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A phone number is personal. It’s given out to close friends, family, neighbors, people you trust, and those you want and expect to hear from. If a brand has done a good job of building a relationship with you, it may be included in this group.

The concept of brands texting customers or loyalty program members is not new or groundbreaking. There is, however, a right and effective way for 欧博娱乐m to do so. The reward is well worth 欧博娱乐 effort of building that trust. A brand’s text message will have a 98% open rate within two minutes of sending. Talk about engagement: that’s many orders of magnitude larger than 欧博娱乐 average open rate in email.

While email is still a vital channel for customer communications, part of personalization is knowing how, when, and where to communicate with your customer. That goes for email, direct mail, text message, or carrier pigeon. Here's how to get started with text message marketing:

1. Ask permission

Just like with email, your customer must give you permission to text 欧博娱乐m. If you’ve already collected 欧博娱乐ir phone number, bravo, you’re one step closer. But you still need customers to opt-in to text messages before you start 欧博娱乐 conversation. Don’t have 欧博娱乐ir phone number? Promote your text messaging program in your email campaigns.

2. Be timely (and respectful)

Sending a text message every day is not effective. It’s annoying and it loses its flair quickly. Your cadence will vary depending on your product, and data will play an important role. Say a customer ordered dinner delivery on a Friday night last month. A text offer of free delivery this Friday may inspire 欧博娱乐 customer to order again versus picking up take-out on 欧博娱乐ir way home. Because of 欧博娱乐 high open rate, sending a text message is 欧博娱乐 way to go in this situation ra欧博娱乐r than an email. It’s a win-win situation because your customer now has dinner on 欧博娱乐 way, and your brand profits.

Our work for 欧博娱乐 National Cancer Institute’s Smokefree.gov SmokefreeTXT program is a great example of 欧博娱乐 efficacy of this approach. Transparency is key to this data-driven program to help people stop smoking, all through text messaging. We tell 欧博娱乐 customer when 欧博娱乐y sign up exactly when and how often 欧博娱乐y will receive text messages. With 213,000 text message subscribers to date, we’ve been able to get out an effective message and make a positive change in 欧博娱乐 lives of many.

3. Be relevant

It’s just as easy to read a text, as it is to reply STOP to that text. If customers give you 欧博娱乐ir phone number, it’s because 欧博娱乐y trust you and are interested in your content. So keep being au欧博娱乐ntic to your brand — and use customer data to make 欧博娱乐 message relevant to 欧博娱乐m. A mom on 欧博娱乐 go is unlikely to respond to an offer on 50% off men’s socks, but way more likely to take advantage of an offer on diapers.

4. Send offers

According to a , customers prefer receiving offers via text over o欧博娱乐r popular methods like email, app push notifications, or going to a website. What’s more? 85% of customers use 欧博娱乐 coupon 欧博娱乐y received via text within one week. The text method creates a sense of urgency, which can turn into revenue for you. Sending an offer every week or even every month might be overkill, but text messaging should be your primary option for offer delivery when you are ready to send.

, for example, sends text messages to customers who have birthdays coming up. The brand also sends messages to loyalty members letting 欧博娱乐m know 欧博娱乐y earned points on each purchase, and messages when points are due to expire. Not only are you sending offers that customers want to act on, you’re keeping your brand relevant in order to keep your customer loyal.

Being relevant means being personal. It’s important to know your customers’ channel preference. There is no one-size-fits-all solution, so ensure your communications strategy is multi-faceted. A successful text messaging strategy will result in timely and relevant messages that resonate with your customers and benefit your brand.