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If you are running a business that uses SMS marketing, you need to provide customers with a way – how to unsubscribe from texts. This is one of the ways you can make sure your marketing campaigns adhere to the set regulation about SMS marketing.
Today, SMS marketing software is popular with marketers because of the unmatched, 98% open rate of text messages and highly receptive audience. However, there are few things as annoying as receiving automated alert messages from marketers. In this post, you will learn how to unsubscribe from many automated SMS services.
What is Text Message Marketing Campaign and How It Can Be Annoying?
To keep up with the demands of the modern lifestyle, many businesses are using SMS marketing software to promote their products and services. Usually, to receive such text messages, consumers opt-in SMS and have the option to opt out. In most countries, text message marketing messages are highly regulated. It is even illegal to send text message alerts to customers who do not provide express written consent.
What is Text Message Marketing?
This refers to the continuous process of sharing business sales, news, and relevant information to customers through text messages on their mobile phone numbers. This is a form of digital marketing that helps businesses create brand awareness at a personal level. The thing is to use this strategy, your customers must opt in before you can start sending text campaigns.
Usually, text message marketing messages contain discounts, special offers, coupons, and automated alert messages among others. Through texting, businesses can accomplish most of the things traditional media can do without investing in more labor, hardware, media buys, or printing.
With SMS marketing, you can send bulk marketing texts to audience segments with personalized messages. The tactic lets you bypass marketing noise in social media by going direct into the phone of the consumer.
That said, SMS marketing is not for everyone. So, if you decide to go this route, make sure your texts follow SMS best practices, and are relevant and helpful instead of sending intrusive and spammy text messages.
How SMS Marketing Can Be Annoying
As you use text messages as a strategy, just remember that your messaging can tip the scale. Since text messaging is a direct form of communication, it can be freaking for many consumers if the message does not come from a family member or friend. If you are a marketer, the burden is on you to make sure the SMS messages you send your customers do not annoy them.
Apart from sending spam text messages, other things that easily annoy customers include:
- Overloading customers with irrelevant text messages
- Not fulfilling the promises in text messages
- Grammatical errors
- Not knowing when to exclude or include a call to action
- Sending marketing SMS at the wrong time
Overloading Customers with Irrelevant Text Messages
It is okay to use automated SMS services with the right intention of sharing with your customers some information. However, you can easily overdo it and risk your reputation when using automated SMS services. Sending a lot of text messages that are sales-oriented can risk the reputation of your business and make it look like it is desperate to make a sale. Ideally, the messages should be between 3 and 5 per month.
Sending unnecessary messages to customers is a sure way of annoying customers. This is one reason why your customers may decide to opt out of your marketing messages. Therefore, you should spend your time crafting SMS with maximum value.
Not Fulfilling the Promises in Text Messages
If you have been a victim of an SMS marketing campaign with an amazing offer requiring you to participate in a survey to stand a chance of winning a prize, you can relate.
So, if you decide to make commitments or promises via SMS, make sure you fulfil them to make your customers trust you. In marketing, trust is crucial. Breaking trust is the perfect recipe for annoying your customers.
Grammatical Errors
When you send a marketing text message with grammatical mistakes, it is an indication of not paying attention to detail. Not only is it annoying, but also it depicts your business as not serious. What’s more, a message with the wrong tone shows a wrong attitude toward a customer.
As such, every word in your SMS marketing messages should reflect the values of your brand. Therefore, before sending any text to your contact list, it is advisable that you double-check to make sure it is accurate.
Not Knowing When to Exclude or Include a Call to Action
If you send a sales text message without a call to action, you may end up confusing your customers. Exclude a call to action when sending a message meant only to inform your customers of crucial details. Make sure you let your customers know that they do not have to take any action.
However, if you send a marketing SMS aimed at driving sales, add a call to action. This is one way you can capitalize on text marketing while ensuring your customers have accurate expectations.
Sending Marketing SMS at the Wrong Time
Even if you have the best marketing SMS, sending it at the wrong time will for sure annoy customers. For instance, sending marketing messages to prospects in the middle of the night can be an indication that you lack empathy for your subscribers.
Thus, deliver your marketing messages at the right time. The ideal time is between 2 pm and 4 pm on a weekday. Also, make sure the marketing message is in context. So, avoid sending Christmas offers through SMS in October.
What Does it Mean to Unsubscribe From Text Messages?
