Consumers crave personal and conventional messaging, according to a 2021 Local Business Messaging Trends report released by Podium, which states that local businesses are “uniquely positioned to win” against online and e-commerce businesses with SMS marketing.
The report, which explores what messaging and consumer preferences look like for brands and specifically local businesses, found that 74% of consumers are more likely to text with a local business knowing a real person is going to receive and respond to their message—rather than receiving automated messages. And 50% of consumers are more likely to respond to a text message from a business if the person behind the texts introduces themselves.
“For consumers, text messaging is more prevalent than ever,” said Podium in its report. “According to a recent survey, text is the preferred communication channel of all age groups, including those over 60. And 40.5% of customers report being ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to switch to a different business because they offer text messaging to communicate.”
Consumers are 21% more likely to opt into the SMS marketing lists of local businesses (such as dealerships) than major chain or big-box businesses. And 45% are more likely to opt into local businesses’ SMS marketing messages than online or e-commerce businesses.
As for the type of promotional messages that consumers are open to, the report points to incentives like coupons, discounts, and promo codes as number one (64%), followed by loyalty offers and benefits (52%), back-in-stock notifications (35%), and invitations to upcoming events (28%). For consumers that opt in to receiving promotional messaging, Podium notes that 75% of them welcome SMS messages.
It is also worth noting that 55% of consumers already redeemed an offer or promotional code shared with them via text message. But more importantly, consumers redeem SMS coupons 10 times more than other types of coupons.
“When asked which channels they would like, but do not currently use, to learn about promotions from the local businesses they frequent, text messaging was the top choice—higher than email, website chat, or social media,” said Podium in its report.
Podiums also said 16% of respondents who opt in to receive promotional text messages would like to receive messages at least once per day, while 62% would like to receive them at least once per week. However, 75% would also unsubscribe if they received too many, while 41% would do so if they felt the messages were automated or impersonal. And 67% would do so if the messages they receive are irrelevant to them.
Messages that engage consumers via text that include images, gifs or video are preferred by 41% of people, while 52% are more likely to engage with the text message if it includes a link to more information online.
However, Podium also offers a warning for local businesses to be aware of the rules and regulations regarding SMS marketing, since breaking these rules can result in loss of consumer trust and hefty fines. Fifty-nine per cent of consumers have received text messages from a business without their permission, while 61% would unsubscribe if they did not recall signing up for the promo messages.
For dealers, messaging successfully lies in balancing several moving parts while also being aware of what consumers want and do not want from their local businesses.
