Over the last several decades, technology has significantly improved business performance by streamlining workflows.

Technology has also changed how businesses need to interact with their customers in this new, mobile-first economy. This evolution has enhanced companies’ marketing efforts and has opened opportunities to build customer loyalty.

By now, most leading companies have adopted a mobile-first strategy that stretches beyond digital marketing and a mobile-friendly website. When used in conjunction with customer relationship management software, this new strategy can influence the interactions and purchase patterns of consumers in ways that were not previously possible.

One significant component of marketing that has not changed is that competition makes improving the customer experience critical. To elevate your business, you must outperform your competitors on multiple levels. Having a customer-centric outlook has always been a driver of success, and that is still true.

For cleaning and restoration companies, offering a valuable service, communicating effectively with your customers, and staying top of mind with your target demographic are a few ways to maintain a position as market leader. Your mix of marketing communications should aim to do the following:

• Build brand awareness
• Identify the best ways to push products and services
• Increase engagement with both new and existing customers.

Companies that communicate in a responsive, cost-effective, and integrated manner that supports these goals will succeed with mobile marketing.

What is mobile text marketing?

Mobile text marketing is one of the latest and fastest growing trends in digital marketing. It involves sending your target customers personalised messages directly to their smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices, connecting with them where they spend most of their time.

This attention-grabbing marketing method keeps customers, employees, and communities informed and connected in the timeliest manner available. The recent coronavirus pandemic is a perfect example of the need to quickly reach a mass audience.

Just as mobile phones bring people together in their personal lives, text marketing connects businesses to their customers.

When prospects and customers opt to connect with a company via text, they are agreeing to interact more deeply with that company.

The benefits of these interactions will be unique to each business —the ability to obtain data on customer behavior and to foster intimate connections—are just a few examples.

Businesses around the world are adding text messaging to their marketing communications. They are empowering sales associates, customer service representatives, and their marketing teams with this simple but powerful technology.

This strategy cuts through the noise of competitors and builds authenticity. Imagine a world with only your cleaning or restoration business and no competitors—that is the space that text marketing creates.

Mobile technology is changing the way people engage with companies.

Everything that used to require a desktop computer is now possible on a mobile device. From opening an email to visiting a company’s website and reading its content, customers can access everything on their small mobile screens.

Increase sales

Business owners should focus on the aspects of marketing that measurably impact the bottom line. By sending perfectly timed, personal, and highly targeted offers based on your customers’ interests and behaviors, you can use text messaging to boost repeat business and generate sales.

Other valuable applications include encouraging membership in loyalty programs, sending appointment reminders, informing customers about promotions, and delivering mobile coupons.

Improve customer satisfaction

After every transaction, consider sending a brief follow-up text message to keep communication flowing and to encourage customer satisfaction. This action builds customer loyalty and increases business growth, and also supports another important marketing tactic: online reputation management and reviews.

Your text marketing strategy should employ both Short Message Service (SMS), which is used for sending and receiving texts over cellular networks, and Multimedia Message Service (MMS), which builds on the SMS technology to deliver multimedia content.

When critical circumstances arise, SMS is the fastest communication channel for sending alerts. Effective mobile marketing means understanding your mobile audience, designing content with mobile platforms in mind, and making strategic use of SMS and MMS marketing.

As consumer behaviors continue to change, cleaning and restoration companies must change with them.

Adopting these preferred channels creates an opportunity to communicate with your customers in a meaningful way, improve engagement, and grow your business.

Mobile text message marketing statistics

• To confirm appointments, 67 per cent of people would rather use text than email or phone (Source: Trumpia)
• 95 per cent of texts from businesses are read within three minutes of being sent. (Source: Forbes)
• The average response time for a text is only 90 seconds. (Source: Tatango)
• Engagement rates for text marketing are six to eight times higher than those for email marketing. (Source: EZ Texting)
• Text verification conversion rates can be as high as 85 per cent. (Source: Salesforce)
• The Delhi School of Internet Marketing reports that SMS marketing campaigns perform seven times better than email marketing campaigns.

Nia Pearson is CEO, founder, and senior consultant at Marketing 4 Real Results. Pearson can be reached at info@m4rr.com.

This article was first published in the November/December issue of INCLEAN magazine 

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