SMS messaging is one of the most powerful marketing channels available. But just like any other marketing channel, your campaign will only be as effective as its execution. A bad SMS marketing campaign can even blow up in your face, if customers stop looking at your texts.
Thankfully, there are businesses whose sole purpose is to help you run a successful text based marketing campaign. The right SMS marketing agency can help you grow your customer base, boost sales, and increase customer engagement. Here are some things you should look for when choosing an agency.
Ease of Use
The first thing you should look for with an SMS marketing agency or platform is how easy it is to use. Are you able to send messages to individual customers, or just groups? Can you categorize different groups so you can easily communicate with a certain set of customers? These are features you should expect on a high-quality SMS platform.
Along the same lines, look for the ability to automate some of the personalization. For example, you should be able to automatically insert your customers’ names into a mass text. By smoothing out these repetitive tasks, a well-designed platform lets you focus on running your business.
Quality Analytics
SMS marketing is easier to track than most other marketing channels. Since you’re interacting individually with each customer, you can tailor your messages based on your history with them. For example, when someone fills out a survey, you can match that survey to a particular interaction with a particular person. It’s a lot more meaningful than just a statistic.
Along the same lines, you can easily tell who is responding to your messages. If someone doesn’t respond to any texts, you can take them off your list, and communicate via other methods. That way, you can limit your SMS marketing campaign only to individuals who actually respond.
Of course, none of this works unless your agency has good analytics. Before you sign up for a plan, make sure you know what kind of analytics you’ll be able to gather.
Technical and Legal Expertise
Text messaging is a relatively new marketing channel, so it’s easy to understand that not all platforms are fully up to speed. If your text message delivery isn’t reliable, you probably won’t get the results you were hoping for. Of course, every service will have some errors – for example, customers may have given you a bad number. But if your delivery rates are less than 95 percent, there’s something wrong at your agency.
Another thing to remember is that there are strict regulations surrounding who you can and can’t send SMS marketing messages to. If you send marketing texts to people who haven’t given you permission, you’re exposed to legal liability. Make sure your agency has enough experience that they won’t get you into any regulatory trouble.
Fair, Flexible Contracts
If you’ve never used SMS marketing before, it’s easy to get stuck with a bad contract. Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you know how you’re being charged, and how much flexibility you have.
To begin with, a reputable SMS marketing platform will charge you based on the size of your text message subscriber list. If they want to charge you based on the size of your business, steer clear. You’ll almost certainly end up overpaying.
Another thing to avoid – at least at first – is a multi-year contract. Yes, you can sometimes save money by signing a longer contract. But when you’re just getting started, you need to know if you’re going to be happy with your agency. Start with a short-term or month-to-month contract, and go long-term only when you’re confident you’ll have a good experience. If there’s no short-term option, or if there are steep opt-out fees, shop for a different agency.
Finally, make sure your platform allows you to adjust your spend base from month to month. Otherwise, you won’t have the flexibility you need to adjust your message volume up or down.
Choose Widely
When used correctly, text messaging is a powerful tool in your marketing kit. But any agency or platform can help you send texts. Make sure to choose one that’s easy to use, provides in-depth analytics, and offers the flexibility to grow your contract along with your business. Finally, make sure they’re competent from a technical and regulatory perspective. If they do all of those things, you’re looking at a reliable company to partner with.
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