How to SMS marketing for the B2B segment

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Companies and businesses are doing their best to inform their customer base about their services and products. Unfortunately, SMS marketing as a communication channel is largely overlooked, especially in the B2B sector. It can be an effective B2B marketing strategy that will help nurture your potential customers in this very sector.

In our article, we’ll take a closer look at SMS marketing for B2B businesses, and the differences it makes in communication. We’ll also reveal some tips for improving your existing strategy.

Is B2B SMS marketing even functional?

Some marketers believe that SMS marketing is not an effective way to promote products or services to other businesses, but the opposite is true. Yes, B2B SMS marketing is functional and we’ll tell you why.

The main reason why many people are not convinced about SMS as a suitable marketing communication channel for B2B lies in the very nature of this type of business. B2B focuses on marketing and selling services and products to other companies, not end consumers.

However, B2B businesses are also inherently selling to people, just people who are less prone to impulse buying and emotion-driven purchasing decisions. As a result, this means you need a more personalized approach to guide them through the sales funnel the way you want.

What’s the best way to connect with people on a more personal level? It’s through text messages that go directly to the recipients.

B2B vs. B2C SMS messages

Although both types of messages are used to communicate with potential customers, B2B and B2C SMS messages are different. In particular, there are significant differences in marketing tactics, content and delivery between B2B and B2C.

Since you need to set up a more personalized approach in communicating to companies, the goal of B2B SMS marketing is to generate leads by recommending your services. As discussed above, company representatives do not buy based on emotions. Which means an overly commercial message won’t work for you. These messages will only work with individual consumers where you are focusing on brand building.

In B2B, it’s best to use the tactic of a one-on-one approach. So for B2B SMS marketing, you should focus on nurturing your leads through delivering relevant content. In B2C SMS marketing, on the other hand, your goal is to mass inform your target audience about the benefits of your product or service. Once they learn about your offer, you will keep the communication consistent enough until you get them to buy.

How to prepare an effective B2B SMS marketing

Now that we know B2B SMS marketing works, let’s take a look at how to prepare an effective SMS campaign. We’ve put together 5 points that will make lead generation, lead nurturing, and conversions more effective!

Create your SMS marketing campaign

To run an effective B2B SMS marketing campaign, you need to plan it carefully. This is the most important part, and you must create a practical framework to follow during the campaign. SMS should exist as part of an omnichannel strategy. Thus, SMS messages are not the only thing you will be sending to your customers. In most cases, it is ideal to combine communication through emails and SMS messages.

There are many ways to integrate SMS messages into your email marketing.

For example, you can get feedback on email marketing campaigns by conducting surveys via text messages. By using SMS surveys, you can get more data about your potential customers and create personalized email marketing campaigns. Just make sure in this case that the answers have to be very short, ideally one-word e.g. yes or no.

Create a campaign plan that details the specific marketing tactics you will use to make each SMS campaign effective.

Create a list of goals

Creating an SMS marketing contact database is not as complicated as it sounds. You can use your existing list of email contacts to send out notifications about creating an SMS list. Be sure to include the following information in your email:

  • What added value they will get if they sign up for SMS marketing messages.
  • Details about the format of the SMS messages and how often you will send SMS messages.
  • A button that links to a registration form or call to action that asks them to send you a text message with a specific keyword so you can sign them up.

Place a registration form on your website (e.g., a registration form for your B2B system) that includes a field for a phone number. The form must also include a checkbox with information about consenting to receive SMS marketing messages. If the user checks it and registers, you can send this type of SMS message to them because you have obtained their explicit consent.

Create compelling SMS messages

There are many types of text messages that can be sent to businesses. You can ask questions to get more data about potential customers and send personalized marketing campaigns. You can also collect more data about potential customers to understand them better.

Not only that, here are some other types of text messages for the B2B segment:

  • Company announcements: perhaps there have been changes in the pricing of your products or services or you are planning to launch a new product.
  • Important content updates: If you publish important new content (e.g., updated terms and conditions), you can send it directly to potential customers. Just send them the link via SMS.
  • Reminders: Remind your potential customers of their scheduled appointments or demonstrations at your business.

Also pay attention to the length of the SMS messages you send to B2B leads. Don’t make them too long. Remember, people don’t like to read long text messages on their phones. Plus, if you’re within the 160 character limit, you’re only paying for 1 text message.

Segment your contact list by relevance

Don’t send SPAM to all your subscribers. First, sort them by relevance and by various factors:

  • Industrial sector
  • Company size
  • Length of cooperation
  • Level of cooperation
  • etc.

Segmentation allows you to create tailored SMS messages that can reach the right B2B partner.

Get the timing right

You should send text messages at a time that is most convenient for your B2B customers. This will ensure you successfully engage leads and achieve optimal conversions.

The most effective time seems to be during business hours. This also makes sense, as this is when your potential B2B partners are working and willing to talk about anything work-related.

You should also consider the following factors when sending marketing SMS messages:

B2B partners don’t like to receive SMS messages on Mondays: Give them time in the first half of the week to settle in and take care of the most pressing issues. If it’s really urgent, try to send messages more on Monday afternoon.

Don’t send text messages too early in the morning: A marketing SMS message that is sent at 6am is more likely to get your potential B2B partner to unsubscribe from your SMS list than to build a positive business relationship with you.

Don’t send SMS messages after business hours: If a potential B2B partner receives your marketing SMS message after business hours when they’re trying to relax, they’re not going to be too thrilled.

Once you decide on a specific time, try to stick to it. The B2B partner will gradually get used to your messages coming at this time and is less likely to be bothered by it.

Conclusion

Although it is one of the oldest forms of digital marketing, SMS marketing still thrives as a formidable channel for outreach, promotion and even remarketing campaigns. It’s a great marketing channel through which to reach your B2B customers who need a more personal approach to conversion.

Give this type of communication a try for yourself and register your account with GoSMS SMS Gateway in no time. Plus, you’ll get a free 1 EUR credit from us.

 

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