Introduction
If you are here reading this article, you surely are aware of the marketing giant, Mailchimp. Mailchimp is in a nutshell a customer engagement platform. However, its power lies in its ever-so-popular email marketing tools.
Mailchimp is perhaps one of the most sought-after tools when it comes to email marketing for small and large businesses alike.
This easy-to-use, intuitive platform makes setting up email marketing campaigns super easy.
Surely, email marketing is here to stay. One cannot do without sending emails to customers. However, another marketing channel that ensures maximum engagement is doing its rounds with businesses. That channel is *Drumrolls* SMS!
So does this marketing giant, Mailchimp have a provision to send SMS too? Let’s find out.
Psst, if you are still unsure about SMS here are some facts that may sway your decision.
Why Should You Integrate SMS With Mailchimp?
The benefits of SMS are multifold.
High Open Rates
SMS messages have exceptionally high open rates, with studies indicating that around 98% of SMS messages are opened and read within minutes of receipt.
Instant Delivery
SMS provides instant communication, with 90% of text messages being read within 3 minutes of delivery. This ensures timely and immediate engagement with customers.
Widespread Reach
SMS is accessible to a vast audience, as almost every mobile phone can receive text messages. This widespread reach ensures that businesses can connect with a large customer base.
Direct and Personal
SMS allows businesses to communicate with customers directly on their personal devices, fostering a sense of personal connection. This direct line of communication can lead to increased engagement and loyalty.
Higher Response Rates
SMS campaigns often yield higher response rates compared to other communication channels. Studies have shown that SMS has a response rate of about 45%, significantly outperforming email and other forms of communication.
Cost-Effective
SMS is a cost-effective method of communication, especially when compared to traditional marketing channels. It offers a high return on investment, making it an attractive option for businesses of all sizes.
Opt-In Engagement
SMS communication is typically based on opt-in, meaning customers have willingly provided their phone numbers to receive messages. This ensures the audience is already interested in the content, leading to more effective communication.
Mobile-Friendly
As mobile phones have become an integral part of daily life, SMS aligns with users’ preferences for quick and convenient communication. Businesses that leverage SMS meet customers on the platforms they use most frequently.
Appointment Reminders and Confirmations
SMS is highly effective for sending appointment reminders and confirmations. Studies show that appointment reminder texts can reduce no-show rates by up to 50%, improving overall customer satisfaction.
Integration with Other Channels
SMS can be easily integrated with other communication channels, creating a seamless and comprehensive customer engagement strategy. This versatility allows businesses to reach customers through multiple touchpoints.
What Are The Integration Options Available For Mailchimp SMS Integration?
Now that we know how important and useful SMS can be to businesses, let us look at how you can integrate SMS into your Mailchimp software.
There are three ways in which you can integrate SMS into your Mailchimp account.
1. Use Mailchimp’s SMS marketing
Mailchimp’s SMS Marketing tool is available to use for its Essential pricing plan and higher. To access the SMS marketing tool you will need to purchase SMS credits. Mailchimp’s SMS credits begin at $20 for 1000 credits.
Mailchimp’s SMS marketing tool is quite basic and allows you to send, receive, and schedule text messages, but it lacks conversation management features.
2. Use a developer platform
A developer platform or a CPaaS platform can help your existing tool, in this case, Mailchimp, to support capabilities. A popular CPaaS platform that can help you achieve this is Twilio.
This is a good option if a) you have a team of developers who can help you implement the APIs provided by the CPaaS platform and b) your texting needs are very basic, i.e. you just want to send and receive messages.
Advanced conversation management features would be available only after spending more time and money on their development.
3. Use a SaaS platform
A SaaS platform like Emitrr, comes preloaded with amazing texting features. You can do a myriad of things such as scheduling mass text messages, saving templates, assigning conversations to team members, sending automated follow-up texts for missed calls, creating drip campaigns, etc.
