Many marketers regard SMS marketing as the next big thing when it comes to getting customers to your store. Why has it become so popular? Here are some interesting facts:

1. Texting has a 99% open rate. This means that for the first time, you can guarantee that almost all of your customers see your message.
2. 90% of text messages are opened within 3 minutes of receipt. Now you can get your message in front of the right people at the exact right time.
3. Among the 18-34-year-old age bracket, text messages are the preferred channel for notifications from businesses. [1]
4. SMS produces engagement rates six to eight times higher than retailers normally achieve via email marketing. [2]
5. 48% of Internet consumers said they would prefer to receive their loyalty-related messages via SMS. [3]

Despite all of this, many business owners are hesitant to give it a try. After talking to thousands of business owners, we have come up with our top 3 most common text marketing myths.

Myth #1: Texts Are Spam and My Customers Will Get Upset

Many business owners are under the misconception that their customers will view anything they text as annoying or unwanted. This is not the case. As shown above, not only do people not mind receiving text notifications, but 48% of people prefer it. As long as you are sending the right message to the right customer at the right time, your messages will not be unwanted.

Pro Tip:

If you are worried about your customers getting annoyed by your message frequency, keep an eye on your opt-out rates. If you see more than 2-3% of your customers opting-out of your messages, you may be sending too many texts. On the flip side, if less than 1% are opting-out, you can probably start texting more frequently.

As long as you are upfront about what kinds of messages and how often you will be messaging your customers, you can be sure they want to hear from you. After all, isn’t that exactly what they signed up for?

Myth #2: Small Businesses Cannot Benefit From SMS Marketing

While SMS marketing can benefit any size of business, it may — in fact — be the most beneficial for small business. Why? Because unlike commercials, billboards, and radio ads, texts are cheap. You can get your message in front of 1,000 customers for as little as $25. SMS marketing can give you a large influx of sales for very little advertising dollars, making it perfect for small business.

Myth #3: SMS Messages Are Too Short to Make a Difference

In a world accustomed to long email and print ads, 160 characters can seem pretty limiting. Because of this many believe that 160 characters cannot have the impact that an email or print ads can have. This is simply not the case. In fact, mobile offers are redeemed 10x’s more frequently than print offers. [4]

When used properly, text marketing can help your business flourish. What are you waiting for? Give it a try! You will be glad you did.

References

[1]OpenMarket Millenial Datasheet
[2] Mobile Commerce Daily
[3] eMarketer
[4] eMarketer