SMS Marketing Tips

mrjosco · 19th Jun 2013, 06:49 PM

I have a mobile website client who might choose to switch to me to manage his SMS campaign.

Right now he has about 400 subscribers, but his success rate (in terms of ROI) is pretty low.

Each time he sends out a text he gets about 2 people who redeem the coupon. Is this a normal rate?

He is a bar/restaurant and he sends out pretty good offers. Usually for something 100% free even (free drink, free appetizer, etc).

I can lower his cost per text, so that alone should begin to get him a positive ROI - but what are some things you have done to make the campaigns profitable?

imsolutionsgroup · 19th Jun 2013, 08:54 PM

How did he get this list of 400 subscribers?

mrjosco · 19th Jun 2013, 09:54 PM

They opted in at his bar.

imsolutionsgroup · 19th Jun 2013, 10:00 PM

Hmmm, then those are very low numbers. Do you know if he is currently using a shared short code or if they have their own local number?

If on a shared short code, can the number possibly be blacklisted? Are they sure all the texts seem to be going through?

mrjosco · 19th Jun 2013, 11:04 PM

I do not, but that is a good question. He thinks the issue is related to which TYPE of customers opted in.

I think he has a point.

He was also concerned because his employees only really pushed the list when it was slow, instead of pushing at busy times.

I don't really know if they have a shared short code or not. It is pretty unsophisticated in terms of SMS Marketing - I know it is currently being run by some retired old couple that doesn't get much involved.

I don't think they even considered checking to see if all the texts are going through. How would they go about that? They are certainly paying for all of the texts!

mrjosco · 19th Jun 2013, 11:04 PM

To be honest I am a noob when it comes to SMS and I am trying to get my feet in slowly. I want to offer services that help my customers take advantage of the mobile site they just bought from me. He loves the site and we want to maximize its usage.

Aaron Doud · 20th Jun 2013, 11:15 AM

Without reviewing the whole campaign here are my take aways based on the facts provided.

1. There is a possibility of bad demo graphics. I suspect the first offer was really great and/or the staff pushed people on it who didn't want to be.

2. This is kind of "out there"... Was the staff compensated for sign ups? I wonder if they got people to sign up and then showed them ways to block it vs. unsubscribing. I've never heard of it but if I was compensated for sign ups I would find a way to overcome the objection of those who didn't want to do it. It's classic selling and why you always have to make sure compensation matches up with company goals.

3. I wonder if the offers are junk. Just because it is something free doesn't mean it's a good offer. If I never order chips & salsa and you always send free chips & salsa it will do nothing for me. Also has it made the offers easy. Or are their hoops. "Click this link and type in this to get free chips with any tab over $100". I know it won't be that bad but think about usability for customers.

.25% is a crazy low rate and if they are paying you enough that you are a consultant and not just a provider you need to be offering tips.

So what would I suggest?

1. Mix up the offers more and compare how each performs.

2. Push the list when busy. Especially to the regulars. SMS marketing is about turning that once a week customer into the 2 or 3 times a week customer.

3. Management observation and buy in. Managers there need to lead this and also watch how the staff is selling customers on it. Building the list isn't the goal. Getting the best customers on the list is the goal. These are two different things and management needs to be aware of that and teaching it.

mrjosco · 20th Jun 2013, 05:40 PM

Originally Posted by Aaron Doud

Without reviewing the whole campaign here are my take aways based on the facts provided.

1. There is a possibility of bad demo graphics. I suspect the first offer was really great and/or the staff pushed people on it who didn't want to be.

2. This is kind of "out there"... Was the staff compensated for sign ups? I wonder if they got people to sign up and then showed them ways to block it vs. unsubscribing. I've never heard of it but if I was compensated for sign ups I would find a way to overcome the objection of those who didn't want to do it. It's classic selling and why you always have to make sure compensation matches up with company goals.

3. I wonder if the offers are junk. Just because it is something free doesn't mean it's a good offer. If I never order chips & salsa and you always send free chips & salsa it will do nothing for me. Also has it made the offers easy. Or are their hoops. "Click this link and type in this to get free chips with any tab over $100". I know it won't be that bad but think about usability for customers.

.25% is a crazy low rate and if they are paying you enough that you are a consultant and not just a provider you need to be offering tips.

So what would I suggest?

1. Mix up the offers more and compare how each performs.

2. Push the list when busy. Especially to the regulars. SMS marketing is about turning that once a week customer into the 2 or 3 times a week customer.

3. Management observation and buy in. Managers there need to lead this and also watch how the staff is selling customers on it. Building the list isn't the goal. Getting the best customers on the list is the goal. These are two different things and management needs to be aware of that and teaching it.

