💬 SMS Marketing Guide

📊 SMS Marketing Overview

Your SMS marketing dashboard provides powerful tools for direct customer communication with professional templates, contact management, and performance tracking.

📱 Understanding Your SMS Metrics

• 9,997 SMS Credits: Available message credits for sending SMS campaigns
• 3 SMS Numbers: Active phone numbers configured for SMS sending
• 2 Contacts: Total contacts available for SMS campaigns
• 0 Sent Today: SMS messages sent in the current day
• 98% Success Rate: Delivery success rate for SMS campaigns
• 0 This Month: Total SMS messages sent in current month

📞 SMS Number Management

Your 3 SMS-enabled numbers allow you to send messages from different business identities:

• Business Branding: Each number can represent a different business or service
• Campaign Segmentation: Send from appropriate numbers for different campaigns
• Customer Recognition: Customers recognize your business from the sender number
• Compliance: Properly registered numbers improve delivery rates

💬 SMS Campaign Composer

Create and send professional SMS campaigns with our intuitive composer featuring templates, personalization, and real-time preview.

📝 Campaign Setup Process

1. Select SMS Number: Choose which business number sends the SMS (affects branding and recognition)
2. Choose Recipients: Select specific contacts, groups, or all active subscribers
3. Select Template: Choose from pre-made templates or create custom messages
4. Customize Content: Edit message text and add personalization variables
5. Preview Message: Review how the SMS will appear on recipients' phones
6. Send Campaign: Send immediately or schedule for optimal timing

📞 SMS Number Selection

Example from your interface: +447482547333 (Loft Restore)

• Business Association: Number is clearly linked to "Loft Restore" business
• Customer Recognition: Recipients will recognize your business name
• Professional Appearance: Branded sender improves trust and open rates
• Campaign Tracking: Different numbers allow separate campaign analytics

🎯 Recipient Selection Options

• All Active Contacts: Send to all 2 contacts with active SMS consent
• Custom Selection: Manually choose specific contacts
• Tag-Based Filtering: Target contacts with specific tags or interests
• Geographic Targeting: Send to contacts in specific locations
• Behavioral Segmentation: Based on previous engagement or purchases

📝 Message Templates & Content

Use professional SMS templates to create consistent, effective messaging for different business scenarios and customer touchpoints.

📋 Template Categories

📅 Appointment & Scheduling

• Appointment Reminder: Urgent reminders with booking details
• Appointment Confirmed: Confirmation messages after booking
• Book Appointment: Invitations to schedule services
• Urgent Reminder: Last-minute important notifications

💰 Sales & Marketing

• Special Offer: Limited-time promotions and discounts
• Seasonal Promotion: Holiday and seasonal campaigns
• New Service Launch: Announce new services or products
• VIP Customer Offer: Exclusive offers for high-value customers

🤝 Customer Service

• Welcome Message: Greet new customers and subscribers
• Thank You: Appreciation messages after purchases or services
• Service Follow-up: Check satisfaction after service completion
• Help & Support: Customer service and assistance messages

📊 Business Operations

• Quote Ready: Notify customers when quotes are available
• Service Complete: Confirmation when work is finished
• Payment Reminder: Gentle payment notifications
• Business Update: Important company announcements

✏️ Message Editor

🔗 URL Management for SMS

• Keep URLs Short: Use URL shorteners to save characters
• Track Clicks: Use trackable links to measure engagement
• Mobile-Friendly: Ensure all links work well on mobile devices
• Clear Purpose: Recipients should understand where links lead

🎯 SMS Personalization & Variables

Enhance your SMS campaigns with dynamic personalization using customer data and business information for higher engagement rates.

👤 Customer Variables

• {{firstName}}: Recipient's first name (e.g., "John")
• {{lastName}}: Recipient's last name (e.g., "Smith")
• {{company}}: Recipient's company name
• {{email}}: Customer's email address
• {{phone}}: Customer's phone number

🏢 Business Variables

• {{businessName}}: Your business name (e.g., "Loft Restore")
• {{businessDescription}}: Brief business description
• {{contactNumber}}: Your business phone number
• {{businessAddress}}: Your business address

🔗 URL Variables

• {{websiteUrl}}: Your main website URL
• {{bookingUrl}}: Direct link to booking system
• {{serviceUrl}}: Specific service information page
• {{contactUsUrl}}: Contact page or form
• {{appUrl}}: Mobile app download link
• {{shopUrl}}: Online store or catalog

