May 11, 2017

5 Businesses that Need to Start Using SMS Marketing

Reading time about 4 min

SMS marketing is an acquired taste for most businesses. Due to the character limit and lack of design, many view SMS as a waste of time.

But, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

SMS marketing is very powerful when used in the right context. Essentially, SMS messages are effective for time-sensitive, or urgent information — an area that email just doesn’t quite get the job done.

Of course, SMS doesn’t make email obsolete — they’re more like a sidekick and superhero. Email is the hero that can afford to be a little flashy, whereas SMS is the reliable sidekick that always comes through in a pinch.

As the saying goes, “every hero needs a sidekick,” and email is no different. But, there are some businesses in particular that stand to benefit the most from using text message marketing.

Here are the 5 types of businesses that should start using SMS marketing ASAP:

sms marketing connection

1. Ecommerce Websites

Pretty much any ecommerce store can benefit from the use of text messages to communicate with customers.

The urgency and direct nature of text messages are very valuable for providing shoppers with up-to-date information about purchases at the exact instant they occur. These notifications could be for:

  • Order receipts
  • Shipping confirmations
  • Delivery confirmations

That way your customers don’t have to maniacally refresh their email inbox or a UPS tracking page to see if their head massager has been delivered (just me?).

2. Travel

If you’re operating in the travel industry, then time is ALWAYS of the essence.

Customers make plans months in advance, and they rarely check in to see if anything has changed. So, when the inevitable change does happen, you need to have an effective way to reach your customer in the fastest possible way.

Enter: SMS marketing.

SMS is the best tool to communicate urgent and time-sensitive information to your traveling customers. Some examples of when this might be necessary include:

  • Delays or cancellations
  • Gate changes
  • Reservation upgrade opportunities
  • Security alerts

With SMS, customers are much more likely to get the information on time and take the necessary next steps (instead of reading an email after it is too late).

3. Businesses Operating in Developing Countries

There are tons of countries with rapidly developing economies that still have limited access to the internet. This poses a pretty massive problem for any business that wants to market to consumers in these countries using digital channels.

Although internet access is limited in many countries, cell phones have a deeply established presence almost everywhere. SMS is really the only means of direct communication with a large portion of the population in these countries.

This is because SMS is more intuitive and easy to use as an information resource and means of communication for many.

Therefore, if you truly want to reach your customers living in developing countries, SMS should be your prime candidate for your marketing messages.

4. Events Management

This is another industry that requires a TON of planning in advance, and even more scrambling to adjust when those plans go awry — as they often do.

When you are managing large scale events, you need an effective way to reach all of the registered attendees when problems come up, such as:

  • Last minute logistical changes
  • Security alerts
  • Updates about the event (parking, speakers, food, etc.)

It is much easier to read a quick text message about an important update than it is to periodically check email.

5. Service Businesses that Require Appointments

These can range anywhere from barbershops to dentists offices, but they all share the same problem. Customers aren’t perfect, and there are times when they will forget about their appointment and fail to show up.

Automatically sending a text message to your customers reminding them of their appointment is a super easy way to minimize the number of no-shows. Because the message is being sent as an SMS to their phone, they will be much less likely to miss the memo.

This will save you a ton of money in the long run, as you eliminate the wasted time that goes along with these missed appointments.

Plus, your customers will be happier in not having to deal with setting their own reminders or constantly rescheduling appointments.

Time to get started with SMS marketing!

It should be pretty clear that SMS is a powerful tool to communicate time-sensitive messages directly to customers. Also, the ubiquity of cellphones around the world makes SMS marketing one of the most reliable channels available.

If you’re in one of the business categories above and you haven’t been using SMS marketing to communicate with customers, it might be time to reconsider.

Need a platform to send SMS and emails to your customers? Try Sendinblue today!

Ready to find your marketing zen?

Take the stress out of your work day with a solution that’s built for you!

Get started free