The cell phone, along with the latest version of the smartphone, is the most widely used communication device in the world today. With new technologies constantly expanding their onboard capabilities, it is clear that there is no slowdown on the horizon in their global dominance.
The growth of this phenomenon continues to increase exponentially to the point that any statistics that are cited become almost obsolete by the time the ink dries up. Americans spent $42.8 million on mobile devices in 2010, and that number is expected to rise to $1.8 billion by 2015. We don’t just talk and text with them, we take pictures, play music and games, surf the Internet, shop, navigate and update our online social networks. It can be said that mobile phones have become the indispensable tool in our lives.
In this reality, they have also naturally become the focal point of global marketing trends, as advertisers across all industries look to harness the power of mobile communications. The most basic form of mobile marketing is text message marketing. With 200 trillion text messages sent every day in America, this type of marketing isn’t really innovative, it’s simply learning to speak the language of our new culture.
SMS Marketing offers a number of exciting benefits to your business:
- Direct communication of your message
Text messaging allows you to bypass all kinds of traditional hurdles and get your words straight into the personal attention of your target audience. The new fact is that the cell phone is now always there, always on. So we’re really talking about marketing “wherever they are”.
Not only that, but it is an instant form of communication. The message is likely to pass from the sender to the receiver at a moment in time. Studies have shown that the vast majority of SMS messages are read within minutes of being sent. Imagine what this means for truly “time-sensitive” shows; There is no longer any waiting for someone to come back near the mailbox, phone, or computer tied up.
- High delivery rates
Text messages have much higher success rates in terms of getting through spam blockers, and then actually opening and reading them, than traditional email marketing. This is achieved at no higher cost to the sender.
One of the great advances that email marketing brought was the unprecedented ability to track impact and response. Advertisers no longer have to wait until the point of sale to assess the impact of their message on their audience. If someone opens an email, clicks on a link, then comes back for a second look – all that data is reported again. SMS Text Message Marketing offers all of these same features.
- Unprecedented opportunities to benefit from impulse buying
Consider this scenario. When your subscriber is sitting at a more traditional PC workstation in his home or office, he has countless things to get his attention other than your message: half-finished tasks lying at his desk, family activities, TV in the next room, doorbell, and go off. Now think of this same person sitting in the waiting room at the dentist’s office. None of these other voices come in handy, but their cell phones go along with them. It beeps. Your text message comes as a welcome friend to distract them from their boredom, and they have nothing else to do considering your offer. With the advent of mobile payments, the response can take place instantly.
It has been reported that between 2008 and 2010, texting use among the 18-24 age group doubled, and that texting in the 25-34 age group increased more than 100 percent. In the 35-54 age group, texting use tripled. Perhaps surprisingly, texting by those 65 and older has quadrupled. Some of the biggest increases were the group over 30.
Within the United States alone there are currently more than 219 million mobile phone users. 80 percent of mobile phone users send and receive text messages.
According to mobiThinking.com, SMS (Short Message Service) is the king of mobile messaging. 8 trillion text messages will be sent in 2011. 3.5 billion messages are delivered every day, according to the Wireless Association, an international non-profit organization representing the wireless communications industry and has been in operation since 1984.
A2P – SMS application (such as automated alerts from banks, retailer offers, mobile tickets) is expected to exceed person-to-person SMS in 2016.
Worldwide mobile ad spending is expected to reach US$3.3 billion in 2011 to reach US$20.6 billion in 2015, driven by search and native advertising.
What all this could mean for you and your business:
There is a revolution and on-demand text messaging marketing. It’s an instant and personal way to address potential clients. Your business is still in its infancy, and can jump ahead of the competition by embracing this exciting opportunity and adding SMS marketing to your advertising strategies.
Imagine the possibilities of SMS marketing and how it can help grow your business. Now that there are web based text messaging platforms, such as Yep Text, that give you instant access to your short code instead of having to wait several weeks, it’s not just the big companies that can afford to access this type of marketing. With Mobile Agent and Yep Text, you should be able to get up and running for less than $700 per month.
Once you set up your SMS service, your customers sign up for your text promotions. What this means is that you are sending text messages to customers who have already purchased from you, and who choose to receive your special offers.
Building customer loyalty. Increase sales per visit and repeat visits. Send promotions, weekly specials, or event and appointment reminders. Send accurate text messages and give value to your customer. Write once a week with weekly specials, or every two weeks so your customers don’t feel overwhelmed. Offer them something of value. They may well tell their friends