Why Your Customers Actually Prefer Text Message Surveys

• In SMS Marketing, SMS Survey
• January 25, 2016

All businesses benefit from knowing more about their customers. Whether it’s a restaurant trying to discover customers’ favorite kinds of cheese or a clothing store deciding which brand of socks to put on the shelf, knowing more means providing the right products services.

A traditional way to get information about customers is the online survey, a convenient and low-cost method. However, there is a more effective alternative. Here are seven reasons for marketers to go mobile:

Text Surveys are Shorter

Online surveys have a tendency toward length. More information is better from a marketing perspective, but long surveys are proven to receive fewer responses than shorter ones. Why? Sitting and answering a lot of questions is irritating.

Text message surveys are a fast and fun way to provide information, especially when an incentive (ex: coupon, free item) is involved.

Customized topic

Companies must either receive opt-in verification from customers or get a survey keyword review request before sending text messages. This allows them to better target text message polling activities because they know they aren’t taking a shot in the dark. A survey on a specific topic is more engaging because the customer already has a demonstrated interest.

Immediate reward

Incentives give the customer a real reason to both start and finish the survey. Those who complete the survey can be offered a free sandwich, 10 percent off an online order, or the chance to win a tropical vacation.

Instant rewards increase the rate of response and can also positively influence emotional engagement between the customer and your brand.

No Mobile Optimization Problem

People spend more time than ever on their mobile devices. This poses a problem for online surveys, many of which are made for desktop view and not optimized for smartphones and tablets.

A text survey has no such problem. As a text message, it is already optimized for mobile devices.

No More Confusing Questions

It is easy to get lost in an online survey that is long on questions but short on coherence. By contrast, many text surveys guide the responder with action hints. A shorter, guided text survey has higher chances to have better response rate.

Ease of Delivery and Higher Response Rate

It’s often necessary to ask customers to fill out a quick survey while they’re still in the store or restaurant. For such cases, an online survey obviously won’t do: Wi-Fi, account creation, logins, and application downloads all conspire to make filling out the survey difficult.

A text message survey makes it easy. Just a call to action saying ‘text this number to take a 5 question survey and get a free (donut/sandwich/shirt/etc.)’ is enough to engage customers.

Analytics

Text message polling makes it easier for marketers to collect and analyze necessary information. Advanced SMS marketing software allows marketers to follow real-time downloadable statistics designed to help marketers save time and have a superior experience.

Knowing your customer helps businesses like yours provide better products and services. The easiest and most efficient way to get information on customer needs and preferences is through text message polling. Why not have your customers fill out a quick survey today?

With textLab^TM SMS Marketing Software you can create engaging and interactive mobile marketing campaigns to quickly engage customers who like to text. Let our experts bring your business to the next level. Contact your Toronto SMS Marketing experts today for your next project.

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