Want to invest in a marketing channel where you know your customers already hang out? It might be time for you to try texting.
70% of people say texting is the fastest way to reach them, and 64% say they read each text within a few minutes of receiving it.
That speed and ease of reaching customers are why more and more marketers are exploring SMS marketing. If these numbers intrigue you, too, then read on. We’ll look at how brands can incorporate texting into their marketing efforts and review some SMS marketing examples that drive business results.
Contents
- What is SMS marketing?
- Why use SMS marketing?
- How can you incorporate SMS marketing into your strategy?
- SMS marketing best practices
- 10 sensational SMS marketing examples
What is SMS marketing?
SMS marketing, or text message marketing, is when a brand uses text as a channel to connect with customers and prospects.
An example of how a home services business could use texts to engage leads and communicate with customers.
Marketing texts can serve many purposes, as you’ll soon see. For example, you might send a personalized text with a promo code to your loyalty club members. Or you could use them to deliver and follow up on quotes.
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Why use SMS marketing?
With so many other marketing channels already in the mix, why would you consider adding SMS marketing to your strategy? These stats might convince you:
- American adults check their phones an average of 114 times per day. If you want to be seen, appearing on that screen is a great way to do it.
- 80% of businesses already use text to reach their customers. If you’re not doing the same, you’re missing out on a channel your competitors are likely already using.
- In 2024, 79% of consumers opted in to receive texts from businesses, which represents an 11% increase from the previous year.
It’s hard to imagine another marketing channel that puts you in such close contact with your current and potential customers.
How can you incorporate SMS marketing into your strategy?
Whenever you introduce a new channel into your mix, consider your broader marketing strategy. How can this new channel help you reach your target audience in a more effective way? Will you add new touchpoints or shift existing ones into this novel channel?
With SMS marketing, there are two primary types of messages you can send: promotional and transactional.
Promotional messages are (you guessed it) promoting something. These messages may include discount offers, announcements about new products or services, or any other outreach to encourage a purchase.
Example of a product-launch promotional text.
Text message marketing allows you to segment your list so you can send targeted offers based on factors like demographics, past purchases, or location. For example, you may send a text reminding a would-be customer that they have an item in their cart.
Alternatively, transactional texts are customer service-focused. These go out to people who have already bought from you. They include updates on order status, package tracking information, and appointment reminders.
SMS marketing best practices
When you consider how to structure your SMS marketing plans, take these best practices into account.
- Offer a sign-up incentive: Provide a discount in exchange for someone’s contact information to encourage them to share their phone number.
- Get a clear opt-in: You’re legally required to get clear written consent before you text anyone on behalf of your business. The same idea applies to opt-outs; you must provide a simple way for folks to unsubscribe.
- Use a short code: Texts from a standard 10-digit phone number can be mistaken for spam. Consider getting a short code (a five or six-digit number) to look more legit from the start.
- Keep messages short: Texts have a standard limit of 160 characters per message. Going over might cause your message to send in multiple parts.
- Track results: Select a texting tool that allows you to see metrics so you can understand how your SMS marketing is performing.
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10 sensational SMS marketing examples
With those guidelines in mind, let’s see what text message marketing can look like in practice. These SMS marketing examples will show the range of tactics you can try!
1. Encourage sign-ups with a welcome offer
To build an SMS marketing program, you need to get your audience to agree to receive texts. Many brands incorporate pop-ups on their sites, asking visitors to provide contact information in exchange for a discount.
Florist Urban Stems has such an offer on its site, with 20% off when readers provide their email and phone number. The pop-up is visually appealing, featuring beautiful blooms. It also clearly states the discount readers stand to unlock.
And finally, it contains the fine print a brand needs to comply with texting rules.
2. Send a welcome message
Once you’ve collected contact information from a prospect or customer, it’s wise to follow up with a welcome message right away.
Not only does this get your number into the recipient’s texting app, but it also gives you a chance to offer the consumer an opt-out—another essential component of a compliant SMS marketing program.
This example from Vuori is short and sweet, welcoming the new subscriber and giving them an easy way to decline future messages if they choose.
3. Incentivize a spontaneous purchase with a deal
SMS marketing is a great way to get offers out to customers quickly. When you want to drive an immediate purchase decision, text is the way to go.
