The reason text marketing is so effective is because over 90% of people keep their phone with them at all times allowing for real-time, low-cost communications. Most trend watchers in fact predict that it could possibly outpace other forms of marketing simply due to its rates of effectiveness and consumer popularity.

SMS marketing however, works for different types of products and services in different ways – the catch is figuring how best to use the medium for the better of your brand. When used correctly, SMS services can help save money for your business while being able to offer a better service with minimum fuss. This is why text messaging is fast becoming the number one tool for most small and medium sized businesses .

Say you are running a dental clinic or a fine dining restaurant for instance. How can SMS services help make businesses like these run better? You don’t only need to send your regular patients and patrons messages about discounts and deals – you could confirm appointments by sending SMS codes or use it to send reminders to people on the day of their appointment. Text messaging is probably one of the least intrusive automated phone messages and it will also cost you far less to do. With platforms such as Texta you can simply schedule text reminders for the day or week to go out at a specific time making it easier to reach your clients.

What if your current appointment is running later than you scheduled? You could let your next appointments know that you are delayed meaning they don’t have to rush and can take their time getting to your place of business.

What if a customer cancels an appointment? Do you forego your warning capacity as a result? Or instead, could you send an SMS to someone on your waiting list that could use up your time slot and still earn you money?

There are many ways in which SMS can enhance your current practice; the point is to find the relevant way in which to use it.

The ideal way to start would be to think of the medium beyond the box it has been traditionally placed in; stop looking at text messaging only as a marketing message delivery mechanism and begin to identify it as vehicle that helps enhance your overall service offering. Text messaging is more than a communications tool – it is a business tool.