SMS marketing delivers the goods in terms of reaching and engaging customers and prospects.  However, while it features higher delivery rates than most other types of marketing efforts, the data received in text interactions is less robust.  This makes it difficult to target and segment your prospects as easily as you could via a CRM system.

One solution to this dilemma is to combine the two, and integrate your CRM with your SMS efforts to increase their effectiveness.  The key to doing this is to enhance your data acquisition efforts.  Once you have taken this step, you can reap the rewards of being able to target your campaigns more accurately and the improved conversion rates this should bring.  Some tips for accomplishing this are listed below.

Expanded data acquisition

The first step in enhancing your data acquisition process is to expand the information you collect from consumers.  For example, if you are providing text messaging opt-in screens on your website, or via register checkout provisions, it doesn’t require too much more effort for a prospect to enter their email info in addition to their mobile phone.

Another data point worth gathering is date of birth, which will help you start segmenting your campaigns based on demographic information. 


Contextual Data Acquisition

When texters respond to your SMS marketing efforts, their phone number with the area code can help you target your campaigns geographically.  While area codes are not always indicative of location, in many cases they are and this information is valuable when it comes to planning your campaigns.  Work with your telecom SMS gateway to conduct campaigns that target different locations depending on your retail location and geographical reach.

You can also keep track of the response times of your prospects to see what times they are texting you and use this information to inform your campaigns when it comes to selecting the best time of day to send out your texts.

Use CRM data when implementing SMS campaigns

Once you have acquired an email address, or date of birth, you can add this information to data from your CRM to inform your SMS campaigns.  This allows you to segment your SMS efforts more effectively, and target appropriate categories for each campaign you run.  Use an SMS api NZ to more effectively roll out your campaigns, using a combination of special offers and short codes to maximize conversions.