SMS Marketing - The Essential Guide

SMSMARKETING THEESSENTIALGUIDE IncreaseyourROI&improveyouroverallSMS Marketingactivitytoday

EXECUTIVESUMMARY ACHANNELYOUSHOULDCONSIDER Whetheryou’reanexperiencedoraspiringdigitalmarketer,you’relikelyfamiliarwiththepopularlead generationchannelssuchasemail,Google&FacebookAds.Despitetheastronomicalsuccessofthese channels,achannelyoushouldalsobeconsideringduetoitssuccessfulandreliablewaystoengagewith customers,isSMSmarketing.Byincorporatingtheuseofmobiledevicesintoyourmarketingstrategy, you’reabletoreachanentirelynew,highlytargetedandreceptiveaudience. ANOPPORTUNITYTOENGAGE SMSmarketingpresentstheopportunitytoengagewithcustomersondevicesthattheycarrywiththem 24/7.AkeyfactortoSMSmarketingsuccessisthelikelihoodofreachingcustomersduetohowconnected weareasasocietythroughourmobiledevices. PROVENSUCCESS Creatingastrategythatlookstobuildupalistofcustomerswhohaveopted-intoyourSMSmarketingis crucial.Ittakes90minutesfortheaverageindividualtorespondtoanemail;however,ittakesamere90 secondsforthemtorespondtoatextmessage.Thus,directcommunicationwithconsumerscouldincrease thelikelihoodofthemconverting— thequickertheconnection,thefasterthepurchase. INDEMANDFEATURE SMSisoneofLeadBytesmostsoughtafterfeatures,duetoitsnumerousbenets&reliabilityasa communicationmethod.Ifyouaren’talreadyincorporatingSMSintoyourmarketingorlookingtoimprove yourcurrentstrategy,we’veroundedupthekeybenets,facts& gures,thecompliancerequirements& customersuccesstohelpkickstart/improveyourSMSactivitytoday. 2

CONTENTS TheessentialguidetoSMSmarketing 1.KEYSMSSTATS 2.TYPESOFSMS(BULK&RESPONDERS) 3.SMSMARKETINGCOMPLIANCE 4.CONSIDERINGSMSOVEREMAIL 5.6ESSENTIALTIPSFORASUCCESSFULSMSMARKETINGCAMPAIGN 6.LEADBYTESMSFEATURES 7.CLIENTSUCCESSSTORIESWITHSMS 8.LEADBYTEPROMOTIONALOFFER 3

KEYSMSSTATS SomeusefulstatisticstobearinmindwhenconsideringSMS 90% 98% 67% OF OF OF TEXTMESSAGES MARKETINGTEXT THEWORLD WILLBEREADIN MESSAGES OWNA 3MINUTES AREOPENED MOBILEPHONE 5BILLION 80% PEOPLEGLOBALLYSEND&RECIEVE OFUKMOBILESARE SMSMESSAGES SMARTPHONES 32% 50% OFCONSUMERSRESPONDTO £ PROMOTIONALSMS OFCONSUMERS WHORESPONDPURCHASE 4

TYPESOFSMS- RESPONDERS&BULK ExploringSMStypesandhowtousethemcorrectly.

TYPESOFSMS- RESPONDERS&BULK Withtheinformationprovided,youwillbeabletodeterminewhichtypeofSMSismostsuitedforyour SMSmarketingstrategy. Custom elds.Segments.Triggers.ThelistoffeaturesavailabletooptimiseyourSMScampaignsisendless.Perhaps oneofthemoststraightforwardbutpowerfultoolsatyourdisposalisanSMSautoresponder.Thissectionexplains whatSMSautorespondersareandhowimportanttheycanbetoyourbusiness. AUTORESPONDERS Autorespondersaremessagesthataresentoutautomaticallysubjecttoanyrulesyouhaveinplace. Youcancreateoneorseveraltobesentatinterimsaccordingtoascheduleofyourchoiceafteryour subscriberhasopted-in,i.e.,everydayforthenext7days.Ifyou’veeverbuiltanemaildrip campaign,autorespondersaretheSMSequivalent. LeadByteprovidestwotypesofautoresponders;Time-basedandEvent-based.Time-based autorespondersaresentbasedonanoffsetofthetimetheleadcameinwhereasEvent-based autorespondersaresentbasedonanactioni.e.,aclickornoclick. Autorespondersprovideyouwithcommunicationautomationfromthemomenttheleadarrives, ensuringthatthenewestadditiontoyourlistfeelswelcome.Autorespondersareaneasywayto ensurethatyouareefficientwithyourtimeandallowsmarketerstomaximiseROI. BULK BulkSMSisagreatwaytocommunicatewithyouropt-inleadsen-masse.Itisasimple,fast,andcost-effectiveway todeliveratime-sensitivemessageandcanbeusedinbothaB2CandB2Bcapacity. Unlikeautoresponders,withbulkbroadcasting,youselectadateandtimetosendyourmessageprovidingyou withtheoptiontoscheduleimmediatelyoratafuturedate/time. AutorespondersandBulkSMScanbeusedasameanstoremindcustomers,sendpromotionaloffersorincentives, promotecompetitions,con rm bookingsorcon rmations.ThepossibilitiesofutilizingSMSwithinyourlead managementprocessesarein nite! 6

