We’ve all had those moments, leaving our mobile phones unattended in a room with our other halves or friends – fearing the worst that they’ve looked through it while we’ve been away. But not because we’ve got something to hide, because our mobile phone has become like our personal diary.
Gone are the days of filling a daily entry in a notebook with your favourite pen, and here are the days of portable memory mapping.
From taking photos and videos of every day occurrences such as meals through to a special family occasion, and social sharing with friends and family while we’re on-the-go – smartphones have made everything more personal and what’s more nearly everyone has one.
“75% of the world’s population owns a mobile according to a new report by The World Bank” (June 2015)
Research shows that consumers are not only using mobile for communications, with 50% using theirs to influence their purchasing decisions (Deloitte), from receiving offers through SMS, to their path-to-purchase from home.
Mobile has changed the marketing game. It’s no longer off-the-cuff messages that work. This time it’s personal.
The 160 characters in that content has to be a two-way road, starting with relevance in its first and final goals.
It is estimated that 66% of consumers engage with up to 10 brands in a month by mobile, but only 45% of those who opt in to receive a text from these brands find them useful. (Marketing Tech)
So how can your brand deliver a more personalised mobile interaction without missing the mark?
No spam
Opt-ins are key. Having a database of customers that have chosen to opt in opens up opportunities for personalisation because sending messages to people you’ve never had contact with can leave a bitter taste, not only will they think of your brand as spam but it will also mean wasted SMS credits for you. Less Spam more Ham!
Relevance
If you’ve got your customers mobile phone numbers from your own database, whether through subscriptions or competitions, then the chances that they have also shared interests and key demographics such as gender, age, location and job is high. How you deal with this information though, will be detrimental to the success of your campaign.
Sending out an SMS with an offer for discounts off gym membership for students to working males and females aged 50+ who often shop for chocolate and have an interest in cheese and wine won’t necessarily produce perfect results.
Value
41% of consumers said they would be willing to share more information with brands if discounts, offers and rewards were incentivised and of clear benefit to them.
It’s all about providing the customer with value that is personal and makes them think your brand has really taken the time to think about the person holding the phone in their hand.
“It’s all about understanding the customer”
It’s not as difficult as it sounds, but if you need a hand Text Marketer’s SMS team will be more than happy to help. From low prices and a simple-to-use system, through to unrivalled levels of support we know all about making SMS marketing personal.