SMS Marketing

coupon_collector

Hi guys couldn't find a past thread on this so here goes:

Has anyone had any experience of SMS marketing?

What are the typical response rates across the board?

Can you do it cheaply or even free?

How do you get the mobile numbers off businesses?

Sorry for all the questions but I am considering all marketing options at the moment that don't cost a bomb but are still effective.

Thanks in advance guys:j

paulwf

I used to work for a legit SMS based Q&A service, occasionally they would send out marketing messages and the response was extremely negative.

People are used to marketing material through the post and by email, and even spam emails don't cause most people much bother these days, but most people are very protective about text messaging. Proceed with caution, you could actually end up harming your brand.

Premier_2

Unless you have the explicit agreement of the person you are texting to receive marketing material from you, most people would regard such messaging as spam and will treat your company accordingly.

But then again, spam works else people wouldn't bother doing it, but expect a response rate of about 0.001%

hubert_cumberdale

i hate sms adverts it would discourage me from using that company clearly they arent doing well if they have to spam people

i get one every day from a powder coating comapny stating that they have 8 meter long ovens
i have no idea why but i dont need a powder coater

coupon_collector

Thanks guys for all your thoughts so far.

Have done some googling too and it seems like theres a good open rate (over 95%) with a response rate
ranging from 10-40% which is a lot higher than most forms of marketing.

As mentioned by others here and else where who you target, the time of day you target and how often you target are very
important. People really do not want text messages from companies no more than once a week probably less depending on the offer.

I still want to do this sms campaign but now I have come across a problem. How to get mobile phone numbers?

Any suggestions of where I can buy lists or even get them for free?

Many thanks in advance

paulwf

coupon_collector wrote: »

Thanks guys for all your thoughts so far.

Have done some googling too and it seems like theres a good open rate (over 95%) with a response rate
ranging from 10-40% which is a lot higher than most forms of marketing.

As mentioned by others here and else where who you target, the time of day you target and how often you target are very
important. People really do not want text messages from companies no more than once a week probably less depending on the offer.

I still want to do this sms campaign but now I have come across a problem. How to get mobile phone numbers?

Any suggestions of where I can buy lists or even get them for free?

Many thanks in advance

Be careful relying on stats from the internet as there are 2 types of SMS advertising - the type where customers explicitly sign up to it and welcome the messages and the other type which is unsolicited.

There is a HUGE difference. For example with M&S you can sign up to an alert for their dine in for £10 meal deal and it will give you a link to the menu. Very useful if you are a fan of their offers. OTOH a random company sending texts without a previous relationship to the recipient will get slated.

What exactly do you mean by "response rate"? With regards to my previous post the response rate was high, usually a string of 4 letter words (people don't hold back in text messages) but if you mean actual buying rate that's another matter.

I'm sure you don't like unsolicited text messages OP so why inflict it on others? If you are serious about it get customers to explicitly offer their consent by asking them if outright if they would like your marketing offers.