Sales Campaigns

What is Bulk SMS Marketing and How to Get Started with it?

Last Updated: April 22, 2024

You open almost every text you get… and so do your customers and target audience.

This is why engaging your leads and customers through SMS can be a game-changer for your marketing and sales strategies. It has a higher open rate and drives more engagement.

If planned and personalized well, bulk SMS campaigns can bring you higher conversions and various other business growth opportunities.

In this blog, that’s what we will discuss. Learn how you can create an effective bulk SMS campaign quickly and effectively!

Contents

What Is Bulk SMS Campaign and Why Do You Need It?

Bulk SMS is a powerful method to send out a text or message in bulk. A bulk SMS campaign sends out a single message to a large crowd of people in just a few seconds.

By running effective strategies for bulk SMS, you inform your clients in a timely manner about

Time-sensitive promotions of offers and discounts,
Gift cards, free perks, and
Urgent notification.

Businesses create a bulk SMS campaign as per the requirements of their target audience, such as the following.

Real estate businesses create bulk message templates to send out the latest offer on plots or constructions to their client base in a go.
Medical businesses can send bulk SMS to send offers or discounts on medicines. They can also send out SMSes to notify their patient clients if the doctor is unavailable.
Online transport companies can create campaigns to share attractive pilgrimage travel coupons with their traveler clients.

7 Reasons Why Bulk SMS Campaigns Are so Effective

Whether you’re looking for efficiency, cost savings, reach, or engagement, here are some reasons why you should use bulk SMS marketing.

1. Better Return on Investment

Sending an SMS can be economical, as low as $0.008625/ message, but each text has good sales potential.

A retail business sending 100,000 messages, for example, would only spend around $862.5, which only a few purchases would help meet.

2. Less Competition

Everyone uses email to communicate with their target audience- and it works. But, it’s a highly competitive channel as 66% of businesses use email as their primary communication channel.

Yet, just 47% of businesses use bulk SMS campaigns for promotions and marketing, which is great for you if you use the medium effectively.

3. Reliable Cloud-Based Communications

You get many benefits with a trusted cloud-based communication service. Some benefits are flexible pricing, simple integrations via programmable APIs, substantial global outreach, and advanced software features.

Additionally, with pre-planned bulk message templates, there’s a reliable delivery of time-sensitive text messages, making it your best deal to enhance customer engagement.

4. Remarkable Engagement

Text messages have an outstanding 98% open rate compared to email marketing. What’s even better is that 60% of customers read messages within 1-5 minutes of receipt. You will not find better engagement than this anywhere else.

These statistics prove that bulk SMS marketing has immense potential.

5. Quick to Send

Messages for bulk SMS campaigns take very little time to compose, format, and send. You may want to customize your messages according to the appropriate segment, though this is straightforward and relatively fast.

Campaign for bulk SMS is a perfect solution for all businesses that want to connect to specific target markets or customers worldwide.

6. Massive Reach

Do you know that there are more than 6 million smartphone users across the globe? If you want to reach someone, there’s a pretty high possibility they have a mobile phone.

And with a vast majority of people using their smartphones throughout the day, a text message offers the perfect chance of your message being read.

7. Quick Opt-in/Opt-out

Text messages have an easy way out if the customers don’t want to receive messages from the business. Long-code and short-code numbers allow customers to choose opt-out or opt-in for messages.

This simplicity enhances customer satisfaction and builds customer loyalty as they have an exit option if they do not want to hear from the business.

5 Benefits of Bulk SMS Campaigns

1. Instant Impact

Unlike direct mail or emails, which will take days to be read, a text message reaches your intended audience in less than seven seconds. All you need is a correct number.

Apart from that, you can be certain that your SMS will reach your customers ultra-fast.

2. Provides Reliability

Bulk SMS campaigns are highly reliable. Marketing emails sometimes fail to reach their intended recipient due to spam filters. But when you send a text message to someone, it does not have to go through any such filters.

Thus, your SMS will reach customers without any barriers.

