Why Text Message Marketing Never Took for Small Business

May 12, 2014
Mike Dolpies

One of my many vices…

Whenever I eat a sandwich.

Could even be a burger (although with burgers I do prefer fries).

But whenever I eat a sandwich I need chips on the side.

And I’m not just saying…

“It’s nice to have chips on the side of a sandwich.”

I am saying… I NEED the chips on the side or I can’t eat the sandwich!

I prefer wavy or crinkle cut.

Just the way I am wired.

As I was eating a burger on Sunday for lunch… finishing up the last of the ground beef we had from the quarter cow we bought a few months back… I was looking at the back of the chip bag.

They were Wavy Lays.

I noticed they had a promo running where you can vote for your favorite flavor and enter a contest to win some moolah.

They sorta barrowed it from Amerian Idol. The whole text to vote thing.

It was textbook mobile marketing.

They even explained ahead of time how when entering the contest you agree to receive ten additional texts from Frito-Lay.

As I ate my lunch I pondered how Text Message marketing is sort of “half hangin’ on.”

I mean… a few years back it was all the rage.

“Open rates are 97%!”

“Everyone texts.”

And on and on.

I was there. I used text message marketing for a while and helped a bunch of clients with it.

Fact is… if someone has built a big list of “opt-in” text message subscribers they should keep rockin it.

But the reality is… Text Message Marketing is on its way out.

Sure… the big brands… The likes of Frito-Lay will still use it.

There are a few reasons why text message marketing never took off.

1) Costs: Every one of those texts costs a few cents. Plus you have the software, the shortcode, etc.

2) Easy but cumbersome: When I spoke a few years ago about “5 Pillars of Mobile Marketing” I explained the steps… You text a keyword to a shortcode. Then the prospect has to confirm they want to receive the texts.

3) A flat experience.

4)Mobile Apps are much better.

The rise of Apps and how we can produce them for our small business clients in a cost-effective way is just one reason why Apps beat text marketing.

The fact is just one feature of a mobile app replaces Text Marketing without the cost.

Push Notices can be sent directly to someone who has your app.

Add to that… the overall experience the app provides.

Finally… the main reason why Apps beat Text Message Marketing…

Your business is present and with them all the time. Your business lives on the one device they check 50+ times per day.

More info on Mobile Apps right here…

Free Mobile Apps for Your Small Business

About the author

Mike Dolpies Mike Dolpies (aka Mike D.) owns “Ocean View Publishing, LLC” - a diverse media/Internet Marketing and Consulting Company. He started his first business when he was just 18 years old. By the time he was 23 that business had generated well over a Million Dollars in sales and was consistently in the top 20% of its industry. He's the Author of 6 different books. His first book, “Motion Before Motivation, The Success Secret That Never Fails,” became a bestseller on Amazon.com He's been a guest on the Fox Morning News several times and has been written about in many newspapers. His work has also appeared on Entrepreneur.com and Fox Businsss.com

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