Marketers Unsure How to Deploy SMS and MMS to Drive Sales
DALLAS, Texas (PRWEB) May 04, 2016 -- Despite its rapid rise in usage and popularity, mobile marketing – especially legacy mobile technologies like SMS text messaging -- remains a mystery to many marketers, according to a new survey commissioned by IRIO, developer of one of the first SaaS mobile messaging platforms more than 10 years ago.
Interviews with over 200 marketing executives conducted by a user experience research firm found that SMS/MMS messaging is not a conventional tactic used for prospecting and customer engagement. Yet mobile messaging — particularly SMS — has the broadest reach and highest adoption among mobile users, according to a recent Business Insider report.
"As people get numb to social and e-mail, messaging is still the unpolluted medium," says Matt Mazzeo, a Lowercase Capital managing director. "It hasn't yet been diluted by massive spammy marketing channels."
SMS/MMS marketing is highly regulated in order to protect consumers and deter spamming, according to Russell Davis, IRIO’s CEO. “Surveys have found that only about 10% of SMS marketing messages received are considered spam. This is probably because users must opt-in to receive your message.”
The average person has their mobile phone within three feet of them 24/7, and they look at that phone at least 150 times a day. People worldwide will send 8.3 trillion SMS messages in just this year alone. That’s almost 23 billion messages per day, according to Portio Research.
During the IRIO survey, the marketing executives were exposed to mind-numbing statistics about SMS messaging, including an average read rate of 98 percent, versus an average open rate of 20 percent for email.
Additionally, business Facebook posts organically only reach 16 percent of a company’s audience; and Twitter acknowledges the need to tweet at least 14 to 21 times in a week in hopes of engaging 30 percent of a target audience. At the same time, Responsys says 66 percent of consumers subscribed to mobile marketing indicate that they have made a purchase as a result of receiving a highly relevant mobile message.
“I think text message marketing would be a fine vehicle for a known cohort,” said a vice president of a major B2B software company. “Great use cases for SMS for us would be people who have registered for an event, or downloaded a piece of content - so as a next step in a nurturing program. SMS certainly has a place. Because I know the company, I’m having conversations with the company, I’m engaging with the company.”
A leader in the mobile messaging space for over a decade, IRIO recently rebranded its website to emphasize SMS/MMS solutions for tough business issues like:
• Shopping Cart Abandonment
• Low Customer Engagement
• Lack of Lead Generation Automation
• Lack of Marketing Automation
• Sales Lag
“Mobile messaging solutions are not only a better way of reaching your audience, they provide you with a wealth of consumer data and insights on the back end,” says IRIO CEO Davis. “We can create custom APIs to connect our platform with a client's database, which helps to target consumers and improve conversion rates.”
An IRIO survey participant, the vice president of marketing at an aerospace engineering company said, “I think if there is customization, I believe that will give a lot of personalization to text messaging, and that would make a big difference to us, because we would be able to target specific groups.”
SMS marketing campaigns offer an oasis of opportunity. It all depends on a marketer’s creativity.
About IRIO
IRIO delivers custom SMS/MMS solutions for today’s business challenges. Founded more than 10 years ago, IRIO recognized the potential of mobile messaging when the medium was in its infancy. By reaching consumers on the device they always have with them, IRIO provides effective, real-time communications with faster read and response times. For more information about IRIO’s Mobile Messaging platform or custom APIs, visit http://www.irio.com, call +1-877-268-0032, or text “IRIO” to 47464.
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Margaret Pacheco, Daniel Digital Media, http://www.irio.com, +1 469-642-5149, [email protected]
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