By integrating your Mailchimp account to such a SaaS platform you will be able to access all these features without having to spend extra time and energy on developing features through code implementations.
You also get a 24/7 support team, that can help guide you in your SMS marketing journey.
What Can You Achieve With A Mailchimp SMS Integration?
With Mailchimp SMS integration with Emitrr, you can:
1. Acquire more customers
2. Retain existing customers
3. Keep your schedule full
1. Acquire new customers
Some features that can help facilitate new customer acquisition include:
– Group texting and Mass Texting: With the help of the mass texting feature you can send SMS to your entire customer list.
– Review Requests: You can send automated review requests to your existing customers and collect customer reviews. These reviews will help establish your business credibility. A trustworthy and credible business will further attract more customers.
– Scheduling appointments: Sending appointment schedulings through texts can help engage customers quicker.
– Webchat to text: With this feature, you can engage website visitors by texting them as soon as they drop off.
– Missed call to text: With this feature, you can engage every potential customer whose call you may have accidentally missed by immediately following up with them through text.
2. Retain existing customers
Retaining existing customers is easy when you are able to satisfy your customers. One important facet of customer satisfaction is effective communication. Text messaging can help you improve communication through features such as:
– 2-way texting: 2-way texting creates an open channel of communication between the business and the customer. More accessibility to the business will help customers feel more connected.
– Recall campaigns: Recall campaigns are a great way to reactivate inactive customers. You can use automated reminders to recall customers who are due for a visit or appointment.
– Personalised discounts: Longstanding customers should be rewarded for their loyalty. You can easily create a list of these customers and send them personalized discounts to thank them for their longstanding relationship.
3. Keeping schedules full
A full schedule is an antidote to a business’s loss in revenue. Here is how you can keep your schedule full through texting.
- Automated Reminders: Send instant automated reminders to customers as soon as they book an appointment, and customize the frequency of these reminders.
- Appointment Status Management: Keep your schedule organized by sending confirmation texts to customers, allowing you to manage the status of appointments effectively.
- Personalized Follow-Ups: Implement personalized automated follow-ups for customers who haven’t yet confirmed their appointments, ensuring a proactive approach to appointment management.
By integrating text messaging into your appointment booking and management processes, you’ll significantly reduce no-show rates.
Additionally, you’ll gain the flexibility to adjust appointments seamlessly when patients reschedule or cancel, preventing any empty slots and enabling more personalized and effective communication with your customers.
How To Set Up Mailchimp Integration?
Mailchimp offers SMS through integrations with various marketing platforms.
With this integration, you can pass phone numbers and email addresses between the two platforms.
An important thing to note is that the integration with Mailchimp is facilitated by the texting platform. So you need to have an active account with a texting platform. Within these texting platforms, you can find a Mailchimp integration that you can easily turn on.
These are some of the popular texting platforms that easily integrate with Mailchimp:
- Emitrr
- Omnisend
- Twilio
- Birdeye
- SimpleTexting
- EZtexting
- SlickText
- TextLocal
- BulkSMS
- Textiful
FAQs
Yes, Mailchimp does have SMS capabilities. Mailchimp SMS capabilities are available on the Essential plan and higher. Only basic texting features such as sending receiving and scheduling text messages are available through Mailchimp. For more advanced Mailchimp texting capabilities, you should consider integration with a texting platform like Emitrr.
Yes, you can send automated texts from Mailchimp through its integration with text messaging platforms like Emitrr.
You can send an SMS campaign in Mailchimp by integrating with a texting platform like Emitrr. All you need to do after integration is upload a list of contacts, craft your message, and hit send.
Conclusion
The best marketing method is the amalgamation of email and texting. You can use email to grow your texting list and vice-versa. The advantage of texting over email is that it offers higher engagement and open rates. So having an option to integrate SMS and Email through Mailchimp can prove fruitful to your business. Narrow down your preferred text marketing platform and integrate it with your existing Mailchimp account for smooth text and email communication!
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