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Introduction
Capturing the attention of consumers is no easy task. And when those consumers are sales or marketing professionals, the task becomes even more complicated. When prospecting, you need to choose your communication medium wisely to stand out from the crowd and have a chance of pushing your offer.
With figures that put the competition to shame, SMS is the most popular marketing communications tool for professionals. Let's find out how SMS marketing can help you achieve your business development objectives, and what rules you'll need to follow to stay on track with this marketing solution.
Why choose SMS as a sales prospecting tool?
Campaign performance SMS
Its opening rate is 98%, its response rate 45% and its conversion rate 29% on average; SMS is the KPI champion. The proximity it creates with the user (it's physically in his pocket) also gives it other advantages over other communication channels such as professional e-mail, telephone calls (increasingly filtered with the rise in spam) and even professional social networks (notably LinkedIn).
Your email campaign, while less expensive, will only have a 20% to 30% chance of being read by your customers. 40% of recipients say they have more than 50 unread e-mails in their inbox, while 35% admit to deleting them simply on the basis of their subject line. With SMS, you can multiply the impact of your campaigns by a factor of 3.
It should also be noted that an e-mail can remain unopened for hours or even days (or even forever) in a mailbox. A SMS is read within 4 minutes of receipt in 95% of cases.
When it comes to social networks, LinkedIn is the essential platform for B2B sales prospecting. Your sales reps are probably already using it, so ask them about the ratio of initiated requests to responses. It probably won't be extraordinary. InMails are relatively intrusive, and automation can also damage your brand image. Who hasn't received mass InMails, completely unsuited to their needs?
SMS is proving to be the most effective and ultimately least intrusive means of communication, but not only that, it's also cost-effective. Remember the KPIs of SMS professionals mentioned above. With a message costing around 4 cents and a record return on investment, campaigns are highly profitable.
Accessibility
The short message is the most affordable solution on the market, which is a major factor in its worldwide popularity. The cost of a SMS campaign is particularly competitive, enabling you to maximize your visibility without increasing your budget. As such, anyone can receive a message with a simple telephone package, and mailing rates for professionals are very affordable. This accessibility makes it a preferred solution for users with limited financial means or living in areas where Internet access is restricted, reinforcing its role as an essential communication medium for a company.
Universality
Thanks to its simplicity and compatibility with almost any type of phone, SMS transcends geographical and technological barriers. Unlike other forms of messaging that require an Internet connection or third-party applications, it relies on cellular networks, accessible even in the most remote areas. This makes it a broad-spectrum communication tool, regardless of the technological level or device used. This universality has enabled SMS to remain relevant, even in the age of smartphones and instant messaging applications, thanks to its unrivalled accessibility and reliability.
What's more, these days 99% of the population owns a telephone. Whether you're looking for access to all the features a cell phone has to offer (social networking, for example), or to the most basic of them all, making a phone call. By opting for SMS as a prospecting solution, your information won't go unnoticed.
How to set up my SMS prospecting campaign
To set up an effective SMS marketing campaign, especially when prospecting, it's essential to follow a few key steps and respect a few best practices. Follow our guide to optimize the sale of your offers like a marketing pro!
Define your goals
First, define your objectives. Do you want to promote a new product or service? Directly increase your sales? Improve customer relations? Present your offers in greater detail? These elements will enable you to define the themes you will explore and the content you will produce. Your objectives are the foundation of your strategy, so make sure they're solid!
Optimizing your database
Improving the quality of your contact database and the data collected on your customers will maximize your campaign's chances of success. In marketing, quality prevails over quantity, and when it comes to prospecting for a sale, this is even truer. Make sure that your prospects' or customers' consent has been obtained beforehand, and keep proof of this in case of a request (no one is safe from a request from the CNIL). You can segment this customer base according to relevant criteria such as job title, location, purchase history, etc., to personalize messages.
