How to Use Textable Coupons for SMS Marketing Campaigns

The word "SALE" is a powerful tool for consumers. Even if we aren't looking to make a purchase, the word itself encourages us to take a closer look.

Picture this, you receive a text saying "We have good news, check out our exclusive discount, click here." Whether the product turns out to be essential or not, we still feel inclined to take a look at the product on offer.

There is a lot of competition when trying to get consumers' attention, so the sooner you can hook the customer, the more likely it is that they will stick around.

Businesses often use the word "SALE" to hook a customer when they read a text. But, there are many variations that businesses use, more on this later. The end goal of these marketing texts is to encourage a consumer to take the leap and buy a product or service. This is called a textable coupon.

What are textable coupons?

The widespread usage of mobile phones has presented a unique opportunity for businesses to change the way they market their products and services to consumers. The way consumers send and receive information has changed and with this change, business owners have the opportunity to target niche markets to promote their products. This is mobile marketing in a nutshell.

Mobile marketing allows business to directly contact their customer base, and one of the best ways to convert potential buyers into fully fletched buyers is to use text message coupons.

Gone are the days of printing off coupons from online stores, or cutting them out of newspapers. Modern mobile coupons allow businesses to send discount codes directly to their customer's back pockets and increase sales.

A mobile coupon usually consists of a short, snappy deal sent from the business straight to the targeted consumer. In other words, it’s a bitesize product or service promotion in the form of a text message. Text message coupons are limited to 160 characters and must conform to the laws and regulations of SMS marketing.

Benefits of textable coupons

Using SMS messages to send coupons is fast becoming a preferred method for consumers and businesses. As a consumer, a coupon is easy to access and redeem. If shopping in-store, the consumer can show their coupons to a cashier at checkout, usually in the form of scannable QR codes. Or, if shopping online, the consumer can simply input their code during checkout. It’s extremely user-friendly.

Textable coupons bring many more than just convenience alone. They can benefit both businesses and consumers alike, here are a few examples:

Send discounts to your customers via text messages

Currently, retailers are using coupon codes more than ever in order to reach customers, offer them deals, and reward them for their loyalty.

Mobile coupons are a form of permission-based marketing. This means that each customer must agree to receive marketing messages from your business. Once permission has been received, you are free to send discounts as you please, but avoid bombarding them with texts.

64% of consumers think businesses should contact them via SMS more often and 75% of consumers want to receive texts with special offers, so why not give it a try? Just remember to include an opt-out option at the bottom of your introductory text.

By delivering a code directly to them via SMS, you have added value to their customer experience because they didn't have to do the legwork of finding coupons themselves.

Millennials are responsive to coupon text codes

Millennials have an overwhelming affinity for texting. When given the choice between only being able to text or call on their phones, 75% of millennials would rather lose the ability to talk rather than text.

Nearly a quarter of the population in the U.S are millennials and they are the most tech-savvy generation to date. 30% of these millennials receive texts from businesses and 62% of those texts are coupons. So, the opportunity for reach is plentiful.

On top of that, many millennials will search for discount codes and coupons prior to buying a product and will choose products that offer a coupon over those that don't. If your business utilizes this form of SMS marketing, you could capture the millennial consumers upfront by having them sign up to receive coupons via text.

Increase sales

How can a text message coupon boost business sales? Well, 86% of consumers admit that a coupon affects their buying choices.

So, prior to sending out discount codes in mass, consider targeting your customers based on their buying habits. An optimized sms marketing campaign is a successful one. In order to increase sales using text coupons, each coupon must be relevant to each individual customer.

Texting is the most common method of communication nowadays

To understand why sending a coupon via text is such a good idea, we must first look at the growth of mobile phones over recent years. 95% of Americans have a cell phone, and 77 % of them are smartphones. Back in 2011, that number was only 35%.

Smartphones are widespread, therefore the potential reach of sending a text message coupon via SMS is great. Most third-world countries can access SMS marketing too, as smartphones are popular in every country across the globe, meaning you aren’t limited.

