Step-by-Step Guide to Sending Promotional SMS

Promotional SMS marketing has been shown to be one of the fastest and cheapest ways through which businesses can reach out to their customers. The use of the right message at the right time regardless of how big your store or company is will increase brand loyalty, engagement, and sales. However, throwing messages all over the place will not give the results. What you need is a system in which to get the most out of what you do. This tutorial will guide you through the entire process of being able to send effective promotional SMS messages that will have the most impact.

Understanding Promotional SMS

Promotional SMS is an abridged text message sent to a potential or actual customer as a promotional tool to advertise a particular service/discount/event. Promotional SMS, as opposed to transactional SMS and order update or alerts, is marketing- and lead-generation oriented. Benefits include:

Wider reach: You are able to reach the customers everywhere, anytime.
Instant delivery: The messages are received in few seconds.
Cost-effective: SMS communication is cheaper than other modes of marketing and has a huge ROI.

Preparing for Your Campaign

Before sending promotional messages, preparation is key.

Identify your target audience: Understand who you are addressing, whether existing consumers, new leads, or a particular population.
Build or update your contact list: Delete the numbers not responding, and make sure that you have their consent to send them messages.
Follow regulations: Obey the TRAI and DND rules in India; otherwise, receive penalties.
Define your goal: Decide whether your campaign would be used to enhance sales or to communicate an offer or create brand awareness.

Crafting an Effective SMS Message

The success of your campaign depends on how well you write your message.

Be short and clear: The shorter the better, and not more than 160 characters.
Add a strong call-to-action (CTA): Add an element that will trigger the receiver into making a move “Shop Now,” “Call Today”, or “Visit Our Store.”
Personalize when possible: Put in the name, or the place, of the recipient so it gets personalized.
Stay consistent with your brand voice: Make your tone portray your personality as a business.

Choosing the Right SMS Platform

The platform you choose will determine how smoothly your campaign runs.

Features to look for: The possibility of scheduling, automating, and sending out in bulk.
Delivery rate: An agency with successful delivery rates should be chosen.
Analytics: Make sure that the platform has message delivery and engagement tracking.
Customer support: You and your time may be spared because of a supporting team especially when it is not going well.

Step-by-Step Process to Send Promotional SMS

Register with an SMS service provider – Gain a subscription ID and have sender ID authorized.
Upload your contact list – Post your audience in the desired pattern.
Write your SMS content – It should be short, attractive and consistent with your promotion goal.
Set sender ID – This will be the number or name that will appear as the sender.
Schedule or send instantly – Set the most appropriate time to deliver; mornings and evenings are good.
Test before sending to all – Send a trial SMS to make sure of formatting and links and spelling.

Tracking and Analyzing Results

After sending your SMS, don’t stop there.

Check delivery reports: Ask how many messages have been successfully transferred.
Monitor click-through rates: Monitor the number of clicks, in case you have included some links.
Learn from performance: Adjust the timing, content, or audience on which campaigns will be placed.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Even the best campaigns can fail if you make these errors:

Poor timing: Delivery of messages at the wrong time may irritate the clients.
Over-messaging: Texting customers excessively will result to unsubscribes.
Vague offers: When you send a vague message people will not act on it. Clarify the benefit always.

Why Choose SDGM Technologies

SDGM Technologies provides a stable and simple bulk SMS product that assists any size business connect with their customers virtually instantaneously. Your campaigns are easily manageable with high delivery rates, real time tracking and an easy interface. Their platform can deliver 100 messages through to 100,000 so no matter what your message volume is you can rely on their services.

Conclusion

Strategy in promotional SMS can be greatly utilized in customer relationship building and sales. Finding your audience, defining the appropriate message, selecting a sound platform, and monitoring the outcomes leading to a qualitative result, you will be able to run the successful campaigns delivering the above-mentioned results. After all, it is consistency and constant upgrading that counts the most--test, learn, adapt your strategy. It is time to start implementing these actions today, and see your business increased with the power of SMS marketing.