The mGage marketing team discusses the importance of leveraging text messaging as part of an omnichannel marketing strategy

Consumers hold brands to higher marketing standards than ever before. It’s no longer enough to rely on a ‘one size fits all’ advertising approach. In fact, when consumers view a consistent message across multiple channels, they increase their purchase intent by 90 per cent and improve their perception of that brand by 68 per cent[1]. In many ways, marketing has become a two-way conversation between brands and consumers. Companies that leverage SMS as part of their omnichannel marketing strategy are better able to build relationships with customers and prospects, and ultimately make more sales.

Text messaging is considered one of the strongest marketing channels but leveraging it as part of an overall omnichannel strategy makes it even stronger. Compared to email and social media, SMS has significantly higher deliverability and engagement. However, using multiple channels together is always the strongest strategy because each no single platform is ideal for all types of messages. SMS marketing, for example, is best for time-sensitive and/or short messages with a simple call to action. Longer copy or heavily visual campaigns may work better over email or social media, respectively.

Customer satisfaction rates are 23 times higher among brands with cross-channel strategies[2] because omnichannel marketing enables companies to deliver messages that are customized to demographic, device, and purchasing intent. Here are some strategies for leveraging SMS and email together.

• Grow lists by asking users to sign up for text via email or social and vice versa
• Enable customers to choose their preferred communication channel by opting in/out
• Use SMS to follow up on email engagement with a limited time offer
• Send a text to ask customers to submit user-generated content (UGC) on social media as part of a campaign or contest
• Leverage social listening tools to understand trends that can be used in social and email campaigns

These are just a few of the ways leading brands are using SMS to drive results with an omnichannel marketing strategy. So, what are the steps to getting started?

1. Encourage SMS sign-ups via social, emails, and your main website
2. Implement targeted marketing practices. Create segmented lists by demographic, industry, purchase intent and any other information you’ve gathered on customers and prospects
3. Evaluate the results – Are you generating a return on investment from these services? Continuously monitoring results and pivoting based on trends is crucial to omnichannel success.

Like any new marketing strategy, adding SMS marketing to your omnichannel marketing strategy may take some trial and error. However, SMS has demonstrably better marketing results than many other platforms and should be part of any well-rounded marketing campaign. Still don’t believe us? Hear from our partners at Oracle:

“We are proud to have mGage as part of the Oracle Responsys SMS Public Aggregator Network (SPAN). mGage can help global brands by providing them with the support and expertise required to realize the full value of mobile as part of an omnichannel strategy, rather than an individual channel.”

– Dave Helmreich, GVP, North American Sales, Oracle Marketing Cloud

To view a demo or speak with a mGage consultant, get in-touch with us today!

[1] IAB

[2] Aberdeen Group