SMSCOMPLIANCE BENEFITS&RULES ExploringthecriticalbenetsofusingSMSinyour marketingstrategywhileremainingcompliant.

SMSMARKETINGCOMPLIANCE THEBENEFITS We’vehighlightedsomekeybenetsforyourconsiderationwhenintegratingSMSintoyourmarketingstrategy ITSDIRECT&IMMEDIATE “90%ofSMSmessagesarereadwithin3minutesofreceipt”[1] OPENRATES&RESPONSERATESARETYPICALLYHIGHER “Marketingtextmessageshavea98%openrate”[1] TIMESHAVECHANGED,TODAYSCONSUMERSAREVERYOPENTOSMSMARKETING “77%ofconsumersareopentoreceivingtextmessagesfrombusinesses”[1] IT’SFULLYTRACKABLE HereatLeadByteweofferfullclicktrackingenablingyoutoreportonCTR’sforspecicmessagesor indeedsourcesthatprovideyouwithleads(eliminatesourcesthatdonotperform).Thebestbit aboutourtechisthatyoucanuseyourowndomainsinyourSMSmessagingratherthansome random“popular”shorteningURLserviceordomainthatdoesnotrelatetoyourbrand. LESSBARRIERS Youaren’tupagainstjunkfoldersandspam lterslikewithemailmarketing. WEALLHAVEAMOBILE(NEARLY) Andweallcheckthemfarmorefrequentlythanweshould! OPT-OUTMANAGEMENT Weprovidecompleteopt-outmanagementwhenusingLeadBytesoyoudonotSMSconsumers thatdonotwantyourSMSmovingforward. 8 [1]LeadByte:SMSMarketingCompliance–TheRules&TheBenets

SMSMARKETINGCOMPLIANCE THERULES ItgoeswithoutsayingthatintegratingSMSmarketingintoyourmarketingmixisavaluablesteptotake,butit’s alsoveryimportanttonotethatwithitcomessomerulesandregulationsthatyouabsolutelyneedtostickto. Totaketheheadacheoutofcompliance,we’veoutlinedtheprocessinfoursimplestepstohelpensurethatyourSMS marketingremainscompliant.(WedoalsorecommendthatyoureadupfurtherwiththeICOforallthe nerdetails) 4STEPSTOSMSCOMPLIANCE 1-Ensurethatyouhaveobtainedthecustomersdetailsdirectfromthecustomerduringasaleor throughadirectenquiryregardingthesaleofthatparticularproductorservice. 2-Provideaclearopt-inprocessatthepointofdatacollection. 3-Followupwithaveryclearopt-outprocessateverystageofyourmarketingcommunications 4-Ensurethatyoursenderdetailsareclearlyvisible,thecustomermustknowwhotheyare receivingmarketingmessagesfromandbeabletoresponddirectlyifrequired. AsuccessfulSMSmarketingcampaignneedstogofurtherthanjustbeingcompliant,youneedto keepyourcustomerhappyandrespecttheirprivacy.Asaresult,theywillbemorelikelytoconvert. 3STEPSTORESPECTFULSMSMARKETING 1-Keepittimely–Respecttimezones,no-onewantsa3amsalestext! 2-Don’tbombardthem–HoundingcustomerswithSMSmessageswillgetyounowhere,schedule respectfullyandsticktoit! 3-Keepitrelevantandmakesureitspersonal–You’refarmorelikelytogeneratearesponse,andapositive one! 9

