“Nothing succeeds like success” is an old saying that you hear every now and then, but when it comes to SMS text message marketing, success is more likely to come from heeding the saying “too much of a good thing can be bad.”  While SMS messages can be delivered cheaply and rapidly and are better equipped than most other communication platforms to grab a consumer’s attention, overusing this marketing method is likely to be counterproductive.

Spamming Can Damage Your Brand

You work hard to make sure that your company is known for the quality of the products or services it provides.  However, if you use SMS to spam consumers with marketing messages the image your company projects is likely to be one of desperation rather than confidence.  Consumers who might otherwise have become customers are not likely to purchase from a company that has annoyed them by clogging up their text stream with marketing messages.

Use SMS for Substantive Communications Only

While different people will define spam differently, one good way to avoid sending it is to send only SMS messages that offer substantive value to your prospects.  If, for example, you have a store that consistently offers items for sale, and send text messages out for every single item on sale that might be considered excessive.  On the other hand, if you run store-wide sales a few times a year those would certainly qualify as being text message worthy.

Send SMS to Your Opt-in List Only

While the immediacy of SMS message means that such messages are more likely to be read than other messages, it also means that consumers place a higher standard on the type of messages they expect to receive this way than they might for other types of communication such as email.  As a result, it is crucial to send SMS messages only to those who have opted-in to do so.  Sending such messages to contacts who may have visited your store or website or bought something from you without getting their permission beforehand is likely to result in alienating both potential and actual customers.

Put Yourself in the Place of the Consumer

Before you send out SMS NZ take some time to put yourself in the consumer’s shoes and try to gauge the impact your message will have on them.  If, after analysis, it seems substantial enough to be worth taking time from their busy day to read, then it is likely to be a message worth sending.