Terms

Text message marketing

Text message marketing is a method businesses use to send communications like promotions, alerts, and reminders directly to the mobile devices of customers who have opted in to receive them. This permission-based channel leverages short, direct messages to deliver timely information, from special offers and event announcements to shipping confirmations and appointment reminders.

Benefits of Text Message Marketing

SMS marketing offers a powerful way to connect directly with your audience, cutting through the noise of other digital channels. Its unique characteristics translate into tangible advantages for businesses, from boosting engagement to driving sales.

  • Immediacy: Messages are delivered instantly and typically read within minutes, ensuring timely communication.
  • Engagement: Fosters direct, two-way conversations that build stronger customer relationships.
  • Reach: Connects with a vast audience directly on their personal devices, bypassing spam filters.
  • Cost-Effective: Provides an affordable way to reach a wide audience with a high return on investment.
  • Conversion: Drives immediate action with time-sensitive offers, boosting sales and revenue.

Best Practices for Text Message Marketing

To maximize effectiveness and maintain customer trust, it's crucial to follow established best practices. Adhering to these guidelines ensures your campaigns are compliant, respectful, and engaging, which protects your brand and enhances the customer experience.

  • Consent: Always get explicit permission from subscribers before sending any messages.
  • Brevity: Keep your messages concise and to the point, respecting character limits.
  • Value: Ensure every text provides a clear benefit, like an exclusive offer or useful update.
  • Timing: Send messages during appropriate hours and at a frequency that doesn’t overwhelm your audience.

Text message marketing vs. Email marketing

While both are permission-based channels, text and email marketing serve distinct purposes in a company's communication strategy.

  • Text message marketing: This channel offers unparalleled immediacy with open rates as high as 98%, making it ideal for time-sensitive alerts and flash sales. However, its 160-character limit and strict regulations require concise, high-value messages. Enterprises and mid-market firms use it for urgent communications and driving immediate customer action.
  • Email marketing: This method allows for detailed, visually rich content like newsletters and promotions, which is better for storytelling and nurturing leads. While emails face lower open rates and crowded inboxes, they are preferred by companies for building long-term relationships and conveying complex information that isn't time-sensitive.

Tools and Platforms for Text Message Marketing

Choosing the right SMS marketing platform is crucial for executing successful campaigns. These tools provide the infrastructure to manage subscriber lists, send messages in bulk, and ensure legal compliance. They are designed to streamline workflows and maximize the impact of your outreach efforts.

  • Automation: Schedule messages, trigger automated responses, and create drip campaigns.
  • Personalization: Segment audiences and use dynamic fields to tailor content for each recipient.
  • Analytics: Track performance with detailed reports on delivery, open rates, and engagement.

Case Studies in Text Message Marketing

Retail brands effectively use SMS to drive sales and improve customer communication. For example, fashion companies like Jenni Kayne send personalized coupon codes to incentivize purchases. E-commerce businesses such as Baking Steel use transactional texts for order confirmations and shipping updates, keeping customers informed.

Service-based industries also leverage SMS to streamline operations and gather feedback. U-Haul enhances convenience by allowing customers to check in and out via text. Similarly, ride-sharing services like Uber use SMS to request driver ratings immediately after a trip, improving service quality.

Frequently Asked Questions about Text message marketing

How do I get customers to opt-in for SMS marketing?

Encourage sign-ups by offering incentives like exclusive discounts or early access. Use website pop-ups, checkout opt-in boxes, and keyword campaigns. Always be transparent about what subscribers will receive and how often to build trust and ensure compliance.

What's the difference between SMS and MMS?

SMS (Short Message Service) is for text-only messages up to 160 characters. MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows you to send media like images, GIFs, and videos, offering a richer, more engaging experience but at a potentially higher cost per message.

Is SMS marketing still effective with the rise of messaging apps?

Absolutely. SMS marketing leverages the native messaging app on every phone, requiring no extra downloads. Its directness and near-perfect open rates make it exceptionally effective for time-sensitive promotions and alerts that cut through the noise of other app notifications.

Other terms

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Product-Market Fit

Product-market fit is when a product meets the needs of a strong market, leading to high demand, customer satisfaction, and organic growth.

Product-Market Fit

CDP

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is software that gathers and organizes customer data from various touchpoints into a single, unified profile.

CDP

AppExchange

AppExchange is Salesforce's cloud marketplace, offering a vast ecosystem of apps and expert services to extend Salesforce functionality.