📑 Page-Specific Variables

• {{about}}: About us page URL
• {{services}}: Services overview page
• {{pricing}}: Pricing information page
• {{faq}}: Frequently asked questions
• {{delivery}}: Delivery information
• {{returns}}: Returns and refunds policy

🔧 Advanced Personalization

• Conditional Content: Show different content based on customer data
• Geographic Personalization: Include location-specific information
• Purchase History: Reference previous services or purchases
• Behavioral Triggers: Personalize based on customer actions
• Time-Based Content: Adjust messages based on time of day or season

📱 Mobile Optimization

• Clickable Links: URLs automatically become clickable on mobile
• Phone Numbers: Include clickable phone numbers for instant calling
• Short URLs: Use URL shorteners to save character space
• Clear CTAs: Make desired actions obvious and easy

✨ SMS Marketing Best Practices

Maximize your SMS campaign effectiveness with proven strategies for timing, content, and customer engagement.

⏰ Optimal Timing Strategies

🕐 Best Times to Send SMS

• Business Hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM for professional services
• Evening Reminders: 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM for next-day appointments
• Weekend Updates: Saturday mornings for non-urgent communications
• Urgent Messages: Anytime within 2-3 hours of appointments

📅 Day-of-Week Considerations

• Tuesday-Thursday: Best for business communications
• Monday Mornings: Avoid - people are catching up
• Friday Afternoons: Good for weekend appointment reminders
• Weekends: Only for urgent or time-sensitive messages

✍️ Content Creation Excellence

📝 Message Structure

1. Attention Grabber: Start with name or urgent indicator (⚠️ {{firstName}})
2. Key Information: Essential details in first 50 characters
3. Action Required: Clear next steps or links
4. Business Identity: Include {{businessName}} for recognition
5. Contact Option: Provide way to respond or contact you

📏 Character Management

• 160 Character Limit: Keep messages within single SMS
• Front-Load Important Info: Key details in first 50 characters
• URL Shortening: Use short URLs to save space
• Abbreviations: Use common abbreviations when appropriate
• Character Counter: Always check remaining characters

🎯 Engagement Optimization

📊 Response Rates

• 98% Open Rate: SMS has much higher open rates than email
• 5-minute Response: Most SMS messages are read within 5 minutes
• Personal Touch: Personalized messages get 29% higher response rates
• Clear CTAs: Include specific actions for better engagement

🔄 Follow-Up Strategies

• Appointment Confirmations: Send confirmation after booking
• Service Follow-ups: Check satisfaction after completion
• No-Show Follow-up: Professional follow-up for missed appointments
• Seasonal Check-ins: Regular maintenance reminders

📱 Mobile-First Approach

• Instant Delivery: Messages arrive immediately on mobile devices
• No App Required: Works on any phone with SMS capability
• Location Awareness: Customers receive messages wherever they are
• Easy Responses: Simple tap-to-call or tap-to-visit functionality

💰 Cost Efficiency

• Low Cost per Message: Typically £0.05 per SMS
• High ROI: Direct customer communication drives immediate action
• No Design Costs: Text-based messaging keeps costs low
• Bulk Discounts: Volume SMS credits often cost less per message

⚖️ SMS Marketing Compliance & Legal Requirements

Ensure your SMS marketing campaigns comply with UK and international regulations to avoid penalties and maintain customer trust.

🇬🇧 UK SMS Regulations

📋 PECR (Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations)

• Explicit Consent: Must have clear consent before sending marketing SMS
• Opt-in Required: Cannot send unsolicited marketing messages
• Easy Opt-out: Provide simple unsubscribe mechanism
• Record Keeping: Maintain records of consent and opt-outs

🔒 GDPR Compliance

• Lawful Basis: Have valid legal basis for processing phone numbers
• Data Minimization: Only collect necessary customer data
• Right to Erasure: Delete customer data upon request
• Data Security: Protect customer phone numbers and personal data

📱 SMS-Specific Compliance

🚫 Prohibited Content

• Misleading Information: All content must be accurate and truthful
• Spam Indicators: Avoid excessive capitalization or exclamation marks
• False Urgency: Don't create false sense of urgency
• Unclear Sender: Always identify your business clearly

✅ Required Elements

• Business Identification: Clear sender name or business name
• Opt-out Instructions: "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" or similar
• Contact Information: Way for recipients to contact you
• Purpose Clarity: Clear reason for the message

