What is SMS Text Message Marketing?
SMS, or short message service, is a new and innovative communication channel for businesses of all types. As wireless text messaging (SMS) has become a mainstream means of communication, reaching consumers on their mobile phones via SMS messaging has become an increasingly integral component of communicating with them. By utilizing consumer cell phones, businesses of all kinds are now able to use SMS text messages to send different types of content to customers—a coupon, promotional offer or any other marketing message.

Consumers across the world have come to rely on their mobile phone as an essential communication tool. Mobile phones are personalized it, taken everywhere, and many cannot imagine living without it. According to Aberdeen Group's research done in 2006, with over 1 billion SMS exchanged per month worldwide, 81% of enterprises surveyed identified SMS as key to satisfying customer needs.

Forrester Research has also shown that SMS is one of the most responsive marketing communications mediums, with 5 times better response rates than direct marketing.

How SMS Text Message Marketing Works
Create promotional SMS campaigns to satisfy specific business objectives, such as filling in low traffic times, clearing overstock items and launching or featuring a new product or service.

From your subscriber base, select the population that best suits your campaign. For example, a shoe retailer may choose to send a promotion for a specific brand of athletic shoe to only males between certain ages. Create the message that you want to broadcast to the target market. However, we recommend that some sort of promotion code be included in order to track results.

Stage the campaign for broadcast—our software allows you to specify the exact date and time that you want your message sent. When that time arrives, your promotion will be sent to the cell phone numbers of your targeted subscribers, and they'll receive the promotion as a text message.

That's it! We do the majority of the work, and we'll help you with your SMS campaign every step of the way. All you need to do is provide us with the text for your message, tell us which demographics you're targeting and when you want the promotion to go out—we'll do it all.

Additionally, you can also subscribe to our Simplicity marketing software, which allows you to completely self-manage every SMS text message marketing campaign you create.

Why Text SMS Text Marketing is Effective
Increase sales: SMS text message marketing is great for local and national retailers wanting to promote their products, services and extend information on recent promotions. SMS text message marketing is an effective marketing took proven to aid in customer retention and increase customer loyalty.

New source of revenue: When using premium SMS (PSMS), businesses can produce a new revenue source by offering paid services to its customers. These services range from cell phone wallpaper and custom ring tones to specialized information such as stock price alerts. When a customer subscribes to a premium SMS package (PSMS) they are charged a fee, such as $9.99 per month. This is billed through the carrier on their monthly billing cycle. This means the business receives payment from the carrier approximating 50% of the charged fee.

Mass alerts: Since 80% of cell phone users carry their phones with them at all times, a text message is a great way to alert subscribers or clients of urgent messages, such as products on back order or the change or cancellation of an appointment.

Reminders: Doctors and dentists can utilize SMS text messaging to remind their patients of upcoming appointments. You'll never have to worry about calling your patients individually again to remind them of their scheduled appointments.

Benefits of SMS Text Marketing
There are numerous benefits of including mobile marketing in your overall marketing strategy:

Deliverability: With 94% of all text messages being read, your marketing message will be seen by all of your campaign subscribers.

Qualified recipients: You know your subscribers have an active interest in your business and your products—all your subscribers have opted-in to receiving your offers and promotional messages.

Flexibility: With text messages sent and received within minutes of starting your campaign, use your mobile marketing for ad-hoc purposes, such as off-hour sales in your store to clearing out certain items and overstock at a discounted price.

How to Start an SMS Text Marketing Campaign
Get Started - The key message for all text SMS marketing campaign is to keep it simple. Run a simple text SMS marketing campaign the first time. Almost every mobile device can send / receive texts and everybody understands how it works. Set Realistic Goals - Have modest expectations on your first few mobile campaigns. Run a test SMS campaign first and see how it does. Remember it will be a new experience for both you and your customers. Offer a great reward / incentive for opting in the first time, a coupon, discount and special offer. The goal here is to build and grow your opt in for future promotions. Get everybody talking about it and cross promote with your other media. Results can be easily measured and tracked for your mobile marketing campaigns. At the end of the campaign, you will have a valueable list of loyal customers you can stay connected with and who want to hear from you. That is why they opted in. Your Customers are Ready - Do not underestimate your customers readiness to join mobile loyalty program. They are more tech savvy than you may think. Some people do not text or believe it is evil. Some people people still think email is evil but that did not stop marketers from building emails clubs, newsletters and e-coupons. Do not let the nay sayers or over analyzers stop you. This year big brands, agencies, marketers and business owners will be dipping their toes into new waters of mobile SMS campaigns to build loyalty. They are already researching the possibilities, compiling data, determining metric and figuring ROIs. But as with all things new, the early adopters are the ones that will win. At some point, they realize the time to jump in is now before the other guys does. Others will sit on the sidelines and wait to see what happens with the industry and will miss out. Call us today and see how we can help you to enter into the mobile SMS text marketing arena!

