The full form of SMS is Short Message Service, these are transmissions sent or received from a telecommunication network. Most messages are eventually routed to the mobile phone networks. But lack of complete information can land you in trouble, so in an order, you help you land safe, here, I am providing you with the list of 10 mistakes one does while choosing SMS solutions, Avoid these while choosing your solutions
1. Unknown of your Customer’s requirements:
In any form of marketing, Customer is of primary importance.The needs of your target audience his/her likes and dislikes, issues, gender, location, and behavior should be known very well to achieve your purpose.For Example, SMS alerts from an insurance company will likely to appeal to a businessman rather than a school going, student.
2. Lacking Personal essence in the SMS:
The way you present your advertisement is a salient feature. The quality of the content should be such that it makes the customer feel special, meet their needs and should contain brief information about your product.In order to make them feel special, address them by their name, keep them updated with latest trends in the markets, provide them with special discounts etc.
3. Not Call for Actions Feature:
Call to Action (CTA) is the feature used to provide user’s response. This “Call To Action” phrase is important for Email marketing. If your message lacks CTAs such as buy now, Find Out More, Visit Us Today and many more, It will confuse your customers and will disable them to understand the advertisement hence defeating your whole purpose, therefore make sure to write CTAs in your SMS solutions.
4. Incorrect SMS timing:
One should choose a correct time to SMS the customers in order to provide correct information at the correct time. Often texting at the wrong time can force the customers to unsubscribe your services, put DND on all your messages. Never send messages at inconvenient times, like early in the morning, late at night and during the rush hour. Don’t send messages during the weekends as it has a high opt-out rate. Send only 1-2 messages per week also keep in mind the active hours of your target audience while texting.
5. Lack of Permission:
Take permission from each and every subscriber before executing your campaigns. Too many messages can annoy the customers and also spoil the company’s reputation. Another point to keep in mind is sending bulk SMS without subscriber’s consent can and may force them to take legal action against you.
6. Sending the Same Message Again and Again:
Maintain some dignity and use smart ideas to influence your customers. Sending the same message in a repetitive mode lessens the impact as the customers are sure to receive the same offers again. Therefore, they won’t pay any heed to it and will soon get bored of your messages.
7. Sending Lengthy Messages:
Due to the changing times, everyone is in hurry to reach somewhere, so everybody expects concise, to the point and informative content. Nobody has time to read 500-word story as an advertisement, few smart words in a line should be enough to influence the customer positively.There is 3Cs technique to create quality content –Clear, Concise and Call to Action. A long message appears to be broken up, confusing and unprofessional in nature.
8. Not using Professional Language:
Not everyone can understand business terms or slang terms, therefore you should create content according to customers. The content of the message should be clear, simple and easy to understand in nature. In order to enhance your brand credibility, use professional language (free from acronyms and slangs).
9. No Employee Training:
The main foundation of a company is its customers and employees. Hence it is important to provide proper training to end-users so that it can be an asset in providing good service to the customers. Therefore, one should ensure that the employees are well trained for the SMS software which will help the team significantly. Negligence in providing training can act as a hindrance to the progress of your business services.
10. Complicated Subscription Process
If your SMS campaign fulfills all the above requirements, then it lacks in the easy subscription policy. Many SMS do not come with quick subscription policy, some are activated with QR Codes which is impossible to use by a feature phone user. Similarly, a customer finds it difficult to unsubscribe due to their inability to get customer care contact numbers or link to the message.