The mobile phone has become one of the most commonly used items in today's world. It is carried everywhere, by an overwhelming majority of the population. People use their mobile phones for almost everything, and they expect to be able to easily interact with businesses through their phones. Most automotive dealerships have professional up-to-date websites, experienced salespeople, and even social media pages, but many dealerships do not include the element of SMS in their overall marketing strategy.
Why should I send SMS messages to my customers?
SMS is a highly effective, relevant and personal way to reach out to your customers. A whopping 73% of adult mobile phone owners use text messaging (Pew Internet Research, 2011), and the majority of text messages are opened within five minutes of being sent. Your message has a better chance of being read than a more conventional email message.
How can I use SMS for customer service?
Using SimplyCast 360, an automated communication and marketing solution, you can have automatic text messages sent out to each individual customer when it is time for them to book a service appointment or oil change. You don't have to keep track of dates: the automated solution takes care of date-based message sending for you.
Customers will also appreciate the improved level of personal customer service when they receive a text message informing them that their vehicle is ready to be picked up or their part has arrived. Text reminders also reduce the number of no-shows who forget about their service appointment date. The customer will receive a prompt message reminding them of the date and time of their appointment.
How can I use SMS for marketing?
Broad text marketing campaigns can be sent to customers based on specific seasonal dates, like sending out an SMS promotion for winter tires in October. More personalized text message marketing is also easy with our text marketing software. Improve the customer experience by sending automated text messages to customers on dates that are special to them, such as their birthday or the anniversary of the day they purchased their vehicle.
Individually targeted messages outperform mass text messages that are sent to all customers. When the text message is unique to the person receiving it, the person is more likely to respond and also to spend more. The 360 Automation Manager tracks individual dates and customer data and sends the messages out based on the specifications that you input, so once you decide how you want messages to be sent you do not need to do anything else.
How much will SMS marketing cost?
Text messaging is a very affordable form of marketing, costing only a few cents per text. The returns can be very high, however, which makes text message marketing a lucrative venture. You can gain new customers as well as reaching out to current customers in a new way. Also, as text message reminders reduce the number of no-shows, you easily gain more business.
Text messaging is one of the most widely used forms of communication. If you do not include SMS in your automotive marketing strategy, and as a fundamental part of your customer service, you are missing the opportunity to connect with your customers in an efficient, powerful way.