3. Personalized Campaigns

Bulk SMS strategies let you target an individual, a sub-group, or even a whole database of contacts. Personalizing your bulk SMS campaign makes it highly effective.

It’s easy and quick to customize an SMS and set up templates every time. Customers are likelier to respond to a message that specifically caters to their needs and likes than to a generic one.

4. Little Effort is Required from Recipients

There is a 160-character length for text messages, which means marketers have no other option but to deliver their message in an easy-to-read and concise way.

Brief messages are easier for recipients to read, understand and respond to. This makes them more likely to respond to your bulk SMS campaign.

5. Higher Conversion

The higher the readability, the higher will be the conversion rate. Most people respond to a message within 90 seconds.

Whatever the end goal of your campaign for bulk SMS – surveys, promotions, or sign-ups – you will receive the highest conversion rates with bulk SMS marketing.

Bulk SMS Marketing Strategies

The following are strategies for bulk SMS campaigns.

1. Adopt Automation

Automation makes many demanding tasks easier and adds flexibility to your business. Use a platform that allows you to adopt automation so that your business can run hitch-free in your absence.

Features like automatic scheduling eliminate the need to hire a person to send your messages, saving you both money and time.

2. Use a Call-To-Action (CTA)

Determine the goal of your bulk message template beforehand: do you want the recipient to use a coupon code, visit your website or respond to the message?

Those are call-to-actions that be included in the body of the text. Use a clear CTA and elaborate on what the recipient should do.

3. Send Messages at the Correct Time

You have to find the right time to send messages to your target audience so they can give you maximum engagement. It wouldn’t be wise to disturb your customers while they wake up or go to bed.

It is always best to test the time you send messages and observe which has the highest engagement.

4. Personalize your Text Messages

Personalized messages are one of the best bulk SMS strategies. They are a great way to grab the recipient’s attention. They make your customers feel special and make them look forward to receiving more of your messages.

You can include any peculiar feature your customer has or their first names in the body of your text to personalize your messages.

5. Keep it Simple & Short

As there’s a limit of 160 characters on SMS, make the message simple, short, and sweet. Get straight to the point and ensure that the message revolves around a single topic.

If you want to include web links, use the URL as a shortener to save more characters.

6. Use a Tested and Trusted SMS Platform

The success of your bulk SMS campaign depends majorly on the software or platform you use.

5 Mistakes You Should Avoid When Sending Bulk Messages to Customers

1. Poor Call to Action

Having a clear call to action is important for a successful bulk SMS campaign to prompt customers to take the next step.

Many businesses overlook this essential step and miss out on a key opportunity for customer engagement.

2. Repeat Messages

When creating your bulk SMS marketing plan, it can be tempting to simply send the same offers over and over again.

However, this has an adverse impact on your messages. Over time, customers may get frustrated by your messages and opt out.

3. Using Industry-Specific Language

When creating your SMS messages, it can be an easy trap to use industry-specific language rather than layman’s terms.

But customers may not be well versed in industry verbiage. This can lead to confusion.

4. Bad Timing and Frequency

One of the most common mistakes companies make in their bulk SMS marketing campaigns is related to the frequency of messages.

Too many texts at inconvenient times can annoy your customers, and they may opt out.

5. Using SMS Only Once

Some companies use messages as a communication tool for a one-off special.

By doing this, they miss out on the potential to build connections with their customers over time, losing the opportunity to boost customer retention and loyalty.

How To Create Bulk SMS Campaign with JustCall?

Creating a Bulk SMS Campaign with JustCall is super easy. Follow the 4 steps given below to create and send bulk SMS to your customers, leads and contacts.

1. Get Started with Bulk SMS/MMS

2. Upload the contact list

Begin by creating a contact list by uploading a CSV file. Once you’ve created a list by uploading your contacts via CSV File, go to Create Campaign.

Select the list of contacts you want to send the text to and the phone number from which the messages will be sent. You can also manually type the contacts’ details or send out SMS directly from the CRM.

