SMS

Why SMS Gateway Platforms are Ideal for Increasing Brand Exposure and Customer Engagement

“It’s all about putting customer needs at the center of what a company needs to do, and then ensuring along all the touchpoints and even more so along all the relevant customer journeys that the customers have a flawless experience. When a customer is satisfied with a company, they are also lower in the cost to serve, but also have a higher potential to be more loyal customers for this company.” - McKinsey 

Reaching the modern consumer can be done through a number of marketing avenues these days, and it can be quite overwhelming narrowing down exactly which option will work best for you. You need to consider a platform that’s not only cost-effective, but far-reaching and able to achieve your brand goals. One option that ticks all the boxes is SMS, but it’s not just about one-on-one messaging, you can benefit from reliable and fast bulk messaging through an SMS Gateway.

What is an SMS Gateway?

The SMS Gateway, which uses SMS API, essentially bridges the gap between the telecommunications provider and the internet. The SMS Gateway facilitates the dissemination of SMS messages from a web browser to your customers’ mobile phones by translating one protocol into another.

What are the benefits of an SMS Gateway?

While pay per click (PPC) and email marketing are some of the dominant forms of digital marketing solutions, bulk SMS remains increasingly popular for a number of reasons. These include:

  • Global reach: With an SMS Gateway, you’re able to deliver messages to customers around the world. According to Bank My Cell, some 91.54% of people own mobile phones today, making the reach quite extensive.

  • Engagement: Around 71% of mobile phone users check their phones within 10 minutes of waking up with 74% keeping phones on them constantly. This makes for maximum engagement when you’re looking to connect via SMS.

  • Speed: Bulk SMS marketing is an incredibly fast process, both to establish as well as to execute. This is great for alerting customers to time-sensitive information for a quicker reaction. 

  • Integration: The SMS Gateway can connect with other channels so that you can promote products and services via SMS alongside email campaigns. 

  • Return on investment: Because an SMS Gateway is cost-effective to set up and run, you’re not spending exorbitant amounts of money on marketing and advertising campaigns while still benefitting from the expansive reach.

  • Easy to set up: If you work with a renowned communications organization, the SMS Gateway is quick and simple to set up so that you’re immediately operational. 

Tips for using SMS Gateways to increase brand exposure

There are many benefits to using an SMS Gateway to create maximum brand exposure, but it’s important that you do it correctly, or you risk losing more customers than you gain. Here are some of the top tips for getting it right: 

Tip #1: Get permission

It’s important that you respect all the legalities around SMS Gateways by requesting consent directly from the customers. This will also increase engagement and deliverability of your SMS marketing. 

Tip #2: Opt out

Your customers need to have the option of not receiving your marketing message if they don’t relate directly to them. That’s why an opt out needs to be included at the end so that they can stop receiving messages at any time.

Tip #3: Be concise

Consumers don’t want to be bogged down in endless text. In fact, it’s in the name – Short Message Service! So, keep your brand marketing clear, concise, and engaging. Otherwise, you risk the customer opting out.

Tip #4: Timing

If there’s one thing that will stop a customer from reading and receiving your SMS marketing, it’s sending them an SMS at the wrong time. You need to assess your customers’ behaviors and decide when they’ll be more likely to read a message and purchase from you. Local time zones will also have to factor into this decision. 

Tip #5: Segmented lists

Just because you’re using bulk messaging for marketing, doesn’t mean that you have to send the exact same message to every customer. You can segment your customers into different lists based on behavior, user preference, and demographics, thereby personalizing your brand marketing.

Tip #6: Be consistent

Building brand recognition takes time, which means consistent SMS marketing without overdoing it. Brand recognition, when done properly, will move up these three steps:

  1.  Vague recognition: When the customer recognizes the brand by its logo and packaging.

  2. Spontaneous recognition: When the customer recalls the brand and can remember the products it produces.

  3. Top-of-mind: When the brand is the first to come to mind when a product is mentioned.

How SMS Gateways improve customer engagement

When implemented correctly, bulk SMS marketing can improve the customer experience in a number of ways. To give you some idea, these include: 

  • Convenience: As we mentioned, almost everyone in the world has a phone which means they’re able to learn more about your brand’s product and service offerings quickly and easily. SMS also makes product purchases that much more convenient! 

  • Security: Using one-time pins and two-factor authentication, the SMS system can provide your customers with a digitally secure way for online transactions. Considering the rise in cybercrime, this is an incredibly important consideration. 

  • Feedback: The SMS Gateway is a great channel for getting customer feedback by surveys. This allows you to adjust your service offerings for a much more improved customer experience.

  • Results tracking: You can actually measure the performance of your SMS campaigns through the SMS Gateway using the reports analytics features. This, again, allows you to provide better customer engagement going forward.

  • Visual: Don’t get confused with the name ‘text messaging’ as an SMS also allows you to share visual elements that better engage the customer. This can include emojis, graphics, and photos where necessary.

Why use Clickatell for your SMS Gateway?

Clickatell, the creators of the first-ever SMS API, are able to provide you with an effective SMS Gateway that sends bulk SMS messages from more than 1000 mobile networks to over 220 countries and territories through its easy-to-use cloud-based interface. Clickatell’s SMS Gateway is truly the premier messaging solution for businesses wanting full, message-level, delivery controls and custom routing configurations for international and optimized local SMS delivery.

 

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