Thanks for the input! They are not paying me yet, they are paying another guy who hasn't really provided much.

Before I send a proposal I want to develop some ideas of how we can make it work much, much better. They are not offering compensation to employees.

I will use some of the ideas here to create questions that help me better understand their current set up.

imsolutionsgroup · 20th Jun 2013, 06:49 PM

Here are a few suggestions and questions to ask:

1. Ask them what number is being used to send out these SMS. Is it a short-code; a 4 or 5 digit number or a long-code; a normal 10 digit local phone number. If they are using a short code...I highly suggest looking into switching to a local 10 digit number. The short code number they are using could be blacklisted and this is why they are seeing poor results. See my post here about long codes vs. short codes - http://www.warriorforum.com/mobile-m...ort-codes.html

2. What type of incentive are they giving out to get the subscribers to sign up?

3. How are they getting the subscribers? What I suggest is placing a table-top display on every table and around highly congested waiting areas. See the image attached at the end of this post as an example of what I create for my clients. If you'd like the .PSD file of the display to use for your new client...PM me and I can send it to you.

4. Are they tracking and measuring which messages are getting the best results? Are they tracking the times these messages are sent?

5. I disagree with the statement Aaron wrote above (no hard feelings). With SMS marketing you want your list to be as large as possible. This means it is YOUR job to train the manager on how to train his/her staff to explain the program to its customers. The staff needs to be knowledgeable in the program. Especially if they have these table-tops displays...because customers will be asking about them.

mobilemanic · 21st Jun 2013, 08:02 AM

I Think there is an issue with the number. That is the worst conversion I have ever heard of. I also disagree that you want everyone and their brother on the list. Here's why. If the person is tricked or begged to join the list, they will not respond to any offer. They don't want to be there. You only want people who actually want to get offers and coupons from the business. Those folks look forward to the offers. After all they already do business there and were happy to join. That's when conversions will soar. You want to build a responsive list. Bigger is not always better.

imsolutionsgroup · 21st Jun 2013, 08:21 AM

Originally Posted by mobilemanic

I Think there is an issue with the number. That is the worst conversion I have ever heard of. I also disagree that you want everyone and their brother on the list. Here's why. If the person is tricked or begged to join the list, they will not respond to any offer. They don't want to be there. You only want people who actually want to get offers and coupons from the business. Those folks look forward to the offers. After all they already do business there and were happy to join. That's when conversions will soar. You want to build a responsive list. Bigger is not always better.

Of course if you trick or begg anyone to do anything the conversions will be bad.

But, if you advertise your SMS program in the restaurant with table-top displays, post a subscription box on your website, post a way to optin on your social networking sites, etc. then your list should grow rather quickly. And, the larger the list the larger amount of customers and prospective customers you have the ability to communicate with whenever you want.

What other marketing channel is there where you have a direct line of communication with your customers?

Therefor, why would you not want it to be as large as possible? Plus, sending a text message should only be costing you .01...so the cost should not be an issue.

xlfutur1 · 23rd Jun 2013, 09:38 PM

I agree, 2 out of 400 responding to their offers is pitifully low. Either the offers are no good, or alot of people are not even getting them. In addition, with response rates that low, you would think that there would alot of unsubscribes due to the very low response.

Do they know how many are unsubscribing for every SMS sent? How long did it take him to get 400 subscribers? How often does he send them out?

You don't have to give away the farm to get subscribers. Weekly or monthly drawings have worked well for my clients. Its time to sit down with this guy and find out what is really going on.

Mo Goulet · 25th Jun 2013, 07:25 AM

There is the distinct possibility that the restaurant sucks...(no joke intended)

Look at Amy's Bakery in Phoenix AZ (Check them out on YouTube) Amy's Baking Company

ozlizard · 26th Jun 2013, 07:22 AM

I am selling mobile sites and want to offer SMS marketing to my clients as well.
How do you go about setting this up?
From the look of the sing above if they get the coupon by sending a text to the business number then is that how you get their mobile?

The other question I have is once you have their mobile numbers what do you use to send out the SMS offers? And I guess you charge them for managing the mobile number database and sending out the offers?

imsolutionsgroup · 26th Jun 2013, 07:48 AM

Originally Posted by ozlizard

I am selling mobile sites and want to offer SMS marketing to my clients as well.
How do you go about setting this up?
From the look of the sing above if they get the coupon by sending a text to the business number then is that how you get their mobile?