3. Create the Text Message Copy

Type the content or the body of the SMS/message. Set merge field values such as name, email, and other custom fields for each recipient to personalize your message.

4. Schedule the Bulk SMS Campaign

Choose the date, time, and number you want to send the text from. You can either run the campaign immediately or schedule it for a future time period(s).

Once done, save it to proceed further and run the campaign.

5. Manage Replies from your JustCall Text Inbox

Once you send your SMS campaign, clients receiving your updates will definitely reply to your texts. They would ask more about your offers or service.

To your relief, you won’t miss a single reply. Now, you can access & manage these replies from your JustCall Text Inbox area. And, you can continue the conversation in a threaded form from there itself.

JustCall Text Inbox is available both on the web and in our mobile apps.

13 Bulk SMS Template

1. Sales

The festival of lights is here! This Diwali, enjoy an extra 20% off furniture and home furnishings all month long. Show now: (Official Website Link)

2. Operations

Hi (name), your order (order number) for (product name) will be delivered today. You can track the delivery status at (tracker link). – Operations Team (Firm name)

3. Customer Service

Hi, (name)! (Agent name) this side from (Firm name). Please take a moment to share with us your feedback on today’s call, so we can serve you better in the future: (feedback link).

4. Marketing

The grand Indian sale is here! Get any product from (brand name) at up to 75% off. Additional 10% for (brand name) loyalty card subscribers. Shop now! To opt-out, text (keyword) to 89898.

5. Insurance

Hi (name), please note that the terms and conditions of your policy (Insurance policy) have been updated recently. For more info, kindly log in to your account (Website link). Thank you.

6. Healthcare

Hello (name), your blood test results are ready. You can collect them from the lab during weekdays from 10 pm-6 pm. Directions to lab: (Google maps link) – Thank you, (name of the lab)

7. Ed-Tech

(School Name): All classes for grades 1 to 12 are canceled due to heavy rains. Classes will resume as per schedule tomorrow.

8. eCommerce

Hello (name). Good news for you: The item you wanted is back in stock at (Firm Name)! Shop now: (Item link) Happy Day!

9. Banking

(Bank Name): Rs XXX credited to a/c (number) on (date) by a/c linked to (sender ID). Available balance:

10. Fintech

Dear (name), this is to inform you that your query is registered with us. Your ticket ID is (Number). One of our service reps will get in touch with you within 24 hours.

11. Real Estate

Did you like 223 Appletree Street? Get more information about similar houses in London at (Website Link).

12. Education

Dear Parent, Your ward’s (name) attendance for the month of December 2022 is 10 days. Regards (School Name).

13. Finance

Dear customer, your bill is ready to review at (Website Link). The amount due is XXX id, paid by (Date).\

You open almost every text you get… and so do your customers and target audience.

This is why engaging your leads and customers through SMS can be a game-changer for your marketing and sales strategies. It has a higher open rate and drives more engagement.

If planned and personalized well, bulk SMS campaigns can bring you higher conversions and various other business growth opportunities.

In this blog, that’s what we will discuss. Learn how you can create an effective bulk SMS campaign quickly and effectively!
What Is Bulk SMS Campaign and Why Do You Need It?
Bulk SMS is a powerful method to send out a text or message in bulk. A bulk SMS campaign sends out a single message to a large crowd of people in just a few seconds.

By running effective strategies for bulk SMS, you inform your clients in a timely manner about

Time-sensitive promotions of offers and discounts,
 	Gift cards, free perks, and
 	Urgent notification.

Businesses create a bulk SMS campaign as per the requirements of their target audience, such as the following.

Real estate businesses create bulk message templates to send out the latest offer on plots or constructions to their client base in a go.
 	Medical businesses can send bulk SMS to send offers or discounts on medicines. They can also send out SMSes to notify their patient clients if the doctor is unavailable.
 	Online transport companies can create campaigns to share attractive pilgrimage travel coupons with their traveler clients.

7 Reasons Why Bulk SMS Campaigns Are so Effective
Whether you’re looking for efficiency, cost savings, reach, or engagement, here are some reasons why you should use bulk SMS marketing.
1. Better Return on Investment
Sending an SMS can be economical, as low as $0.008625/ message, but each text has good sales potential.

A retail business sending 100,000 messages, for example, would only spend around $862.5, which only a few purchases would help meet.
2. Less Competition
Everyone uses email to communicate with their target audience- and it works. But, it’s a highly competitive channel as 66% of businesses use email as their primary communication channel.

Yet, just 47% of businesses use bulk SMS campaigns for promotions and marketing, which is great for you if you use the medium effectively.
3. Reliable Cloud-Based Communications
You get many benefits with a trusted cloud-based communication service. Some benefits are flexible pricing, simple integrations via programmable APIs, substantial global outreach, and advanced software features.

Additionally, with pre-planned bulk message templates, there’s a reliable delivery of time-sensitive text messages, making it your best deal to enhance customer engagement.
4. Remarkable Engagement
Text messages have an outstanding 98% open rate compared to email marketing. What’s even better is that 60% of customers read messages within 1-5 minutes of receipt. You will not find better engagement than this anywhere else.

These statistics prove that bulk SMS marketing has immense potential.
5. Quick to Send
Messages for bulk SMS campaigns take very little time to compose, format, and send. You may want to customize your messages according to the appropriate segment, though this is straightforward and relatively fast.

Campaign for bulk SMS is a perfect solution for all businesses that want to connect to specific target markets or customers worldwide.
6. Massive Reach
Do you know that there are more than 6 million smartphone users across the globe? If you want to reach someone, there’s a pretty high possibility they have a mobile phone.

And with a vast majority of people using their smartphones throughout the day, a text message offers the perfect chance of your message being read.
7. Quick Opt-in/Opt-out
Text messages have an easy way out if the customers don’t want to receive messages from the business. Long-code and short-code numbers allow customers to choose opt-out or opt-in for messages.

This simplicity enhances customer satisfaction and builds customer loyalty as they have an exit option if they do not want to hear from the business.
5 Benefits of Bulk SMS Campaigns
1. Instant Impact
Unlike direct mail or emails, which will take days to be read, a text message reaches your intended audience in less than seven seconds. All you need is a correct number.

Apart from that, you can be certain that your SMS will reach your customers ultra-fast.
2. Provides Reliability
Bulk SMS campaigns are highly reliable. Marketing emails sometimes fail to reach their intended recipient due to spam filters. But when you send a text message to someone, it does not have to go through any such filters.

Thus, your SMS will reach customers without any barriers.
3. Personalized Campaigns
Bulk SMS strategies let you target an individual, a sub-group, or even a whole database of contacts. Personalizing your bulk SMS campaign makes it highly effective.

It’s easy and quick to customize an SMS and set up templates every time. Customers are likelier to respond to a message that specifically caters to their needs and likes than to a generic one.

4. Little Effort is Required from Recipients
There is a 160-character length for text messages, which means marketers have no other option but to deliver their message in an easy-to-read and concise way.

Brief messages are easier for recipients to read, understand and respond to. This makes them more likely to respond to your bulk SMS campaign.
5. Higher Conversion
The higher the readability, the higher will be the conversion rate. Most people respond to a message within 90 seconds.

Whatever the end goal of your campaign for bulk SMS - surveys, promotions, or sign-ups - you will receive the highest conversion rates with bulk SMS marketing.
Bulk SMS Marketing Strategies
The following are strategies for bulk SMS campaigns.
1. Adopt Automation
Automation makes many demanding tasks easier and adds flexibility to your business. Use a platform that allows you to adopt automation so that your business can run hitch-free in your absence.

Features like automatic scheduling eliminate the need to hire a person to send your messages, saving you both money and time.
2. Use a Call-To-Action (CTA)
Determine the goal of your bulk message template beforehand: do you want the recipient to use a coupon code, visit your website or respond to the message?

Those are call-to-actions that be included in the body of the text. Use a clear CTA and elaborate on what the recipient should do.
3. Send Messages at the Correct Time
You have to find the right time to send messages to your target audience so they can give you maximum engagement. It wouldn’t be wise to disturb your customers while they wake up or go to bed.

It is always best to test the time you send messages and observe which has the highest engagement.
4. Personalize your Text Messages
Personalized messages are one of the best bulk SMS strategies. They are a great way to grab the recipient’s attention. They make your customers feel special and make them look forward to receiving more of your messages.

You can include any peculiar feature your customer has or their first names in the body of your text to personalize your messages.

5. Keep it Simple & Short
As there’s a limit of 160 characters on SMS, make the message simple, short, and sweet. Get straight to the point and ensure that the message revolves around a single topic.

If you want to include web links, use the URL as a shortener to save more characters.
6. Use a Tested and Trusted SMS Platform
The success of your bulk SMS campaign depends majorly on the software or platform you use.

With the rapid increase in bulk SMS marketing providers, avoid using a platform with low rates of message delivery and high rates of downtime. Select a bulk SMS provider that has stood the test of time in business.
5 Mistakes You Should Avoid When Sending Bulk Messages to Customers
1. Poor Call to Action
Having a clear call to action is important for a successful bulk SMS campaign to prompt customers to take the next step.

Many businesses overlook this essential step and miss out on a key opportunity for customer engagement.
2. Repeat Messages
When creating your bulk SMS marketing plan, it can be tempting to simply send the same offers over and over again.

However, this has an adverse impact on your messages. Over time, customers may get frustrated by your messages and opt out.
3. Using Industry-Specific Language
When creating your SMS messages, it can be an easy trap to use industry-specific language rather than layman’s terms.

But customers may not be well versed in industry verbiage. This can lead to confusion.
4. Bad Timing and Frequency
One of the most common mistakes companies make in their bulk SMS marketing campaigns is related to the frequency of messages.

Too many texts at inconvenient times can annoy your customers, and they may opt out.
5. Using SMS Only Once
Some companies use messages as a communication tool for a one-off special.

By doing this, they miss out on the potential to build connections with their customers over time, losing the opportunity to boost customer retention and loyalty.
How To Create Bulk SMS Campaign with JustCall?
Creating a Bulk SMS Campaign with JustCall is super easy. Follow the 4 steps given below to create and send bulk SMS to your customers, leads and contacts.
1. Get Started with Bulk SMS/MMS

2. Upload the contact list
Begin by creating a contact list by uploading a CSV file. Once you've created a list by uploading your contacts via CSV File, go to Create Campaign.

Select the list of contacts you want to send the text to and the phone number from which the messages will be sent. You can also manually type the contacts' details or send out SMS directly from the CRM.

3. Create the Text Message Copy
Type the content or the body of the SMS/message. Set merge field values such as name, email, and other custom fields for each recipient to personalize your message.

4. Schedule the Bulk SMS Campaign
Choose the date, time, and number you want to send the text from. You can either run the campaign immediately or schedule it for a future time period(s).

Once done, save it to proceed further and run the campaign.

5. Manage Replies from your JustCall Text Inbox
Once you send your SMS campaign, clients receiving your updates will definitely reply to your texts. They would ask more about your offers or service.

To your relief, you won't miss a single reply. Now, you can access & manage these replies from your JustCall Text Inbox area. And, you can continue the conversation in a threaded form from there itself.

JustCall Text Inbox is available both on the web and in our mobile apps.