We’vebeenworkingwithintheSMSindustryformultipleyears,andasaplatform,we’rehugelyprogressive. We’realwaysevolvingandaddingnewfeaturestotheplatformwhichhelpskeepourclients ultra-complaint,andtheirmarketingultra-successful!Herearejustsomeofthewaysthatwe’vedeveloped theplatformtoworkwithyou… HOWWEHELPKEEPYOURMARKETINGCOMPLIANT HereatLeadByteweoffermultipleopt-outfeatures: 1-UniversalwebsiteSTOP(wecancustomizestoppageforyou) 2-STOPkeywords 3-STOPlongnumbers • Weofferbothautomatic&manualoptoutprocesses • Weoffersuppressionlistbuilders(andsupportMD5) • Wealsoenableyoutoprocessleadsagainstyoursuppressionlistsasanoptionalfeature HOWWEHELPTOKEEPYOURMARKETINGRESPECTFUL TimeZones-Weenableyoutousea‘pausebetweentime’functionwhichiscon guredtoyourlocaltime zones. Scheduling-Sendeventbasedortimebasedtriggerstoensurethatyouscheduletherightlevelof communicationouttoyourcustomers,andnurtureratherthanbombard! Relevance- Wekeepitpersonalbyofferingpersonalization eldsforSMS. 10

WHYYOUSHOULD CONSIDER SMSOVEREMAIL DiscoverthemanybenetsSMScanoffertoyourbusiness asopposedtoemail.

WHYYOUSHOULDCONSIDER SMSOVEREMAIL Asamarketer,it’svitaltogetthebestROIfromeachcampaignyourun. Withseveralavenuesavailableitcanbeconfusingdecidingontherightmedium.Thecurrentfrontrunners formarketersareSMSandEmail.Thefollowinginformationprovidesaninsightastowhichmediumcanbe mostefficientforyouandyourbusiness… EMAIL Emailhasbeenaconsistentfrontrunnerforbusinesses,largelydowntoitslowcost.Atypicalemail campaigncostsjust£4per1,000emailssent.[2]. Thevastamountofbusinessesusingemailisstaggering,andasaresult,theemailmarketingspace canbeseentobeclutteredandcompetitive.Asanexample,thinkabouthowmanyunopened emailsyoucurrentlyhavesatinyourinbox. 18%ofpeoplereceiveinexcessof51emailsperweekwithanaverageofficeworkerreceiving121 emailsaday[3]. RecentupdatestoGoogleandMicrosofthaveseenmarketingandcommunicationsemailsbeing segmentedorhiddenbeforetheuserevenhasachancetoseethem.Thiscouldseeadrasticdipin open-rates. SMS It'sdifficulttomissanSMSmessagenowadays.Ourmobileslightupwitheachmessage,catchingourattention andincreasingthechanceofmessagesbeinginstantlyread.Constantremindersforunopenedmessagesthat continueuntilthey’reopenedarefurtherexamplesofthepersistentmethodsusedinSMS.Thispersistencecanbe usedtoabusinessesadvantageifimplementedcorrectly. 65%ofmarketersclaimSMSmarketingis‘veryeffective’forthem.Thisstatisticcouldberelatedtothe75%of consumerswhoadmittedthey’dlikeofferssenttothemviaSMS.Withtheopenmindsetadoptedbyconsumers, thelikelihoodforasuccessfulSMSmarketingcampaignisgreatlyincreased[3]. SMSLOYALTYPROGRAMMES Itcouldbetimeformarketerstostrayawayfromthetraditionalpointscardsystem,andinsteadfocusoncustomer loyaltyprogramsas57%ofconsumersadmitthatthey’dbehappytosignuptoanSMSloyaltyprogram. AnotherimportantstatistictosupporttheideaofanSMSloyaltyprogramisthe90%ofconsumersthathadsigned uptosuchprograms,felttheygainedvaluefromthem.It’scrucialtorememberyoucanapproachSMSinmultiple ways,ratherthanjustsendingoutadvertsandoffers![3] 12 [2]webfx.com:emailmarketingpricing [3]business2community.com:email-marketingvssmsmarketinginfographic

