Today’s business text messaging platforms empower companies to send their customers personalized mass texts. Teams simply select lists, choose or create a template, then send or schedule the message. The platform personalizes each outgoing message by using merge tokens to dynamically insert custom fields. Segmenting SMS lists can make the experience even more personalized for customers.
The smaller and more focused your lists are, the more targeted your texts can be. The more targeted your texts are, the more likely they’ll resonate with their recipients. This is why segmenting SMS lists is so useful.
However, it can be tough to figure out how to segment your business SMS contacts for the first time. There are plenty of examples of SMS list segmentation, but crafting a method for your particular business can be a challenge. That’s why we’ve rounded up 5 top tips for segmenting SMS lists.
Let’s dive in.
Segmenting SMS Lists Tip #1: The Smaller, the Better
Today’s customers don’t want to receive texts from bots. They want—and expect—personalized content that is tailored to their personal experiences with your brand. To create this kind of personalized experience for your customers, your teams need to separate them into small lists. The smaller the list you have, the more targeted content you can create.
You can create CRM custom fields specific to your list members’ experiences, mentioning key things like their participation in a local event or in a sweepstakes. As we mentioned before, your business text messaging platform will automatically use merge tokens to insert this custom field information into each outgoing text, making it seem as though each text was sent individually by a team member. Custom fields can also help you segment your lists faster.
As you brainstorm ways to segment your lists, keep size and specificity top-of-mind.
Segmenting SMS Lists Tip #2: Know Your Demographics
There are many ways to segment your lists. However, while you’ll want to focus on segmenting SMS lists based on categories like customer experiences and preferences, you need to keep your demographics in mind.
For example, you’ll want to consider:
- Age range, which can dictate how formal or casual texts should be
- Technological capabilities, which can drive use of additional messaging channels like Apple Business Chat
- Communication preferences, which can determine how much content you send through SMS versus other channels
For example, you may have a large list of customers who texted in about a marketing campaign. They may range in age from 21 to 72. It may make sense to divide the list into two categories: customers interested in the marketing campaign from ages 21 – 39, and another for those aged 40 – 71. Content can be tweaked for each list. For example, the younger list may enjoy content that includes GIFs and emojis, while the other list might not.
Segmenting SMS Lists Tip #3: Keep Your Goals in Mind
When choosing ways to segment your SMS lists, keep your goals in mind. You can plan out your lists based on what you want to achieve by sending content to each one.
For example, you may want to send content to your SMS lists in order to:
- Convert new leads
- Follow-up on marketing campaigns
- Keep loyal customers interested
Considering these goals as you create lists will offer you some guidance. For example, if you want to keep loyal customers interested, you can create a list of customers who are the most engaged. If you want to convert new leads, you can create a list of customers who have signed up for your SMS services in the past month. You can even automate your business SMS platform to add new customers to their own list as soon as they opt in.
Segmenting SMS Lists Tip #4: Think Locally
Remember that your customers want to feel as though a person is texting them, not a bot. They want the same personalized experience they would receive if they walked down the street to their favorite corner store. Consider this when creating lists.
Your team might segment lists by:
- County or state, depending on your business’s size
- Local delivery or pickup preferences
- Regional SMS inboxes
When you separate lists based on geographic location, you can add relevant details to your content that let your customers know that you’re part of the community, too. For example, you can create a quick message letting customers know that you’ll be at an upcoming local event. You can also use the weather as a topic starter for an SMS marketing campaign.
Segmenting SMS Lists Tip #5: Don’t Avoid Double-Dipping
It’s inevitable; you’ll probably end up having one customer on multiple lists. But this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
As long as you’re contacting customers sparingly and delivering value with each message, it’s okay to send them messages multiple times a month. If the content they receive is personalized and specific, this will only increase brand awareness and encourage them to engage.
Regardless, be sure to offer opt-out instructions at the end of each text, just in case a customer in this situation chooses to stop receiving messages. You can even track contacts who have replied with a keyword to opt out—and automate your SMS platform to ensure these contacts are taken off all other lists. SMS compliance should always be priority.
Want to learn more about business text messaging? Check out our blog.
