January 20, 2017 | Posted in Mobile, SMS Marketing | By B2the7
A bit late, but here are my thoughts from the week of 1/23. I can’t say it enough, SMS is still underused and such a good eCRM for not only a promotion element, but as a utility. Every program begins with data and SMS is no different. Your SMS programs will be as good as the data you are collection and associating with your SMS subscribers. Develop a strategy in which you have promotional and triggered messages. Growth is also a very important element of your SMS program – how you grow it and where is important.
Monday Update – 1/23
How are you currently using your SMS programs – promotional or is it triggered? For 2017, I would recommend creating segments and begin to communicate to each segment differently. Grow and learn as you add more data points – making sure you are always looking at the analytics and making adjustments as you go. Become more personalized with not only your message but with your content. Look at your data and create a strategy that fits with your current data points.
Tuesday Update – 1/24
As you begin your SMS strategy you will want to see what data points you are capturing. The more data points, the more engaging programs you can begin to run. Some high level programs you could be doing –
personalization, past purchases, lapse customers, location based, behavioral, retargeting, segmentation to name of few. As you can see, without the correct data, you will limit your marketing abilities and your programs.
Wednesday Update – 1/25
When you sign up for SMS/Text messages, you do so for…
A) – Special offers
B) – Receive order details
C) – Special utility such as password reset
D) – Utility for account information
E) – Ordering
F) – Download an App
G) – Other, explain
Thursday Update – 1/26
How are you growing your SMS database? This is the one area where I’m pretty adamant about growing the SMS database organically through your own channels, such as your website, email programs, socially, POP materials and in-store. I do not recommend to acquire, purchase or rent lists from third parties. This puts too much liability on your brand or business and can cause real compliant issues and ultimately fines. The acquisition part is open for debate and I’m sure others have had success, but still not something that I recommend.
I like to know the sources where the cell numbers come from and to have detailed records of when they opted in and the messages that those customers have received to remain compliant – also needed for most SMS lawsuits.
Friday Update – 1/27
Ways your brand can utilize SMS – Promotional, order confirmation, account changes, forgot password, automatic triggers based on data and behavior, app download, keywords for specific behaviors and so on. Let people interact with your brand with the channel they want to engage with and if they like SMS, give them all the same options that you would with other channels.
Brand example – Best Buy. I order online this week and had a great experience with SMS, order confirmations and order status – great use of SMS as a utility.
About Bernie
With more than 23 years of experience in marketing, Bernie is the Director of Digital Marketing at Papa John’s International, based in Louisville, KY. His current focus is building and scaling a progressive digital marketing foundation that balances the needs of both consumers and national/local stakeholders — all while delivering measurable ROI to the business.
Additionally, Bernie oversees brand representation for Papa John’s digital properties and manages direct-to-consumer channels including email, SMS and push messaging. Recent initiatives have centered around bringing together larger promotional efforts with targeted campaigns to engage the consumer at the precise moment of interest.
Follow Bernie on Twitter @B2the7 or @B7_Design & the B2The7 blog @ http://b2the7.com/b2the7
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