The other question I have is once you have their mobile numbers what do you use to send out the SMS offers? And I guess you charge them for managing the mobile number database and sending out the offers?

Correct, once they text in the code from their cell phone...their number is added to that specific keyword list. (of course you have to have the correct programming).

I'm PMing you an ebook/manual I send to my clients and near the bottom you can see a list of offers I suggest sending out. Don't forget, you will want to track and measure which offers work best for each establishment.

kh65 · 26th Jun 2013, 01:05 PM

Originally Posted by imsolutionsgroup

Correct, once they text in the code from their cell phone...their number is added to that specific keyword list. (of course you have to have the correct programming).

I'm PMing you an ebook/manual I send to my clients and near the bottom you can see a list of offers I suggest sending out. Don't forget, you will want to track and measure which offers work best for each establishment.

Could Ipossibley get a copy of that training book also?

imsolutionsgroup · 26th Jun 2013, 01:21 PM

Originally Posted by kh65

Could Ipossibley get a copy of that training book also?

Sure, will PM it to you.

yesjack · 28th Jun 2013, 01:27 PM

400? not 40?? how can he do that?

eClicker · 29th Jun 2013, 08:42 AM

@Mo Goulet or maybe in a bad area? Hard to access? Poor customer service? Josco maybe you should just go and sit in there on one of the "busy" nights and just observe what happens between the customers and the staff?

19th Jun 2013, 06:49 PM	#1
mrjosco HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: USA Posts: 209 Thanks: 106 Thanked 99 Times in 49 Posts	SMS Marketing Tips Share on: I have a mobile website client who might choose to switch to me to manage his SMS campaign. Right now he has about 400 subscribers, but his success rate (in terms of ROI) is pretty low. Each time he sends out a text he gets about 2 people who redeem the coupon. Is this a normal rate? He is a bar/restaurant and he sends out pretty good offers. Usually for something 100% free even (free drink, free appetizer, etc). I can lower his cost per text, so that alone should begin to get him a positive ROI - but what are some things you have done to make the campaigns profitable?
	Vintage and Retro Shirts from Vinretro

19th Jun 2013, 08:54 PM	#2
imsolutionsgroup Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 629 Thanks: 39 Thanked 197 Times in 103 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: How did he get this list of 400 subscribers?
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19th Jun 2013, 09:54 PM	#3
mrjosco HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: USA Posts: 209 Thanks: 106 Thanked 99 Times in 49 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: They opted in at his bar.
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19th Jun 2013, 10:00 PM	#4
imsolutionsgroup Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 629 Thanks: 39 Thanked 197 Times in 103 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: Hmmm, then those are very low numbers. Do you know if he is currently using a shared short code or if they have their own local number? If on a shared short code, can the number possibly be blacklisted? Are they sure all the texts seem to be going through?
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19th Jun 2013, 11:04 PM	#5
mrjosco HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Location: USA Posts: 209 Thanks: 106 Thanked 99 Times in 49 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: I do not, but that is a good question. He thinks the issue is related to which TYPE of customers opted in. I think he has a point. He was also concerned because his employees only really pushed the list when it was slow, instead of pushing at busy times. I don't really know if they have a shared short code or not. It is pretty unsophisticated in terms of SMS Marketing - I know it is currently being run by some retired old couple that doesn't get much involved. I don't think they even considered checking to see if all the texts are going through. How would they go about that? They are certainly paying for all of the texts!
	Vintage and Retro Shirts from Vinretro

20th Jun 2013, 11:15 AM	#7
Aaron Doud Sales & Marketing War Room Member Join Date: 2011 Posts: 2,813 Thanks: 716 Thanked 1,696 Times in 954 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: Without reviewing the whole campaign here are my take aways based on the facts provided. 1. There is a possibility of bad demo graphics. I suspect the first offer was really great and/or the staff pushed people on it who didn't want to be. 2. This is kind of "out there"... Was the staff compensated for sign ups? I wonder if they got people to sign up and then showed them ways to block it vs. unsubscribing. I've never heard of it but if I was compensated for sign ups I would find a way to overcome the objection of those who didn't want to do it. It's classic selling and why you always have to make sure compensation matches up with company goals. 3. I wonder if the offers are junk. Just because it is something free doesn't mean it's a good offer. If I never order chips & salsa and you always send free chips & salsa it will do nothing for me. Also has it made the offers easy. Or are their hoops. "Click this link and type in this to get free chips with any tab over $100". I know it won't be that bad but think about usability for customers. .25% is a crazy low rate and if they are paying you enough that you are a consultant and not just a provider you need to be offering tips. So what would I suggest? 1. Mix up the offers more and compare how each performs. 2. Push the list when busy. Especially to the regulars. SMS marketing is about turning that once a week customer into the 2 or 3 times a week customer. 3. Management observation and buy in. Managers there need to lead this and also watch how the staff is selling customers on it. Building the list isn't the goal. Getting the best customers on the list is the goal. These are two different things and management needs to be aware of that and teaching it.
	Aaron Doud - Sales & Success

