Economy

A Complete Guide To Launching A Successful SMS Marketing Campaign

Published

3 years ago

26/05/2023

Today, many people use smartphones, which have already become an extension of their bodies. Also, they’re becoming more comfortable communicating with businesses via mobile devices.

So, you better start SMS marketing now, or you’ll miss many opportunities to make sales. It can be a great way to improve your social marketing, allowing you to reach potential and existing customers in real time via targeted messaging. But first, what’s SMS marketing?

SMS marketing refers to how marketers deliver marketing messages via text message. It’s an opt-in campaign requiring people to subscribe to receive notifications. Common types include the following:

Remarketing
Surveys
Personalized promotions
Exclusive deals and discounts

SMS marketing also has higher open rates than other forms of marketing, particularly email marketing. The average open rate of the latter is around 15-30%, while SMS exceeds 90%. And you can even reach up to 100% with the help of tools such as Unlimited Ringless voicemail.

So, where should you start? This post will show you a step-by-step process to guide you in implementing a successful SMS marketing campaign. Read on to learn more!

Pick The Right SMS Platform

The first step is all about deciding which SMS engine is best suited for executing marketing campaigns. There are plenty of solutions out there in the market. However, not all of them are created the same.

Worse, some solutions may cost you more in the long run without delivering the desired ROI. And how do you distinguish real gold from fake ones? Consider the following when choosing an SMS provider:

Message Delivery: A message should be sent at the right time—not too late, especially when there’s time-sensitive information involved. Also, it should be accurate, meaning there’s little to no chance of sending a message to incorrect phone numbers.
Ease Of Use: Do you find it easy to create custom messages? Can you schedule messages and attach files easily? If you agree to these questions, you might’ve found the SMS engine your business needs.
Integration: You might have a few business tools in place, and one of them is probably a customer relationship management (CRM) system. Ensure your SMS engine can integrate with your CRM so that you can access it while on the go.
A Test Drive: Never go for a solution that remains undiscovered. Make sure you can try it out for free to see if it’s worth your time and money and how the system works under the hood.
Good Reputation: Last but certainly not least, check the SMS provider’s reputation. Visit their website, read some testimonials, or dig into the conversation through their social media accounts. This is to find out whether they’re dedicated or not.

You may also consider using additional supporting tools like an auto dialer. It aims to turn your existing system into a powerful business dialing platform.

Get An SMS Number

Getting a dedicated SMS marketing number sets you up for success. SMS providers often require businesses to invest in a virtual number to prevent multiple brands from using the same number.

Here are your options:

Toll-Free Numbers: These are standard numbers for most brands for convenience and deliverability. They’re easy to activate and promote mass texting.
10-Digit Long Codes (10DLCs): 10DLCs are a new option for businesses. They’re ideal for non-time-sensitive messaging and low-volume texting.
Short Codes: These numbers are a consumer favorite because they’re easy to remember. However, they’re expensive and have a lengthy approval process.

Set Up Your SMS Subscriber List

Without a solid and targeted SMS subscriber list, all your marketing efforts will likely go down the drain—something you wouldn’t want to happen.

Encouraging potential and existing customers to opt in can be difficult, time-consuming, and costly. Even without an SMS program, collecting opt-ins is a great jumpstart for any brand that needs to do it.

Here are a few tips to encourage customers to join your subscriber list:

Create an offer that’s exclusively available to subscribers.
Give subscribers a time-sensitive promotion (e.g., Buy One, Get One).
Deliver information essential to customers.
Introduce new items to grab the attention of potential and existing customers.

However, setting up an SMS subscriber list isn’t easy. Unlike other forms of marketing, particularly social media, SMS requires consent. What does this mean? You have to ask customers and prospects for permission before adding them to your list and sending them marketing messages.

In the U.S., SMS marketing is regulated by the Federal Communications Commission. This enforces laws like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, which protects consumers from intrusive and abusive telemarketing practices.

Create An Automated SMS Welcome Message

Do you believe in the saying ‘first impression lasts’? You should be! That’s why building an automated welcome message is crucial. This way, you’re ready when customers and prospects start opting in.

A good welcome message educates new subscribers about your products and services, familiarizes them with your content, and encourages them to make their first purchase. Out of all automated tools, the welcome message often generates the most revenue for many brands.

