Starting or learning something new will always take a little extra effort. And with SMS Marketing being the somewhat new kid on the block, it's worthwhile exploring how to even begin to launch into SMS Marketing.
As it has really grown in popularity and is very much considered another fundamental element to have in your marketing toolbox, we have seen it work hand in hand with Email Marketing, to give a business greater synergy and exciting growth in revenue. So the question is, what are the steps to take if you are considering starting a SMS Marketing Strategy?
Step 1: Define Your Goals
What do you hope to achieve with your SMS marketing? Having some clear short term and long term goals can really help you map out your SMS strategy. Whilst the ultimate goal is to drive sales, the initial short term goal could be to simply increase brand awareness and drive traffic to your new website. And a longer term goal may be to increase customer engagement and loyalty so that your customers will be there to help you weather the storms.
Step 2: Choose a SMS Marketing Platform
Look into the costs involved and ensure that you do your research when selecting the right SMS provider for your business. We may be a smidge bias when we say that Klaviyo is by far the best that we have come across when it comes to extensive SMS marketing functionality and competitive pricing. We will breakdown some of those hidden costs to be aware of in our upcoming blog post so stay tuned for that.
Step 3: Obtain Permission
Just like email marketing, SMS marketing is extremely powerful because you need to obtain consent from your customers. Once they allow you to communicate with them via their mobile device, you can build a great relationship. Of course in the early days, it does take time to slowly build up your SMS subscriber list. An effective opt-in strategy is crucial.
Step 4: Be Clear with Opt In and Opt Out
It is best practice to ensure you have clear disclosure language anywhere that you are specifically collecting consent from SMS subscribers - for example on your Pop Ups, on your website sign up, and other methods. At the same time, make it easy to unsubscribe. These are important aspects of SMS compliance and will give reassurance to your customers that you are respecting their given consent.
It's okay to take things slowly and we hope this helps you to kick start the process. At times it can be information overload so taking things one step at a time will provide some clarity on how SMS Marketing can fit into your overall marketing strategy.
And along the way, should you have more questions than answers, you know where to find us. We have a great SMS Set Up package that would launch you into the world of SMS Marketing. We also manage regular SMS campaigns for our management clients and are excited to hint at a couple of new management spots opening up soon. If you have been thinking about outsourcing your email/SMS marketing, now might be the perfect time to do it. Book in a 15min complementary session and let's chat!
