Don't Let Your Customers and Clients Forget You
By Kerryn Marlow
This post was inspired by a client of SMS Express who runs a restaurant. Normally his chef did all the SMS marketing, but the chef did what chefs do, and moved on.
Our poor client was in a bit of a pickle as he was unsure what to do with his SMS campaigns, as his data was a bit all over the shop.
He had an existing list in his smsexpress.com.au account, but it hadn't been marketed to for well over 6 months, and he wanted to tell customers that their restaurant was open longer and did deliveries... a great, and popular, way to use text messaging.
With a bit of help from us, he did send out the text message, however he was a bit upset that he got so many opt-outs (people unsubscribing). Actually, his opt-out rate was only 6%, which is not bad for a business that had not spoken to their customers in a while.
You always get opt-outs, but of course the lower the opt-out rate the better. People forget who you are (or they move suburb). This underlines the importance of regular communications with your customers or clients, whether it's via email, post, text message, or all of these mediums.
If you are in retail or hospitality, customers may be fine with weekly, twice-monthly or monthly specials, depending on what you do. But texting them out of the blue once or twice a year, well you'd expect them to react negatively.
A database of customers that have given you permission to contact them is the Holy Grail of marketing... so don't neglect it and don't let your customers slip away to your competitors!
Am I sending too many SMS messages to my customers?
By Kerryn Marlow
So how many SMS promotions is too many? It's a vexing question, but the easy answer is, your customers will certainly let you know if you do cross the line... they will OPT OUT.
Customers have many reasons for wanting to stop getting your messages.. they have moved, they get too many text messages, they have changed phones... but unless you do something awfully wrong, or you truly are being a pest, it's not often you'd get lots of opt-outs. But you will get some... and that is okay. Just don't take it personally.
To answer that, think of what SMS promotions you get on your personal handset from businesses you deal with. You might get SMS reminders from the hairdresser or dentist, and that's a very handy service. No complaints there.
But what about a clothing store? Unless they are HOT specials, you probably want to aim for no more than once a month. If you're a restaurant or cafe, maybe weekly specials would work well. If you're a hotel or holiday resort, sending weekly SMS would probably annoy people, but if you have weekend getaways, maybe weekly or twice a month is appropriate.
Maybe give customers the option... and give them a good reason to join your SMS VIP list. For example: "get weekly VIP specials via SMS and get 20% off"... or "get a free bottle of bubbly and chocs on arrival" or "dessert is on the house".
You will get a feel for what is right for your customers. The important thing is to test and measure. If you start getting more opt-outs (STOP, REMOVE) than usual, then you might be doing something wrong.
I recall an example from one of our local restaurants who are a Brazilian restaurant... They suddenly started sending me SMS messages every week... one day they promoted "breakfast and brunch now available", which was great. So I went along one Saturday morning for brunch... only to be told "sorry we don't do brunch on weekends". The next message I opted out!
If you have something truly genuine or newsworthy to tell your customers, that would make them love you more, then send it!
Is One Day Better Than Another For Sending Text Messages?
By Kerryn Marlow
This really depends on your business or organisation, and what you think your customers or members are likely to be doing at the time. It's always best to benchmark yourself by running tests on different days and times. You can even split your contact groups and run tests at the same time but use slightly different words in your text messages to see which one pulls a better response (this is called A/B split testing).
So is Monday better to send than a Friday, for example? Maybe... maybe not.
Let's say you're a food retailer with weekly specials. It might be a good idea to stick to the same time every week, so people come to expect it. Perhaps a Monday at 10 am or a Wednesday morning so shopping lists can be added to.
For clothing or other types of retailers, we'd certainly recommend sending out "alerts" when you have new stock in, so your customers feel like they have the VIP treatment. These types of "alert text messages" can really drive traffic into your store. To boost a quiet period, perhaps send it on a Tuesday, and say "get in ASAP before it sells out". Alternatively, try a Friday afternoon or Saturday morning when your customers are in more of a leisure mode.
