Here's how the financial industry can best use a bulk SMS campaign

SMS Marketing for banks

There are many reasons why those in the financial industry need to message customers. In fact, you’ve likely received an SMS from your bank today. As a decision-maker in this industry, it’s important that you’re familiar with how a bulk SMS campaign can be used to your advantage.

Maybe you're thinking of the codes your bank sends when you’re about to make a purchase. Those messages are personal to you and your banking needs, often immediately and at the moment. But this is not what we’re talking about here. This is about messages that apply to everyone. These are not less personal, because everyone does need to know this information. But they aren't quite as personal as receiving that OTP number at 3 am so that you can make the online purchase that you’re sure to regret as soon as it’s delivered. These are SMS campaign messages and here are some examples.

Use an SMS campaign to attract new customers

Text messages are an excellent way to reach out to potential customers to let them know about products you can offer to them. An SMS campaign is also an effective way to encourage an existing client to upgrade their account. A message detailing why everyone at their banking level, let’s imagine the no-frills Blue Account, would benefit from upgrading to the more beneficial Platinum Account. Free ATM withdrawals, no online banking charges, rewards when they fill their car with fuel! Who would say no to an offer like that?

Tell existing customers about new services

The bank has decided to offer customers the option to invest internationally. Everyone knows they shouldn’t put all of their eggs in one basket and investing internationally provides users with the opportunity to do the opposite. But before customers can take advantage of this opportunity, they need to be informed about the option. Bulk SMS is the ideal way to do just that. With this form of text messaging, you’re able to contact thousands of people in multiple countries, at a very low cost. Offering new products and services this way is an excellent approach to improving customer experience.

Inform customers about special offers

There comes a time in every business, even those in the finance and banking sectors, when they want to offer a special deal to customers. This could be a cash amount or an opportunity to win a prize when opening a specific account, a lower interest rate on a credit card or a higher interest rate on a savings account, or no account fees for the first year. There are even some banks that offer a year’s free subscription to Amazon Prime. Now that is one sure-fire way to hook a customer!

Let customers know about security concerns

It’s unfortunate but there are moments when customers need to be contacted about security issues. Banking scams are a reality. Your customers must be kept informed when a new one emerges. Your bank or financial institution must do what it can to inform customers about what to do and what not to do when performing financial transactions, especially online. An SMS is a simple way to let your entire customer base know about new potential scams.

Those are all good reasons to send text messages to customers, but there are some legalities and technicalities to consider first.

Always have permission before sending an SMS. You absolutely can not send text messages to customers unless they have indicated that they want to receive SMS messages from you. Not only is this illegal in most countries, it’s also a certain way to annoy someone who could have been a potential customer.

Provide an opt-out option for customers. Just as customers must have given your business permission to send SMS campaign messages, all text messages must also include an opt-out option. You don’t want to fill your SMS list with the phone numbers of people who don’t want to receive messages from you. It’s better these people do take the option of opting out.

Ensure you have two-way messaging enabled. Research has found that customers prefer to SMS with a financial institution than speak to a person. Customers find these conversations to be too intimate and somewhat embarrassing. The veil of anonymity of an SMS makes customers more at ease when discussing their finances.

If you’ve been convinced that SMS messaging is the ideal marketing match for your finance or banking business, and not just because of its excellent open rate statistics, have a look at the offerings of our user-friendly SMS Platform. It does just what you'd expect: it’s a tool to make the sending of bulk text campaign messages that much easier.