Have you ever considered using text (SMS) messaging for renewals or other product promotions? Gartner reported that SMS messages have about a 90% open rate. *

I was with recently with a colleague who has been testing magazine renewals via SMS, and they have been pleased with results so far. While I have gotten B2C texts, it seems like B2B media texting is coming to fruition now.

It can take a couple years to build out the SMS database. If you think you might want to consider doing this in the future, I recommend that you start collecting this data now.  It’s possible that you don’t have to start from scratch, though.

If you have phone numbers on your file, there are firms that can flag whether phone numbers are cell numbers or landlines.  You can then send a follow up email to those with cell phones and ask if you can send them SMS message.

You can also add a new question to your subscription forms.  Here are a couple samples:

I agree that [company name or brand name] may send a limited number of text messages per month to the mobile phone number I provided.

OR

I agree that [company name or brand name] may send 4 number of text messages per month to the mobile phone number I provided.

There are templates you can adapt to your market, as you communicate with customers view SMS. 

Having one more method to reach your clients—if it’s THEIR preferred message—might help boost engagement with them.

The journey continues. Cindy

*The research is from 2016, but I cannot find more recent research from non-text vendors.