The open rates for emails have been declining for each of the past several years. According to Business2Community, in 2018, the average email open rate dropped to 20%.
If you send an email blast, only 1 in 5 people see it.
On the other hand, SMS open rates are 98%, with a 90-second response time. This makes SMS marketing an incredibly efficient strategy for businesses today.
As a business, composing and sending out text messages to your customers is easy. Simply grab your phone, type in your message, and hit send. But there’s a problem with that.
Using your own phone is inefficient, and also a little disconcerting that your prospects have your personal cell number. Not to mention what if your team uses their own phones, then they leave. You’ll love all of those customer conversations.
Plus, what will happen if you need to send out hundreds of texts to a huge market composed of different kinds of people? Gathering a long list of contacts and sending out messages individually would be daunting.
Thus, an SMS marketing software platform might be exactly what you’re looking for.
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS Marketing is a powerful communication tool for businesses. While it can help you employ marketing campaigns, an SMS marketing software can also impact your entire sales process. The right SMS software can help you attend to your prospect’s inquiries right away, take hold of the conversation better, and close deals faster.
Studies show that when businesses respond to leads and questions within five minutes or less, their prospects are more likely to convert by 100x. However, in another study conducted by Drift, only 7% of companies, 32 out of 433 companies surveyed, respond within five minutes.
So if you can respond quickly, you’ll be in the top 7% of companies just like that!
But how?
Employing an SMS marketing strategy with the help of the right software can help you achieve a shorter sales cycle and make your conversion rates skyrocket while giving you an edge over the tough competition.
If you want to scale your business with SMS Marketing, you need to find software that has everything you need. There is a lot to choose from, but how do you know which is the right one?
Here are five essential features that SMS software should have:
1. Bulk Messaging and Two-Way SMS
Bulk messaging allows you to send text messages to your entire contact database. On the other hand, Two-Way SMS is a one-on-one conversation between a prospect and a company representative.
These two features are simple yet essential for the business and its market. Bulk SMS messaging saves you time and effort in sending messages to your contacts simultaneously. It is an effective way to keep your customers updated about offers or a way to give value. As you consistently employ your SMS strategy, it can help you maintain your visibility to your prospects. On the other hand, Two-Way SMS can support leads coming from bulk messages. It lets you strengthen relationships, establish your credibility, and even convert prospects faster when you respond to them instantly.
These two features should not be done on your team’s personal phones to ensure security and efficiency. Plus, while it may seem practical, it can limit your process visibility. The good thing is that ToroWave allows Team Integration. This SMS software provides you with a dashboard where you can share the process with the entire team. This way, new leads coming in can be catered to by the employee present while you oversee the whole process.
2. Keyword Automation and Tag Segmentation
Automation is an integral part of a business. It streamlines your processes and allows your manpower to focus on other tasks. When it comes to SMS marketing, it can help you improve your workflow as it takes certain activities off your plate.
When messages keep coming in, you may need to sort your contacts. Tag Segmentation keeps your contact list organized by automatically putting tags on them. This helps segment your list according to specifics for better mass communication.
At ToroWave, keyword automation is available where businesses can use AI to trigger responses to specific keywords or keywords in a message string. It allows you to send automated responses. It can be to frequently asked questions (FAQs), an inquiry, or a reply to a promo that they wish to avail. This way, you can keep your prospects in the loop while working on other tasks.
3. Personalized Campaign Creation
Keep customers and prospects on your contact list engaged with marketing campaigns. Not only does it have to be timely, but also personalized and on-brand. Look for SMS software that can also help you with campaign creation while letting you personalize it for your market. Personalization may have been a “nice-to-have” before. But according to Salesforce, in 2019, 52% of customers expect offers to always be personalized.
Look for SMS marketing software that helps you make personalized campaigns for your market. While also letting you customize it according to your branding. This way, you can appeal to your market better while showcasing who you are.
4. A One-Click Review Process
Google reviews are essential to increase your credibility and visibility to similar customers through an SEO boost. Reviews are also found to be influential on customers’ decision-making. It is highly beneficial to you, but you should also consider how fast and efficient your customers can do it.
There are many ways to ask for a review: email, landing pages, or a Google business review link. But when it comes to efficiency, a 1-Click Review Process through SMS can help you capture more Google Reviews faster. SMS Software such as ToroWave has it. This quick review process makes it easy for your customers to write you a review without switching tabs or leaving pages.
5. SMS Texting Widget For Your Website
If you want a quick way for your customers to reach out to you, opt to find software with an efficient texting widget for your website. Through this, you can get their contact information where you will be sending your response. It is an instant way to connect, but there is also a higher chance that the message will be opened.
Whichever SMS software you use, it should allow you to add a “text us” floating widget on your website. This is entirely customizable according to your branding and can be set up in 5 minutes. You can enhance customer experience, increase leads, and convert prospects faster by improving your communication.
In Summary
SMS software has a variety of features. One may be more complicated than the other. It might depend on your targets, budget, and plans. But the right SMS marketing software will help you grow in big ways. Look for these essential features, employ the right strategy, and watch your business skyrocket.
If you are interested in an SMS Marketing Software that has everything you need to jumpstart your business, check out ToroWave. Combining ease of use and flexibility will help you connect with your market.
Enhance your communication through text messaging and choose the right SMS software with features to help you in the long run.
