Marketers know that companies must always keep the customer in mind when creating marketing campaigns, and at the same time, make sure that every communication reflects the company’s brand, messaging, reputation and market position. 

SMS/MMS text message marketing represents an opportunity for marketers to hit the mark in both areas. Text message marketing is, by its nature, truly customer centric. Here are four reasons why.

Reason 1: Express Consent

Unlike print, traditional television or radio advertisements or pop-ups, posters and even ad campaigns on public transit, SMS marketing is inherently more personal. 

You are prohibited by law from sending any form of SMS messaging to a customer without their express written permission. Unlike email lists, which can be purchased and mined, cell phone numbers are harder to obtain.

A cellular phone number is a very personal thing that isn't really given out to just anyone. Some people protect it like it's their social security number, so if a user says here is my number, the consumer is truly making the choice to hear from you.

That said, 78% of consumers are happy to communicate with business via text, and 54% are frustrated when they are unable to do so. If you offer that service, you are already ahead of the game.

According to Statista.com, there were 294.15 million smartphone users in the U.S in 2020, and that number is expected to reach 311.53 million by 2025. That’s a lot of people with SMS capability. In addition, many people have ditched their landlines and use  some form of cellular phone as their primary means of communication.

Since you must have consent before you can text a customer, they are choosing to share their primary means of communication with your company, and they expect you to respect that. Remember, it’s a lot easier to block a number from a cell phone. 

This trust factor is an enormous opportunity to personalize the message to the customer, to make SMS marketing relevant and interesting to them, and keep them happy to be receiving your messages. It’s an important advantage and shouldn’t be dismissed.

Reason 2: Regulations

We go into detail about the regulations surrounding SMS marketing in Generating ROI with SMS: A Beginner’s Guide and 5 SMS and MMS Campaign Best Practices, but here’s a little refresher anyway. 

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) administers the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which includes SMS messages. It states before a business can send marketing messages to a consumer via text messaging, that business must get express written consent from the consumer. 

Consumers can specify what kind of communications they want to receive. Consumers can initially opt-in, and then change their minds and opt-out, and the company must immediately stop. Consumers can also ask to be put on a non-contact list. Consumers hold the power over if, when or how much they want to hear from you. 

What’s more, the TCPA also regulates the time that SMS campaigns can be sent, and that is only 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient’s timezone. (Practically, this means 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Time to be on the safe side.) 

Anyone who has ever been awakened by a robo-call or fax auto-dialer in the middle of the night understands why this is important. Annoy your customer, and they will opt-out, which is much easier than leaving the phone off the hook.

By respecting both the customer’s wishes, and acting with good faith and integrity, you have the opportunity to build a loyal customer following, and loyal customers are natural brand ambassadors.

Reason 3: Personalization

An opt-in SMS subscriber means that the customer wants to buy something from you now or soon because they are engaged with your products. They are willing to receive messages from you. Take full advantage:

• When you choose an SMS marketing platform that has machine learning capabilities, it can create personalized interactions via SMS, including the ability to shop. This offers natural and personalized responses from your SMS bots and can boost ROI. To learn more, check out our articles on headless commerce and conversational checkout. 
• SMS messaging is inherently interactive, and that gives a more positive customer experience. Incorporating emojis, a friendly, more casual tone and flexible options such as switching seamlessly to a live agent are all customer-centric experiences.
• How did your customer opt-in to receive text messages? Did they answer a quiz or contest, sign up in store to receive a discount or promotion, click on a QR code or email? Are they new customers or loyal repeat customers? By building information about the customer and their shopping preferences, interests and habits, you can personalize the messages, and make it less likely to be seen as “spam.” 

Reason 4: Customer Experience

SMS marketing offers convenience to both consumers and brands. Here are just some of the ways SMS marketing makes the customer journey more efficient: 

• Chatbots make it easy for customers to get answers on their schedule, whether that’s during regular store hours or at 2 a.m. By providing options for customers to have their problem solved, question answered or to obtain more information at their convenience, you are making their lives easier. That builds loyalty.
• SMS messages are easier, more convenient and more discreet than a phone call. Most SMS messages are opened 94% of the time, usually within a few minutes of receipt. Because SMS are short, customers can quickly check an order status, order supplies, confirm product availability and arrange an appointment or a delivery with a few keystrokes. Cell phones provide easy access, and SMS provides a positive customer experience. 
• SMS messages for things like order updates, appointment reminders and scheduling, delivery notifications and shipment tracking, product restock updates, warranty expiration notices and reorder reminders are all customer centric. Not only are they a value-add, they build positive customer relationships. They are also great opportunities to upsell or salvage an abandoned cart and make a sale.
• SMS can be used at any point in a customer interaction. Whether a chatbot greets a customer on their first visit to a website, provides assistance through social media channels, provides conversational checkout, efficiently finalizes a customer’s order through chat or seamlessly migrates the conversation to a live agent, SMS can provide personalized customer service experiences to multiple customers at once 24/7/365.

Final Thoughts

When a customer gives you access to their cell number, they are choosing to share their primary means of communication with your company, and they expect you to respect that. 

It gives you a golden opportunity to build customer loyalty, an ongoing, personalized relationship and a means for customers to interact on their terms.