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When you run a business with physical locations such as a shop, café, restaurant or theater, you'll know that while you have plenty of loyal, regular customers, there can still be slow days. You can entice some new walk-ins using chalkboards, window stickers and other ads on your premises. You can also encourage return visits with discount vouchers and loyalty cards. Sending SMS text messages online using Message Hero is another great way to boost the chances of your customers returning.

How can sending text messages get me more bookings or walk-ins?

1. Exclusive Special Offers. You can text your latest special offers, value discounts, seasonal sale information and lots more directly to your customer's phone's to prompt them to come to your premises. You can even text exclusive offers to people who sign up to your text marketing database. You can make them time sensitive i.e. This offer applies today only, if you want to entice your customers as soon as possible. You can text a special voucher code your customers can show to redeem their gift. If you have an online store, you can text a link to your special offer or discount code. True, you could do the same by email, but with email open rates coming in at around 20% vs 99% of text messages being read, it's a no-brainer.

2. New Products. If you have a new range of products or a seasonal special, let your customers know by SMS.

3. Event Promotion by Text Message. If you are planning an event on your premises and you want to increase attendance, texting the details to your customers with plenty of notice is a great idea. Maybe you can encourage bookings with an early bird rate? You can even send them a reminder closer to the event date. If you own a restaurant or a café and you are launching a new menu, let your customers know! There are various public holidays and events throughout the year that make great times to send out text messages to promote special events e.g. New Years, Valentines Day, Mid-Term breaks, Christmas Holidays etc. There's a good chance your customers will have time off on some of these occasions, so it's a good idea to let them know what you are offering - just remember to give plenty of notice if they are going to need a babysitter!

4. Reminders. If your business runs on an appointment basis, sending text message reminders is a great way of avoiding no-shows. If you offer pre-ordering of highly anticipated products, you can use text messages to let your customers know their order is in stock and ready for collection.

6 benefits of text message marketing for dining and retail

1. It's really cheap. You can try Message Hero for free, and once you are happy it'll only cost [CBC show="y" country="ie"]4.5c[/CBC][CBC show="n" country="ie"]3.3p[/CBC] per text message you send. Compared to other advertising budgets, that is a huge saving.

2. It's direct. With the rapid, near 100% reach of mobile phone technology, you can be sure your customers will be carrying their phones with them most of the time - meaning they'll see your message, wherever they are.

3. It's quick. If you are really busy, texting is one of the fastest ways for you to advertise. Texts are short, so they take very little time to type. You can also schedule messages to send at future dates with Message Hero. This means you can line texts up to send out over the next few weeks all at once, so you can focus on other things.

4. It's instant. Within seconds of sending your text, your customers will see it on their phone. This means you can include time-sensitive offers, or you can make urgent or last-minute announcements. Studies have also shown that the majority of text messages are read within 3 minutes of being received.

5. It's flexible. You don't have to book in your advertising or run it at a pre-defined time. You can send text messages when it suits you. Maybe you are having an event at the weekend or a public holiday is coming up and you want to get people's attention when they aren't in work. Texts can be sent any time - although it's not recommended to send texts late at night or early in the morning - you want your customers to be well rested!

6. It's requested. Text messages, like emails, are based on customer opt-ins i.e. your customers agree to sign up to receive offers from you. This means that the people receiving your messages are likely to respond to the offers in them. If customers aren't interested, they can simply opt-out of future communications as long as you have included opt-out information in your messages (which is obligatory for marketing messages). Message Hero automatically removes opted-out contacts from your account so you can guarantee you are being compliant with data protection regulations.

For more tips on sending the perfect marketing text message, please read our free guide here

Here's a rundown of the 7 biggest mobile marketing mistakes and some simple ideas to avoid them.

1. Bad Timing!
2. What do I do now?
3. Unsuitable Tone
4. Message Length
5. Who is this?
6. No Opt-Out Information
7. Underwhelming Offers

1. Bad Timing

One of the big advantages of text message marketing is that your customers will have their mobile phones with them at all times of the day. Unlike email, most text messages are read immediately but that doesn't mean there aren't bad times to send your marketing message.

Before you hit the send button, think about when your customers are most likely to act on your message. If you want customers to pop into your cafe for a lunchtime special then maybe a mid- morning marketing message will work. If you want them to call and make a booking then send your message when you think your customers will have time to call you.

Forward planning is key. If you are advertising a future event like a special Valentines dinner menu, a good rule of thumb is to send an early message so your organised customers can book in advance. Then you can cater for the badly-prepped boyfriends and send a last minute reminder to fill up your remaining tables.

2. What Do I Do Now?

One of the biggest mobile marketing mistakes companies make is forgetting to include a call to action at the end of their text marketing message. Make it easy for your customers and tell them exactly what they need to do next.

