SMS and email marketing are similar forms of marketing, but the strategies used for each take vastly different approaches. These are both marketing types that are highly beneficial and typically yield impressive results. Learn some of the top SMS and email marketing strategies for success.
Gain Consent
Gaining consent for email and SMS marketing is essential—and they are not the same type of consent. If a company gained consent from a user to send them emails, this does not mean the company can send them texts. SMS marketing is a separate consent.
Email and SMS consent is a high-profile topic across governments, phone agencies, and regulating bodies right now, so it’s essential to only send texts and emails to users that agree to receive them.
For example, a Shopify store typically collects a phone number in the checkout process. Still, when customers provide their phone number for order purposes, this is not them consenting to promotional SMS messages.
Pro Tip: Try sending a specific email to the audience that you think is willing and active. Ask them upfront for their SMS consent. Try adding an incentive such as a special program with early access or a slight discount on their first purchase after signing up encourage them to consent.
Follow the Data
When it comes to SMS, any message sent out should remain brief. SMS and MMS are different, and it’s important to note that MMS might have an image or a mini flyer. Businesses can test out both and see what types of messages their audience responds to.
The open rate on SMS is significantly higher than on email. Measure SMS and email marketing success through the following:
- Open rate
- How many are active on-site
- How many started the check out process
- How many made a purchase
Pro Tip: Partner with an SMS company that is transparent and willing to adjust to your company’s needs. Know before going into the SMS campaign if you will manage it with their help or if they will take it off your plate entirely. Both methods can be successful—it’s up to you, the business owner, which works best for your unique industry.
Keep It Short
This is perhaps the most essential and effective strategy to follow for both SMS and email marketing. The communications should be short, simple, and easy to digest. Companies need a plan for every communication they send.
Sending out SMS messages or emails with no purpose or plan can quickly deter customers and lead to them requesting removal from your communication lists. Avoid this by ensuring there is a clear call to action and a defined goal.
Pro Tip: Understand what the goal of the send is and make sure your CTA is visible and central to the message.
Select an Audience
Selecting the right audience is a sizable factor in how successful SMS and email marketing efforts are. As such, you need to send your message to the right audience—the people it is the best fit for. Here are a few guidelines and examples.
- If a customer purchased item A from your store, don’t send them an SMS about item A two weeks later—they already have it and are unlikely to buy again that soon.
- If a customer engaged with products A and B, but only bought item B, consider sending them a message about product A.
- If a customer purchased item C three months ago and most customers repurchase after three months, consider sending them a “time to replenish” message.
Use the data from your site and your marketing efforts to analyze and learn about your customer’s buying habits. Choose the audience carefully and track engagement, previous purchase history, previous SMS, and email engagement history to decide if there is an opportunity for a repeat purchase.
Automate Responses
Automated responses are incredibly effective. Setting them up with email marketing is standard practice—but did you know they are beneficial in SMS marketing? People consume their ads in different ways, and everyone has a different preferred method of communication.
For example, if you email an abandoned cart reminder to someone, they may never open it; however, they may open it right away if you text it to them. People prefer different communication methods.
The following are a few things you can automate:
- Abandoned carts
- Order or shipping confirmations
- Product re-up reminders
- New launches
Pro Tip: You want to engage people with both email and SMS and see who engages with one over the other. The idea is to engage with someone in their preferred method of communication to increase the open and click rates.
At Logical Position, we know the importance of creating a distinct strategy for our clients. Every industry is different, and your customers are all unique. We currently offer robust email marketing packages to help grow your business. If you’re interested in SMS marketing, contact our email marketing team for more information.
