Terms

Text message marketing

Text message marketing is a method businesses use to send communications like promotions, alerts, and reminders directly to the mobile devices of customers who have opted in to receive them. This permission-based channel leverages short, direct messages to deliver timely information, from special offers and event announcements to shipping confirmations and appointment reminders.

Benefits of Text Message Marketing

SMS marketing offers a powerful way to connect directly with your audience, cutting through the noise of other digital channels. Its unique characteristics translate into tangible advantages for businesses, from boosting engagement to driving sales.

  • Immediacy: Messages are delivered instantly and typically read within minutes, ensuring timely communication.
  • Engagement: Fosters direct, two-way conversations that build stronger customer relationships.
  • Reach: Connects with a vast audience directly on their personal devices, bypassing spam filters.
  • Cost-Effective: Provides an affordable way to reach a wide audience with a high return on investment.
  • Conversion: Drives immediate action with time-sensitive offers, boosting sales and revenue.

Best Practices for Text Message Marketing

To maximize effectiveness and maintain customer trust, it's crucial to follow established best practices. Adhering to these guidelines ensures your campaigns are compliant, respectful, and engaging, which protects your brand and enhances the customer experience.

  • Consent: Always get explicit permission from subscribers before sending any messages.
  • Brevity: Keep your messages concise and to the point, respecting character limits.
  • Value: Ensure every text provides a clear benefit, like an exclusive offer or useful update.
  • Timing: Send messages during appropriate hours and at a frequency that doesn’t overwhelm your audience.

Text message marketing vs. Email marketing

While both are permission-based channels, text and email marketing serve distinct purposes in a company's communication strategy.

  • Text message marketing: This channel offers unparalleled immediacy with open rates as high as 98%, making it ideal for time-sensitive alerts and flash sales. However, its 160-character limit and strict regulations require concise, high-value messages. Enterprises and mid-market firms use it for urgent communications and driving immediate customer action.
  • Email marketing: This method allows for detailed, visually rich content like newsletters and promotions, which is better for storytelling and nurturing leads. While emails face lower open rates and crowded inboxes, they are preferred by companies for building long-term relationships and conveying complex information that isn't time-sensitive.

Tools and Platforms for Text Message Marketing

Choosing the right SMS marketing platform is crucial for executing successful campaigns. These tools provide the infrastructure to manage subscriber lists, send messages in bulk, and ensure legal compliance. They are designed to streamline workflows and maximize the impact of your outreach efforts.

  • Automation: Schedule messages, trigger automated responses, and create drip campaigns.
  • Personalization: Segment audiences and use dynamic fields to tailor content for each recipient.
  • Analytics: Track performance with detailed reports on delivery, open rates, and engagement.

Case Studies in Text Message Marketing

Retail brands effectively use SMS to drive sales and improve customer communication. For example, fashion companies like Jenni Kayne send personalized coupon codes to incentivize purchases. E-commerce businesses such as Baking Steel use transactional texts for order confirmations and shipping updates, keeping customers informed.

Service-based industries also leverage SMS to streamline operations and gather feedback. U-Haul enhances convenience by allowing customers to check in and out via text. Similarly, ride-sharing services like Uber use SMS to request driver ratings immediately after a trip, improving service quality.

Frequently Asked Questions about Text message marketing

How do I get customers to opt-in for SMS marketing?

Encourage sign-ups by offering incentives like exclusive discounts or early access. Use website pop-ups, checkout opt-in boxes, and keyword campaigns. Always be transparent about what subscribers will receive and how often to build trust and ensure compliance.

What's the difference between SMS and MMS?

SMS (Short Message Service) is for text-only messages up to 160 characters. MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) allows you to send media like images, GIFs, and videos, offering a richer, more engaging experience but at a potentially higher cost per message.

Is SMS marketing still effective with the rise of messaging apps?

Absolutely. SMS marketing leverages the native messaging app on every phone, requiring no extra downloads. Its directness and near-perfect open rates make it exceptionally effective for time-sensitive promotions and alerts that cut through the noise of other app notifications.

Other terms

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Sales Team Management

Sales team management is the process of leading, coaching, and motivating a sales team to achieve its sales goals and drive revenue growth.

Sales Team Management

Lead List

A lead list is a curated database of potential customers (leads) with contact information and other key data for sales and marketing outreach.

Lead List

Lead Response Time

Lead response time is the duration between a potential customer showing interest and your team's first point of contact with them.

Lead Response Time

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a desired goal, like a purchase or sign-up, out of the total number of visitors.

