SMS Marketing: Templates to Drive Engagement

If Short Message Service (SMS) is not part of your marketing plan for 2023, then you’re probably sleeping on a winning strategy that businesses are fast adopting. With a mobile device in nearly every consumer’s pocket, many Businesses have found success with SMS campaigns and the track record of SMS for marketing continues to prove itself. These stats from financesonline screams the value of SMS marketing; 

• SMS marketing has an average open rate of 82% 
• It takes just 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message
• There is a 45% response rate for SMS messages compared to just 8% for email.
• Interaction is also much higher, with a click-through rate of 36% for SMS and 3.4% for email.
• 6 in 10 consumers answer texts from businesses within 5 minutes of receiving it.

In a mobile-first continent like Africa, Mobile Phone technology has changed the way people live and how Businesses operate. i.e, people can easily connect with one another offline through SMS while Businesses can also connect with investors, customers and promote their products/services using mobile phones.

In terms of access and penetration, the ratio of mobile phone usage in Africa according to furtherafrica is 46% while mobile smartphones compatible with SMS application is at 64% adoption rate. This means that while there are 64% Africans connected to the internet via mobile phones, and 46% without  internet access via mobile, SMS marketing remains valuable as it can be targeted at both online and offline customers. Despite its versatility, (SMS is proven to be affordable and cost-effective) according to a 2022 Constellation research. 

Effective templates that move the needle

As a business that terminates over 210 million messages monthly, here are some useful templates you can adopt to engage your customers.

Message format

Considering character limitation, these are the basic format that can be adopted:

• Make the first three worlds catchy enough to get your customer’s attention, for instance; ‘Get 50% discount off all sales from 12th of February’
• Define your objective and chip in the offer like this, ‘Get 50% discount off all sales from 12th of February.’ 
• Use a compelling call to action (CTA) such as, ‘Get 50% discount off all sales from 12th of February. Claim offer now!’

Here are some templates you can use based on what your objectives are:

Discounts and offers

Be among the first 100 people to shop our joggers set and get up to 25% discount. Hurry now! Use code: JOGGERS1

Offering discounts on purchases are a great way to drive more traffic to your website or physical store. Every customer wants to spend less, save more and a better way to help them achieve this is by offering discounts.

Referrals

Hey xyz, enjoyed your Smiley Tote Bag? Let’s share happiness. Refer a friend to get 5% off your next two purchases. Click link to send: https//xyzy.org

“Word of mouth is the primary factor behind 20% to 50% of all purchasing decisions” according to a McKinsey study, so you might want to step up your referral game by letting your customers know what they stand to gain. 

Follow up messages

Hello Xyz, thank you for signing up on trust.com. Create your profile now to meet thousands of freelancers like yourself. 

A follow up message helps to nurture leads more effectively. It may serve as a reminder for a customer to make a purchase or an SMS prompting customers to take more action with the business.

Customer Support

Hello xyz, this is to confirm that your request has been resolved and closed. Thanks for your patience. Today, customers demand fast support to meet their needs and with SMS, you can provide one of such support. 

Reminder messages

Only 3 days left! Save up to N10,000 on your XYZ account  and stand a chance to win up to N500,000 and a ticket to Dubai. Text #775 to get started.

SMS reduces the costs associated with missed sales opportunities, appointments and payments. People are frequently overwhelmed that they forget to do certain things, so a simple non-intrusive text reminder message is an excellent way to prevent this.

Customer retention

Thank you for signing up on TerragonPrime. You have been awarded 1000 free sms to reach your customers. Login to claim free sms.

What’s better than acquiring one new customer? The answer is retaining an existing one. Returning customers are important to your business. Sometimes, offer them something extra for their loyalty.

The future of SMS Marketing is now!

Through SMS marketing, SMBs and enterprises can easily engage their customers by introducing new offers, discounts, products, bonus, referrals, and more. TerragonPrime offers more than just engagement as Businesses can easily target and connect with new customers from over 100 million profiles available on the platform by sending personalized SMS.