Businesses that proactively look for ways to leverage the latest technology tend to be more efficient and better positioned to take advantage of new opportunities as they emerge. And in terms of communication, SMS is a technology that future-looking businesses would be wise to consider.
The Benefits of SMS
We’re all familiar with SMS, also known as text messaging, in our daily lives. You probably send hundreds or even thousands of them on a monthly basis. But if you’ve never used it outside of your personal life, you might not be familiar with all of its rich capabilities. Here are a few of the perks:
- A decade ago, most people carried a phone with them at various points in the day. Today, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t have their phone with them 24/7. Most people even sleep with their phones on their nightstands. This fuels a 98 percent open rate for SMS. Even more importantly, 9 in 10 text messages are read within 15 minutes of receiving them.
- SMS has a way of cutting through the noise. Unlike email, which can be hundreds or thousands of words, the typical text message is just a couple of sentences long. In many ways, this is highly appealing.
- Most internet traffic now originates from a mobile device. By leveraging SMS, you have the potential to reach more people in an environment where they’re likely to click on a link. Reach isn’t everything, but it can boost your efforts.
- When compared to other modes of communication, like email, phone, or advertising, SMS costs pennies on the dollar. This makes it a great choice for companies that need a budget-friendly option.
When you learn how to use SMS strategically, it can become one of your best sales and marketing tools. If nothing else, it gives you a powerful connection point for engaging with your audience, which will perfectly complement your other initiatives and channels.
5 Business Use Cases for SMS
Beyond providing benefits like convenience, brevity, reach, and low-cost, SMS is also a highly versatile tool. Here are some specific use cases:
- Promotions and Sales
While you have to be careful not to be spammy, using SMS as a tool for sending out coupons and promotions is an effective way to garner engagement. It’s especially useful if you have a brick and mortar store and want to drive traffic to the location at concentrated portions of the day/week. (As a general rule of thumb, you should send no more than one or two of these types of messages per week.)
- Event Reminders
SMS can be leveraged as a useful option for event reminders – particularly virtual events, such as webinars. While you almost certainly will use email as well, it’s much easier for an email notification to go unread. When someone sees a text message come through, they’re much more likely to check it. This can help you bolster your show up rate.
- Internal Communications
One of the most underrated uses of SMS is as an internal communications platform for small and large teams. It can be utilized for a variety of purposes, including meeting reminders, staff scheduling, emergency notifications, HR updates, and facilities alerts. SMS is especially powerful for remote teams that need a way of staying connected in real-time throughout the day.
- Multi-Factor Authentication
There are plenty of tools you can use to turn SMS into a multi-factor authentication platform for your business. You can use this internally or externally to strengthen security and reduce the likelihood of account hacking.
- Audience Engagement
When it comes to live events, SMS is an amazing way to collect feedback and gather questions. It’s particularly powerful when you have a live speaker and you want to curate the best audience questions without having to use an expensive or sophisticated platform.
Adding it All Up
We’re not telling you to destroy your email list or get off social media. We’re merely recommending that you take a look at SMS as a supplementary tool for communication and engagement.
Whether you use it internally or for customer-facing applications, it has the ability to transform your processes from the inside out!