Conversion Rate

Clustering

Clustering is the technique of grouping similar items. In sales, it means segmenting leads by shared traits to better personalize outreach.

Clustering

Account-Based Marketing Benchmarks

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) benchmarks are key metrics used to measure the performance and success of your targeted account strategies.

Account-Based Marketing Benchmarks

Custom Metadata Types

Custom Metadata Types store application configurations as metadata. This makes them easily deployable between different Salesforce environments.

Custom Metadata Types

Inside Sales Rep

An inside sales rep sells products or services remotely from an office, using digital tools like phone and email to connect with customers.

Inside Sales Rep

Sales Territory

A sales territory is a specific group of customers or a geographic area that a salesperson or sales team is responsible for managing.

Sales Territory

CPM

CPM, or Cost Per Mille, is a key advertising metric. It's the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views or impressions of a single ad.

CPM

Discount Strategies

Discount strategies are pricing tactics used to attract customers and boost sales by temporarily reducing the price of products or services.

Discount Strategies

Enterprise Resource Planning

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is a system of integrated software that businesses use to manage and automate their core day-to-day processes.

Enterprise Resource Planning

Sales Conversion Rate

Sales conversion rate is the percentage of prospects who take a desired action, like making a purchase, turning them into customers.

Sales Conversion Rate

B2B Sales

Learn about B2B sales, including key strategies for B2B success, types of B2B sales models, & B2B vs. B2C sales: understanding the differences.

B2B Sales

Rollback Procedures

Rollback procedures are a set of steps to restore a system to a previous, stable version after a failed update, ensuring minimal disruption.

Rollback Procedures

Load Balancing

Load balancing is the practice of distributing incoming network traffic across a group of backend servers, ensuring no single server is overworked.

Load Balancing

API

An API (Application Programming Interface) is a software intermediary that allows two applications to talk to each other and exchange information.

API

Consumer

A consumer is an individual or entity that buys products or services for personal use, not for resale. They are the final user in a supply chain.

Consumer

Ballpark

Learn about ballpark, including estimating with ballpark figures, understanding ballpark estimates in sales, & ballpark estimates vs. precise quotes.

Ballpark

Internal signals

Internal signals are data points from your own systems, like website visits or product usage, that indicate a customer's buying intent.

Internal signals

Cost Per Click (CPC)

Cost Per Click (CPC) is a digital advertising model where an advertiser pays a fee each time one of their ads gets clicked by a user.

Cost Per Click (CPC)

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Learn about B2B, including what is it, its key elements, the benefits of B2B partnerships, the differences between B2B and B2C, and strategies for effective marketing.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Customer Experience

Customer experience (CX) is a customer's total perception of your business, based on every interaction across the entire customer lifecycle.

Customer Experience

Funnel Analysis

Funnel analysis is a method for understanding the steps users take to complete a goal, revealing where they drop off in the conversion process.

Funnel Analysis

Private Labeling

Private labeling is when a company rebrands a product made by a third-party manufacturer and sells it as their own.

Private Labeling

RESTful API

A RESTful API is a web service interface that uses HTTP requests to access and use data, adhering to the constraints of REST architecture.

RESTful API

Sales and Marketing Alignment

Sales and marketing alignment means both teams work in sync, sharing goals and data to boost lead quality, conversions, and company revenue.

Sales and Marketing Alignment

Upsell

Upselling is a sales tactic encouraging customers to purchase a higher-end version of a product or related add-ons to boost revenue.

Upsell

Subscription Models

Subscription models are a business strategy where customers pay a recurring fee at regular intervals for access to a product or service.

Subscription Models

Buyer

Learn about buyer, including identifying your ideal buyer, understanding buyer's journey, & evaluating buyer decision processes.

Buyer

Product-Led Growth

Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a business strategy where the product itself drives user acquisition, conversion, and expansion.

Product-Led Growth

Account Management

Account management is the post-sales practice of building and nurturing long-term relationships with a company's most valuable clients.

Account Management

Sales Demonstration

A sales demonstration is a presentation showing a prospect how a product or service works and how it can solve their specific problems.

Sales Demonstration

Warm Outreach

Warm outreach is contacting prospects with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact, making your message more personal and effective.

Warm Outreach

Behavioral Analytics

Learn about behavioral analytics, including implementing behavioral analytics successfully, & key metrics in behavioral analytics.

Behavioral Analytics

Docker

Docker is a tool that packages applications and their dependencies into isolated environments called containers for easy deployment and scaling.

