How can you use SMS marketing to improve your B2B multi-channel marketing strategy?
SMS marketing is a powerful way to communicate with your B2B prospects and customers, especially when combined with other channels such as email, social media, and webinars. SMS marketing can help you increase engagement, conversions, and retention in your B2B multi-channel marketing strategy. In this article, you will learn how to use SMS marketing effectively for B2B purposes, what are the best practices and pitfalls to avoid, and how to measure and optimize your SMS campaigns.
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Renee BigelowMarketing Consultant & Fractional CMO | I help companies take their marketing to the next level by developing…
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Isabelle GeertsEmpowering B2B companies to higher ROI with laser-focused marketing strategy, coaching, SEO websites and execution…
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Umang ThakarCo-Founder at Digital Infoways | Top-Rated on Upwork | Transforming Brands With Data Driven Strategies
SMS marketing offers multiple benefits to B2B marketers, such as an incredibly high open rate of 98% and a response rate of 45%, compared to email's 20% and 6%. Additionally, SMS messages are sent and read within seconds, and can be personalized to the recipient's name, industry, and stage in the buyer's journey. Furthermore, SMS marketing is cost-effective and scalable, providing an easy way to reach a large number of prospects and customers with minimal effort.
SMS marketing can be utilized for a variety of B2B objectives, such as lead generation, lead nurturing, customer service, and customer loyalty. Lead generation can be achieved by offering a valuable incentive, such as a free report or consultation, in exchange for their phone number. Lead nurturing can be done by sending relevant content and offers to move them along the sales funnel. SMS can also provide customer service support, confirm orders, send invoices, and seek feedback from customers. Additionally, SMS can be used to retain and upsell customers by sending exclusive deals and rewards, as well as inviting them to join your loyalty program.
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SMS is highly effective yet one of the most protected channels by consumers. I recommend starting with high-value moments that benefit the customer the most. Some examples that are helpful vs. intrusive include: 🔶 Appointment or event reminders: If it's on your customer's calendar, it's likely important to them. 🔶 Schedule reminders: SMS is a great channel for ensuring your message gets attention if your customer has asked for regular service reminders. 🔶 Milestone recognition/celebrations: SMS is a great way to share a personal celebratory note, if your customer journey includes milestone recognition or achievements. 🔶 Bill Payments: Customers love low friction shortcuts like an SMS with a one-word text reply like "PAY"
When it comes to SMS marketing for B2B, careful planning and execution is a must. To ensure you don't annoy or spam your audience, you should get permission from your recipients before sending them any SMS messages, and comply with the relevant laws and regulations in your country or region. Additionally, segmenting your audience based on their profile, behavior, preferences, and needs is essential for sending personalized and relevant messages that match their interests and expectations. Moreover, be sure to choose the right timing and frequency to send your SMS messages based on your audience's habits, availability, and urgency. Crafting clear and concise messages that convey your value proposition, call to action, and brand identity is also important. Use simple and direct language, avoid jargon and abbreviations, and include a link or a phone number if necessary.
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Under GDPR, it's extremely important to collect a consent for direct marketing, which needs to be clearly communicated at the opt-in form. Moreover, also for SMS a company must foresee a way to easily unsubscribe. Make sure that your spelling is correct, trusted sender, etc. Nowadays people are very careful for phishing. If one of those elements may cause any doubt, SMS marketing will cost you money. If done right, it's a good channel to add to your mix.
SMS marketing for B2B can be effective, but there are potential pitfalls to avoid. Sending irrelevant or generic messages that are not aligned with your goals and strategy can be detrimental. Additionally, sending too many or too few messages can have a negative effect on engagement and satisfaction. Furthermore, sending messages without tracking or testing their performance can make it difficult to measure and optimize your campaigns. To maximize success, you should use analytics tools and A/B testing to track and improve your SMS metrics, such as open rate, click-through rate, conversion rate, and unsubscribe rate.
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Decide first if SMS marketing makes any sense for your B2B product. Yes, this channel has a high engagement rate. No, you should not need to message an individual's cell number to make a B2B sale. SMS works really well for time-sensitive offers and time-based reminders. Are either of these relevant in your B2B acquisition or nurture strategy? If not, focus this energy elsewhere.
SMS marketing for B2B requires constant measurement and optimization to maximize your return on investment and reach your marketing objectives. To start, define your SMS goals and key performance indicators (KPIs) based on your strategy and desired outcomes. Track and analyze your SMS data with analytics tools that integrate with other channels and systems. Collect data such as the number of messages sent, received, opened, clicked, converted, and unsubscribed, as well as the cost per message, the revenue per message, and the return on investment. Test and optimize elements like the message content, sender name, link or phone number, timing and frequency, segmentation and personalization to make data-driven decisions. With these steps in place, you can improve your SMS campaigns.
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Incorporating SMS marketing in B2B multi-channel strategy boosts engagement. Send targeted, personalized messages tailored to businesses' needs. Use SMS for time-sensitive offers, event invitations, or product updates. Integrate SMS with other channels like email or social media for consistent messaging. Ensure opt-in compliance and offer value to recipients. Monitor responses and analyze data to refine campaigns, enhancing overall B2B marketing effectiveness.
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