Advertising Through Text Messages: A Marketing Strategy For Small Businesses
Many small business owners are starting to hear about text message marketing or SMS promotions, but don’t know exactly how they work or don’t think their own particular business could benefit from them. This article looks at what kinds of businesses can benefit from text message marketing and what it takes to run a successful campaign.
If you are a small business owner with one location, or a multi-location business owner and are in the food service business of any kind, as a restaurant owner, bar or tavern owner, or even just own a small pizzeria, you are someone who can really take advantage of the new technology that marketing to people on their mobile phones offers.
In the recent past, this type of advertising has been out of reach for a small business owner. The costs were high, and the technology was difficult to master and use successfully to bring more customers in the door. As late as 2009, pretty much the only people using mass promotion via text messages were big corporations with deep pockets.
As technology has advanced, costs have come down. The ability for businesses of any size to use text messages to reach their customers has now become easy and affordable.
Is that how it works. We will use a restaurant as an example.
The restaurant owner recently signed up with a text message marketing services company. He either spoke to a local representative who came down the street and showed him how this all works, or he’s someone who is always looking for ways to promote the business and heard about it on the internet. Either way, the company is set up with its own “keyword” and a five-digit “text to” number.
Most restaurants have a little card or “table tent” on each table that shows the daily specials, right? Perhaps the special offers are listed on a thin piece of cardstock that is wedged between the top metal pieces of the salt and pepper shakers, for example. In this case only, the restaurant has a card that says something like “TEXT (restaurant name) to 83936 and start receiving text coupons from us.”
In the course of serving the food, the waiter or waitress points to the card and tells customers to look at it. They also tell the customer that if they do in fact text the name of the restaurant to that five-digit number, they’ll instantly receive a text with a “special” or “coupon” that they can then redeem on their next visit with just showing the text they received to the cashier.
Often this text message “coupon” is for a free drink, a two-for-one special, or whatever the business owner has set up. The reason why this works so well is that most people always carry their mobile phone with them at all times. With their business coupon already on their phone, they don’t have to worry about trying to keep track of a paper coupon. They just need to show the text that the business owner sent to the waitress or cashier on their next visit.
There are two things that just happened when that customer of yours texted your “keyword” or “name of your restaurant” to that five-digit number.
- They instantly received a coupon to use on their next visit. If you’re a repeat customer, you’ll not only be thankful for the discount or freebie on your next visit, but you’ll also tell a friend about it.
- More importantly (for you as the business owner) this person is now on your “list”. Now you can text them your specials weekly (or whenever you want).
Business owners who are taking advantage of this type of advertising and adding text message marketing to their long-term growth strategies are finding that the ROI of dollars spent promoting their business in this way far exceeds any other form of advertising spent. .