Creating attractive content
Then write the content best suited to each customer/prospect. This strategy of personalizing SMS , already initiated by the segmentation carried out on the database, is sure to arouse your customers' interest. Don't hesitate to include a call to action in your messages.
Choosing a mobile messaging platform
Use a specialized platform for sending mass SMS campaigns, which not only allows you to personalize your mailings, but also to track campaign performance (reception rates, response rates, etc.). If you ever need one, we know someone 😉.
Use cases
You can use SMS marketing or notification in many situations: canvassing, promoting or launching a product or solution, inviting your loyal customers to a specific event, after-sales service and other key moments. We'd like to share with you some examples of tried-and-tested best practice.
Discover SMS to get inspired right from your first messages.
Prospecting triggered by information gathering
[Company]
Hello [Name], thank you for downloading our white paper. I'm [Name] from [Company].
I'd like to know more about your needs. Do you have time to discuss them?
STOP at 3612.
Promotion of a special offer
Electronics sales
📱💥 Dear customer, [Store name] is offering -15% on the entire range of smartphones until [Date], with every purchase, a shell is free!
➡️ Take advantage of it quickly here: [Link].
STOP at 3612.
Launching a new product
Fashion company
👗✨ New in your dressing room!
Discover our spring-summer collection, available today at [Store name].
Get -20% off your first order with code: [CODE]
👉 [Link]. STOP to unsubscribe.
Invitation to an event
Real Estate Agency
🏠 Dreaming of becoming a homeowner?
Would you like to offer a property for rent?
The[Name] agency invites you to our open day on [Date].
Our agents are waiting for you.
Register here: [Link]. STOP to unsubscribe.
Call for service discovery
Consulting firm
📈 Boost your business with our tailor-made solutions!
Cabinet [Name] offers you a free audit to improve your security. Contact our experts today:
[Number]. STOP to unsubscribe.
End of season offer
Sports store
🏃♂️⛷️ End-of-season clearance sale at [Store name]!
Up to 50% off a selection of sportswear and equipment.
No more excuses!
Take advantage now: [Link]. STOP to unsubscribe.
Reservation or appointment reminder
Beauty salon
💅 Ready to be pampered?
Your appointment at [Salon Name] is fast approaching!
Remember to confirm by replying to this SMS or by calling [Number].
STOP to unsubscribe.
A few rules to follow
There are many advantages to implementing a mobile messaging strategy, but you need to be careful how you use it. Here's how.
Free, specific, informed and unambiguous consent
As with email, it is possible to canvass by SMS, however, the recipients of your communications must have given their consent before being canvassed.
This consent must be free, specific, informed and unambiguous.
Exceptions
There are two exceptions to this principle:
- The prospect is already a customer of your company and the prospecting concerns products or services similar to the first purchase.
- If the prospecting is not of a commercial nature (e.g. charitable activity)
This is based on the organization'slegitimate interests. When a person's telephone number is collected, he or she must be informed of the use that will be made of it, and be able to object to this use simply and free of charge.
Mandatory information
In practice, each of your SMS messages will have to contain your identity in order to identify you to your prospects, and then once again offer a simple way to opt out of receiving further solicitations (e.g. with an unsubscribe link at the end of the message, or a "STOP" message).
These are the rules laid down by the General Data Protection Regulation.
Shipping times
Your marketing campaigns must be sent at specific times. Short messages may not be sent between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. on calendar days, or all day on Sundays and public holidays.
Count on smsmode©your mobile messaging provider, to help you launch your first campaign.
Conclusion
Integrating SMS into your business is an effective and advantageous strategy for many reasons. It enhances the efficiency of your sales department by punctuating customer relations with "highlights" (promoting a new product, for example) conveyed by instant communications tailored to your users' preferences.
You can also set up personalized exchanges with your customers, strengthening your brand support and your conversion rate. The addition of a message-based communication channel also reduces the most time-consuming activities of your team.
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