With the wake of COVID-19, businesses have no other option but to change their marketing strategy in order to survive and adapt with changing scenarios. Instant and reliable communication is the key to connect with the customers. Different businesses have faced different effects this year. If you are a digital marketing agency or IT company, chances are your business may survive by allowing all the employees to work from home. On the other side, hospitality businesses and restaurants may be needed to adapt and provide doorstep delivery. They also suffered a close on temporary basis until things got back to normal. No matter what, a business will have to face new challenges and communication is the key to engage with customers.
When almost everyone has a smartphone, bulk SMS Lucknow has really come in handy with over 98% of open rate thanks to improved access to signal. It has been the right communication tool for a small or medium business. Here are some of the amazing ideas to get the most of bulk SMS to keep up with daily routines and prepare for next changes to come –
Bulk SMS campaigns
Business continuity was very important during COVID-19 era. You should have a plan which is tried and tested that can work for your business and ensure safety of everyone. You can send out the text to thousands and millions of people without spending much on your marketing plan.
SMS is the best way to send updates as it has high open rates. This way, you can rest assured that people will read and receive your messages. So, you won’t miss any important thing. On the sent campaigns, you can also see delivery reports and ensure sending the messages to all your contacts. One can upload the contacts easily and they can be segmented into various groups. You can have a template message saved for them.
2-way SMS
It is very vital to provide outbound messages to customers and staff, including information and updates. It is really helpful for people to connect with your business with their concerns and queries in mind. This way, users can reply back to the SMS from a business. On the other side, you can also promote your number through social media and websites to start the conversation. The customer service you provide will be remembered by a customer when this pandemic will be over.
SMS keywords
SMS keywords are known as the best tool to prepare your business when all this is over. There are many marketing campaigns which may have been stopped for a lot of businesses. Keywords are known as the best tools for lead generation. If a keyword is used to text to your business, it will be added to your contact database automatically. You can also choose to add auto-reply for your customers. It could be easy if they want to join the mailing list or you can add a link to bring them to your website.
If you are the owner of a club or restaurant which has been closed because of lockdown, you can even promote your keyword on social media. This way, people can easily text and get informed during the shutdown of your business and get information when your business reopens. You can use a keyword which has a link to your delivery option. You can create a database of contacts in this way.
Engaging Customers with Bulk SMS During and Post COVID-19
Businesses which focus on customer engagement during COVID-19 lockdown are more likely to recover faster once COVID-19 restrictions are lifted across the country. But customer decisions have been affected when it comes to going out to shop. Social distancing is a new normal these days. Customers will prefer interacting with businesses online at least for the upcoming few years. Due to this reason, a lot of businesses have to allow customers to order their products online. This way, Bulk SMS, WhatsApp API and bulk voice have come out to be the best communication tools that are automated either through marketing automation or chatbot.
Strategies for Coronavirus Lockdown
- Though customers don’t want to go out and visit your business physically, you can still build a strong connection. Periodic messages on managing lockdown, discounts and promotions, or new products or styles a customer can expect on the website. All these things can help you to drive engagement.
- Automate interactions – Your website can have a chatbot so customers can easily get the information with three use cases and 3-step flows automatically. You can also integrate the WhatsApp API to make it easier for customers to drive conversion.
- Give a numeric identity to your brand – You can choose a virtual mobile number of 10 digits as a dedicated code and add the same to your promotions. Customers just have to dial the number to access your brand.
- Redefine the target business segment – With the changes in buying preferences and more preferences for online businesses, your target customers are more likely to take a move and a lot of influencers may come out. You can design content to attract the audience who may have been to your business.
- Redesign the online interaction – Once lockdown restrictions are released, you might get higher traffic on your website. So, you should be prepared for that flow.
The Takeaway
All in all, your business must be looking ahead to recover soon post Covid-19 era and deploy a range of bulk SMS, promotional SMS, transactional SMS, bulk voice call and other marketing strategies to achieve the desired goal. There are different service providers like bulksmslucknow.com which can help you to get the desired results.