Take an active part in your communication ! Build your own professional SMS customer file. « Of all deeds, the most complete one is building. » Follow the TextingHouse advice.
To succeed in doing communication campaigns, you need to have the right assets up your sleeve. We think that a professional SMS customer file is one of them. Indeed, building your own contact data base is crucial for SMS campaigns. « The right message, at the right time, to the right people ». Here are 5 essential ways of building your customer data base to turn your SMS campaigns intro a true asset that will increase your sales !!!
Encourage your customers to leave their name and address… A reflex to work on
Professional SMS customer file : How to ask your customers for their contact details?
The first step is often the hardest. The difficult part is not knowing how to get to it. However, the techniques explained in this article complement one another. It’s important to use several of them to leave the choice to your customers on how they want to give their contact details.
Professional SMS customer file : When to solicit them?
Before anything else, trying to get names and addresses is an opportunity to exchange with your customers and to show them how important they are to you.
When your client is paying and you are asking him if all went well, take the advantage of this opportunity to talk about you, your business, your news…
To explain your inquiry for new contacts, talk about your events to come… You will be surprised of how well they respond to your request. In fact, studies have shown that customers enjoy receiving commercial information.
Your customers are about to leave, try to get at least their name and phone number. That is the bare minimum for contacting them again.
Professional SMS customer file : How to build this file?
What measures could you implement to get your customer’s contact details?
Professional SMS customer file: The good old repertory
Even if you have no computer or internet access on your workplace, nothing stops you from writing down your customer contact details in a notebook until you get home and enter this data into your computer.
Professional SMS customer file: The paper form
However it is rather difficult sometimes to handwrite these information. In fact, during moments of rush it’s just impossible. So you can set a paper form up, with 7 or 8 questions about their tastes and preferences, and ask your customers to include their contact details.
If your till (or cash register) is equipped with a software, you have the necessary tools to retrieve your customers details when they go to the checkout. Afterwards you can export these contacts in preparation for future campaigns.
Professional SMS customer file: Web site
You already have a site or a web page… take advantage of this to create a connection with your clients. Set up an online registration form to collect names and addresses on an Excel file that you can import to your SMS contact list.
Professional SMS customer file: Social Networks
These are a good way to create and maintain a community that will follow your news and events. You can also create online registration forms on these platforms to get more contacts for your SMS campaigns.
Once I have built customer files, how do I develop and make use of this customer data base?
It is important to clearly define the aim of your communicating with your customers.
Professional SMS customer file: Sponsoring
How to make your customers bring you new visitors and clients. A well-prepared SMS communication with concrete advantages for sponsors can be a true success according to your activity. Make your clients the defenders of your brand.
Professional SMS customer file: Promote
Like sponsoring, encourage your contacts to circulate information, to share the promotion that you offer through your SMS campaign.
Start your promotion
Create a contest
Organize a sale with a tantalizing contest whose results will be sent by SMS. Make sure to include the contest rules on your web site, where people can sign up for the contest. Then, include a link to this web page in your text message thanks to any URL shortener. If you don’t know any, here is one: Réducteur de lien lc.cx
Last but not least, don’t forget to get your contacts’ permission to send them commercial messages.
This is what is called opt-in. To do so you must include in your forms a tick box with the wording “I accept to receive information about promotional offers”.
…ANYWAY, be SOMEWHAT ORGANISED AND THOROUGH … and you will turn your professional SMS customer file into an absolute goldmine !!!
You can find articles on other communication techniques as well as advice and tips to see your SMS mailing campaigns through on :
- our blog
- our Facebook page
- twitter @TextingHouse
- you can also follow us on LinkedIn