SMS Marketing in Singapore: A Simple Guide for Business Owners

If you run any business in Singapore, you can’t afford to ignore SMS marketing. About 4.3 million Singaporeans are active users of social messaging services—that’s 75% of the total population! And they don’t use SMS to stay in touch with friends or coordinate with co-workers. Studies show that  out of 10 Singapore mobile users use their phones to look up information online. So, SMS Marketing in Singapore is not only useful, but critical to building your brand.

This article will help you launch your SMS marketing in Singapore. It will explain how it works, share tips and trends, and help you send you launch your first campaign. Let’s get started!

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing (also known as text message marketing) sends promotional message through the phone. This can include coupons, sale alerts, product recommendations, contest announcements and more.

SMS marketing requires the user’s permission. Customers have to agree to receive messages from your brand, usually through an online form or texting a short code. While this means that you need to build a database, it also guarantees a higher marketing ROI. Your messages go to customers who are already interested in your product and service, and just need a little “push” every now and then.  For Singapore businesses with tight marketing budgets, SMS marketing can help you maximize every dollar for higher conversion and, ultimately, sales.

What are the benefits of SMS Marketing?

 Higher conversion is just one of the benefits of SMS marketing in Singapore. If you execute your campaign correctly, your business reputation and sales will grow at a much faster rate, and at a reasonable cost.

High open rates

Compared to phone marketing and even email marketing, SMS marketing has much higher clicks or open rates. Studies show that 98% of SMS messages are opened, so you have a good guarantee that customers will see your messages.

That’s because customers are less likely to ignore messages that appear on their phones, and check their text messages even more frequently than social media. However, open-rates do depend on the quality of your messages. If you send too many irrelevant promos, you can be marked as “spam” and prompt your user to unsubscribe. That’s something to consider when you create your SMS blast Singapore campaigns.

Inexpensive

SMS marketing campaigns are cheaper and less complicated to produce than large-scale advertising campaigns such as print ads, billboards, TV or radio ads, or videos. You can tap your existing customer database and send regular messages almost right away. However, if you don’t have a new Singapore business, you can  launch an initial campaign to attract customers, and then reap the long-term benefits by staying in touch with them months after they see your ads or social posts.

Large reach

With the right planning and execution, an SMS marketing Singapore campaign can have one of the highest market reach—and may even encourage sales outside of the island. Smart phone use increases every year, and research groups like Statista report that 52.2% of online traffic come from mobile. People are using their phones to shop; how will you reach them?

 As Google and Facebook algorithims make it more difficult to rank in organic search or even show up on social media, it makes sense for small businesses to pay attention to smaller, cost-effective platforms like SMS.

Instant delivery

Phone messages are delivered in real-time. That offers many strategic opportunities for marketers who launch time-sensitive or location-triggered campaigns. For example, do you have a weekend promo or a contest? Do you want to target customers in your neighborhood? An SMS message can prompt them to check your goods and services at the most opportune time. A restaurant can announce budget menus just when people are thinking of ordering lunch. A spa or beauty salon can offer Friday night specials at the end of the work week, when stressed-out office workers are eager for pampering and Me Time. For bigger establishments with multiple outlets, SMS can also lead customers to find the nearest sale, emphasizing that huge discounts are “just 10 minutes away.”

Personalized messages

Perhaps the biggest mistake that businesses make with SMS marketing in Singapore is that they don’t take advantage of localization and personalization. They send massive, generic text blasts without really understanding the needs of the person receiving them. Ultimately, these “random” messages are ignored—and eventually, can lead to your number being blocked.

The best SMS marketing campaigns are segmented and personalized. The companies divide the customers into clear target personas and send messages based on their interest and purchase history. This allows you to communicate with your market in a very relevant way, so they view your SMS blast Singapore messages as helpful tips or information, rather than “phone spam.”

Easily integrated with other channels

The best SMS marketing campaigns are aligned and driven by other platforms like social media, email, ads, landing pages and other web content like blogs and videos.  This is called an omnichannel approach, where you interact with customers in different ways. In general, omnichannel is more effective because it builds more awareness and credibility. Studies show that customers need at least 7 interactions with a brand before they develop enough trust. If your SMS is the first time they’ve ever heard about your product, they are less likely to open the message or believe what it says.

