail to do something as simple as identify themselves somewhere in the text. Chances are, you’ve probably even come across one of these messages on your own phone. We’ve all received vague messages from strange numbers and more than likely the first response most people have is to dump this wasted opportunity into the virtual trash can. To avoid this potentially campaign killing fate, make sure you add something that people can relate to your brand. Whether it’s a product name, company name, or even a slogan, anything that helps cut out this confusion can go a long way toward pumping up redemption rate numbers on your offers.
Set up Auto-responders and Surveys
Being interactive makes members of your audience feel like they’re doing something worthwhile, so why not add this flavor into your SMS strategy? By setting up auto-responders or building in surveys that utilize response keywords, your customers can chime in via text with what they like and dislike, all while snagging a coupon or discount for their time and effort. Even something as simple as texting back a word or series of numbers to redeem an offer can go a long way instead of a generic text that does little to separate itself from the rest of the SMS pack. In some cases, you can double dip with this little trick and turn a onetime text into a recurring conversation in the form of periodic messages to a highly interested customer.
Avoid Abbreviations But Keep It Short
The biggest draw to texting over pretty much any other marketing medium is the speed at which your viewers read and respond. Because of this, plenty of brands try to keep these promotional messages as short as possible. While this is definitely the right approach in theory, the problem arises when relying on “text speak.” “Msge bk 4 gr8 deals” might seem trendy and okay when you’re prepping your first set of messages, but the reality of the situation is that most mobile consumers don’t like or even understand these abbreviations and shorthand. Additionally, the fact that they also don’t want to read a novel on their phones makes things a little tricky.To keep your redemption rates up and remain relevant, you’ll need to learn to walk the fine line of brevity. Basically, try cutting out all the filler in your message and get right to the important details – while also skipping out on the text speak. It might be a little hard to handle at first because so many brands think more is better when it comes to talking with customers, but in the case of texts, keeping it simple and short goes a long way with your audience.
Timing is Everything
Another simple pitfall that has doomed far too many SMS campaigns and crushed redemption rates on offers is poor timing. While your message might be one of a kind in terms of the deal you’re offering and how you phrase it, if it hits most of your audience at four in the morning, chances are they’re not going to be too thrilled with your text. If you’re sticking to a regional plan, matching up times based on peak hours (like 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. for restaurants with lunch specials) is pretty easy. However, crossing over into other time zones does require a little more effort in the form of staggering these messages to all arrive in the right time slot.
Tying in the Rest of Your Brand Content
The final quick tip you can take to revamp your redemption rates comes in the form of adding a simple link to some of your other content. Whether it’s a blog post about the featured product or a link to your email mailing list, anything that adds a little extra value to the text without taking up too much space is a great tool to boost customer interest. Even if it’s just a graphic or a little extra info on what you’re promoting, it’s well worth the addition. When paired up with the rest of these quick tips, you can build a sound SMS marketing strategy that keeps redemption rates and conversions up and your customers happier and more interested than ever before.