SMSvs.EMAIL Forstandardmessages,thecharacterlimitis160.Ifspecialcharacters/Unicodeareusedinamessage,youhave thepotentialtocutthecharactercountdowntohalfthat.Withthecharacterrestrictions,it'simportantforSMS messagestobeshortandtothepoint.Anythingoverthislimitcouldresultinsomeunwantedcostsduetomore messagessendingthananticipated.Withthisinmind,it'simportanttomaintainashortbutsweetattitude. WhileSMSmarketingboundstheirmessagestobemoreconcise,Emailgivesusersthefreedomtoconstructtheir messageshowtheywant.Despitethisfreedom,longmessagesmaynotbethemostefficientduetomodern-day consumersattentionspans.Thisbeckonsthecliche,‘Contentiskey’.It'sbesttofocusonthequalityratherthanthe quantityofthecontent. ResearchhashighlightedthedrasticgapinopenratesbetweenSMSandEmail.SMSopenratesareashighas 98%,incomparisontoEmailwithjustamere20%. SMSmaintainsitsimpressivestatisticsagainstEmailwitha45%responseratetakinganaverageof90secondsfor aconsumertorespond,whereasEmailhasa6%responseratetakinganaverageofawhopping90minutes![3] 13 [3]business2community.com:email-marketingvssmsmarketinginfographic

6ESSENTIALTIPSFOR SMSMARKETING Animperativestrategyfor2019

AnImperativeStrategyFor2019 Combiningalltheinformationmentionedabove,we'veputtogetherashortlistofessentialpointstogetyou startedorhopefullyimproveuponyourcurrentSMSstrategyforasuccessful2019.Implementsomeofthese tipsandwatchtheefficiencyandROIofyourSMScampaignsskyrocket. LESSISMORE Ifyouarenotstatingyourvaluepropositionwithinthe rst2sentences,considerredraftingit.Research conductedbyWyzowlin2015revealedthatconsumershaveanattentionspanofamere8.25seconds,that’s lessthanagold sh[3].Thereforeit’scrucialtogetyourpointacrossasefficientlyaspossibleduetothe characterrestrictionsofSMS. Additionally,SMScontains160-characterspermessage.Thusit’sessentialtokeepyourmessagesshortto reducethechanceofmulti-partSMSforthoseunexpectedcosts. INCLUDEANOPT-OUT Seemslikeanobviousoneright?You’dbesurprisedhowmanytimesweareaskedifitisimportant.(Yes!very important).UnderstandablyatransactionalSMSdoesn’thavetoincludeanopt-outasyou’remakingthe customerawareofthetransaction,i.e.apurchasereceiptorcon rmation.However,whenyou’reremarketing tothesecustomersthenit’svitaltoincludeanopt-out.IfyouwantpeopletostayonyourSMSlistthengive themareasontostay-offeranincentive.Howeveronceacustomerhasoptedout,it’sgoodpracticetosenda con rmationmessageverifyingthattheyhavebeenremovedfrom futuremessaging.Thiscanbedoneviaan autoresponder.Wegointomoredetailaboutautoresponderstowardstheendofthissection,sostaytuned! TheultimategoalofSMSmarketingistocreateacatalogofconsumerswhotrulyloveyouroffering,therefore, arewelcomingtoreceivingyourmessages.Don'tbeafraidofkeepingthislistlean,asitmakesyourcampaigns moreefficient.Youwouldn'tkeepacustomerlockedupinyourshopsowhykeepthemlockedinyourSMSlist? Thisiswhyit’sessentialthatyoualwayscenteryourSMScampaignsonqualitycontent. TIMING AstudybyDoctorJamesOldroydattheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnologyshowedthatrealestateagents contactinginboundingleadswithin5minutesofcapturingtheirinformationwere100xmorelikelytohearback fromthem.Likewementionedinarecentblogpost,(5TipstoGuaranteeHigh-QualityLeads)customerswhoare readytotransactnowcanquicklyforgetandlosetheirimpulsetobuy— thereforestrikingwhiletheironishot iscriticalwhenitcomestoconvertingprospectstocustomers[4]. CALLTOACTION Marketerstendtooverlookacalltoaction,assumingthatcustomersautomaticallyknowwhattodoafterreading anSMS.Nonetheless,acalltoactionshouldneverbeforgotten.Ittellsthecustomerhowtoproceed&makesa signicantimpactonconversionrates.Examplesinclude-buynow,opt-in,texttowin,texttovoteortheclassic clickhere.SobesuretouseatleastoneoftheseinyourSMSCampaign. 15 [3]wyzowl.com:TheHumanAttentionSpan–Infographic [4]leadbyte.co.uk:5TipstoGuaranteeHighQualityLeads