Here are some tips to follow when creating an SMS welcome message:

Set it up and make sure it sends a welcome message as soon as someone subscribes to your list.
Don’t forget to include the name of your company. This is a way of introducing yourself to your customers and prospects.
Make sure your messages are personalized and cater to your customers’ specific needs. Address them using their first name for a personalized touch.
Thank subscribers when they join your list.

Aside from these tips, ensure your SMS welcome message has a clear call to action (CTA). CTAs are words or phrases that encourage audiences to take the action you want them to do (e.g., ‘Subscribe now and get a 15% discount on your first purchase!’).

Expand Your SMS Subscriber List

Once you have a solid SMS subscriber list, you’ll need a strategy to grow and expand it. Always look for opportunities to encourage customers and prospects to opt in without compromising their experience. Here are some tips that may help you accomplish that:

Leverage The Check-Out Experience: Including the check-out step in your SMS consent collection allows customers to receive SMS campaigns while processing their orders. This is a non-intrusive way to motivate customers to subscribe to your list.
Incentivize Website Visitors: When creating an SMS sign-up form for your site, ensure you target those already part of your email list, provided you have one. Then, include eye-catching discounts or freebies to encourage them to subscribe.

Follow these two simple tips to motivate your audience to subscribe to your SMS list without sounding intrusive.

Measure Initial Performance Rates

Do you want to find out which strategy works best for your business? If you do, you need to measure your initial performance rates on a regular basis.

You need to set your eyes on the following key performance indicators (KPIs):

Delivery Rate: This refers to the percentage of SMS messages delivered successfully to your contacts. Also, this is one of the most crucial KPIs SMS marketers have to monitor. The average delivery rate for SMS marketing is 98%.
Click Through Rate (CTR): CTR is the foundation of your campaign’s success. It refers to the percentage of link clicks to the SMS messages you delivered. The average CTR for SMS marketing is 36%.
Opt-Out Rate: This vital KPI refers to the percentage of subscribed contacts who unsubscribe to your SMS list. It shows that some of your subscribers aren’t interested in your content.
Conversion Rate: This critical KPI refers to the percentage of subscribers who made a purchase. The average conversion rate for SMS marketing is 29%. It’d be best to aim higher than this to ensure a steady flow of revenue.

If your SMS messages get subpar digits, consider making necessary adjustments through A/B testing. Focus on elements like message type, number of messages, and timing.

Send Your First Campaign

Once you’re done collecting subscribers for your SMS list, you may start your first SMS campaign. Make sure you include the following details:

Company name
One time-sensitive CTA
The first name of the subscriber and other details that’d make the message more personalized
A friendly and conversational tone
Value

Here are some examples you might want to consider for your first SMS campaign:

‘Blue Green Flask: These products are getting retired, which means you can get a 30% discount while supplies last! Start shopping now: www.bluegreenflask.com/clearancesale30. Reply STOP to opt out.’

‘Noun: 30% off on ALL dry shampoos and conditioners! Use the code SHAMCON at check-out to avail of the discount. Excludes custom kits and value. Shop: www.noun.com/shamcom. Reply STOP to opt out.’

‘Borough Linen: We’re grateful to you! And as a way to give you thanks for your recent purchase, we’re giving you USD$50 credit on your next order using the code: GIFT50. Shop now: www.boroughlinen.com/gift50. Reply STOP to opt out.’

What makes these examples effective is that they can show clarity and conciseness while conveying the message they want to deliver.

If you want to improve your messages, add a GIF or image below 600KB. This converts SMS to MMS (multimedia messaging service), which limits you to 1,600 characters. However, remember that MMS costs more than SMS under many plans.

Recover Abandoned Shopping Carts

Experts believe that over 50% of online shoppers leave their carts unattended. This is an opportunity to recover lost revenue. What’s great is that SMS is one of the most effective ways to motivate customers to complete their orders.

Here are some examples of SMS campaigns for cart abandonment:

‘Hey Jan! I noticed you left some items in your cart. Here’s 20% off to help you complete your checkout now! Check it out here: mycookingfantasy.com/potsandpans.’

‘Hi Mark, you left some great items in your shopping cart. Here’s a free shipping voucher just for you: bit.ly/5Fg4B. This exclusive offer will expire in three days. Reply STOP to opt out.’

