Text messaging is gaining momentum around the world as a preferred communication channel, and it provides a cost-effective way for small businesses to increase real-time communications with other businesses. But where and how should you use SMS? Here are some examples of how it can be used to target and communicate with customers in a business-to-business setting.
Trade Shows and Conferences. Interactive agency HyperDrive Interactive CEO and president Dan Heimbrock recently used SMS to engage his audience when speaking at a marketing event. At the end of his presentation, Heimbrock invited members of the audience to send a text message requesting a copy of his slide show. More than 60 percent of the 120 attendees texted in their request. Following industry best practices, HyperDrive Interactive sent an immediate text confirmation in return, stating that an e-mail would soon follow. When the e-mail was sent thanking audience members for attending the session, 78 percent responded to the e-mail to confirm their request for a copy of Dan’s presentation. With a simple text campaign this small business turned 78 percent of a room full of strangers into reasonably self-identified qualified sales prospects.
E-Mail List Growth. Research from Ball State University, Email Marketers Club and ExactTarget released earlier this year found that a record number of marketers will turn to text messaging to grow their e-mail subscriber lists. With SMS, marketers can target prospects when they’re on the go, yet communicate with them later via e-mail to further nurture these leads and secure their business. SMS is most appropriate for personal or urgent messages, so collecting prospects’ e-mail addresses is crucial for delivering future messages via the most appropriate channel.
Customer Service. Zappos.com is famous for its customer service, and word-of-mouth advertising about the company’s commitment to customer satisfaction has paid off. Small business-to-business companies can learn from Zappos.com’s heralded attention to customer service and use SMS to provide better customer communication and service. How? Imagine you have a customer waiting on an important shipment from you, and the driver is running late for the scheduled delivery time. Alert them with a text message, and you’ll be sure to reach your customer no matter where they are.
Inventory Update. Do you have some products that are so popular there’s often a waiting list for them? Or what about an upcoming product for which you’re starting to collect orders? Make sure these customers are the first to know when their long-awaited product has arrived by sending them a text message.