AppExchange

B2B Marketing Channels

Learn about B2B marketing channels, including maximizing B2B channel effectiveness, & exploring digital vs. traditional channels.

B2B Marketing Channels

Customer Relationship Management Hygiene

CRM hygiene involves regularly cleaning and updating your customer data to ensure your CRM system remains a powerful and reliable tool.

Customer Relationship Management Hygiene

Predictive Lead Scoring

Predictive lead scoring uses AI to analyze data and rank leads by their likelihood to convert, helping sales teams prioritize their efforts.

Predictive Lead Scoring

Subject Matter Expert

A Subject Matter Expert (SME) is an individual with profound knowledge and authority in a particular area, topic, or industry.

Subject Matter Expert

Pain Point

A pain point is a specific, recurring problem your target customers face, causing them frustration, inefficiency, or added costs.

Pain Point

On-premise CRM

An on-premise CRM is a system hosted on a company's own servers, offering complete control over data, security, and system maintenance.

On-premise CRM

Social Proof

Social proof is a psychological phenomenon where people assume the actions of others reflect correct behavior for a given situation.

Social Proof

Ad-hoc Reporting

Ad-hoc reporting is the creation of one-off reports to answer specific business questions as they arise, providing instant, targeted insights.

Ad-hoc Reporting

Intent Data

Intent data tracks a user's online behavior—like searches and site visits—to identify signals that they are ready to make a purchase.

Intent Data

CCPA Compliance

CCPA compliance is adhering to the California Consumer Privacy Act, a law that grants consumers more control over their personal data.

CCPA Compliance

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Competitive intelligence (CI) is the ethical gathering and analysis of market data to inform strategic business decisions and gain an advantage.

Competitive Intelligence (CI)

Renewal Rate

Renewal rate is the percentage of customers who renew their subscriptions or contracts at the end of their service period.

Renewal Rate

Product Champion

A product champion is an internal evangelist who drives a product's adoption and success by ensuring it solves real problems for their team.

Product Champion

No Spam

“No Spam” is a commitment to sending only relevant, solicited messages. It means avoiding bulk, unwanted emails to respect the recipient's inbox.

No Spam

Upsell

Upselling is a sales tactic encouraging customers to purchase a higher-end version of a product or related add-ons to boost revenue.

Upsell

Employee Advocacy

Employee advocacy is the promotion of an organization by its staff members, who share positive messages and content through their personal networks.

Employee Advocacy

Business Intelligence

Learn about business intelligence, including key components of business intelligence, the role of BI in decision making, business intelligence tools and techniques.

Business Intelligence

No Cold Calls

No Cold Calls is a sales strategy that replaces unsolicited calls with warm outreach to prospects who have already demonstrated interest.

No Cold Calls

Data Encryption

Data encryption translates data into another form, or code, so that only people with access to a secret key or password can read it.

Data Encryption

Complex Sale

A complex sale features a long sales cycle, multiple stakeholders, and a high-value transaction, demanding a strategic, consultative approach.

Complex Sale

Order Management

Order management is the end-to-end process of tracking customer orders from placement to fulfillment, ensuring a seamless customer experience.

Order Management

Sales Operations

Sales Operations, or Sales Ops, streamlines sales processes, manages tools, and analyzes data to help sales teams sell more effectively.

Sales Operations

B2B Marketing Attribution

Learn about B2B marketing attribution, including challenges in B2B marketing attribution, & key metrics for effective attribution.

B2B Marketing Attribution

Draw on Sales Commission

A draw on commission is an advance payment a salesperson receives against future earnings, which is later repaid from earned commissions.

Draw on Sales Commission

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation uses software to automate repetitive marketing tasks, such as email marketing, social media posting, and ad campaigns.

Marketing Automation

Sales Coach

A sales coach is a mentor who trains and guides sales reps to enhance their skills, boost performance, and ultimately close more deals effectively.

Sales Coach

Sales Forecast Accuracy

Sales forecast accuracy is a key metric that compares your predicted sales revenue against the actual sales revenue you ultimately achieve.

Sales Forecast Accuracy

Outbound Lead Generation

Outbound lead generation means proactively reaching out to potential customers who haven't yet expressed interest to introduce them to your brand.

Outbound Lead Generation

Bounce Rate

Learn about bounce rate, including understanding bounce rate implications, key factors affecting bounce rate, & reducing your bounce rate effectively.

Bounce Rate

Customer Churn Rate

Customer churn rate is the percentage of subscribers or customers who cancel their service with a company during a given time frame.