For restaurants and nightclubs looking to fill seats on a typically quiet night, what about a Tuesday around 4 pm? You could offer a "Come in tonight for 2 for 1," a "free dessert if you show us this SMS," or highlight a special like, "Chef has top quality fresh salmon in tonight only. Reply to book and we’ll save you a lovely cut!"
If you're a café that caters to workers, a text message at 11 am when one's mind is usually on the luncheon meal can be very effective. For example: "Hot roast beef rolls with gravy today! Get 'em while they're hot. Text back to order yours now."
And if you're organising an event? Sending an initial text a month ahead, with follow-up reminders closer to the date, would do the trick.
A couple of important rules to remember: Don’t send promotional texts too early or too late. Stick to business hours where possible. People leave their phones on overnight and nobody will thank you for a promotional text at 7 am on a Sunday! Also, don't forget to monitor any replies as people will likely ask questions.
Ultimately, there is nothing wrong with mixing it up to see what day works better for you. SMS messages sent to customers can be easy to track in regards to responses, and if you need some ideas, we're always here to help.
SMS Promotion Ideas
By Kerryn Marlow
Here's some text messaging ideas you can borrow for your own campaigns:
- Exclusive VIP specials.
- Stock clearance sale or once in a lifetime deal or NEW STOCK ARRIVED.
- Text customers on their birthday with a special gift. “Come in for free foils with a colour”
- Cafes & Restaurants, text a lunch deal or get them in on quiet nights: “BYO Night!”.
- Real Estate Agents, SMS new LISTINGS or open for inspection and auction reminders.
- REDUCE NO SHOWS! SMS appointment reminders to customers.
- Text your STUDENTS, club or church members with news or meeting reminders.
- A pub? “View the Game on our HUGE screen. Flash this text at the bar tonight for a free beer.”
Fancier Promotions
Why not send an SMS containing a link to your website? A customer reads your SMS and then clicks through to your website on their phone. Nice and simple, and you catch them right now. The beauty of this is, it’s now possible to know how many people tapped the link in your SMS to visit your site. You can use a URL shortener like Bitly.com to crunch your website address down and track the taps from your link too.
If you are running a sales promotion, don’t forget to have a CALL TO ACTION. For example: “Offer expires Friday 25 May so hurry!” or “Show this to our staff for 20% off. Ends Saturday 5pm”.
Building & Maintaining Mobile Lists
By Kerryn Marlow
Good marketers keep their database of customers up to date and these days most company databases include email addresses and mobile numbers. SMS conveys a sense of urgency, so in addition to emails you could send regular promotions or announcements via text message.
If you don’t have or want a fancy database program, the simplest way to store your database is in an Excel spreadsheet, Google Docs, or a cheap online option like Zoho CRM. Don’t forget to keep backups of all your data!
Also instruct your staff to enter data in a consistent manner. Even have a little “style guide” on how to enter mobile numbers so you don't end up with a dog's breakfast of a database!
Collecting Mobile Numbers Legally
By Kerryn Marlow
The Spam Act 2003 says we must get consent before sending an SMS of a commercial nature. The Spam Act is administered by ACMA, the Australian Communications and Media Authority. Consent can be either Express Consent or Inferred Consent.
When someone provides their mobile number and/or gives you permission to contact them, that is Express Consent. ACMA says Inferred Consent can occur via an existing business or other relationship, where there is reasonable expectation of receiving commercial electronic messages.
As the SENDER, you still have to say who you are, plus give the person a way to opt out of receiving your messages. You cannot buy a marketing list from a list company or harvest numbers from websites and newspapers and start texting. That is spamming.
How to get opt-ins?
- A subscription form or ticking a box on your website.
- Over the phone or at your counter or reception.
- Swapping business cards (as long as you tell them you want to send texts).
- A competition or promotion (tell people what you will do with their data and have a Privacy Policy).
TIP: If you’d like to give customers a birthday gift, ask “what date and month were you born?”… no need to ask the year.
