Personalization in SMS Marketing: Best Practices to Follow

When used wisely, text messaging platforms increase customer engagement in new ways. Did you know that 98% of text messages are opened and read within 3 minutes of receipt?

In comparison, consumers today perceive 90% of their emails as SPAM.

This is why businesses of all sizes are turning to text for customer service and marketing to grow. Increasing customer engagement is key, and with texting, receiving response rates of 25%+ is common. 

Results like these mean it is important to consider adding this new channel to your communication strategy.

In this article, we’re going to explore some of the SMS marketing best practices and explain how small businesses can benefit from text marketing.

The Dos and Don’ts of Business Text Messaging

As with any communication tool, there are certain do’s and don’ts. We have outlined some key texting best practices for small businesses to assist in establishing your overall text messaging communication plan.

The Dos

Text-Enable Your Line

Much research has demonstrated that customers would often rather text a business than call them or use email marketing. In many cases, however, they can’t do this because the business phone line doesn’t accept text messages.

Using the right business texting services, you can easily “text-enable” your existing business lines. That way, when clients receive your text, they likely already have you in their phone’s contact list and will recognize you.

Doing this guarantees that your message will be read immediately, and customers can text back a question, set up appointments, refer friends, or address other issues. 

You have just opened up a new channel of communication that helps simplify future exchanges and likely saves your staff time while furthering the customer relationship.

Personalize Your Messages

Your messages should start with the recipient’s name and include your name and maybe even a picture of your store, product, or logo.

Having a real phone (not just the shortcode some businesses use) establishes instant credibility because it tells the recipient that the message is from someone real that they have done business with before and not a random unwanted spam text!

This makes your marketing communications feel personal, yet there is no need to share your phone number.

Messages Must Add Value

If you want to use a business texting app to improve the customer journey, consider sending SMS messages to confirm an order or upcoming delivery.

Send pictures introducing the technician who is coming to their home. Remind them how to prepare for upcoming appointments and simply keep them informed of the status of a project. 

These are great ways to take customer service to a more professional level. If they have a question or concern, encourage them to text you back.

After a service or sale, texting is used to do a customer survey and solicit the best responses to submit an online review. Sending “thank you” and requesting referrals via texting can be very effective and relevant.

To stay top of mind with your customers, keep them updated on upcoming sales events, new product introductions, or special VIP offers to encourage additional business. These texting ideas can all be automated for you, yet your customers will feel like you sent each one personally.

Keep Messages Short & Engaging

Since texting is a more intimate channel than email or other forms of advertising, you can have a little more fun by using emojis, food images, animated images, comics, links to reviews and reservation pages, etc. 

Try to keep your message short, but use images to convey the rest of your message. Remember the old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words – this is particularly true with texting. Use your imagination and think about the texts that would capture your attention.

You can also use other SMS marketing campaign content and images you are trying to reinforce. Texts that include images have been proven to deliver better engagement.

Automation is The Key

You know instinctively that these ideas would work, but since you don’t have time to send messages out one by one, your texting service should automate these SMS marketing campaigns for you.

A business texting platform can make this automation easy by designing campaigns ahead of time to address these different customer touchpoints. 

Whether you use a spreadsheet to manage customer data or a robust CRM or back-end system, texting campaigns can be easily integrated with those systems. It can automate these personalized messages to support your processes.

Legal Compliance

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) governs the use of text messaging for marketing.

However, it exempts customer service messages, such as appointment reminders. You don’t want to send marketing texts to non-clients or spam your existing clients with unwanted marketing messages.

For marketing text messages, you need “express written consent.” The good news is that getting adequate consent is easy.

You can put the legal language into your estimates, invoices, contracts, in-take forms, etc., along with a checkbox that the clients can check and sign.

Staying well-informed about SMS marketing regulations is a best practice for small businesses to get this consent even for non-marketing text communication.

You can incentivize consumers to “opt-in” using keywords (text VIPSALE to 87000). Encourage people to sign up for your texts by offering perks. Say, by texting “VIPSALE” to 87000, they could get special deals, discounts, and info on future sales. 

The Don’ts

Overwhelming Your Customers

Don’t overuse texting. When users see strong results from their first well-designed text marketing campaign, it becomes natural to want to do more. Resist this temptation.

With the high effectiveness of this communication channel comes a higher level of responsibility. While texting is an extremely powerful weapon in your marketing arsenal, customers may be put off if you text too frequently.

You don’t want customers to opt-outopt out, which would prevent you from sending future text messages to them.

Being Too Salesy

Being overly sales-driven is the quickest wayways to lose your audience’s trust in. While promotions and offers are an important part of marketing, your messages should not feel like constant pressure to buy.