If you want them to visit your website, pick up the phone or simply call in to your store - don't forget to include all the relevant information!

• Book online at www.bla.com
• Pop in to Cookees on Main St to pick up your free pastry with any regular coffee
• Call us on 012345678 today to book your deluxe facial

3. Unsuitable Tone

You might think that if any medium could warrant a more casual approach it would be texting. You may be a master of txt spk and know your LOLs, L8Rs, TTYLs and GR8s from your ROFLs (and if you don't you can get a translation here) but your customers might not respond well to the language, depending on your business. Try to tailor your tone to your business. TXT SPK might be fine in casual circumstances, but if you want your customers to take your business seriously, you should try to use appropriate tone in your messages to them.

• Hi There, Get a free bottle of wine this Wednesday with every two main courses in Freddie's Bistro. Call to book now on 01 600 XXXX. Opt-out? Text STOP to 51772.

It may not always be the case that you want to sound professional - it depends on what type of business you have and who your audience is. For example, if you run student nights for a pub, your customers might respond better to younger, friendlier language:

• YOYOYO! Student BYOB Electro Nite in the Bunker tomoz and every Tues! €20 Entry & DJ Till Late. C U There! Opt-out? Text STOP to 51772.

You will have a fair idea what writing style might appeal to your audience, but try to put yourself in their shoes and imagine how they would respond to your text message.

4. Message Length - Too Short or Too Long?

Text messages aren't limited to only 160 characters - most phones will support messages up to 459 characters. This isn't an invitation to write an essay though. Let's assume your customers are all busy people - they'll appreciate you getting to the point without the waffle but make sure not to be curt or abrupt.

A good ingredients check list for marketing messages is Greeting + Offer/News + Call to Action. Embellish the language and tone as you think necessary for your target market.

5. Who is this?

A perfectly written marketing message can often fail for one simple reason. You forget to tell your customers who you are!

There are a couple of ways to identify yourself but one of the simplest is to change the From Label on your message. This label is displayed at the top of the message on your customers phone - in place of a phone number.

You are limited to 11 characters when choosing your From Label but make sure it's something your customers will recognise. E.g. If your business is called 'Dees Salon', then set your 'From' label to 'Dees Salon' or if you have a longer company name that exceeds the 11 character limit such as Greener Space, you could choose an abbreviation for your 'From' label e.g. 'GREENER' or 'GSPACE'.

If you can't set your From Label then be sure to sign off with your company name at the end of the message, before your opt-out wording.

6. No Opt-out Information

One unforgivable mobile marketing mistake is to omit your opt-out information from your message. You might be sad to see them go, but it is legally required by data-protection law to include a way for your customers to unsubscribe from your database. The easiest way to do this is to include instructions to opt out by text message e.g. Opt-Out? Text STOP to 51772.

7. Underwhelming Offers

At the end of the day, perfect timing and tone is not going to work if your customers don't feel you are offering value. Don't waste time and money sending marketing messages that won't surprise and delight your customers.

In addition to your product or service, you may wish to try some of these text marketing ideas to improve your customers' response to your offer:

1. Loyalty Discounts: Schedule your next 3 sessions with us today and get the third half price.
2. Bonus e.g. Buy any regular coffee and get a free pastry!
3. Time Sensitive e.g. Book today to avail of this great offer!
4. Action-based rewards e.g. Book online and get 20% off.
5. Audience incentives e.g. Great family offer, kids go free...!
6. Complimentary Upgrades: Book a something and we'll make it a deluxe on us!

Roundup

These may be the biggest mobile  marketing mistakes but they are easy to avoid and with a little thought and planning you can increase the return on your marketing and create text message marketing campaigns that really work.

Need Some SMS Marketing Inspiration for your Salon?

Salon Marketing Calendar

Keep in mind the following 4 simple SMS marketing tips and you'll see better results from you mobile marketing campaign.

• Have a clear picture of the audience that you're targeting with each campaign. You should have some idea of your ideal target/customer. Create an imaginary ideal target and make sure that every text message you're sending is speaking directly to them . This will improve your conversion rate and lead to a great return from the time that you spend devising each campaign.
• Time your messages with your ideal contact in mind. There is no point in sending a promotional message to a Pilates class subscriber at 11pm on a Saturday night. However sending it on a Monday morning when the next week has begun should lead to it getting the desired consideration from the recipient.
• Offer something to your contact. Whether it's a discount, new update or simply advice make sure that you leave your contact grateful for having received the message from you. This should reduce your opt-out rates and lead to your contacts viewing you brand with trust and respect.
• Evaluate, review and reconsider: It is vital that you have a detailed look at the results of your campaign. Gauge the success of your campaign so that you learn for your next SMS marketing campaign. This will lead to a greater return over time and ensure that you are investing your money and time correctly.