Nowadays, businesses are expected to adapt to new technologies to stay afloat and succeed. When door-to-door marketing, letters and newspaper ads are simply not doing the trick anymore, there are more effective ways to connect with customers.
And if you are wondering why…
Let’s begin with newspaper ads. A few years ago, they got replaced by online positive reviews which are trusted by the majority of consumers – and seen as personal recommendations.
On the other hand, emails and newsletters have been the perfect alternative to letters and flyers. Published in the form of email marketing campaigns, they managed to cut down the expenses, increase the efficiency and ramp up the revenue for many individuals and businesses.
So, if you are ready to embrace the new trends and fully understand the value of technology, it’s time to make a leap forward and start exploring the possibilities of SMS marketing.
Don’t get us wrong, though… In 2020, email marketing is still a free powerful marketing tool. Every organization needs to explore all available avenues for advertising, both electronic and in print. So the question that we should ask here is the following:
Why is SMS marketing effective – and why are SMS services worth paying for?
Below, we are answering this question in detail.
Why Is SMS Marketing Effective?
The personal nature of mobile phones almost guarantees for your text messages to be seen by the target recipients.
After all, we are living in the era where text messages dominate – and are sent and received by almost everyone. They are meant to be brief and friendly, which makes them easier to consume. Now, if you link the ease of consumption with the effectiveness of your SMS marketing strategy, you can probably paint the picture describing their value.
However, if you still not certain why SMS marketing is effective (and why paying for it is absolutely worth it), we have some stats that may convince you.
Did you know that:
- Most of the mobile users keep their phones with them everywhere they go. According to SMSGlobal, the number of mobile users nearly tripled over the past decade. Based on Statistics Canada survey, 76% of Canadians owned a smartphone in 2016.
- A typical cell phone user touches their phone 2,617 times a day on average.
- 90% of all text messages are read within 3 minutes. Most phones will continue to remind the user about a new text message until it is opened. That makes SMS marketing especially effective for time-sensitive information.
- SMS open rate is as high as 98%, while email open rate is 20%.
- SMS response rate is 45% comparing to email response rate of 6%.
- Only 1% spam rate in SMS marketing vs. the global email spam rate of approximately 48%. With the exciting SMS delivery rate, it is important to remember to respect the patient’s personal space and to avoid being the unwanted guest in the patient’s phone. Make sure they expect to receive SMS notifications from your facility.
- Texting becomes the preferred method of communication for Americans under 50.
- A global survey conducted by Kentico has shown that 69% of customers appreciate receiving email and SMS notifications from healthcare providers. The participants noted that they find text messages particularly useful for appointment reminders.
So, How To Use SMS Feature In Universal Office?
Now that you are convinced that SMS marketing has a real potential, you can adopt the very best of SMS marketing in your practice management system – Universal Office – through the steps outlined below.
- To start, you should sign up for a Swift SMS Gateway account. If you have read our blog where we talked about what it takes to deliver a text message, you already know why this step is necessary. Do you want to know why we integrated with Swift SMS Gateway before other SMS Gateway Service Providers? Take a look at Why We Chose Swift SMS Gateway article.
- After you sign up, you will want to configure our SMS service for eBroadcast.
- Now, you can start creating SMS marketing broadcast campaigns. Looking for campaign ideas? Check out our blog.
- Enable SMS notifications for your patients to receive appointment reminders, confirmations of newly scheduled appointments and more via text message.
Even if this seems like a lot to grasp at first, we assure you that the entire process of using SMS feature as your marketing tool is simple.
In Conclusion
Despite the impressive SMS statistics, don’t write off the email marketing just yet.
The truth is, people still use email on a daily basis – and this form of marketing isn’t going anywhere soon. For many, email is still the go-to method for communication with their service providers and retail businesses.
A great marketing scenario is the integration of SMS marketing and email marketing under one umbrella. This can get you the best results and streamline your marketing through different forms of campaigns.
You can use email as your primary method for sending in-depth newsletters to your patients (for example, tips on how to minimize the negative effect of prolonged sitting or how to stay hydrated during summer) and linking them to your website. SMS marketing is the effective way to distribute a limited amount of information quickly- such as alerts about special promotions or appointment reminders.
In a way, SMS messages are meant to improve the bond that you have with your patients – and help your practice grow. And that is precisely why email and SMS align together perfectly well.
Are you using SMS messages and email campaigns in your marketing strategy already?
We’d love to hear your comments!