No other messaging medium competes with SMS in terms of reach. Virtually every mobile phone is able to natively send and receive SMS messages. The best part about SMS is that you do not need a smartphone to use it, which is especially useful when conducting an SMS marketing campaign in developing economies.

So, with the use of SMS, your business's mobile coupons can find a way to a customer's phone from any corner of the globe.

Different types of textable coupons you should promote

Text message coupons should be mixed up every time they're sent. Changing the offers will have a better result than running the same deals week after week.

Each mobile coupon should be designed to prompt the customer to check out the offer as soon as possible. This can be done by making the deals valid for a limited time only. Make sure the expiration date is clear so that the customer isn't disappointed if they are late to a deal.

Here are some text message marketing promotions that have a proven track record for success:

Percentage value savings

A percentage value saving offers a percentage reduction off the price of an item. It can also be used to take a certain percentage off a minimum order amount. It's a great incentive to get customers to spend a little more than they had originally planned.

The success of these promotions usually comes down to whether the customers perceive the deal as a good deal or not. The higher the percentage off, the more likely a customer will buy the product. But, avoid offering too much of a discount as this can negatively impact sales.

On top of that, consider starting with lower discounts to see what works such as 5% off, then move it up to 10% and 20% off, etc.

Dollar value savings

Incentives can be leveraged in other ways too, such as dollar savings. Here is an example:

A customer has a trackable history of spending $40 per purchase and they frequently use your business to buy their son a birthday toy every year. Prior to the son's birthday, your business can send the customer a coupon offering $10 off when they spend $50. This incentivizes the customer to spend that little bit extra.

Dollar value savings are the same as percentage savings but instead of taking a percentage discount off the top of the checkout price, you'd offer a dollar amount at a fixed price. Some shoppers prefer one over the other even though the savings are equal, so find out what your audience prefers. Ensure the expiration date is clearly stated.

BOGO offers

"Buy one get one free" offers are very common, especially for in-store shoppers. A BOGO offer is where one item is sold at a regular price and the second is either free of charge or reduced in price.

BOGO is best used around holiday periods where shoppers are willing to splash a bit more cash but are still on the lookout for a good deal. It can also be used to help your business clear out merchandise and sell unwanted stock that may be out of "season".

Selecting a keyword for customers when signing up

Marketing and coupons go hand in hand. Instead of texting a coupon directly to the customer, you can give the option for customers to contact you first. In that case, the use of a keyword is required. The customer, after hearing about your offers, texts a keyword to your business, an automated text is then sent back to them with the coupon code.

Many businesses choose common keywords such as "DISCOUNT" or "SALE" but it's best to opt for a unique keyword. A craft beer company might use the keyword "FREE BEER" as it's more fun and memorable.

Once the customer has signed up for the marketing program and sent the keyword to the business, the coupon code will be delivered to them in the form of a sequence of numbers.

Save time by using text templates and scheduled messages

Without the help of an SMS platform, SMS marketing with coupons can be time-consuming. With the right SMS platform, your business can schedule a text message, rather than send them right before you want them to go out. This way you can plan your SMS marketing strategy ahead of time.

Templates eliminate the need to start from scratch every time you wish to write a new message. When it's the right time to send the message, you can simply select the template you want to use and update the details where necessary such as the expiration date.

The combination of these two elements can grant your business enough time to check for typos and ensure each text contains accurate information.

How can Messente help you with your next textable coupon campaign?

Text message marketing is one of the best marketing channels available to us. Any business can adopt this tool to boost customer engagement and sales.

Messente is an SMS platform that does the heavy lifting and puts creative control in your hands. From text alerts to scheduled coupon messages, Messente has your business goals in mind. We offer a comprehensive service that helps your business reach your customers the right way with business texting.

Find out more about how Messente can help your next textable coupon campaign flourish and boost sales like never before.