⏰ Timing Restrictions

• Reasonable Hours: Generally 8:00 AM - 9:00 PM
• Weekend Limits: Avoid non-urgent messages on Sundays
• Holiday Restrictions: Respect public holidays and religious observances
• Frequency Limits: Don't overwhelm customers with too many messages

📊 Compliance Best Practices

📝 Documentation

• Consent Records: When, where, and how consent was obtained
• Message Logs: What messages were sent to whom and when
• Opt-out Processing: Record all unsubscribe requests and processing
• Compliance Audits: Regular reviews of practices and procedures

🔄 Opt-out Management

• Immediate Processing: Process unsubscribe requests within 24 hours
• Confirmation Messages: Send confirmation of successful opt-out
• System Updates: Ensure all systems reflect opt-out status
• No Re-engagement: Don't attempt to re-engage opted-out customers

🛡️ Customer Trust & Relationship Management

• Transparent Communication: Be clear about message frequency and content
• Value Delivery: Ensure every message provides value to recipients
• Respectful Timing: Send messages at appropriate times
• Professional Tone: Maintain professional communication standards
• Customer Preferences: Honor customer communication preferences

📈 SMS Performance Analytics & Tracking

Monitor and optimize your SMS campaigns with comprehensive analytics, delivery tracking, and engagement metrics.

📊 Current Performance Metrics

Based on your dashboard statistics:

📈 Key Performance Indicators

🚀 Delivery Metrics

• Delivery Rate: 98% (excellent - industry average is 95-98%)
• Failed Deliveries: 2% (typically due to invalid numbers or network issues)
• Bounce Rate: Messages that couldn't be delivered
• Carrier Filtering: Messages blocked by mobile carriers

📱 Engagement Analytics

• Read Rates: SMS read rates typically 98% within 5 minutes
• Response Rates: Customer replies to your messages
• Click-Through Rates: Links clicked in SMS messages
• Conversion Rates: Actions taken after receiving SMS

📋 Campaign Performance Tracking

⏱️ Time-Based Analytics

• Send Time Analysis: Best performing send times for your audience
• Response Time Tracking: How quickly customers respond
• Daily/Weekly Trends: Peak engagement periods
• Seasonal Patterns: Performance across different seasons

📞 Number-Specific Analytics

• +447482547333 (Loft Restore): Performance for loft conversion campaigns
• Business-Specific Metrics: Compare performance across different business lines
• Customer Recognition: Response rates by sender number
• Campaign Attribution: Which numbers drive best results

🎯 Optimization Strategies

📝 Message Optimization

• A/B Testing: Test different message variations
• Character Length: Optimize for single SMS (160 chars)
• Personalization Impact: Measure effect of {{firstName}} usage
• Emoji Effectiveness: Test ⚠️ and other emoji usage

⏰ Timing Optimization

• Send Time Testing: Find optimal times for your audience
• Frequency Optimization: Balance engagement vs. message fatigue
• Urgent vs. Scheduled: Performance of different message types
• Day-of-Week Analysis: Best days for different message types

💰 ROI and Business Impact

📊 Cost Analysis

• Cost per SMS: Approximately £0.05 per message
• Cost per Engagement: Cost divided by response rate
• Customer Acquisition Cost: SMS cost per new customer
• Retention Cost: SMS cost for customer retention

💼 Business Value Metrics

• Appointment Confirmations: Reduced no-shows through SMS reminders
• Booking Conversions: SMS campaigns that lead to bookings
• Customer Lifetime Value: Long-term impact of SMS engagement
• Referral Generation: SMS campaigns that generate referrals

📊 Advanced Analytics Features

• Geographic Analysis: Performance by customer location
• Device Analytics: iOS vs Android response patterns
• Template Performance: Which message templates work best
• Customer Journey Mapping: SMS touchpoints in customer experience
• Predictive Analytics: Forecast campaign performance

🔄 Continuous Improvement Process

1. Monitor Daily: Check delivery rates and immediate responses
2. Weekly Analysis: Review engagement patterns and trends
3. Monthly Optimization: Adjust strategies based on performance data
4. Quarterly Planning: Set new goals and campaign strategies
5. Annual Review: Comprehensive analysis and strategy refinement

🚀 Quick Actions

Ready to launch your SMS marketing campaigns? Use these direct links: