INSTYLE May-June 2019

INBUSINESS
TEXT ME
TIMELY UNCOVER WHY SMS
IS THE UNDERCOVER GAME
CHANGER FOR YOUR BUSINESS.
You can’t run a successful
business without nailing your
communication. How you
communicate with your current
clients and future clients is vital
to your success.
SMS marketing might seem like the poor
cousin in the overall marketing mix, but
it’s time to give this tool the kudos it really
deserves!
When it comes to engagement, SMS
marketing thrashes email, Facebook
and Instagram. It’s a Jack-of-all-trades
marketing tool that can have a positive
impact on your business, your client
experience and your revenue.
99 per cent of the text messages you
send your clients get opened, often within
the first 3 minutes of being received. That’s
a massive increase compared to the open
rate of 33 per cent from your standard email
marketing campaigns.
We live in a digital world where, for better
or for worse, we’re always connected via
our smartphones. On average, people look
at their phones 85 times a day.
The best part? You can have a twoway
conversation with your client straight
from Timely! The client can respond to any
message you’ve sent, and you’ll see their
response in Timely. You can reply and keep
the conversation going, and the whole
chat history will be available in their Timely
account in case you need to reference it in
future.
ELEVATE YOUR BUSINESS
WITH SMS
Use SMS messaging in your business to
• improve efficiency
• reduce no-shows
• create an exceptional client experience
• increase your profit
• maintain your brand/reputation.
Improve efficiency
There’s no extra work for you when you
use SMS to communicate with your clients.
Simply set up automatic appointment
confirmation and reminder messages. You’ll
save yourself a tonne of admin time and
you won’t have to worry about no-shows.
“I’ve saved 1.5 hours per day since joining
Timely - thanks to their online booking and
automatic reminders” - Simone Joy
Create an exceptional client experience
Communicating with clients is a breeze using
SMS messaging. Send texts to remind them of
their upcoming appointments, to thank them
for coming in, and to let them know about
any aftercare instructions. Surprise and
delight your clients by sending them birthday
wishes and discounts too.
“My customers love the SMS texts they
receive as a reminder.” Angela, Strictly
Natural Salon & Cuts
Increase your profit
Maximize your time and your profit by
scheduling automatic client reminder
messages. You can also increase your
bookings by sending text messages to clients
you haven’t seen in a while.
“Timely businesses that use SMS have 28%
less no-shows than those that don’t, which on
average is worth $5,438 every year.”
Protect and maintain your brand
SMS can help build client loyalty. You can
use SMS messaging to ask your clients for
reviews and referrals. Just be authentic and
your clients will be thrilled to hear from you.
You can even use positive reviews in your
business marketing!
THE 3 MUST-HAVE TYPES OF
SMS MESSAGING
Don’t be overwhelmed at the thought of
adding something else to your to do list.
Timely has user-friendly SMS options which
can help reduce no-shows, improve the
client experience, reduce client churn, get
feedback and reviews, and promote your
products and services to increase bookings.
Here are the 3 best ways to use
SMS messaging:
1. Client reminders:
Your clients are busy, which means they don’t
have the time to be checking their calendars
all the time. Sending them friendly reminders
and confirmation messages will make sure
they don’t miss out on the appointment
they’ve been looking forward to!
• SMS confirmation messages
• SMS reminder messages
• One-off messaging
2. Automated marketing:
Automated marketing takes the stress out
of growing your business. Save admin time,
get your business fully booked and provide a
great client experience with these easy-touse
automated marketing tools.
• SMS thank you messages
• SMS aftercare messages
• SMS Review requests
• SMS rebooking messages
• SMS reconnect messages
• SMS Request referral
3. Campaign marketing coming really soon!
• Targeted SMS campaigns: Drive sales,
improve brand awareness, generate new
clients and remind clients of special events
and appointments through a targeted SMS
campaign to a select group of people.
This could be a small group of just your
regulars, determined by service, staff or
date they last visited, or a larger group like
your entire client base.
Here are some great tips to help you get
maximum SMS impact:
• Personalize your text - make your clients
feel special by using their first name.
• Get your timing right- don’t send texts too
early in the morning, or too late at night.
Be respectful of your clients’ time.
• Keep your message short & sweet and on
point - easy to do with 160 characters!
• Ask for reviews - you’re asking them for
a favour, so sweeten the deal with a
discount off their next service.
• Keep your database up-to-date – make sure
you’re sending texts to your actual clients.
• Don’t spam! Set up automated marketing
messages based on how often a client
comes in and the services they use.
Get started with SMS marketing today!
www.gettimely.com
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