In text message marketing, compliance plays a huge role. At this point, you should know that complying with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is important. It requires you to provide clear disclosure of what you offer and get written consent from clients. When SMS subscribers opt out, it means that you can no longer send unsolicited messages since it is punishable.
Even though your consumers may give you consent to send marketing messages to their phones, it does not mean that you are free to send them messages forever. As a marketer, you have to provide clients with an easy way of unsubscribing using fairly universal commands such as stop or cancel.
How Can You Unsubscribe from Text Message Marketing Campaigns?
Are you looking for how to unsubscribe from community texts? The process is easy. If the brand and the SMS marketing software provider are using text message marketing correctly, then you only need to reply to send any text with a short code from the sender. The most common phrases are “STOP”, “Quit”, and “Unsubscribe”. Although it will depend on the brand, these will help you unsubscribe from text messages.
After doing this, the SMS marketing provider will consider your request before removing your phone number. Once, this is done, the software will send you a message confirming that you have successfully unsubscribed.
Why People Unsubscribe from Text Messages
Even though you may legally send marketing texts, sometimes you will get people unsubscribing. This is common regardless of the channel of communication. That said, there are several reasons why unsubscribes happen.
Lack of Valuable Offers
It may seem obvious, but subscribers join a messaging list because they feel they will get something out of it. This includes special discount alerts or other useful information not available anywhere else.
Thus, whatever it was that tempts your subscribers to join but be delivered, especially the feeling of exclusivity. Failure to meet your end of the bargain will result in subscribers cancelling their subscriptions.
Sending Too Many SMS
The reason subscribers join your list is to receive exclusive offers, not to get an avalanche of text messages. For instance, if a person feels that they are getting too many unsolicited phone calls or too many texts, they may decide to unsubscribe. Sending too many tests quickly is a sure way of inducing SMS fatigue. Therefore, even though there is no optimal number of texts, less is more in this case.
Dodgy or Spammy Links
Often, a text message marketing conversation has a link where you can check the offer. In an attempt to shorten the URL, you may end up with a link that does not indicate where the link takes you. This creates uncertainty and may appear to some subscribers as a phishing attempt. This is enough to make them unsubscribe from your texts.
Poor Targeting
If you are a brand, chances are you have a lot of information in your database about your clients. However, it is common for brands to splurge the same text message to everyone in their contacts.
If you fall into this trap and fail to consider the widely different profiles of your clients, you may end up losing some of them. When subscribers feel that you are sharing content that is irrelevant or not valuable, it makes them more likely to unsubscribe to marketing SMS.
Vague or Weak Incentive
If you do not constantly update your SMS message incentives, your SMS list will decrease, as a result of subscribers opting out. Sometimes, clients move on, their phone number expires, and unsubscribe for various reasons.
Therefore, you should provide genuine benefits to the people that they will not get from elsewhere. The offers should be as interesting as possible and crystal clear.
Other Reasons for Unsubscribing
Sometimes, subscribers opt-in to temporarily participate in a text competition. So, when the incentive is over, they will unsubscribe. Another reason is when subscribers no longer wish to hear communications from your brand. As well, some subscribers may decide to opt out if they do not recall opting in.
How to Avoid Unsubscribes from Your Business SMS Marketing
Until another better marketing channel comes along, text marketing will remain an incredible marketing tool. As such, to make sure your SMS list does not dwindle, here are things you should take note of:
Recipients Must Opt In
Prior to firing off texts to your contacts, make sure recipients voluntarily provide their phone numbers and allow you to send marketing messages. So, ensure your marketing campaigns target only those who have given consent to contact them through SMS.
Although the restriction may make it hard to start an SMS marketing campaign, there are various ways you can encourage clients to opt into your business communications.
Focus on Delivery of the Right Message
Avoid sending unwanted automated texts. The secret to generating more interest among clients is by providing value. Makes sure you intend to fulfil what you promised subscribers in the first place.
As you create value, you are at the same time creating trust. If you are helpful, clients will associate your brand with being useful. It is important that you also make it clear to your potential subscribers what they will be signing up for.
Send a Welcome Message
If a new contact joins your subscription, the first message they should receive should be a welcome message. Make sure you use this opportunity to clarify expectations and to get them excited as one of the community members. To accomplish this, you can use SMS autoresponders. Consider making your texts sound personal by segmenting your audience.