Luckily, SMS campaigns are very easy to run alongside other digital marketing efforts. If you have a sale, you can send push notifications the same time you announce it on a website landing page or a social media ad. You can also use the SMs message to drive them to a blog post or video about a product, or give a coupon for a product they left in your e-commerce shopping cart. The possibilities are endless!

 Learn more about your customers

Aside from sending out promos and product announcements, be sure to include surveys and other ways to get customer feedback. Research shows that on average 31% of consumers will respond to a survey via SMS. This is a great opportunity to find out what they want, improve your service and customize your offers, and even gather testimonials and reviews.

How to Do SMS Marketing in Singapore

Encourage sign-ups

Perhaps the biggest challenging of SMS marketing is getting people to sign up and agree to receive messages from you. One of the simplest ways to do this is through website pop-ups.

You can also tap customers while they’re completing an online form. For example, if you have an ecommerce site, add a checkbox to their registration or purchase form that allows them to easily opt in to your SMS program.

You can also use social media platforms, and either make a post or run an ad campaign. However, do give a good incentive for signing up, such as a freebie or discount code.

Make sure you comply with consent laws

You are legally required to get the customer’s consent, and fully disclose information like: company name, the value of the coupon, any carrier costs and fees. You should also have an option for them to opt out, like an unsubscribe link or a number they can text STOP to.

For example, Subway clearly states its terms and conditions in fine print at the bottom of their ad.

Use a shortcode

Short codes are easy 5 to 6 digit numbers that are easy to remember. In the Subway ad above, they used the shortcode “782929.” The Starbucks ad below uses “22122.” Talk to your telecom provider about how to get your shortcode, and how to register it so it works across all carriers in Singapore. It can take 6 to 8 weeks to complete this process, so be sure to plan ahead if you plan to launch an SMS marketing campaign.

Create a Welcome Message

Greet new subscribers with an automated welcome message. If you haven’t put your terms and conditions in the ad, you can include it here. For example, people who signed up through this Starbucks ad received this message:

Stay in touch

Use SMS to provide your customers with useful, relevant and timely information. Here are some types of SMS blast Singapore businesses often use:

• Welcome message. “Thanks for signing up for updates.”
• Sales and promos. “Take 20% off your order with code THANKYOU.”
• Event invitations. “Join us for a live webinar on August 3 at 4 pm.”
• Status updates. “Valued client, we have updated our policies.”
• Order status. “Your shipment is on its way!”
• Booking confirmations. “You’re booked! See you on 8/17/2020 at 3:00 pm.”
• Appointment reminders. “Your appointment is tomorrow at 3:00 pm.”
• Billing reminders. “Your balance of $100 will be paid by card on 8/1/2020.”
• Security codes. “123456 is your verification code. It expires in 15 minutes.”

Keep it short and sweet

Keep your messages short and easy to read. Start with the offer, or important information about their order or booking. Always include a link where they can find more information about the update you’ve sent.

For example, don’t say: “Hi! Would you like to save more on your favorite products? Get 20% off this weekend when you shop in our stores Don’t forget to mention our texting campaign at the counter!”

Instead, say: “Save 20% on our anti-ageing line! Show them this message at to store or go yourcompanywebsite.com/offer for more details.”

Set up drip campaigns

 Drip campaigns send messages to customers over long periods of time to nurture prospects or leads. You can set up a series of auto-send messages that are triggered by the customer’s status.

For example, after a subscriber signs up, he can a 10% off coupon immediately. If he doesn’t respond, offer a 15% coupon after one month.

More personalized drip campaigns can also be based on particular actions on a site. For example, provide a coupon for an item the customer left in his shopping cart, or notify him if a brand he brought from has a new item.

Fast-track Your SMS Marketing in Singapore

Mapletree Media is a full service digital marketing agency in Singapore. We can help you build your brand through a combination of SMS blasts, social media ads, blogs, and other content marketing efforts. We can also help you develop your website and optimize it for higher traffic. Contact us for your customized proposal.