For any small business owner, text messaging should play a part in marketing endeavors.
More people use text than phone calls, and the numbers of texts sent and received just keep rising. People of all ages’ text these days, so no matter your age demographic, you can reach out through text message marketing.
But to do this in the most efficient way, you need a text messaging service that meets your individual needs, and choosing the right one is up to you.
As the article, “How to choose the right text messaging service for your business” looks at, keep these items in mind:
- Think about how much you want to (or can) spend – You can get different options with different plans and providers, so consider your budget before jumping into anything. Also make sure you know how all fees are calculated, as in monthly fees, per message fees, etc.
- Consider what you want your service to do – You can find service options that range from general “mailings” to specific, custom approaches and options.
- Remember, you have to do some of the work – That means get your customer’s attention by including your text messaging opt ins on your other marketing platforms. Add it to your website, in store displays and other advertisements.
- Carriers – You want a service that will reach the most service providers. If you choose a service that has limited reach, you could be missing out on a whole group of important customers. You want your service to reach the big names in wireless service, like AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, and T Mobile, and the smaller ones, too.
- Support – A service that provides great support to you is important. You are probably hiring a service to make things easier for you, and with good customer support, that will happen. It wouldn’t serve you well to get involved with a company that offers no or poor support, so check out some reviews before you sign on.
- Longevity – While you are checking reviews, take a look and see how long a service has been around. Experience speaks well of a company, and one that has been around with good reviews could be a good choice if it meets your other requirements, too.
Just like anything else about your small business, you want to check out some options and choose the best one for you.
Remember your individual needs, check out some reviews and options, and you will be on your way to getting started with a great new text message marketing plan.
About the Author: Heather Legg is an independent writer covering topics related to small business, marketing and working from home.