Although not as popular as email marketing, SMS marketing can actually be a more effective marketing campaign.  I was actually the target of an SMS marketing campaign a few days ago, and although it didn’t result in a sale for the guy, I had to admire the strategy.  The targeting was good, the sales pitch was friendly, the message wasn’t harassing, nothing in the message came off as a scam (seemed legitimate), and when I declined the offer, that was the end of it. 

There are many ways to do SMS marketing, but I honestly believe that this is one of the better ones.

This is what the message said

“Hi this is Eric! I help Construction companies find health coverage all over the country.  I would like to help Long Change LLC get an easy look at PPO plans for local self-employed families.  May I send you a quote?”

In breaking down this message, one can see the following:

  • He used his name
  • Quickly stated who he was and why he was sending me a message.
  • In a friendly manner asked if the sales process could move forward

Now, I’ll admit, I didn’t send a reply to Eric.  So, a few days later this is what I got.

“Hey!  It’s Eric again, just sending a friendly follow up.  Not sure if you got my last message.  Are you available for a quick call?”

  • Once again, stated name
  • Kept the message short and concise
  • In a friendly manner once again asked if the sales process could move forward

Once again, I declined to respond to the message.  A few days later I received.

“I know you’re busy with work.  I’ll send quotes to see if they are something you would be interested in.  What are the ages of everyone needing coverage please?”

After three text messages it became apparent that this guy was going to just keep texting me.  I therefore, sent a friendly reply stating that we are ok on the health coverage front and would not be interested.

This was his response.

“Appreciate the update!  Wish you nothing but the best, always here as a resource.”

As a business owner, and even though we weren’t in a position to buy, I appreciate the way “Eric” went about trying to get a sale.  He was friendly and gave the impression that he was there to help, as stated in his initial message, giving me the sense that he was more of a potential ally to me versus just a salesman. 

The other important thing about this message is that he stated his name a few times.  This gave me the impression that he was looking to start a business relationship first and a sale second.  This is important. He didn’t make a sale, but he did get me to solicit a reply.  That created a contact, and honestly if I do need health coverage at some point in the future, I will probably shoot this guy a text and ask him for some quotes. 

Now, you can use your phone to send out a whole bunch of text messages to try and build contacts and sales, but using a computer program provides a lot of advantages. 

Some of those include:

  • Easier to mass text multiple people
  • Automations (welcome messages to new customers, abandoned shopping carts, etc)
  • Organization of messages from a large number of people and replies from those people
  • Easy to transition from two-way messaging to sending documents in emails to new contact
  • Statistics on delivered SMS messages and open link statistics if a URL is embedded
  • SMS templates- Preloaded wording for (new customers, VIP customers, etc)

Email marketing has been popular since nearly the beginning of the internet, and it is still one of the most effective means of marketing today.  SMS marketing however, I believe, is starting to gain ground as more and more companies start to incorporate it into their strategy.  This makes sense as people generally look at text messages more often than email, and in truth, are more likely to look at a text message even if they don’t recognize the number.

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