MAKEITPERSONAL There’salwaysaglimpseofexcitementwhenwereceiveanewtextmessage.However,thisshortburstof eagernesscanbecutshortwhenwereadtheroboticsounding rstline,orevenworse,atextcode.Whenthis happens,weautomaticallyassume,“SPAM”andswitchoffafterrealisingthemessagesentwasfroman automaticallygeneratedbusinesstemplate.Addingaconversationaltouchorevenusingtherecipient’sname humanizesandenhancesthefeeloftheSMSforincreasedengagement&conversionrates. AUTORESPONDERS AreyouthinkingabouttakingSMSMarketingtothenextlevel?IntegrateSMSAutorespondersandmake SMSMarketingroutine,effortless,andefficient.Autorespondersallowyoutopersonaliseandbuilda scheduleofmessagesbasedontriggerstodriveROI. LeadBytesautorespondertechnologycouldbeastandaloneplatforminitsownright(it’sthatawesome!). Whetheryouneedtosqueezemorepro toutofeveryleadorconnecttoyourprospectsassoonasyou acquirethem,LeadByteistheplatformforyou. 16

LEADBYTE SMSFEATURES ExploringourSMSfeatures andtheirbenets.

LEADBYTE SMSFEATURES LeadByteprovidesyouwiththetoolstotakeyourSMScampaignstothenextlevel.Sendingamessagetothe clientisonlythebeginning! DELIVERYREPORTING OurSMSDeliveryreportingprovidesyouwithinsightfulreal-timedeliveryinformationtogaugethe successofacampaign. CLICKTRACKING LeadByteprovidesyouwithtwowaystotrackyourclicks: 1-PersonalisedDomainTracking-Linkadomainofyourchoicetoyouraccounttouseinthebody ofyourmessages. 2-LeadByteSharedDomainTracking-Nottechnicallyminded? Wehavethatcoveredtoowithourin-houselinktracking.Createyourmessage,selectLeadByte trackingservice,andyouaregoodtogo!Trackingclickersisagreatwaytosegmentyourleads forfurthertargetingandiskeytomaximisingengagementandsavingmoney.Trackingalsohelps marketersunderstandROI. PHONENUMBERVALIDATION Notsureifanyofyournumbersarerealandliveonthenetwork?Validatingyourphonenumber priorsendingwillnotonlymakesureyouaresendingamessagetoanactualnumber,butitwillalso saveyoumoneyasitcostsafractionofthepricesetforanSMS. CONVERSIONTRACKING Ifyoutrackclicks,youhavetheoptiontotrackconversions!Ifenabled,atransactionIDisappended tothedestinationURL,whichuniquelyidentiesthelead.Iftheuserconvertsthiscanbetrackedin LeadBytebycallingourpostbackURL,passinginitthetransactionID. TrackingconversionsenablesyoutocalculateROIatmessageandleadsourcelevel,helpingyou optimisecontentandeliminatesourcesnotperforming.Conversiontrackingisavailableonboth autorespondersandbulk. SCHEDULING Createanautomatedscheduleofmessagesusingourrespondertool.Forexample: Day1-Welcomemessage/offer Day7-Reminderwelcomemessage/offer(Ifnoactionwastakenonmessage1) Day30(Repeat)-Monthlyoffer 18

