Reaching many customers simultaneously became a staple financial services industry practice with the birth of email blasts. While sending mass emails isn’t too difficult, ensuring such emails reach and engage readers is a bit more challenging. Fortunately, text marketing has a much higher open rate. Below are three of the top mobile text marketing campaign benefits:
Mass Communication
SMS marketing is the proverbial key for basically any financial service, from bankers to insurers and beyond. When executed properly, this mobile marketing option translates directly into money, cash, profits, monetary goodness...you get the idea. Contact begins with the consumer, resulting in many more recipients “getting the memo.” Once that’s happened, recipients are more likely to remain faithful to the brand, which puts them in line for cross-sale opportunities.
Developing a financial mobile marketing strategy is highly effective for several reasons; the first, and perhaps most obvious, being cell phone ownership and usage. Some 90% of adult Americans own cell phones, and 75% of those send and receive text messages. Any mobile device is equipped to receive text messages, while some phones aren’t app-compatible. Besides, people are pretty much guaranteed to open and read text messages, unless they enjoy receiving constant message reminder notifications. While more than 97% of mobile users read text messages, only about 10% actually look at emails. Texting is also “future-proof,” in that it’s an easy way to reach young people—something the financial industry has always struggled with. SMS as a universal, mass marketing strategy therefore makes a whole lot of sense.
Customer Loyalty
Mobile marketing is also a financial industries gift in terms of customer service and loyalty. For example, SMS notifications regarding low balances, potential late fees or suspicious activity/fraud alert are all extremely helpful to customers, which inspires loyalty. Such loyalty and trust makes customers more receptive of targeted SMS promotions.
Text messages are also received immediately or usually within a few minutes, something emails just can’t compete with. For example, the average send-to-open time for text messages is 14 minutes, compared to over six hours for email.
ROI
Any company still sitting atop the “I’m Just Not Sure!” fence regarding mobile text marketing can easily be persuaded by the letters “ROI”. In simpler terms, texting means profit. It’s an inexpensive and effective tool that reaches a wide range of SMS users. Sending promotional messages via text doesn’t cost nearly as much as other marketing channels, though it results in more financial service transactions.
Mobile text marketing’s many fine qualities begs just one question: if you or your team hasn’t implemented such a strategy, why in the world not?