Though SMS has a wide variety of applications, there are particular industries in which SMS can really shine. Though we share just some of the best industries for SMS marketing to connect with customers and leads, we argue that every business can benefit from it.
Local businesses operate in a highly competitive world. As such, you want new leads and existing customers alike to recognize that your business is responsive, understands their needs and concerns, and is committed to providing a superior customer experience. How you communicate that to them makes an important difference to business growth and maintaining a competitive advantage.
SMS marketing — or text message marketing — is an effective way to reach and engage with customers. The immediacy and relevancy of texting get right to the heart of how so many people prefer to interact and communicate with businesses today.
Here are some of the best industries for SMS marketing, including examples!
Home services
Home services businesses — such as roofing, electrical, cleaning, and others — are some of the most competitive in a local area. As a result, it’s one of the best industries for SMS marketing.
Using SMS for your home services business allows you to grow your business even amidst the heavy competition by being as useful, responsive, and friendly as possible. When customers decide to go with your service or another’s, they’re usually looking for quick answers, exact information, and the feeling that you care about earning their business.
With SMS, prospective and existing customers alike can get a sense of how you’ll interact with them in everyday scenarios. And it’s that authentic, helpful, conversational tone that comes across in a text that can be the deciding factor.
You can use SMS to:
- Send quotes and estimates
- Respond to customer support requests
- Offer promotions or discounted services
- Confirm and remind customers of appointments
- Ask for feedback or reviews
Guide: SMS Marketing for Home Services
Healthcare
Healthcare businesses can use SMS just like other businesses to market and advertise. But there’s an important secondary function as well: establishing trust with patients and customers.
One of the biggest advantages to using SMS in healthcare is that it’s such a quick form of communication that doesn’t require a lot of time or effort. This matters when a patient has a concern and needs an answer fast. Waiting for an email or a phone call can feel agonizing, and all too often the patient feels like they’re just a number on a list — someone will get to them eventually.
In contrast, a text can be sent and received quickly, providing a caring touch point and relevant information when the patient really needs it. The personalized, emotional connection created by a text seeds trust and helps patients feel more at ease that they’re not just a nameless, faceless person. Just be sure the texts you send are HIPAA-compliant.
You can use SMS in healthcare to:
- Announce promotions or discounts on specific visits and procedures
- Ask for patient feedback
- Notify patients that lab or test results are ready
- Confirm and remind patients of appointments
- Provide links to helpful resources and educational materials
A Comprehensive Guide to Texting Patients
Restaurants and retail
The restaurant and retail industry probably comes to mind first when you think of the best industries for SMS marketing — largely due to the growth in texting that occurred with restaurants through the COVID-19 pandemic.
But both restaurants and retailers have two big goals: keep a consistent customer base and avoid losing revenue however possible.
SMS helps restaurants and retailers engage — and re-engage — with customers and earn more sales. As more consumers shop digitally, they’re also looking for personalized, in-the-moment deals they can use right away. SMS is an excellent way to adapt to these behaviors and give your customers the convenient experience, information, and value they’re looking for.
Reaching customers on their phones, in the exact right moment with the exact right message, can mean the difference between a completed sale or an abandoned cart, a successful in-store promotion or ho-hum results, and/or a customer’s satisfying visit to your restaurant or a missed opportunity.
You can use SMS to:
- Remind customers to complete orders
- Provide order status updates
- Offer deals or discounts at peak shopping or dining times
- Announce sales and promotional events
- Ask for feedback or reviews
- Confirm and remind customers of reservations
- Announce product or menu updates
A Guide to Texting Diners and Buyers
Real estate
Real estate agents have to move fast and stay flexible as they work with sellers and buyers to get properties listed and sold. Because of this, real estate is the largest user of SMS marketing.
The speed and efficiency of SMS make it an invaluable tool for real estate agents to directly communicate with leads about important information and updates that may otherwise go unnoticed on a website or get missed in an email. This helps build relationships with your leads in which they know they can depend on you to keep them apprised of time-sensitive information that can impact their decision-making.
Just as importantly, because texting has such a wide reach — a single text can be sent on a mass scale to everyone in your contact list — it’s much easier to advertise a new listing. More people can see the ad in real-time and may be inspired to take action right away, helping you close more deals faster.
You can use SMS to:
- Send property information
- Schedule showings and open houses
- Send updates about price changes
- Advertise new listings
- Follow up after showings
Automotive
Similar to home services, automotive businesses face a lot of competition. You’re challenged with standing out from your competitors and staying engaged with your customers.
Growing your automotive business is easier when you use SMS to support your efforts. You can provide ways for prospects to opt-in to get your texts, then get them in the door by offering discounts or free gifts to them as first-time customers.
At the same time, you can text repeat customers with special offers or invitations to join rewards programs, which can increase customer retention and loyalty. And texting customers about a service that was just completed is a convenient notification method when they’re on the go and don’t want to worry about waiting around for or missing a phone call.
You can use SMS to:
- Remind customers of scheduled maintenance
- Allow customers to schedule a service
- Send discounts and coupons
- Alert customers that their car is ready to be picked up
- Announce special sales and promotions
Hospitality
Last, but not least, another ideal industry for SMS marketing is the hospitality industry. Hospitality businesses like hotels and tour companies need to cater to guests’ needs and respond to requests on the spot.
SMS marketing is an efficient way to interact with guests quickly, ensure their needs are being met, and help them feel comfortable in your facility or with your hospitality service. Instead of creating and managing a dedicated app for your hotel or service, you can adopt an easy-to-use texting platform to communicate directly with your guests and help them avoid the sometimes time-consuming or annoying steps of having to download and figure out yet another app.
You can also rely on SMS to run promotional campaigns and send special offers to one-time guests that inspire them to become bigger fans of your brand and turn into repeat customers. When they feel special and treated well, they’re more likely to recommend your hotel or service to others — helping to expand your customer base and earn more revenue for your business.
You can use SMS to:
- Book, confirm, and manage restaurant reservations
- Receive and manage room service orders
- Allow customers to book other services like transportation or tours
- Ask for reviews on third-party sites like TripAdvisor
- Announce special offers and promotions
How GatherUp can help
GatherUp extends the impact of SMS marketing by combining your SMS marketing strategy with your reputation management. With GatherUp, you can gather and listen to customer feedback, then engage with them through strategic SMS campaigns. You can send targeted text campaigns, track performance, and glean valuable insights to drive better customer experiences. Using GatherUp for your SMS marketing needs allows you to:
- Easily obtain written explicit consent to build and maintain a compliant SMS subscriber list
- Create segmented lists of customers for more personalized communications
- Test and schedule messages to improve engagement rates
- Use customer feedback and insights to inform your SMS campaign strategy
- Incorporate Net Promoter Score data to identify and win back your detractors, thank your promoters, and influence your neutrals
To learn how GatherUp can support an SMS marketing strategy for your local business or agency clients, contact us today.
If you’re just starting out and learning about what SMS marketing is, we’re here to help! Check out all of our resources on the topic below:
- What Is SMS Marketing?
- 4 Ideas for SMS Marketing Campaigns
- 5 SMS Marketing Myths and Why They’re Wrong
- Benefits of SMS Marketing: How to Boost Local Business Revenue
- How to Get Started with SMS Marketing: Building Your First Campaign
- How to Get More SMS Subscribers
- SMS Marketing Best Practices for the Best Customer Engagement
- SMS Marketing Examples: Unlocking the Power of Text for Healthcare, Restaurants, Retail, Real Estate, and Home Services
- SMS Compliance: How to Properly Get an SMS Opt-In for Promotional SMS
