What is text marketing?

Text marketing uses SMS texts to communicate with customers and prospects who have opted to receive text communications from a business. Because so many customers read every text that appears on their mobile devices, text marketing can be a highly effective way to send targeted and personalized marketing communications.

What is text marketing for small business?

Text marketing for small business is typically a cloud-based software solution that’s available via a subscription, rather than text software for business which must be purchased, installed and maintained by an in-house IT team. Automated text marketing can be a highly effective tool for small businesses as they seek to build personal relationships with customers.

Text Marketing for Small Business

The benefits of text marketing for small business

When it comes to reaching your customers fast, there’s no better way to communicate with customers than through text marketing. For small businesses, texting is a highly effective and affordable way to send appointment reminders, invoices, receipts and requests for reviews. SMS texting has much higher open rates than email – 90% of customers will read a text message within three minutes after receiving it, but fewer than 25% will open an email that fast.ⁱ Texting reaches customers where they live – on their mobile phones – and can build a more personal relationship with customers who have an interest in your business.

Since you and your staff don’t want to be on your mobile phones all day, choosing the right automated solution for text marketing for small business is essential. That’s where Thryv can help. As an end-to-end platform for managing your business, Thryv provides business texting services that let you maximize your benefits from this technology while minimizing your time and effort.

Tips for small business text marketing

While you may want the convenience and results that text marketing can deliver, your customers definitely don’t want spam or useless information. Here are a few tips for making SMS text marketing helpful for you and your clientele.

Get permission
There are lots of regulations around what’s acceptable in text marketing for small business. Be sure to know the laws that cover your location. Get permission before texting your customers and include opt-out options that give your customers control over the messages they receive from you.

Avoid texting too much
Americans aged 18 to 24 receive more than 100 text messages daily on average.ⁱⁱ Sending one message per week is a good rule of thumb in SMS text marketing, excluding appointment reminders.

Keep it short and sweet
Keep your messages direct and to the point. Don’t include large files, high-res images or extra-long links. If you’re looking for a response, provide a short URL that customers can click on within the text.

Let customers reply
If you’re texting your customers, it’s only fair to let them text you back. Texting from “no-reply” numbers will likely alienate your customers, while allowing them to respond by text can help to build stronger relationships.

Choose the optimal time
Obviously, you don’t want to text your customers in the middle of the night. But deciding on the best time of day can be difficult. That’s where testing can help. Try sending the same type of text at different hours of the day and see when customers are most responsive to your message.

Thryv’s solutions for text marketing for small business

Thryv is a do-it-all platform with management software for small business. Accessible from any location on any device, Thryv’s solutions help you manage nearly every aspect of your business more efficiently.

Thryv’s technology for text marketing for small business delivers the tools you need to easily master this latest channel for communicating with customers. With Thryv, you can:

Automate your messages. Thryv’s marketing automation for small business makes it easy to set up text templates and automatically send messages to customers at the best time. Send reminders for appointments at the right intervals or request a review one day after a customer’s visit. Thryv can also send interactive invoices via text, with links that let customers pay online.
Access creative templates. Thryv offers a massive library of pre-written texts customized for your type of business. When you’re fresh out of things to say, you’ll find text templates for every holiday, event or special occasion. Simply pick the right template, then customize it and send it in just a few clicks.
Consolidate communications. With Thryv, you can manage all customer messages – text, email, social and others – from one place, in one client-specific thread. Working from a single inbox helps you keep everything organized and streamlines client communication.
Manage your lists. Thryv’s customer relationship software makes it easy to keep track of customers and prospects and personalize each text with relevant details. A customizable widget on your website allows customers to opt-in easily, so you can grow your marketing lists while staying in compliance with spam and privacy laws.
Monitor your results. Thryv’s dashboard delivers all the analytics and insights you need to track the success of your text marketing efforts, so you can steadily improve results.

All the tools you need to manage your business

Along with text marketing for small business, Thryv offers comprehensive tools for everything from marketing and social media to online review management.

Google Business Profile. Claim and manage your Google business profile online to help customers to find you, book your services and review your business more easily.
Online presence. Sync your business information across 40+ trusted listing sites online. Give customers a customized web portal where they can book appointments, share documents, make payments and send messages.
Online appointment scheduling. Let customers request or book appointments online at their convenience, freeing your staff from answering phones all day long.
Social media. Create and schedule your social content in one place and post it to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn with just a few clicks. Use pre-built templates to deliver a steady stream of social content even during your busiest times.
Sales and payments. Create online estimates and invoices on the go. Give customers more ways to pay so you can get paid faster.
Document storage and sharing. Eliminate paper clutter with online document storage. Securely request, store, share and edit documents online.
Email marketing automation. Use Thryv’s email marketing software for small business to automatically send one-off announcements or trigger-based email campaigns. Thryv’s business email templates help create compelling campaigns when you don’t know what to say.
Reputation management. Generate more reviews and get notified immediately when customers post comments online. Reply to all reviews within one business day, even when you lack the time to do it yourself.

Why Thryv?

For small businesses, Thryv offers a single platform with all the tools required to stay organized and manage work more efficiently. Tens of thousands of small business owners trust Thryv to handle everything from scheduling and invoicing to marketing and social media.

As an end-to-end platform, Thryv lets business owners and their employees access cloud-based tools from any location, on any device, with a single login. Thryv integrates seamlessly with software tools like QuickBooks, PayPal, Zoom, Gmail and many other applications. Cutting-edge data encryption keeps business and customer information secure, while customizable account access lets business owners control who sees what. Unlimited 24/7 support and flexible training options help small businesses get the most from their Thryv subscription.

ⁱ https://blog.close.com/sms-for-business/#:~:text=1.-,Texting%20helps%20you%20reach%20more%20of%20your%20customers,messages%20will%20reach%20more%20customers.

ⁱⁱ https://www.thryv.com/blog/how-to-text-message-clients-sms-text-messaging/