Use SMS To Announce New Products

Keep your subscribers updated by sending them an SMS message whenever you release new collections, products, and services. And to make everything more special, consider offering them early access when new items drop.

Here are some examples of SMS messages announcing new products and services:

‘KITE: Thank you for subscribing! You’ll be among the first to shop for our upcoming product launch! Before anything else, here’s a 25% discount, so shop now!’

‘Banana Floss: New Coco Collection! You’ll surely fall head over heels for our tropically luscious Coco Daiquiri and sunny Beach Copacabana set! Grab some before they’re gone! Shop now: bananafloss.com/cococollection.’

Engage Customers Using Time-Sensitive Messages

Reaching customers at the right time can take your SMS campaign to the next level. This is where time-sensitive campaigns, such as a price drop or back-in-stock alert, come in.

Price drop alerts are ideal for SMS, as it requires contacts to act as fast as possible. Send these messages to people on your list to make them exclusive to mobile users. Here’s an example of a price drop alert:

‘CookingWare: PRICE DROP ALERT! The 15-pc stainless steel premier set was USD$760—now USD$380! Get yours now before they’re gone: cookingware.com/12Ho11goiT23.’

Back-in-stock alerts inform subscribers that the items previously out of stock are back and ready to ship. Here’s an example of a back-in-stock alert:

‘Hey, Martin, our 15-pc stainless steel premier set is back in stock! Make cooking more fun with nothing but the best. Shop now before they’re gone: cookingware.com/12Ho11goiT23.’

Use SMS For A Great Post-Purchase Experience

SMS marketing is effective not only for increasing sales but also for improving post-purchase experiences. Including transactional SMS messages, like billing updates, appointment reminders, and shipping delay alerts, may help you reach and exceed customer expectations.

Once you complete the delivery, you may use SMS to send valuable details directly to a customer’s phone instead of their email inbox. These may include the following:

Share tips and tricks on how to use the product in the best way possible
Share a link (e.g., how-to guides or tutorial videos)
Highlight customers who use the product
Send reminders regarding their loyalty points or VIP status

Final Words

SMS marketing is one of the most effective ways to reach and interact with potential and existing customers. They also have one of the highest open rates, around 95-98%. This means that for every 100 successfully delivered SMS, almost all are opened.

To ensure the success of your SMS campaigns, follow the best practices discussed above. These include building a subscriber list, creating welcome messages, measuring performance, delivering time-sensitive information, and personalizing messages.

Up Next

Oil Rises on Positive US Debt Deal Signals

Don't Miss

Experts Task Incoming Administration on Inflation, Debt

Dipo Olowookere

Dipo Olowookere is a journalist based in Nigeria that has passion for reporting business news stories. At his leisure time, he watches football and supports 3SC of Ibadan. Mr Olowookere can be reached via [email protected]

Click to comment

Economy

NGX Group’s 65th Annual General Meeting Holds April 29

Published

4 hours ago

27/04/2026

Aduragbemi Omiyale

By Aduragbemi Omiyale

The 65th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Group Plc has been fixed for Wednesday, April 29, 2026, at 11:00 am at its corporate head office on 2–4 Customs Street, Lagos.

Business Post gathered that the meeting would be streamed live on the company’s website and social media platforms to enable broader participation by shareholders and stakeholders unable to attend physically.

As part of a special business, shareholders will consider a proposed bonus issue of one new ordinary share for every three existing shares held as at the close of business on April 10, 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The proposal also includes an increase in the organisation’s share capital from N1,102,309,954 to N1,469,746,605, to accommodate the bonus shares and amendments to the Memorandum of Association to reflect the new capital structure.

Also at the gathering, shareholders will consider and, if deemed fit, approve the company’s audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2025, alongside the reports of the directors, auditors, board evaluation consultants, and audit committee.

The meeting will also deliberate on the declaration of a final dividend and the re-election of three non-executive directors retiring by rotation, who are Mr Umaru Kwairanga, Mrs Ojinika Olaghere, and Dr Okechukwu Itanyi.

Other ordinary business items on the agenda include authorising the board to fix the remuneration of the external auditors, determining the remuneration of managers, and electing members of the statutory audit committee.

