What Do Consumers in 2018 Think of SMS Marketing?

There are two sides to any successful SMS marketing campaign. In fact, there are two sides to any marketing campaign. What you think, and what consumers think.

It’s far too easy to get caught up in your view of a marketing campaign and forget to really take a look at what consumers are thinking, and importantly, what your customers have to say. Understanding how consumers are viewing text message marketing can help you to better tailor your marketing strategy and reach a wider audience with more captivating content.

This can all translate back to a better return on investment (ROI) and help you to see where you’re going wrong and where you’re going right with your own campaign. For all the latest news on SMS marketing and consumer thoughts in 2018, the first place to look is at the latest trends.

A Look at the Latest Trends

The latest trends give you an insight into how businesses are adapting to meet the changing needs of their customers with SMS marketing. This accumulation of information can give you a much broader look in general.

There are plenty of trends circulating in 2018, with a little something that can help out any type of business; be it a multi-national corporation or a brick and mortar business. There are three key trends that signal a change in customer demands and reveal a little more about what consumers are thinking:

Omnichannel Sales – There has been a steady rise in the adoption of online sales as opposed to physical sales, with the US reporting that there is in the region of a 10% increase of online sales every year. However, there is still a high demand for physical retailers, splitting the consumers in half. New marketing campaigns need to address both, targeting which platform their audience prefers. As a flexible marketing tool, SMS could be a key player in providing consumers with information about their preferred shopping type.

Off-Screen Experiences – More and more consumers are calling for an ‘off screen’ experience. This means being able to access and interact with a brand without having to use their computer. Text marketing is a completely different experience to ‘screen’ marketing, potentially giving the marketing a push over the competition by appealing to consumers after experiences ‘off-screen’.

Different Types of Content – The needs of consumers in terms of content delivery, is starting to shift. Consumers want different forms of content and ways to interact with a brand. Visual content and videos are becoming incredibly popular, and brands are being pushed to diversify. The call for new ways to interact puts the versality of SMS marketing in prime position.

What Are the Statistics Showing?

The rising prominence of SMS marketing is being shown across the board in recent statistics. The reception of it can easily be seen as positive with two key statistics standing out – the number of businesses to adopt it and the number of consumers who have opted-in to it.

In a study performed by Twilo in 2016, it was shown that 9 out of 10 consumers from around the world want to be able to message brands. This was partially backed-up by another study from 2016, this time performed by textlocal, that stated 48.7 million people would be opted-in to SMS marketing by 2020. This shows a growing trend towards the adoption of SMS, and a positive reception from consumers.

In terms of businesses, around 50% of businesses in the UK were recorded to be using SMS marketing in 2017. However, this figure is believed to see rapid expansion, with an estimated 92% utilizing the leading marketing tool in 2018.

A Marketing Strategy on the Rise

The combination of high business use and growing consumer adoption, shows that text message marketing becoming much more prominent. This is not dissimilar to previous years, which also saw a growth in the usage of SMS messaging.

However, with the latest trends pointing towards a diversified marketing and online experience, and even the emergence of the Internet of Things, which will change the way that consumers interact with brands, it seems that text marketing may be more prominent than ever before.

Test message marketing gives brands a portal to communicate directly with their consumers – improving that ever-important brand visibility, trust, and clarity. As always though, it can only create a positive reaction when businesses follow the golden rules of positive SMS marketing.

The Golden Rules of Positive SMS Marketing

As with any form of marketing, there are some serious things to avoid, that are proven to turn customers away, rather than encourage them to learn more and choose your business. These are some of the top reasons why consumers may respond negatively to your text marketing campaign in 2018:

Too Many Messages – Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of too many messages from businesses trying to promote products or services. Businesses that bombard their consumers run the risk of portraying themselves negatively and causing their consumers to opt-out.

Not Enough Value – Opening a text to find useless, irrelevant, or boring, information makes you feel like you have wasted your time. If there is no value in a marketing text message, then you cause consumers to lose interest in your brand. Making your point clear in SMS marketing and providing interesting content, is essential.

Too Much Pressure – Over-selling your product can be as bad as under-selling your product. No consumer wants to open a text only to find a hard sell with nothing useful or beneficial to them. The perfect balance between value for you and the customer, is important.

Not Enough Professionalism – Being too familiar can turn consumers away quickly. For a positive viewpoint from consumers, the messages need to be tailored to them.

One thing is for sure, the use of SMS marketing is on the rise, and consumer thoughts appear to be sitting much closer to the positive side. As long as you avoid the common pitfalls, the innovative marketing technique can become a real ally in the 2018 marketing world and beyond.