13 Bulk SMS Template
1. Sales
The festival of lights is here! This Diwali, enjoy an extra 20% off furniture and home furnishings all month long. Show now: (Official Website Link)
2. Operations
Hi (name), your order (order number) for (product name) will be delivered today. You can track the delivery status at (tracker link). – Operations Team (Firm name)
3. Customer Service
Hi, (name)! (Agent name) this side from (Firm name). Please take a moment to share with us your feedback on today’s call, so we can serve you better in the future: (feedback link).
4. Marketing
The grand Indian sale is here! Get any product from (brand name) at up to 75% off. Additional 10% for (brand name) loyalty card subscribers. Shop now! To opt-out, text (keyword) to 89898.
5. Insurance
Hi (name), please note that the terms and conditions of your policy (Insurance policy) have been updated recently. For more info, kindly log in to your account (Website link). Thank you.
6. Healthcare
Hello (name), your blood test results are ready. You can collect them from the lab during weekdays from 10 pm-6 pm. Directions to lab: (Google maps link) – Thank you, (name of the lab)
7. Ed-Tech
(School Name): All classes for grades 1 to 12 are canceled due to heavy rains. Classes will resume as per schedule tomorrow.
8. eCommerce
Hello (name). Good news for you: The item you wanted is back in stock at (Firm Name)! Shop now: (Item link) Happy Day!
9. Banking
(Bank Name): Rs XXX credited to a/c (number) on (date) by a/c linked to (sender ID). Available balance:
10. Fintech
Dear (name), this is to inform you that your query is registered with us. Your ticket ID is (Number). One of our service reps will get in touch with you within 24 hours.
11. Real Estate
Did you like 223 Appletree Street? Get more information about similar houses in London at (Website Link).
12. Education
Dear Parent, Your ward’s (name) attendance for the month of December 2022 is 10 days. Regards (School Name).
13. Finance
Dear customer, your bill is ready to review at (Website Link). The amount due is XXX id, paid by (Date).\

FAQs

How does bulk SMS work?

Software is required to send bulk SMS to your prospects and customers.

The software’s advanced features help you send bulk SMS and schedule to send it at specific times on either national or international mobile networks.

Can I send bulk SMS for free?

There are various software solutions, either paid or free. Paid comes with extra features, and free software comes with restrictions.

Why is SMS important for business?

With SMS campaigns, you consistently reach out to your customers to ensure that customer experience is positive, and this will enhance your customer relationship with them.

Is bulk SMS marketing helpful?

With bulk SMS marketing, you can send promotional messages to send across many of your customers at once. It is better than email marketing and gets you better engagement. Moreover, it is cost-effective.

Four most valuable tips you need to pay attention to set up the bulk SMS campaign

Provide value to your customers through your SMS messages. If your message provides no value to your customer, your customer may opt out of your contact lists.
Use personalized messages to capture your customers’ attention, and addressing your customer by their name will increase conversions.
It’s all about timing when you send SMS to your customers. Avoid sending SMS either too early or too late in the day. You need to perform trial and error, which will result in maximum conversions.
You must have a clear goal in mind while sending SMS to your customers and develop CTA (Call to Action), which will make customers take action depending on your expectations from your customers.

Do I have to stick to the 160-character limit?

No, you can send bulk SMS campaigns that are up to 612 characters long with the help of the concatenation process, but longer bulk SMS campaigns are usually less effective.

Can I send my messages in any language?

Yes, you can send messages in any language. It is termed Unicode language. Most SMS providers have this feature on their dashboards.

Can I send SMS text messages from my company name or my mobile number?

Use your company name to build brand recognition and gain trust. A mobile number is not advisable unless your business is small and you’re comfortable using your handset to respond to queries.

Can my customers reply to the messages I send them?

Your customers can respond to your messages only when it is a Two-way SMS. Two-way SMS allows you to not only send a message to your customer but also to receive their reply.

By using SMS campaigns, you will get proactive in reaching out to your customers and developing relations with them. This will inevitably unlock newer growth opportunities for your business.

Sidharth Sharma

Sid heads the global Sales Team at JustCall. He has been instrumental in establishing the foundation for the GTM functions at JustCall, driving the organisation into a growth phase. He is passionate about enabling organisations to build great customer experiences using technology. He is always looking to help startups beyond work, advising early stage companies on all things Sales & GTM.

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