Customer Churn Rate

Digital Sales Room

A Digital Sales Room is a private online space where sellers share all relevant content with buyers to streamline the sales cycle.

Digital Sales Room

Lead Velocity Rate

Lead Velocity Rate (LVR) is the growth rate of your qualified leads, measured month-over-month. It's a key indicator of future revenue.

Lead Velocity Rate

HubSpot

HubSpot is a customer relationship management (CRM) platform with tools for marketing, sales, and service, all aimed at helping businesses grow.

HubSpot

Lead Nurturing

Lead nurturing is the process of developing and reinforcing relationships with buyers at every stage of the sales funnel.

Lead Nurturing

Data Security

Data security protects digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.

Data Security

Sales Operations Management

Sales Operations Management streamlines sales processes, tech, and data analysis to help sales teams sell more effectively and efficiently.

Sales Operations Management

Revenue Operations KPIs

Revenue Operations KPIs are quantifiable metrics that track the performance, efficiency, and health of a company's revenue-generating engine.

Revenue Operations KPIs

Inbound leads

Inbound leads are potential customers who proactively reach out after finding your business through content, social media, or search.

Inbound leads

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Net Revenue Retention (NRR) is the percentage of recurring revenue kept from existing customers, including upsells, downgrades, and churn.

Net Revenue Retention (NRR)

Overcoming Objections

Overcoming objections is the process of addressing and resolving a prospect's concerns or hesitations to move a sale forward.

Overcoming Objections

Inside Sales

Inside sales is a remote sales process where reps sell products or services via phone, email, and other digital tools instead of in person.

Inside Sales

Direct Mail

Direct mail is a marketing method where businesses send physical promotional materials directly to potential customers' mailboxes.

Direct Mail

Cold Emailing

Cold emailing is sending unsolicited emails to potential customers you haven't contacted before, aiming to start a business conversation.

Cold Emailing

Content Curation

Content curation involves gathering, organizing, and sharing the most relevant online content on a specific topic for a particular audience.

Content Curation

Network Monitoring

Network monitoring is the continuous process of tracking a computer network's performance and health to detect and resolve issues proactively.

Network Monitoring

Sentiment Analysis

Sentiment analysis, or opinion mining, automatically determines the emotional tone behind text—whether it's positive, negative, or neutral.

Sentiment Analysis

High Availability

High availability (HA) describes a system's capacity to function continuously with minimal downtime, ensuring consistent operational performance.

High Availability

Smarketing

Smarketing is the process of aligning your sales and marketing teams. This integration focuses on shared goals to improve lead quality and drive revenue.

Smarketing

Net New Business

Net new business is revenue from customers who have never purchased from your company before. It’s a crucial indicator of sustainable growth.

Net New Business

OAuth

OAuth is an open standard for access delegation. It lets you grant apps access to your data on other services without sharing your password.

OAuth

Sales Forecast

A sales forecast is a projection of future sales revenue. It's a crucial tool for businesses to make informed decisions and allocate resources.

Sales Forecast

On Target Earnings

On-Target Earnings (OTE) is a salesperson's total potential pay, combining base salary and commission for hitting their sales quota.

On Target Earnings

Cold Call

Cold calling is a sales technique where reps contact potential customers who have had no prior interaction with their company or product.

Cold Call

Content Management System

A Content Management System (CMS) is software for creating, managing, and modifying website content without needing specialized technical skills.

Content Management System

Accounts Payable

Accounts Payable (AP) is the money a company owes its suppliers for goods or services bought on credit. It's listed as a current liability.

Accounts Payable

Buying Signal

A buying signal is any action from a prospect that indicates they are interested in making a purchase, helping sales teams prioritize leads.

Buying Signal

Customer Data Management (CDM)

Customer Data Management (CDM) is the process of collecting, organizing, and analyzing customer data to create a unified view of your audience.

Customer Data Management (CDM)

Account Click Through Rate

Account Click-Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of individuals from a target account who click on a link in an ad, email, or on a webpage.

Account Click Through Rate

SQL

SQL (Structured Query Language) is the standard language for managing and querying data within relational databases.

SQL

Affiliate Networks

Affiliate networks are platforms that act as intermediaries between publishers (affiliates) and merchant affiliate programs.

Affiliate Networks

Video Selling

Video selling uses personalized video messages to engage prospects, build rapport, and guide them through the sales funnel to close more deals.

Video Selling

CSS

CSS, or Cascading Style Sheets, is the code that styles a website. It controls the colors, fonts, layout, and overall look of a web page.

