If you want a marketing method that can’t be ignored by your customer then text an email marketing may be just what you are looking for.
Text and email marketing work because you are meeting your customer where they live. No one is going without their phones these days, and while social media marketing is great, nothing beats the personal touch of arriving directly in their inbox or text app. Best of all, it’s a very inexpensive form of marketing. Perfect for the small business.
Why Text And Email Marketing Work
There are several reasons why text and email marketing still work. This article from The Balance shares survey results showing 82% of businesses still use email marketing. The number of surveyed businesses that use social media marketing? Only 67%.
The numbers show that text and email marketing are great networking tools that can help your business grow and prosper. So, what is it that makes text and email marketing so powerful–even with all of the technical advances of the last decade?
Convenience, plain and simple. It’s rare to see someone without their phone on them these days. Text has become a primary form of communication for most everyone. Email runs a close second.
Talking To Your Customer Where They Already Are
Nearly everyone is in constant contact with those they know via one (or both) of two ways:
- Their phone
- Their email account
I’ve got friends who rarely use their email, but I can always reach them via their phone. For me personally, I’m in constant contact with both forms of communication.
I can go days without checking my social media accounts, but you can always reach me via text or email. With text and email marketing, you’re conveniently reaching your clients where they already are.
Text messages and emails are pretty hard to ignore. You know your customers are going to get a notification when they receive your text message. And it’s the same notification they get when their friends contact them. They will stop what they are doing and check their phone.
Email is similar. You will get in front of them exactly when they are in the mood to check their email. Hit them with a catchy headline and you may have yourself a sale.
Email And Text Marketing Are More Personalized
Personal relationships are a powerful key for good business. And the fact of the matter is that your client gets a more personalized feel when you send him or her an email or text. You don’t email and text strangers; on the contrary, you only email and text friends.
When you market to clients using email and text, you’re making them feel special and included.
How Text And Email Marketing Benefit Your Business
As a business owner, it’s tempting to use more overt methods of marketing. Billboards, flyers, print ads and social media promotion can have great reach.
However, it costs up to five times more to acquire a new customer as it does to retain an existing customer. If you get each client’s email address and cell phone number, you’ve got a marketing package at your fingertips.
Here are some ways email and text marketing can help your business grow–and grow easier.
Low Cost
It costs time and not much more for you to send texts and emails to your clients. With a quick message, you can inform them of business specials, new products and more. If you want basic marketing that’s powerful and cost-effective, text and email have you covered.
Convenience Via Automation
So, maybe you’re concerned about the time factor with text and email marketing. Luckily, there are companies that specialize in automated email and text marketing.
ConvertKit
ConvertKit helps you send out well-timed, targeted content to your clients and potential clients. You tell ConvertKit what rules you want for your automated emails and they’ll get it done. You can even set up a system that will customize your client’s email path based on their actions.
This can be an easy way to guide clients into varying products and services you offer.
Automated email services are affordable too. You can reach all of your customers via automated email marketing for as little as $25 a month. This monthly subscription price will accommodate up to 1,000 email subscribers. If you have more subscribers, you’ll still pay surprisingly affordable subscription prices:
- $41 monthly for 1,000 to 3,000 subscribers
- $66 monthly for 3,000 to 5,000 subscribers
- Customized plans and pricing for over 5,000 subscribers
Note that all prices quoted are billed annually to save you money. However, you can choose monthly billing for a bit higher pricing too.
Here’s some advice from Entrepreneur on how to send effective sales emails.
SlickText
If you want automated text marketing, companies such as SlickText can help. SlickText can help you send out texts on upcoming specials, new products and more.
My local gas station uses this type of service to send weekly gas and other coupons to my phone. Since I always have my phone with me, I can easily use the text to lower the price on my gas fill-ups.
It’s like a surprise gift when I get the various coupons from this company. And if the coupon is for something I don’t need, I just swipe it away.
With SlickText you can send out 500 texts for as little as $29 per month. SlickText also offers unlimited contacts, picture messaging, and live chat support.
It really is easy to market to your clients using automated email and text services like the ones mentioned here–even if you’re not tech-savvy.
Here’s advice on how to use text messages to make sales.
A Personalized Touch
We talked about this a bit before, but let me expand. Social media marketing posts can scream “random automation without any forethought.” On the contrary, text and email marketing says, “Hey, I’m thinking of you.” Your automated texts and emails can include individual names for each client.
In addition, you can customize them based on a client’s past purchase history or future service and product needs. When you send out an email or text that starts out “Hey, (insert client’s name here)!”, you’re telling the client you remember them and know who they are.
You’re saying they’re important to you as a person. You can’t get that kind of personal touch with social media marketing.
Related: How To Use Social Media To Grow Your Business
A Higher Level Of Authenticity/Trustworthiness
Another benefit of the personalized touch that email and text marketing provides is a higher level of authenticity. While social media is a free-for-all where anyone can solicit you with their services, people don’t allow just anyone to text them or send them emails.
Texts and emails are for people and companies they trust. Let’s use my local gas station as an example again. I like getting texts and emails from them because I know the company and I know they have something valuable to offer me.
Sponsored, random ads via social media are okay, but mostly I just skim through them at best. Why? Because I don’t have that higher level of trust with these random companies like I do with my local gas station.
I wonder: Are their bait-loaded taglines really on target? Are they trying to rip me off?
When you’ve created a close enough relationship with your clients that they know who you are, they’ll allow you into their personal lives. They know that your texts and emails contain valuable information that can help them.
And as a business owner, that’s an awesome place to be.
Once And Done Auto Set-Up
Depending on your marketing needs, you can use a once-and-done set-up when you choose text and email marketing. The automated systems mentioned above have tools in place for you to do that.
It’s like passive income for business owners; set up your automated marketing plan and watch the sales come in.
Don’t Overdo It
I think the biggest drawback to text and email marketing is the potential to overdo it. Nobody wants their phone or email account blowing up with constant messages from businesses they utilize. Once a week or once a month should be sufficient unless you have a special announcement that clients need to know about. The goal is to keep customers informed without overwhelming them.
So, if you want to avoid flooding your clients with way too much information, keep your texts and emails short and sweet. Be sure they contain information that can help your clients save money or make life easier. Don’t be too long-winded, although short, relevant stories via email are okay.
Simply share your company’s information and money-saving deals with quick, personalized notes. Be sure your clients are aware of the services and products you offer.
Keep your business on their radar regularly, but not too regularly. Just send texts and emails often enough to keep clients abreast of the great services and products you can offer.