Why Choose a SMS Text Marketing Campaign?
- It is permission based. Like other rewards programs, you invite customers to join and become a member of your cell phone "VIP Club". And it is FREE to them (standard text rates do apply depending on their mobile plan). They opt in once and that is it. Nothing complicated here. And they can opt out anytime. But why would they if you are creating value and giving them what they want?

- SMS Text Marketing is personal . Mobile provides marketers the opportunity to build a more personal relationship with their core customers. Text messaging communication is 1 to 1 is ubiquitous and directly engages the customers more than other channels.

- It Engages. Read rates for text SMS marketing messages are upwards of 95%. When you get a text message, you read it and are therefore engage yourself in whatever that message is. Mobile can also provide a more fun, interactive experience for your customer with contests, voting polls and links to mobile websites.

- Creates Dialogue. Send regular and time sensitive alerts about events, specials offers, coupons, discounts to their mobile phones. Your customers want to hear from you about special offerings. This makes them feel valued and rewarded.

- Creates Loyalty. And when your customers feel valued and rewarded, they become loyal. You have now developed a unique bond with them through their mobile phone. It may sound corny, but is it not what you are trying to already do through other channels?

- Low Cost. Today all small businesses can easily afford to get into mobile marketing campaigns and compete with the big dogs. Turkey options like ours absorb many of the costs associated with certain aspects of SMS Text Marketing.

- It is Brand Building. Mobile loyalty will build your brand in the eyes of the customer and portray your business as being at the forefront using technology for their benefits and reward. Its also offer a bit of the "cool" factor which is not a bad thing, especially to customers under the age of 35.

The Software
Simplicity® is a web based SMS Text Cell Phone Marketing Software program that provides all the functionality businesses and organizations need to fully manage their SMS marketing campaigns all in one software program. SMS Text Cell Phone marketing is the leading edge in marketing for businesses and organizations. With over one billion cell phone set sold every year, your target market is is waiting for you to contact them. Everyone carries their cell phone and constantly checks them. Why not increase your mobile marketing campaign to include SMS texting.

Mobile SMS Text Cellphone Marketing is great for:

- Restaurants - send out food specials
- Nightclubs - send out VIP invitations
- Dentists - send out appointment reminders
- Doctors - send out appointment reminders
- Retailers - send out coupons
- Grocery Store - send out food coupons And so much more...

Did You Know?
SMS Marketing is a rapidly growing marketing technique that is used by a variety of businesses and is widely available to a broad range of consumers. SMS, meaning Short Messaging Service, is most commonly known as text messaging, or sometimes mobile messaging, or alphanumeric paging. Messages are delivered direct to a users cell phone and generally contain less than 160 characters. SMS Marketing has become an effective means of communication because virtually all of the clientele will be reached with an astounding 94% of messages read.

So how do you use SMS marketing software to build your business and increase profit? It's important to realize that text message marketing is not just a new form of spam. The applications for bulk SMS marketing and wireless marketing are limited only by the imagination of the companies and organizations that use them. Several companies have had great success using SMS text to send special SMS Coupons to existing customers, such as special coupons redeemable in store. Doctors are using SMS to remind patients of their appointments. Executives are using bulk SMS to send messages to their employees regarding meetings. Banks are sending SMS account balances to their customers. The Chicago White Sox offer seventh inning stretch trivia contests for free game tickets. And if you've seen American Idol, the number one television program in the US, you know that audience members get to participate by voting with text messaging. SMS has gone mainstream and the audience for SMS marketing is only getting bigger!