When it comes to signing up for a company’s website online, my phone number is one of the last pieces of information I will be willing to give. I am already annoyed with spam emails, I do not need the information spilling over into my text messages. However, Ryan Hoffman posted an interesting blog on the value of having a customers phone number. In his post, Start delighting your customers with SMS this holiday season, he explains that over 90% of people will open the promotional text, and they usually open it within 3 minutes of receiving it. I personally, had never looked at this technique as a good way of promoting a product, but when I really thought about it, I realized that I am 100% more likely to open a text message than I am an email.

Hoffman warns that there are special steps that need to be taken in order to find and retain consumers through SMS marketing. These steps include making it easy for the consumers to join, such as having a QR code ready to be scanned. From there, they consumer can opt into receiving texts and be given a coupon for doing so. Such little effort has already saved the consumer some money. The benefit to a coupon receive through a text is that the consumer cannot just toss it into the trash upon leaving a store. The coupon is literally in their pocket, ready to be used at any time.  He also notes that consumers should be allowed to dictate how often they receive a text. This way, they will not feel overwhelmed and choose to opt-out because of an influx of promotional texts.

After reading Ryan Hoffmans blog, I have a different outlook towards SMS marketing. I see the value in maybe receiving a coupon or two for signing up. The best part is that I will not forget said coupon at home because it will be store in my phone, rather than sitting in a pile on my desk.