20th Jun 2013, 06:49 PM	#9
imsolutionsgroup Advanced Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2012 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 629 Thanks: 39 Thanked 197 Times in 103 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: Here are a few suggestions and questions to ask: 1. Ask them what number is being used to send out these SMS. Is it a short-code; a 4 or 5 digit number or a long-code; a normal 10 digit local phone number. If they are using a short code...I highly suggest looking into switching to a local 10 digit number. The short code number they are using could be blacklisted and this is why they are seeing poor results. See my post here about long codes vs. short codes - http://www.warriorforum.com/mobile-m...ort-codes.html 2. What type of incentive are they giving out to get the subscribers to sign up? 3. How are they getting the subscribers? What I suggest is placing a table-top display on every table and around highly congested waiting areas. See the image attached at the end of this post as an example of what I create for my clients. If you'd like the .PSD file of the display to use for your new client...PM me and I can send it to you. 4. Are they tracking and measuring which messages are getting the best results? Are they tracking the times these messages are sent? 5. I disagree with the statement Aaron wrote above (no hard feelings). With SMS marketing you want your list to be as large as possible. This means it is YOUR job to train the manager on how to train his/her staff to explain the program to its customers. The staff needs to be knowledgeable in the program. Especially if they have these table-tops displays...because customers will be asking about them.
	Mobile Redirect Plugin for Wordpress - set redirect by page, not entire site! Warning: Many Websites Are Starting to Get Penalized by Google

21st Jun 2013, 08:02 AM	#10
mobilemanic Warrior Member Registered Member Join Date: 2013 Posts: 23 Thanks: 0 Thanked 5 Times in 3 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: I Think there is an issue with the number. That is the worst conversion I have ever heard of. I also disagree that you want everyone and their brother on the list. Here's why. If the person is tricked or begged to join the list, they will not respond to any offer. They don't want to be there. You only want people who actually want to get offers and coupons from the business. Those folks look forward to the offers. After all they already do business there and were happy to join. That's when conversions will soar. You want to build a responsive list. Bigger is not always better.

23rd Jun 2013, 09:38 PM	#12
xlfutur1 Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: 2005 Location: Michigan Posts: 1,112 Thanks: 13 Thanked 249 Times in 154 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: I agree, 2 out of 400 responding to their offers is pitifully low. Either the offers are no good, or alot of people are not even getting them. In addition, with response rates that low, you would think that there would alot of unsubscribes due to the very low response. Do they know how many are unsubscribing for every SMS sent? How long did it take him to get 400 subscribers? How often does he send them out? You don't have to give away the farm to get subscribers. Weekly or monthly drawings have worked well for my clients. Its time to sit down with this guy and find out what is really going on.

25th Jun 2013, 07:25 AM	#13
Mo Goulet Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: 1998 Location: Sun Valley, Idaho Posts: 1,035 Thanks: 57 Thanked 251 Times in 170 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: There is the distinct possibility that the restaurant sucks...(no joke intended) Look at Amy's Bakery in Phoenix AZ (Check them out on YouTube) Amy's Baking Company
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26th Jun 2013, 07:22 AM	#14
ozlizard Active Warrior Registered Member Join Date: 2013 Location: Western Australia Posts: 88 Thanks: 2 Thanked 16 Times in 13 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: I am selling mobile sites and want to offer SMS marketing to my clients as well. How do you go about setting this up? From the look of the sing above if they get the coupon by sending a text to the business number then is that how you get their mobile? The other question I have is once you have their mobile numbers what do you use to send out the SMS offers? And I guess you charge them for managing the mobile number database and sending out the offers?
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28th Jun 2013, 01:27 PM	#18
yesjack Warrior Member Join Date: 2012 Posts: 16 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: 400? not 40?? how can he do that?
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29th Jun 2013, 08:42 AM	#19
eClicker HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: 2008 Location: In Front Of My Screen Posts: 233 Thanks: 33 Thanked 24 Times in 22 Posts	Re: SMS Marketing Tips Share on: @Mo Goulet or maybe in a bad area? Hard to access? Poor customer service? Josco maybe you should just go and sit in there on one of the "busy" nights and just observe what happens between the customers and the staff?