Thursday, May 10, 2012

Establish Customer Relations in Spite of Heavy Competition

By Nia Lawrence


Ensure an advantage over your business's SMS competition and invest in good customer relationship management (CRM). It sounds more complicated than it actually is; in a nutshell, it means that you have to keep your clients satisfied at all times to secure their loyalty and repeat business. An SMS campaign is but one of several techniques you could use to access mobile markets in a saturated industry. If you're going to target tech-savvy customers, then you might as well include online content and multimedia into your campaign. Pooling new clients is only half of the process, though; you should also ensure your existing client base isn't whittled down by the aggressive marketing campaigns of your competitors.

Your online and SMS strategies should be well-integrated. Establishing good customer relations is harder than it seems, especially if you have plenty of SMS competitions to deal with. If your niche is saturated with competitors, then your CRM should include customer callbacks, online and mobile surveys, and even perk offerings for repeat business. You can't afford to slack on your achievements because other businesses will find a way to pull the rug underneath your feet. Customers are always on the lookout for something better and more affordable, especially if they don't feel their needs are being met by your service. Customer perception is everything; if this means you'll invest in follow-up campaigns for your established market, then so be it.

Think about the clients you've lost to your SMS competition. You'll spend more money trying to win them back than you would to maintain their satisfaction. Winning old clients is as costly as signing in new ones, so you have to treat all your existing clients as VIPs. You only need to ensure they're updated on promotions and product developments. Your online site should provide all these and then some (including order placements, user feedback, and even client complaints). Keep your site fresh with regularly updated content; enhance walk-in traffic with SMS links that lead users to your landing page.

Use SMS as a proactive marketing tool. Even if your messages are restricted to 160 characters (or less), you only need to present the gist of your offer to generate a positive response. You'll hook in recipients with embedded links and codes, though. Accommodate web-browsing smart phones and embed links to your site's landing page at the end of the text. Short promo codes also enhance your message's value; recipients can save and present these to claim purchase discounts.

You should be well-versed in the tricks of the marketing trade. Keep your SMS competitions at bay by focusing on your customers' satisfaction. Pool clients with efficient marketing techniques; cement business relationships with regular follow-ups.




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