Instead, focus on building a genuine connection with your audience by providing value and maintaining a conversational tone.

Customers may feel overwhelmed or annoyed if every SMS message feels like a sales pitchIf every SMS messagemessaging feels like a sales pitch, customers may feel overwhelmed or annoyed. This can lead to higher unsubscribe rates and fewer responses.

Example of a bad message: “Buy now! Huge discounts on everything! Don’t miss out! SHOP NOW!”

Not every message should aim to sell something. You can mix in helpful reminders, updates, or tips to keep your SMS subscribers engaged.

Not Identifying Yourself

Failing to identify your business is a common mistake that can confuse recipients and harm your credibility.

Customers need to know who is contacting them, or they may disregard your message—or worse, mark it as spam. Clear identification helps establish trust and ensures your audience knows who they are engaging with.

Always include your business name at the beginning of the message so recipients immediately know who it’s from.

If your SMS service allows it, set up a sender ID or short code that reflects your business name. This ensures your messages are recognizable even before they’re opened.

Advanced Tips for Effective SMS Marketing

Advanced strategies can help you get more out of your efforts, improving your connectionhow you connect with your audience and driving better results.

Here are some practical, easy-to-follow tips to refine your SMS marketing.

Combine SMS With Other Marketing Channels

SMS works best when it’s part of a larger marketing plan.

Email is great for providing detailed information, while SMS is ideal for sending quick, time-sensitive updates. When used together, they offer the best of both worlds.

You can send an email with a detailed announcement about a sale and follow up with an SMS reminder a day before it ends.

Customers are more likely to see and act on the SMS because of its high open rate, especially if they missed the email.

Textellent makes integrating SMS with other marketing channels simple and efficient. With its built-in CRM integrations, you can sync SMS campaigns with email tools, social media schedules, and customer workflows.

Segment Your Audience for Targeted Messages

People have different needs, preferences, and behaviors. Targeted messages are more likely to catch the recipient’s attention because they speak to their specific interests or behaviors.

The quality of your segments depends on the data you collect. You can use SMS surveys, forms, and analytics tools to gather the right information.

Example Segments

• Location-based: Customers living in a specific region
• Behavior-based: Shoppers who frequently buy a certain product
• Interest-based: Subscribers who click on links about a particular service

Textellent offers audience segmentation tools that allow you to sort customers into detailed groups based on demographics, purchase history, and other factors.

Use Automation to Save Time

SMS automation is the process of setting up pre-scheduled or triggered messages that are sent automatically based on specific actions or events. These messages are delivered without requiring you to send them manually each time.

With Textellent’s powerful automation features, you can schedule messages, set triggers based on customer actions, and even send recurring updates. You can map out the customer journey and decide which messages are most helpful at each stage.

Grow Your Business with Textellent’s Automated Texting

Are your SMS messages reaching the right people at the right time?

Customers expect clear, timely, and helpful communication. It’s important to personalize messages and send them at the right time to make the most of your SMS marketing.

With Textellent, you can easily manage these tasks without extra effort!

Automated texting services help you see client retention levels increase and customer service ratings improve. The opt-in techniques described earlier will also grow your list of interested prospects for future SMS campaigns.

You will be able to speed up communications with customers and thereby likely save staff time that was previously devoted to hit-or-miss phone calls.

Talk to the experts at Textellent about how this SMS marketing software might work for your business. Sign up for a Free Trial or request a Demo consultation today.

Conclusion

SMS text message marketing is a simple way for small businesses to connect directly with their customers. It helps build strong relationships, which can lead to more trust and growth for your business.

With these tips on how to make the best SMS marketing campaigns engaging, personal, and valuable, you’re all set to start!

Start with small steps, pay attention to how your customers respond, and make changes as needed. SMS marketing is a great way to grow your business and keep your customers happy.

FAQs About SMS Marketing for Small Businesses

Can SMS marketing work for any type of business?

Absolutely. SMS marketing is a great fit for all kinds of small businesses, whether you’re selling products or offering services. Just make sure to tailor your texts to connect with your audience and support your business goals.

What should I do if my SMS marketing isn’t working as expected?

Review your SMS marketing strategy to see if it appears interesting and useful for your target audience. Also, consider whether you’re sending the SMS message at the right time and frequency. Playing around with different methods and watching how they perform can help you figure out what works best.

What’s the difference between promotional and transactional SMS messages?

Promotional SMS let you in on deals and offers to catch your interest, while transactional texts keep you updated with practical info like your order status or appointment reminders. They each have their role in the SMS marketing efforts and make sure you stay informed and engaged.