If you own a small business, you know how important it is to have tools and resources that help increase profits, improve efficiency, and eliminate the need for weekly repetitive tasks. Software like business management platforms and automation tools can help streamline marketing and sales efforts, helping you save time and money in the long run. One of the most effective marketing channels you can leverage using automation is SMS marketing. SMS marketing is a popular marketing channel that helps you engage with leads and customers through marketing-centric text messages.
In this article, we’ll look at ways plumbers, contractors, lawyers, and other small to medium-sized businesses can leverage automation to convert leads and retain customers. Here’s everything you need to know:
What is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing is a highly effective way to promote your products and services. It’s a text-based marketing tactic businesses use to engage with customers and leads through strategically written text messages. You can send promotions, reminders, and personalized messages to each customer or prospect in your CRM. You can also schedule sales follow-ups and check-ins.
What is SMS Automation?
With SMS automation, you can develop enrollment triggers based on customer behaviors or specific events. This will push prospects and customers through a workflow and trigger pre-written messages. With SMS automation, you can develop marketing campaigns based on different scenarios and automate your follow-ups.
Small and medium-sized business owners use automation to help them streamline operations and improve workplace efficiency. When you automate your SMS marketing campaigns, you can reduce human error and create a workflow that works in the background of your workweek.
How SMB Businesses Can Benefit
Text message marketing is a practical tool that you can use to improve communication with future, current, and past customers. Once you’ve developed a strategic approach, here are five benefits you can look forward to with text messages for small businesses:
1. Reduce Human Error
Sending personalized follow-ups to every customer you work with increases the risk of human errors. With automation, you can automate your text message marketing campaigns using personalization and enrollment triggers. This will ensure a touch point is never missed and improve accuracy.
2. Streamline Marketing Efforts
Automated text messages for business are a highly effective way to engage with current, past, and potential clients. Once you’ve thought through the content and set the triggers, you can schedule engaging marketing campaigns that deliver next-level results.
3. Improve Customer Engagement
Text message marketing can keep customers and prospects engaged with your products or services. Every message you send will keep your business top of mind with your target audience. It will also help you convert leads into paying customers.
4. Reduce the Need for Repetitive Tasks
Are you tired of scheduling individual follow-ups every day? With SMS automation, you can automate your everyday tasks. Once you’ve set the triggers and created the workflow, the text messages will be sent in the background of your workweek, helping you close days and win back business while your team works on other tasks.
5. Increase Conversions
SMS marketing can increase conversions and boost profits. Studies suggest SMS marketing text messages have a 98% open rate. This is 3.7x more than email marketing. Leveraging SMS marketing can help you increase sales, book more demos, and turn one-time purchasers into repeat customers.
How to Use Automated Text Messages for Business
Once you’re ready to start using automated text messages, here’s how to get started:
Invest in a Business Management Platform
CRMs and business management platforms have built-in SMS or email marketing tools to engage with clients and prospects. These platforms can help streamline productivity and efficiency. You can also easily track all communication in one place, improving your approach to lead gen and customer engagement.
Platforms can have many built-in automation tools your team can benefit from. These tools can improve communication, sales, and marketing efforts.
Refine Your Goal
You must solidify your goals before you create your workflow or set your triggers. SMS marketing can be used for promotional, transaction, and engagement campaigns. Decide what outcomes you hope to achieve from the campaigns you develop.
Create Your Content
Next, you’ll need to write out your copy. Most SMS messages have a 160-character limit, so it’s best to keep your content short and concise. If you decide to include URLs in the copy, ensure you shorten the link before you add it in. Are you struggling with writer’s block? Platforms like Townsquare Interactive’s business management platform have SMS marketing templates you can use to streamline the creation process.
Set the Triggers and Develop a Workflow
There are many different event-based and condition-based triggers you can consider for your SMS marketing workflows.When exploring the options, consider your goals and focus. For example, you can schedule follow-ups after a demo or sales. You can also create triggers based on page views, form submissions, or buyer habits.
Analyze The Data
Once your workflow is created, you’ll want to check in regularly to ensure it’s working to the best of its ability. You’ll want to analyze data to see what is and isn’t working. From there, you can make meaningful changes to your approach to improve the effectiveness of your text message marketing strategy.
Improve Your SMS Automation With Townsquare Interactive
SMS is a powerful marketing channel small businesses across various industries can use to enhance their marketing and sales strategies. Townsquare Interactive’s business management platform specifically made for small business owners. Our platform includes a cloud-based CRM, invoicing and billing tools, and more. Our automated SMS marketing templates can streamline the creation and scheduling process of text message marketing for your business.