Docker

Account Development Representative

An Account Development Representative (ADR) identifies and qualifies new business opportunities, creating a pipeline for account executives.

Account Development Representative

Analytics Platforms

Analytics platforms are tools that collect and analyze data from various sources, helping businesses track key metrics and make informed decisions.

Analytics Platforms

Buying Criteria

Buying criteria are the specific requirements and standards a customer uses to evaluate products or services before making a decision.

Buying Criteria

Sales Methodology

A sales methodology is the framework that guides how your sales team approaches the entire sales process, from prospecting to closing deals.

Sales Methodology

Data Cleansing

Data cleansing, or data scrubbing, is the process of detecting and correcting inaccurate records from a dataset to improve data quality.

Data Cleansing

Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are fraudulent attempts to trick you into revealing sensitive data like passwords or financial info by posing as a trusted source.

Phishing Attacks

Warm Email

A warm email is a message sent to a prospect with whom you have a pre-existing connection, like a mutual contact or a prior interaction.

Warm Email

Buyer’s Remorse

Buyer’s remorse is the sense of regret or anxiety that can arise after making a purchase, often questioning if it was the right decision.

Buyer’s Remorse

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is a method where all expenses are re-evaluated and must be justified from scratch for each new budget period.

Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB)

Below the Line

Learn about below the line, including key strategies for below the line marketing, & distinguishing above and below the line tactics.

Below the Line

Single Page Applications

A Single Page Application (SPA) is a web app that interacts with the user by dynamically rewriting the current page rather than loading new pages.

Single Page Applications

Data Mining

Data mining is the process of discovering patterns, trends, and useful information from large datasets to make better business decisions.

Data Mining

User Testing

User testing involves observing real users interact with a product to identify usability issues and improve the overall user experience.

User Testing

Contact Discovery

Contact discovery is the process of finding accurate contact details for potential leads, including names, emails, phone numbers, and job titles.

Contact Discovery

AI Data Enrichment

AI data enrichment uses artificial intelligence to automatically enhance and update raw data, making it more complete, accurate, and valuable.

AI Data Enrichment

Marketing Attribution

Marketing attribution is the process of identifying which touchpoints contribute to a conversion and assigning value to each of them.

Marketing Attribution

Drupal

Drupal is a free, open-source content management system (CMS) for building websites and applications. It's known for its robust flexibility.

Drupal

Rapport Building

Rapport building is the process of establishing a connection and mutual understanding with someone, creating a foundation of trust and affinity.

Rapport Building

Lead Generation

Lead generation is the process of identifying and cultivating potential customers for a business's products or services.

Lead Generation

Order Management

Order management is the end-to-end process of tracking customer orders from placement to fulfillment, ensuring a seamless customer experience.

Order Management

Stress Testing

Stress testing is a type of software testing that determines a system's robustness by pushing it beyond its normal operational capacity.

Stress Testing

Logo Retention

Logo retention is a key B2B metric that measures a company's ability to retain its customers, or 'logos,' over a specific period.

Logo Retention

Channel Sales

Channel sales is an indirect sales model where a company leverages third-party partners, such as resellers or affiliates, to sell its products.

Channel Sales

Account-Based Sales Development

Account-Based Sales Development (ABSD) is a focused strategy where SDRs target key stakeholders within specific, high-value accounts.

Account-Based Sales Development

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

A Sales Development Representative (SDR) is a sales specialist who finds and qualifies new leads, building a pipeline for the sales team.

Sales Development Representative (SDR)

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) centralizes customer data from all sources to create a complete, unified profile for each individual customer.

Customer Data Platform (CDP)

Guided Selling

Guided selling simplifies complex sales by giving reps step-by-step instructions and data-driven recommendations to close deals faster.

Guided Selling

Marketing Automation Platform

A marketing automation platform is software that automates marketing actions. It helps manage tasks like email campaigns and lead nurturing.

Marketing Automation Platform

Sales Manager

A Sales Manager leads a sales team, setting goals, analyzing performance, and developing strategies to drive revenue and meet targets.

Sales Manager

Average Order Value

Average Order Value (AOV) tracks the average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order on your website or mobile app.

Average Order Value

Buying Signal

A buying signal is any action from a prospect that indicates they are interested in making a purchase, helping sales teams prioritize leads.

Buying Signal

Dark Social

Dark social is the sharing of content through private channels like messaging apps or email. This traffic is hard to track as it lacks referral data.

Dark Social

End of Quarter

“End of Quarter” (EOQ) refers to the final weeks of a business quarter when sales teams rush to meet quotas, often leading to a flurry of deals.

