How much do you really know about marketing and how to put your best foot forward when creating marketing material?
We as pharmacists speak to our customers every single day, including counseling on medication, guiding OTC product selection, and advising if/when dispense events can/cannot be completed.
We choose our words carefully to avoid negative branding, ambiguity, or the ‘harshness’ that may be associated with certain words and phrases.
The same applies to marketing, but often with fewer words. In this article, spread over this and the next issue of Retail Pharmacy, we’ll offer the best advice on bulk SMS campaign design, and how to craft a compelling message that will drive your customers to act.
So, for part one, let’s talk about the ‘dos’ of bulk SMS campaigning.
The dos: strategies for bulk success:
- Keep it concise. Make every word count by delivering your message in a clear and concise manner that captures your customers’ attention.
- Personalise your message. Customers will respond better when they feel the message is intended for them. Use products with merge tags that convert names or relevant details into the message, so it’s personalised.
- Introduce yourself early. This creates early familiarisation and trust for the recipient, to prevent them skimming over or disregarding the message and considering it as spam.
- Use urgency and scarcity. Create a sense and urgency or exclusivity by incorporating time limited offers, or limited availability, motivating your recipients to act promptly.
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Include a clear call to action. Explicitly specify the action you want your customers to take, guiding them towards the desired outcome with clarity and precision.Create a tailored contact list. Bulk messaging shouldn’t always be a ‘send to all’ approach. Use your pharmacy’s reporting tools (such as Scrypt) to create a targeted recipient list.Optimise the timing. The SMS open rate for Australia is 94.1%1, with 86.1% of recipients opening within 30 minutes2. Within business hours is ideal but avoid busy periods where your recipients may be less likely to respond. It should be obvious, but avoid very early mornings or late nights. Mid-morning is usually a preferred time.Follow regulations. Familiarise yourself with applicable privacy and marketing regulations. Ensure you include an ‘unsubscribe’ option to allow customers to opt out of future messages, ensuring compliance and fostering positive engagement. Australia has strict rules around advertising scheduled medications, so be sure your message doesn’t breach this either.Always proofread. Accuracy and professionalism are a must. Proofread material and correct any errors before sending. Send a test to yourself first and check what it would look like on your own phone, or get a colleagueto proofread.
Marketing has many strategies and approaches to ensure the message cuts through to the consumer, and these points are just some of the important dos. In part two, we’ll be pointing out some of the common pitfalls when creating SMS marketing campaigns, and you’ll be surprised by what is listed.
So, if you want to know how to avoid the mistakes that the untrained often make, be sure you keep an eye out for next month’s issue.
References
1. esendex.com.au/blog/post/the-2018-updated-australian-data-on-sms-open-rates/
2.simpletexting.com/text-message-marketing-report/