SMS marketing: definition, advantages and creation of a campaign

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SMS marketing, or text message marketing, consists of sending information relating to your offer or your company to your customers and to prospects that you wish to approach, by text message.

SMS marketing essentially takes two forms:

Promotional campaigns : you inform SMS recipients of time-limited offers, discounts, competitions, etc.;
Transactional messages : for example, they allow healthcare professionals or providers of other types of services to remind you of the day and time of an appointment. They are also used to notify an order confirmation, an event (open days, Mother's Day, etc.). This is why we also talk about notification SMS.
Why do an SMS campaign?
A few figures reflect the popularity of SMS as a means of communication:

11.3 billion marketing SMS messages were sent in 2021 according Phone Number List to af2m (French Association for the Development of Multi-Operator Multimedia Services and Uses)(1) ;
Including 6.8 billion transactional SMS (60% of messages sent);
And 4.5% billion promotional SMS (40% of messages sent).
So, what are the benefits of SMS for small business marketing ? Let’s take a look!

SMS marketing reaches a maximum number of customers and prospects
There are 79.8 million SIM cards in France(1) . According to INSEE, 95% of French people aged over 15 own a mobile phone, 77% of which are smartphones.(2) . They constitute as many targets for SMS marketing!

At the same time, the deliverability rate(3) text messages reach 95.16% and only 0.13% of recipients unsubscribe, thanks to the personalization of messages(4) .

SMS marketing, an effective communication medium
According to Mediapost, a subsidiary of La Poste(5) :

92% of SMS are read within 4 minutes of receipt;
43% of French consumers surveyed have already made a purchase on the Internet following receipt of an advertising SMS.
SMS, a direct marketing technique that is quick and inexpensive to implement
Simply use a bulk SMS sending solution from your computer to generate a campaign in minutes.

        

What are the regulations applicable to SMS marketing?

To comply with the GDPR(6) , you must collect the recipients' consent before launching an SMS marketing campaign. The pre-checked box, to obtain the recipients' consent, is prohibited(7) .

You must also offer the recipient of the SMS the possibility to unsubscribe for free (STOP SMS). You are not required to indicate this if the message is intended for information purposes.

The law prohibits sending text messages between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., as well as on public holidays and Sundays.(8) .

How to create an SMS marketing campaign?
Here are the steps to follow and best practices for effective and impactful SMS marketing.

Step 1: Define the objective of SMS marketing
What do you want to do with the SMS marketing campaign? Inform your customers? Build customer loyalty? Prospect to increase sales?

Then set yourself some quantified goals, for example:

200 people who come to the store after an invitation;
To target a new clientele in terms of geographic sector, age or socio-professional category;
A 5% increase in the turnover of a product category…
Step 2: Create or rent a customer file
The customer file must be kept up to date and contains essential data for your business, such as:

Customer contact details;
Their characteristics (geographic area, profession, preferences, age, gender, etc.).
If you don't have a customer file, you can rent one from a specialist company.