End of Quarter

Bottom of the Funnel

Learn about bottom of the funnel, including maximizing conversions at the funnel's end, & strategies for nurturing bottom-funnel leads.

Bottom of the Funnel

Competitive Analysis

Competitive analysis means identifying your rivals and assessing their strategies to pinpoint your own business's strengths and weaknesses.

Competitive Analysis

Feature Flags

Feature flags let you remotely control features in your app without new code. This enables safe testing, gradual rollouts, and quick rollbacks.

Feature Flags

Video Messaging

Video messaging involves sending short, personalized video clips to prospects or customers, replacing traditional text-based communication.

Video Messaging

Sales Metrics

Sales metrics are quantifiable data points that track and measure a sales team's performance against specific goals and objectives.

Sales Metrics

Contact Data

Contact data is the set of details, like names, emails, and phone numbers, used to get in touch with a person or business for outreach.

Contact Data

Inbound Sales

Inbound sales attracts interested prospects who've engaged with your brand, letting sales reps connect with warm leads instead of cold outreach.

Inbound Sales

Predictive Lead Generation

Predictive lead generation uses data and AI to find prospects most likely to buy, helping teams focus their efforts on high-value leads.

Predictive Lead Generation

Quarterly Business Review

A Quarterly Business Review (QBR) is a recurring meeting to assess performance against goals and align on strategy for the next quarter.

Quarterly Business Review

Business Intelligence In Marketing

Learn about business intelligence in marketing, including the role of data in marketing BI, key components of marketing BI, & marketing BI vs. market research.

Business Intelligence In Marketing

Real-time Data

Real-time data is information processed and made available almost instantaneously, enabling immediate analysis and decision-making.

Real-time Data

High Availability

High availability (HA) describes a system's capacity to function continuously with minimal downtime, ensuring consistent operational performance.

High Availability

Multi-threading

Multi-threading allows a single CPU core to run multiple independent threads (or tasks) at the same time, boosting efficiency and performance.

Multi-threading

Sales Compensation

Sales compensation is the total pay a salesperson receives, including salary, commissions, and bonuses, structured to motivate performance.

Sales Compensation

Dynamic Data

Dynamic data is information that updates in real-time. Unlike static data, it reflects the most current state of information automatically.

Dynamic Data

Sales Intelligence

Sales intelligence is technology that gathers and analyzes data to help salespeople find and understand prospects and existing clients.

Sales Intelligence

Request for Information

A Request for Information (RFI) is a formal process for gathering information from potential suppliers before issuing a more detailed proposal.

Request for Information

Sales Objections

Sales objections are reasons or concerns raised by a potential customer as to why they are hesitant or unwilling to make a purchase.

Sales Objections

Closed Lost

Closed Lost is a sales term for a deal that didn't go through. The prospect decided not to buy, or the sales team disqualified them.

Closed Lost

Lightning Components

Lightning Components is a UI framework for building dynamic web apps for mobile and desktop devices on the Salesforce Lightning Platform.

Lightning Components

Page Views

Page views count the total number of times a page on your website is loaded. This metric is a key indicator of your site's overall traffic.

Page Views

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a performance-based model where affiliates earn a commission for promoting another company’s products or services.

Affiliate Marketing

Salesforce Object Query Language

Salesforce Object Query Language (SOQL) is a query language used to search your organization's Salesforce data for specific information.

Salesforce Object Query Language

Multi-Channel Marketing

Multi-channel marketing uses various platforms—like email, social media, and direct mail—to engage with customers wherever they are.

Multi-Channel Marketing

Account

An account is a company or organization that you're targeting for sales. It can be a prospective, current, or even a past customer.

Account

Performance Plan

A performance plan is a formal document outlining an employee's goals, expectations, and metrics for success over a specific period.

Performance Plan

Total Audience Measurement

Total Audience Measurement (TAM) provides a holistic view of content consumption, tracking viewership across all platforms and devices.

Total Audience Measurement

Dark Funnel

The Dark Funnel describes customer buying activities that are untrackable by companies, such as private chats and word-of-mouth referrals.

Dark Funnel

Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is the process of optimizing your content, SEO, and online listings to appear in and rank for voice-based searches.

Voice Search Optimization

Email Engagement

Email engagement measures how your audience interacts with your emails. It includes key actions like opens, clicks, replies, and forwards.

Email Engagement

Soft Sell

A soft sell is a low-pressure sales tactic that uses subtle persuasion and relationship-building to gently guide customers toward a purchase.

Soft Sell