SMS marketing is a communication channel for marketing. In case you haven't done it before, it might seem difficult to get started. Often I hear marketers discuss how SMS marketing isn't right for their business. Or they're worried about customers responding negatively for their messages. And these are valid concerns. However, when done efficiently SMS marketing may be an extremely effective communication tool with clear benefits for businesses of any size.

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Benefits of SMS marketing

 Relatively low priced

 Close to 100% open rates (the best of all marketing mediums)

 Almost immediate delivery

 ROI tracking

 Personalisation and targeting capabilities

When you have a short message you desire customers to see as soon as possible, sending an SMS is an excellent way to go. But before you start, there are a few things you need to find out.

Your requirements

Just like marketing via email, SMS marketing is permission based. So it will be vital to have consent and abide by anti-spam legislation. Here in Australia, the Spam Act 2003 incorporates email and SMS marketing with similar basic requirements applying to both.

 Consent must exist prior to sending your message

 The recipient should be able to identify the sender

 The recipient will need a simple method for opting out

Australia's governing body ACMA provide helpful advice for adhering to anti-spam legislation around consent for SMS marketing. Plus sms marketing software providers like Vision6 make worry of processing opt out requests off the hands as this happens automatically with all the capture of SMS responses from the campaigns.

Common uses

SMS marketing is really a whole lot more than sending sales and promotional messages to customers. In reality, if these are the only SMS messages you're sending to customers, you might need to reassess your SMS marketing. SMS is another great option for:

 Event and appointment reminders

 Birthday and anniversary messages

 Service alerts

 Emergency notices (including product recalls)

And yes...

 Competitions

 Time sensitive promotions

Important considerations

People tend to be more protective of their cell phone than they are their email address. This is mostly because it's considered a private device reserved for emailing friends and family. So be mindful how you start contacting people via SMS.

 Make your messages helpful first, promotional second.

 When requesting a mobile phone number, be clear on why you're seeking it and the varieties of messages people can expect to receive from you.

 Always give people options. Permit them to choose how they wish to be contacted whether it's via email, mobile or both.

 Only send SMS messages at appropriate times. Nobody likes being woken up at 6am with the buzzing of their phone.

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