How to make the most of SMS for B2B marketing

A B2B marketing campaign can only be considered effective when there’s return on investment. Your messages need to resonate with buyers and encourage them to buy your products or services. And the most effective way to reach business buyers? SMS, of course. It’s just as effective to communicate with business buyers as it is for family news, and certainly a more successful method of communicating than email.

Why is SMS better than email?

Compare these statistics. According to MailChimp, less than one in five ecommerce emails are opened and just 3 percent lead to click through. Compare those weak statistics to the stellar 98% open rate of SMS messages. Add to that the fact that a third of visits to online stores now come from mobile devices and you’ll soon start to see the value in mobile marketing. Importantly, be sure that your SMS is time sensitive to add a sense of urgency to the special offer. “Today only” and “Deal until 2pm” are sure ways to get business buyers to make use of your deals.

Related: Download our Mobile Marketing Guide for tips on how to create integrated, personalized customer experiences.

How can marketers make the most of SMS for business?

With B2B marketing, it’s essential to remember that the recipients of your messages are business people. It’s therefore paramount that a business tone is maintained in all communications. Ask yourself whether you’d send an informal, casual email to business associates. Probably not. So, stick to a tone that’s a little more formal for your SMS messages.

Wondering what to say in your messages? Your B2B SMS messaging should clearly outline what your business does and the benefits you can offer to corporate clients. The types of messages that can be sent are almost limitless. You could send company news, updates on new blog posts, PR announcements, new product information, and so much more. If a piece of information could be useful to buyers, it should be sent in an SMS.

The timeline of B2B marketing messages

Timelines in this sector are without a doubt far lengthier than those in B2C. That’s due to the increased number of consultations which need to take place before purchase. Think about it like this, in B2C a customer might need to discuss a purchase with his wife. In B2B, a buyer might need to discuss a purchase with a buying committee before committing to a decision. An effective B2B message will, therefore, need to impress everyone along the buying cycle from buyer to CEO. In addition, due to the longer buying cycle, it would be useful to first provide education messages without a sales push. That way, their interest is piqued and their trust in the company increases during this time.

When the time comes to make a purchase, they will immediately know where to turn. Another big difference when sending B2B versus B2C messages is the time that the messages are sent. B2B messages tend to be best received during business hours while B2C messages work best during times of relaxation like weekends and evenings. Of course, when you’re sending bulk SMS messages around the world, this might be tricky. For international recipients, it’s important that you time messages to be sent at times most convenient for them.

If the thought of making use of SMS in B2B marketing has piqued your interest, you may want to find out more about SMS marketing and its role in mobile trends. If that’s the case, you’ll need to read our recent article. It details the numbers of people who use SMS around the world, highlights its potential uses for customers, mentions the benefits of its immediacy, and details a few tips on how you can start putting SMS to work for your business.