Economy

BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market

Published

2 days ago

25/04/2026

Dipo Olowookere

Digital asset markets have slowed, though not in a dramatic way. Things are still moving, just not with much urgency. The BNB price reflects that shift, sitting within a tighter range as broader conditions begin to shape behavior more than short bursts of demand.

It can feel uneventful at first. No strong push higher, no sharp drop either. But the movement is still there. It just does not travel far. A rise begins, then fades. A dip forms, then steadies again. It repeats more than you might expect.

That pattern tends to linger. Sometimes longer than people anticipate, especially when there is no clear reason for it to change quickly.

BNB Price Movement Reflects Exchange-Driven Demand

BNB does not behave like assets that rely purely on outside demand. Its connection to the Binance ecosystem changes that.

Usage matters here. Trading activity, transaction volume and general platform engagement all feed into how BNB is used. That connection is not always obvious in the short term, but it sits underneath everything.

Sometimes it shows up clearly. Other times it does not. The relationship is there either way.

When activity holds steady, price often follows that tone. It does not surge, but it does not weaken much either. It stays somewhere in the middle, supported without needing strong momentum. It reflects usage more than speculation in many cases.

Market Conditions Continue to Shape Price Behaviour

There is also the wider market to consider. Binance has pointed out that liquidity remains tight, with capital concentrating in a smaller number of assets.

Bitcoin still holds close to 59% of the market. Ethereum sits much lower, around 11.8%. After that, the drop-off becomes more noticeable. Smaller assets make up far less than they once did. That shift matters. It changes how everything moves.

When capital gathers like this, movement tends to compress. Prices still change, but not as freely. It becomes harder for assets to break away from the general pattern.

BNB is part of that. It does not sit outside these conditions. It moves with them more often than against them.

BNB Utility Remains Central to Its Value

There is also the question of utility, which tends to be discussed but not always fully understood.

BNB is used across the Binance ecosystem in practical ways. Fees, transactions, access to services. These are not abstract use cases. They happen regularly, even when markets feel quiet.

That kind of activity does not always push prices higher. But it does create a base level of demand. Something that holds, rather than drives.

Over time, that can matter more than short bursts of interest. It gives the asset a different kind of stability. Not fixed, but less reactive. That difference tends to show up more clearly over longer periods.

Institutional and Retail Activity Remain Balanced

Participation is mixed. Institutional involvement has increased, but it does not dominate. Retail activity is still there and often more visible in certain phases. Neither side controls the market on its own. That is part of why movement feels less defined.

At times, it can seem like different forces are pulling in slightly different directions. Not enough to create volatility, but enough to prevent a clear trend from forming.

So price moves, then pauses. Moves again, then settles. It continues like that, without fully committing to either direction.

Global Participation Continues to Expand

Outside of price, participation continues to grow. Estimates suggest global cryptocurrency users are now approaching 860 million, reflecting continued expansion across digital asset markets.

That kind of growth does not always appear in charts straight away. It builds slowly. People enter the space, others remain active and usage continues in ways that are not always easy to track day to day.

BNB sits within that broader expansion. As the ecosystem grows, so does the potential for continued use. It is not immediate. It rarely is. But it accumulates over time. That gradual build tends to matter more than short-term spikes.

Local Economic Conditions Add Perspective

Broader economic conditions still play a role. Inflation remains around the mid-teen range, which suggests the environment is stabilizing, though not completely settled.

That kind of backdrop tends to influence behavior. When conditions feel uncertain, decisions become more measured.

It does not directly control how BNB moves. But it helps explain the pace. Why do things feel slower, more contained? Markets do not exist in isolation, even when they seem separate. External factors tend to feed in gradually.

Right now, the market feels balanced more than anything else. The B&B price reflects that. Not pushing higher, not dropping away. Just holding.

There is still activity underneath. Usage continues. Participation grows. Liquidity shifts, even if it is not always visible.

For now, BNB is sitting in that middle space. Not doing too much, but not losing ground either. It might not stand out. But these phases tend to matter more than they first seem. Over time, they often shape what comes next, even if that is not immediately obvious.

Economy

NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again

Published

2 days ago

25/04/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.

Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.

The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.

The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.

However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.

During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.

At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.