PERSONALISEDFIELDS Createamoreengagingexperienceforyourreadersbyusingpersonalised eldswithinyourSMS. Personalised eldsallowyoutoinsertdynamicinformationwithintheSMSthatisspecictosubscribers. InsertinformationsuchasFullName,FirstName,LastName,EmailAddress,andanyotherdata eldsyou decidetocollect. SEGMENTDATA -Splitdataintosmallerbatches -Targetclickersornon-clickersfromprevioussends -Sendmessagestaggedtoaspecicgroup/tageg,HomeInsurance,Retail,Creditcard,etc -Sendmessagesthathavecomeinfromaparticularsource -Bothautorespondersandbulkenabletoyoucreatecustomrules(segments)soyouonlytargetleadsthat matchthecriteriayouset.Forexample,youmayhaveamessage/promotionspecictogender. TESTAREA Weprovideyouwithatestingareawhereyoucansendacopytoyourselforacolleaguesphonetoensure themessageisreceivedasrequired. Wedelivermessagesgloballyviadirectrouteswithfulltrackingatverycompetitiverates. TEMPLATES Createatemplateforfutureuse,soyoudon'thavetorecreateamessagetimeandtimeagain. CAPTUREMETHOD-APIORIMPORT ThesystemallowsyoutosendyourdatainviatheAPIorbydirectlyimportinga le. OPT-OUTPATH Theaforementionedopt-outpathsareavailableonrequest.Opt-outandsuppressionmanagementallows youtoremaincompliant. 19

CLIENTSUCCESS STORIES ReallifecasestudiesfromLeadByteclientsdemonstrating thepowerofSMSMarketing.

ClientSuccessStories Aquestionwegetalotishowtheplatformisgoingtobenettheenduser/businessandtheircurrent operations.It’sonethinginformingprospectsaboutthecapabilitiesofLeadByte.However,it’sanother matterdemonstratinghowbenecialtheplatformcouldbetotheiroperationsandbottomline. Here’sacasestudywhichcamefromclientsthatstartedseeingresultsafter2monthsofusingLeadByte’s SMSfeatures.Forcondentialsake,werefertothisclientasRoger. Rogergeneratesleadsforacallcentre.Hecompeteswithotherleadsuppliers;therefore,hehasto ensurehisleadsaredelivereddailytominimiseduplications.BeforeusingLeadByte,hetransferred leadsfromhislandingpageCMSontoaspreadsheetandthendeliveredthe leviaemailtothecall centreeachday.(GDPRalarmbells!) THEPROBLEM Hisclient’scallcentrehasrecently aggedthathisCPAistoohigh!RogermustactquicklytoreduceCPAandkeep hisclienthappy. THESOLUTION AfteradoptingLeadByteasaleadmanagementsystem,Rogerisnowabletoviewseveralleadactivitymetrics withinonedashboard,allinreal-time.Additionally,hecannowviewleadsthathavepassedeveryvalidation requirementsdeterminedinthecampaignset-up.Subsequently,hisleadsaredeliveredtothecallcentrein real-time,meaningthecallcentreagentcanimmediatelydialoutontheleadsecondsafterthecustomer submitstheirdetails. RogerimplementedanautoresponderwithinLeadBytewhichinformsthecustomerthroughSMSthattheyare abouttoreceiveacallfromthecallcentre.Thisenhancedleadmanagementmethodguaranteesthehighest availableleadquality,drivinghigherconnectionrates&alowerCPAforthecallcentre(moreconversation, morechanceofconverting). Asaresultofthisnewleadmanagementprocess,Rogernowhastheupperhandonhiscompetitors.He’sseen areductioninduplicateleadsbecausehisleadsarenowdeliveringinreal-time.Furthermore,asaresultof addinganautoresponderSMS,hiscustomersareawareandmorewillingtoacceptthephonecallfromthecall centre.Oncemore,thishasincreasedthecallcentresconnectionandconversionrateswhilereducingtheCPA. TOCONCLUDE AfterusingLeadByteRogerwasableto... 1-Centraliseleadmanagementprocess,removingtheneedforspreadsheetsandmanuallehandling. 2-ImplementanautoresponderSMSwhichincreasedhisclients’contact&conversionratesandwhilereducing theCPA. 3-Allocate10hoursaweekonotherbusiness-criticaltasks. 21

PROMOTIONALOFFER Wehaveaspecialofferasathankyoufor downloadingourguide. Foralimitedtimeonly,recieveDoublethe SMSCreditswithyournextSMSpurchase! (Offerrangesupto10,000SMScredits,Offerlasts30daysafterguidedownload) Keepup-to-datewithLeadByteslatest developementsbyfollowingoursocials! Takethispromotionalofferanddiscover thefullcapabilitiesofLeadBytetoday! DemoRequest 22