SMS marketing

With 95% of the French population owning a cell phone—or, more commonly, a mobile phone—and the most accessible function on these devices still being the sending of SMS, SMS marketing is an extremely effective way for individuals, professionals, and organizations alike to reach the largest possible audience.

For this reason, SMS marketing has become an essential marketing phenomenon, often integrated into multichannel strategies. It allows you to reach the majority of your customer base, if not all of it, while expanding your target audience. Its conciseness, clarity, discretion, and longevity make it an undeniable asset for effective, lasting communication that leaves a lasting impression.

Combined with other strategies within a multichannel framework, it helps embed a brand or a cause in the consumer's mind, or even their daily life. Finally, SMS management interfaces and numerous SMS software and APIs which are becoming increasingly numerous, enhance its effectiveness, making it a true marketing tool in its own right.

However, many companies know little or nothing about this medium, particularly SMEs and non-profits, unlike large international firms that use it to their great advantage. Here is a look at the effectiveness of SMS marketing, its necessity, and its possibilities, accompanied by examples.

SMS marketing: A must-have for effective communication and a successful marketing campaign

First and foremost, SMS reaches the entire population, from the youngest to the oldest. What better channel for communication and sales? Furthermore, due to its conciseness, discretion, and traceability, it is extremely effective. The customer is notified of brand news in a non-intrusive way and can view offers as well as exclusive promotional information.

In this vein, a brand can send its customers exclusive information that builds a relationship of trust, for example by granting them unique benefits that they can access via promotional codes. Similarly, by thanking them after a purchase, a company can strengthen the customer relationship. Finally, because the message is clear and concise, it often makes a stronger impression on the customer.

Many groups already use SMS marketing, whether they are professionals running promotional campaigns and loyalty programs, non-profit organizations making donation appeals, or managers using it for human resources. Uber, La Redoute, France Loisirs, and Femme Actuelle have all ensured their success through SMS marketing.

Moreover, since the advent of the smartphone, customers make purchases and check their messages about a hundred times a day. SMS marketing is therefore not just a technique for improving customer relations; it can and should also be a sales channel, for example through URLs. The simplicity and speed of this method are major assets that appeal to customers.

How to use SMS marketing to make your campaign a success

Many tools are now available, each more effective, comprehensive, and innovative than the last. Beyond telecom companies, Google is full of solutions for sending texts from your PC, offered by specialized companies like Octopush, IT firms that have developed programming interfaces, or even software for Android, Apple, and more.

The goals of SMS marketing are to deliver information to your users and customers or to drive them toward a purchase. Simply put, you want to build loyalty and sell your products.

• To inform your customers, you can use the services of companies such as Octopush.

You will benefit from interfaces that allow you to manage your contacts and send automated SMS messages, for example for special campaigns or events like winter sales. These interfaces also allow you to personalize messages based on the individuals and time periods in question. This enables you to segment your target audience based on their age and purchasing behavior…

You will also kill two birds with one stone: by doing your advertising and after-sales service at the same time, you will increase your contacts' trust and, consequently, their engagement with the brand's thought process. It’s a way to advertise while building customer loyalty.

• To encourage a purchase, you will need to communicate on a different level by promoting one of your products. Here, you send a clear, concise, and well-written message.

Highlight the exclusive nature of the offer made to the customer and the exceptional quality of the product, while integrating other channels, such as a URL directing the customer to your website. You can also direct your customer to your nearest store. Furthermore, as part of a VIP club, you can use the PC-based SMS management interface to select the specific contact list to whom you wish to offer early access to your product.

Finally, other software solutions allow you to link all your sales and marketing operations in just a few clicks, automatically. For example, Zapier, which lets you link product announcements in just a few zaps,, purchase information, invoicing…

So, if you too want to boost your communication, integrate SMS marketing into your strategy.