5 Reasons You Need Text Message Marketing For Your Small Biz

Mobile marketing is here to stay. There are currently more Americans with smart phones than with college degrees, and there’s a good chance your customers have experimented with mobile apps and text messaging in the past. Here are five reasons you need to implement mobile marketing in your small business:

It’s Instant

Let’s pretend you own a bar. Its 9:30 at night, and there isn’t a customer in sight. In the past, you would probably send your staff home and mark it as a loss, and begin your marketing push for the next night. Now let’s pretend you have a text message marketing program in place. You can instantly send a text message blast to your entire database with a special promotion. “Join us at the bar for $1 drafts now until midnight. First 5 customers get free appetizer!” No other marketing channel (besides yelling loudly) puts your message in front of customers instantly.

It’s Affordable

Traditional advertising can be costly. TV ads can cost thousands of dollars, and radio and print ads are not cheap either. Mobile, on the other hand, can be very affordable. Many mobile marketing firms charge a nominal monthly fee (let’s say $99 on the higher end), and individual messages usually range around a few cents each to send. And, as mentioned above, you will be able to communicate your message a lot faster than with other traditional media.

It’s Measurable

John Wanamaker, known as the grandfather of advertising, once said, “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.” It’s difficult to quantify the success of any traditional advertising campaign, which forces business owners to spend unnecessary ad dollars across different platforms. Text message marketing gives you the ability to track and measure different platforms. By putting a mobile incentive on your ads, such as “Send a text for $10 off your next purchase,” you give the customer a clear call to action that is recorded and tracked. This lets you see which advertising channels are working the best so you can allocate more of your ad budget towards them.

It’s Personal

People are always changing. They change their email addresses like they change their clothes. They move to different addresses for work, family, and other reasons. The one asset most people don’t change is their cell phone number. This makes your relationship with your list of mobile subscribers extremely personal and valuable. And because all text message marketing programs require customers to opt in, you’re guaranteed to collect valid phone numbers 100% of the time. Many text message marketing platforms even let you send targeted messages to different groups of customers, allowing you to further personalize your message.

It’s Early

Despite how powerful and affordable text message marketing is, it is still in its earliest phases for small business marketers. This gives your business an edge in your market, and lets you build a unique list of customers before your competitors know what’s going on. Companies like View By Text and PCG Digital Marketing offer affordable and robust text message marketing platforms for small business owners to begin the process.

For more tips on how to use text message marketing in your business, feel free to contact me personally at steve@getbusymedia.com and I will assist you in creating dynamic, value driven campaigns.