By Dan Slavin
10) Undervalued. SMS (text messaging) is a powerful and often overlooked marketing tool able to increase retailer’s foot traffic and enhance basket size, though it’s not limited to only retailers.
9) Dreamy stats. 90 percent of text messages are read within the first three seconds of being received, and a whopping 98 percent of them are eventually read. These stats spell a marketer’s ROI dream.
8) Support. When shopping for an SMS solution, inquire about account/project support, training and after-sales service. Ask whether you can use the system yourself in a self-service mode as this can often be a major time saver.
7) Grow your list. Successful SMS marketing starts with building and growing your SMS marketing list. Use a mobile coupon as a welcome incentive.
6) Coupon offers. Mobile coupons delivered via text message drive high levels of purchases and urgency; 25 percent of consumers redeem coupons within three days, and 60 percent redeem within one week.
5) Sign-up process. Process should be painless – don’t ask for too much info. Run through the sign-up yourself to assess it. It should include ability to collect end-user demographic info if that is important for your business.
4) Integrations. When evaluating SMS tools, look for minimal IT involvement and compatibility with existing systems.
3) Due diligence. Evaluate your SMS marketing solution for sign-up completion rates, redemption rates for mobile offers, and revenue generated from programs similar to yours.
2) Compliance. Regulations are prone to change often so ask about compliance. Look for credit-card worthy security to ensure your data is secure. You may still want to run your own security audits.
1) Tracking/reporting. Look for ability to track your SMS campaign performance using analytics in real-time, including list growth, consumer engagement, and opt-in/opt-out metrics.