Master the Art of SMS Marketing with Burst SMS and Zoho Desk

SMS marketing is getting more popular day by day. But popularity can’t define success unless you get desired ROI, right?

Well, that’s something none can ignore. Therefore, as an aspiring marketer, you should prioritise ROI irrespective of the marketing tactics you adopt. Talking about ROI, don’t expect to get any close to your target if your sales messages fail to reach the customers.

SMS or text messages have a higher chance of connecting you with the customers. SMS marketing is here to stay, with a whopping 209% better response rate than other mainstream media. But you need to do it in the right ways.

In this article, we’ll discuss —

• What SMS marketing looks like in 2022
• Why Burst SMS and Zoho are the best pair for text marketing
• How to leverage Burst SMS and Zoho for the best result

So, let’s get into it and discover if you are missing out on any opportunity to grow.

Statistics show that there will be around 7.52 billion mobile phone users by 2026. Well, 2026 may seem far away and not lucrative enough to consider an SMS marketing strategy for business growth. So, how about this — SMS has a 19% Click-Through Rate (CTR), more than email and Facebook combined!

What’s more— people tend to read SMS messages sent to their mobile in the first three minutes. No other media does that, at least, not so aggressively.

Today, consumers foster a different attitude towards the brands’ promotional activities. Thanks to the creative flairs of marketers, once annoying, people now prefer receiving notifications about offers, discounts, and coupons. Slicktext has found that 45% of clients interact with the messages they receive from their preferred brands. Also, 66% of consumers don’t mind receiving notifications via text messages.

It has led brands to foster a convenient way of marketing to turn usual customers into loyal fans. And they are all happening in 2022. So, if you are still ignoring SMS marketing for your brand, rest assured you are missing out on countless prospecting opportunities that might lead to sales.

Most brands still underutilise SMS marketing. Many seasoned digital marketers also consider SMS marketing a less-effective marketing strategy which is absolutely WRONG!

The fact is, the faster you can reach your customers, the more you have a chance to win the deals. However, ‘faster’ doesn’t always come to fruition. Add ‘effectiveness’ to it, and you will see the difference. To get an overall idea of why you MUST opt-in for text messaging marketing in 2022, see the stat below—

• Almost 43% of customers text to the companies for general inquiries and services. But only 1 out of 3 gets a decent reply due to communication complexities.
• Boosting CTR by 36% is possible with professionally tweaked SMS marketing tactics.
• Customers love to keep track of their orders via text messages.
• Text messages have a higher success rate in reducing missed appointments by 26%.
• Only 68% of businesses leverage SMS marketing to expand their sales and audience base. This is an excellent opportunity for you to enter the market and stay ahead of the competition with minimum effort.

Successful digital marketing depends on strategies. While you can attain success through popular marketing practices, it is better to travel a path less visited to reach your target without alerting the competitors. SMS marketing is such a unique technique to reach customers, convert them into loyal fans and conduct businesses without spending a ton.

However, your tools often determine how successful your SMS marketing campaign will become. Out of a handful of SMS marketing and client support tools, Burst SMS paired with Zoho Desk is definitely worth trying.

Let’s see how you can leverage Burst SMS and Zoho Desk to get the most out of your SMS marketing campaign —

The pre-marketing stage is crucial not because you identify prospects and approach them but also determines whether your approach is convinceable or not. It includes business development, platform optimisation, and so on. However, the most critical part of the pre-marketing stage is lead nurturing for your brand and products. To arm yourself appropriately in this stage, focus more on Content than anything else. 

Since SMS limits the length of your sales pitch, be creative. Convey your message in a concise but cheerful manner. Make sure they have enough information but not jargon-ish. Set up your Burst SMS dashboard accordingly to streamline the communication process. Also, take care of your Zoho Desk for convenience in client communication.

If you want to set the performance benchmark right from your first ever SMS marketing campaign, do not shy away from using the Burst SMS extension for Zoho Desk. The extension will save you from toggling between the windows to respond to customers and keep track of the messages.

Review and double-check your leads before you move to the next stage.

Send SMS messages to your customers when you are ready. Don’t forget to attach any promotional coupons if you are offering any. Many businesses mistake not providing enough details in the text body. As a result, they don’t get desired calls from their targets. 

So, make sure your ad copy is rich enough to trigger interest among the receivers, and you get what you strive for— SALES!

However, you need to cater your operations accordingly to harness the actual power of SMS marketing. Suppose you have sent text messages to 1000 of your customers. Now, you need enough resources to handle potential replies timely. Otherwise, you will lose leads and consequently, business opportunities. Again, this may affect your brand reputation, causing a financial loss. A third-party integration can reduce your keystrokes and help you stay on track during an SMS marketing campaign. 

While you are assessing your campaign’s performance and planning for a better strategy, do not ignore the below points—

• Do not engage without the prior consent of your customers
• Offer something that your customers cannot refuse
• Be empathetic to your customers
• Keep it short yet engaging
• Don’t sound robotic in replies
• Personalise messages 
• Include any relevant links for direct access to your offers
• Leverage automation to reduce hassles
• Keep an opt-out option

SMS marketing is the easiest way to reach customers as users tend to read almost 98% of the messages received on their mobiles. So, your messages are more likely to be read than ignored and deleted, as seen in email marketing. And this is something every marketer wants to have— an open rate that surpasses other media.

However, to gain the best result from a text-based marketing campaign, especially when limited to 160 characters, there is no alternative to becoming creative. Let your creativity flow, distribute operations to a more efficient platform, and bag the prize home. Yes— it’s that simple when using an automated communication and tracking system like Burst SMS to Zoho Desk integration that allows sales reps to access countless info at ease.