SMS Target Market Messaging for Smart Campaigns

According to the latest SMS marketing statistics, SMS campaigns perform 20% better than email marketing campaigns. Plus, approximately 50% of US consumers make direct purchases after receiving a branded SMS, QR code or discount coupon via text.

Why is SMS so effective? First, it’s a quick way to reach customers, given that most don’t go anywhere without their smartphones – not even to bed! 

Second, SMS’s 98% open rate shows that it’s one of the best ways to grab your customers’ attention. Properly segmenting your customer list with target market messaging to run smart SMS marketing campaigns could make the difference between success and frustration.

What Is Target Market Messaging, And Why Is It So Important?

Target market messaging creates SMS marketing content for a specific audience within your customer contact list.

Segmenting your marketing list enables you to tailor text messages for specific recipients, creating an emotional connection and providing relevant content that will interest them. Focusing messages on your recipients’ needs helps instantly engage them, effectively elevating your communication and increasing conversions.

Without segmentation, your SMS campaigns would end up being generic and irrelevant to most of your SMS recipients, wasting time, money and effort. Furthermore, sending the same messages to all your recipients is a pathway to failure because not all of them have the same needs. They will eventually opt out if you don’t target them with customized messages.

Pro tip: For all of the following market segments, remember to identify your target audience’s pain points and what your product or service offers to resolve them. 

Benefits of Target Market Messaging

• Increases customer engagement: Targeted messages make customers feel “seen,” boosting connection.
• Improves customer experience: Personalized SMS campaigns are essential to the customer experience while strengthening your brand and encouraging brand ambassadorship.
• Generates leads: Quality lead-gathering is a pain point for most marketers. Speaking to people genuinely interested in your product or service will weed out those who have no intention to buy.

Types of Target Market Messaging

Use the following criteria to divide your SMS list into groups you can easily target.

Geolocation Targeting

Geolocation targeting (also called geofencing or proximity marketing) helps you attract consumers in specific locations. Since people generally prefer buying products from stores closest to them, geolocation targeting harnesses the power of geography to your advantage.

For example, there’s no point in sending promotional texts for a one-day event in San Diego to people in New York. Using a geolocation filter to segment your list, you can find people in the same geographic area as your store, boosting your marketing efforts.

If you do business nationwide, you can also use geo-targeting for marketing seasonal items that may be relevant on one coast but not the other. 

Starbucks does a great job with geo-targeting, sending personalized messages like this to nearby customers:

 “Hi, Sam! You are near 1011 Market St. We’re currently featuring 50% off on your favorite drink: Vanilla Latte!”

Demographics

Demographics significantly affect consumer behavior, so you should keep your recipients’ gender, age, lifestyle and other factors in mind when creating successful marketing campaigns.

Targeting your audience according to gender can create unique marketing opportunities. By considering the needs of different genders (or gender identities), you can access new revenue streams and boost your ROI.

The same goes for different age groups. What Gen Z wants doesn’t exactly match what Baby Boomers want. For instance, an Instagram competition isn’t necessarily something that Boomers would be interested in, so promotional SMS texts for such an offer would be effective if you segment your list by age. Keeping that in mind will help increase the success of your SMS campaigns.

If you want to use lifestyle as one of the factors for SMS list segmentation, you need to profile your recipients first—which you can easily do by sending a simple questionnaire via SMS. Then, offer them a discount for completing the survey and instantly engage them.

Behavior

Consumer behavior is one of the most important factors to consider when it comes to market segmentation. Gathering information on what pages your website visitors have visited and what products they found interesting can help you send offers that will capture their attention.

You can also use your customers’ purchase history and frequency for your market segmentation. For example, keep your regular customers engaged by frequently sending them promotional offers with limited discounts. Conversely, you can attract customers who are not frequent buyers by offering them bigger discounts on their next purchase.

Pro tip: Text-based loyalty programs are proven to increase customer LTV by four times that of an average customer. These programs encourage current customers to purchase regularly by rewarding them with special incentives when they reach a specific dollar amount.

Create Marketing Messages for Different Audiences With Textedly

As you can see, target market messaging is paramount for running intelligent and effective campaigns. Use these criteria to segment your list and instantly engage your recipients. Following these tips will help engage all your segments with relevant SMS messages that will keep them coming back for more.

Choosing an SMS marketing service provider is vital to achieving your goals and giving your text message marketing efforts the highest chance of success. 

Check out Textedly’s powerful texting features to understand how our SMS marketing services can boost your campaigns. Then, take Textedly for a 14-day free test drive and see how it can help you forge strong relationships with your customers.