Small businesses need to know how to reach their customers. They can use advertising, of course, but in many cases that can be unpredictable and it is not immediate. There are ways to reach your customers right away, and be relatively certain that they have seen your message. You can do this with mass texting. No matter how many clients you have, you can reach them all in an instant using an app on your mobile phone. No infrastructure or special training is needed. Being able to reach customers immediately and in a way that they are likely to read your message is incredibly valuable for many reasons. Here’s how you can take advantage of this technology.
Use a Mass Texting App
Putting a mass texting app on your smartphone is the first step you should take. You will create an account, and you can import your customer contact data into the app. Most texting apps take very little expertise or experience, so you can have it up and running in almost no time at all. Once you have your account set up and have imported your contacts, you are good to go.
Build Your Contact List
Of course, if you don’t have a contact list, then you will have no one to send messages to. This is an important part of your marketing plan. Along with simply wanting to get people to visit your website, store, or establishment, you also want to get them onto your contact list. There are several ways to do this. If they are an existing customer, you can get the information when they make their next purchase. You can ask for permission to simply get their number, or you can offer incentives, such as discounts, or other enticements. Many stores will also offer text receipts, and customers are very open to receiving those instead of having paper fill up their pockets.
You can also build your list with people who are not already customers. When you develop your marketing plan, make sure to build in trying to get customers onto your contact list. You can do this through competitions, surveys, and even SEO that leads to a sign up page. The more engaging and relevant your brand is, the more likely people will trust to give you their information.
Send Out Messages
Then, you can start sending out messages. If you only send out sales texts, then your contacts will quickly learn to delete your texts and move on. You can send anything, from links to content on your website, to surveys, to social media posts. Building up the customer’s trust is crucial for when you do send out marketing content. Then, since you have built up goodwill, they will be more likely to act on your sales pitches. You don’t want to bombard them, however. Once a day is too much, but a smaller ratio, such as once a week or month, will work just fine.
People Will Read Them
When you get a text message, do you ignore it until a more convenient time later on? You definitely do not. Just like all of us, when you get a notification of a new message, you pull out your phone and check to see who the sender is. Is it new gossip? Are they telling you they are late? Are they alerting you to something exciting happening in the baseball game?
When you send a mass text, as soon as a recipient pulls out their phone, they will be consuming your message. In fact, text messages, including marketing messages, have an astounding 100% open rate. Plus, your messages will not just be opened, but they will be opened quickly, since 90% are opened within 30 minutes of receiving them. There is no other marketing method that provides that level of engagement and immediacy.
Leverage Mass Texting Services
There are several uses to mass texting. What you do will depend on what type of business you run. It is most commonly used to give a call to action to customers. You can let them know that you have a sale on certain items, or that you are offering a VIP discount to all those who are receiving text messages. Many businesses use text messages as a way to survey customers and get information related to their interests, concerns, and buying habits.
The immediacy can also be a very powerful aspect of mass texting. Is it a very hot day in your city? Send out a text to remind customers that they can get a refreshing frozen yogurt at your shop. Did you have a cancellation at your small but busy restaurant? Let everyone know that they can now get in for last-minute dinner plans. The sky is truly the limit when you think creatively about how you can use mass text messaging to help grow your business.
You need every advantage you can get in your market. Your competitors will be looking for advantages too, and you need to keep up. With mass texting, you can have a powerful tool for communicating with your customers right in the palm of your hand, at all times.