CSS

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

Sales Team Management

Sales team management is the process of leading, coaching, and motivating a sales team to achieve its sales goals and drive revenue growth.

Sales Team Management

Call Disposition

Call disposition is the process of labeling the outcome of a call. It helps sales teams track interactions and plan their next steps effectively.

Call Disposition

Trademarks

Think of a trademark as a brand's unique signature—a word, symbol, or phrase that legally protects its identity and sets it apart from the rest.

Trademarks

Adobe Analytics

Adobe Analytics is a leading web analytics solution for gaining real-time insights into user activity across websites and mobile applications.

Adobe Analytics

SEO

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results.

SEO

Latency

Latency is the delay between a user's action and a system's response. It's the time it takes for a data packet to travel to its destination.

Latency

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Closed Opportunities

Closed opportunities are potential deals that have concluded. They are categorized as either 'closed-won' (a sale was made) or 'closed-lost'.

Closed Opportunities

Lead Routing

Lead routing is the automated process of distributing incoming leads to the right sales reps based on predefined criteria.

Lead Routing

Kanban

Kanban is a visual project management method that uses a board to visualize workflow, limit work-in-progress, and maximize team efficiency.

Kanban

Sales Champion

A sales champion is your internal advocate at a target company. They believe in your product and help you push the deal forward to close.

Sales Champion

Expansion Revenue

Expansion revenue is the extra money a business makes from its current customers via upgrades, new products, or additional services.

Expansion Revenue

Follow-up

A follow-up is a communication sent after an initial interaction to continue the conversation, provide more value, or prompt a response.

Follow-up

Sales Script

A sales script is a pre-written guide of talking points that helps salespeople navigate conversations with potential customers.

Sales Script

Request for Proposal

A Request for Proposal (RFP) is a formal document that outlines a project's needs and invites qualified vendors to submit bids to complete it.

Request for Proposal

Marketing Analytics

Marketing analytics involves measuring and analyzing marketing data to understand campaign performance and improve return on investment (ROI).

Marketing Analytics

Bottom of the Funnel

Learn about bottom of the funnel, including maximizing conversions at the funnel's end, & strategies for nurturing bottom-funnel leads.

Bottom of the Funnel

Targeted Marketing

Targeted marketing focuses on specific consumer groups whose needs align with your product, allowing for more personalized and effective messaging.

Targeted Marketing

No Forms

No Forms is a method for capturing lead data directly from your website visitors' profiles without requiring them to fill out any forms.

No Forms

Sales Lead

A sales lead is a potential customer—an individual or organization that has shown interest in your company's products or services.

Sales Lead

Dynamic Territories

Dynamic territories are fluid sales assignments that adjust based on real-time data, ensuring reps can focus on the highest-value accounts.

Dynamic Territories

Geo-Fencing

Geo-fencing creates a virtual boundary around a real-world location. It triggers actions on a device when it enters or exits this area.

Geo-Fencing

Sales Calls

A sales call is a real-time conversation between a salesperson and a prospect, aiming to persuade them to purchase a product or service.

Sales Calls

Sales Pitch

A sales pitch is a persuasive presentation of a product or service, aimed at convincing a potential customer to make a purchase.

Sales Pitch

Lead Qualification

Lead qualification is the process of determining which prospects are most likely to become paying customers based on predefined criteria.

Lead Qualification

Lead Qualification Process

The lead qualification process is how you determine which prospects are most likely to become customers by evaluating them against specific criteria.

Lead Qualification Process

B2B Leads

Learn about B2B leads, including identifying quality B2B leads, generating B2B leads effectively, & B2B leads vs. B2C leads: understanding the differences.

B2B Leads

Precision Targeting

Precision targeting is a marketing strategy that uses data to identify and reach a highly specific audience most likely to convert.

Precision Targeting

GDPR Compliance

GDPR compliance means following the EU's strict data protection laws to ensure the secure and lawful handling of personal data.

GDPR Compliance

Guided Selling

Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.

Guided Selling

Digital Rights Management

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is technology that controls access to copyrighted digital content, restricting its use, modification, and distribution.

Digital Rights Management

Stakeholder

A stakeholder is any individual, group, or party that has an interest in an organization and the outcomes of its actions.

Stakeholder

Sales Objections

Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.

Sales Objections

Data Hygiene

Data hygiene is the practice of ensuring your customer data is clean, accurate, and up-to-date by removing duplicates and correcting errors.

Data Hygiene