Take this example from Cuddle Clones. The text offers a nice discount with the code “FOREVER20.” The brand added a sense of urgency by making this a flash weekend sale.
4. Offer a seasonal deal
Seasonal marketing is often an effective tactic for brands looking to mix up their messaging and catch readers’ attention with a unique offer that’s perfect for the time of year.
While holidays are a great option for this type of text, you can also use just about any cultural moment. Here, Ami Colé ties their SMS promotion to the Emmys.
This is a cool way to ride the wave of popularity events like this generate.
5. Spread the word about your referral program
We’ve written before about the benefits of starting a referral program for your business. It can help you attract strong leads by asking existing customers to pass your name along to friends and family.
For the program to be successful, your existing customers need to know about it! That’s where SMS marketing can help.
By segmenting your SMS contact list, you can send a text just to existing customers. Let them know about your referral program and the incentive you offer as a part of it.
When you share this message via text, you catch customers where they already connect with family and friends—namely, in their texting app. This makes it easy for them to forward your message and drive referrals to your brand.
6. Provide helpful updates on a recent order
SMS marketing isn’t just useful in reaching prospective customers. It can play a vital role in creating a positive customer experience once someone has made a purchase.
It’s also another opportunity to bolster trust in your brand and products. Check out how Native does it.
Notice the bit at the bottom where they offer some social proof to encourage another order.
Once you’ve opened up this channel of communication, you can send additional updates if the shipping status changes and again on the delivery date so your customer never misses their package.
This continuous attention makes new customers feel well-cared-for and engenders good feelings toward your brand.
7. Confirm an upcoming appointment
It’s not just retailers that can benefit from SMS marketing post-sale. Service-based businesses can use SMS marketing to remind customers about upcoming appointments.
A reminder text is helpful for your customers, of course. How often have you neglected to put an appointment in your calendar and then completely forgotten it existed? But it also has benefits for you.
It’s a place where you can reiterate any policies you have around appointments. Do people need to arrive 15 minutes early? Is there a cancellation fee after a certain cutoff point? Telling your customers in the text means they can’t claim confusion or ignorance.
Reminder texts can also cut down on no-shows. This helps you better manage your appointment books (and generate more consistent revenue).
And finally, reminder texts can make it easier for customers to reschedule. A disjointed rescheduling process, where a customer has to call or email, risks losing that business. If you make it easy to reschedule via text, customers are far more likely to do so.
8. Save an abandoned online order
Approximately 70% of online carts are abandoned. With that many potential orders on the line, think of the revenue that could be lurking in your abandoned carts.
One way to encourage those shoppers to return is to send a reminder text. Research from Klaviyo shows abandoned cart emails generate a higher revenue per recipient than any other type of email sent on the platform, which means these messages do indeed drive consumers to complete their purchases.
A text message ups the urgency even over an email—people read texts quickly so that you can drive near-immediate action. And by adding even more FOMO-inducing detail to your text (like in the sample text above, where the brand lets the recipient know the product is almost out of stock), you increase your odds of conversion even further.
9. Reward your loyal customers
Marketing isn’t just about wooing new customers and impressing them in the early days. It also has a role to play in nurturing repeat business and customer loyalty.
This SMS marketing example shows how Flux Footwear shares special deals with loyal customers via text.
This is another SMS tactic that requires segmentation. By building a list of only your most loyal customers, you can easily send them a message thanking them for their continued loyalty.
10. Extend a special birthday discount
Another popular customer loyalty technique is to send a text at important milestones, like birthdays, anniversaries, and such. It doesn’t have to be elaborate. It can just be a way to stay top of mind while sharing in your customer’s big day.
Many brands will also have programs that offer customers a little treat on their big day, and SMS marketing can help ensure they see your offer. Try offering a unique code your customer can use for a discount or freebie for the day.
Use these SMS marketing examples to generate wins for your business
Hopefully, these examples have you fired up to try SMS marketing for your brand. With so many ways to use this marketing channel, there are sure to be opportunities for you to build deeper connections with prospects and clients alike.
If you’re ready to give SMS marketing a try but don’t know what to write, we’ve got you covered. Check out our free text message templates so you can send missives crafted to stand out and drive conversions.
And if you’d like to learn new ways to amplify and track the impact of your SMS marketing, contact us. We’ll show you how we’ve helped other businesses like yours.
