Effectively Segment SMS Lists - Tactics for Greater Engagement

Here’s an insider secret—-most companies fail to fully leverage the marketing power of SMS list segmentation. There’s the belief that organizing and managing lists is not sustainable at scale or worth the effort. However, when automated through POS and CRM integrations along with advanced SMS platform AI, the rewards greatly outweigh any upfront efforts.

Why Implement SMS List Segmentation

• Messaging is more likely to resonate with the individual recipient - Whether you operate a chain of fitness centers, a bakery, or tutoring services, your audiences are not one and the same. The more you craft your messaging and offers to align with their specific interests, the more likely recipients are to engage with your brand. It’s that simple!
• SMS lists help you spend your budget more strategically - Without list segmentation, you risk overspending, ultimately hurting your SMS ROI. Messaging infrequent engagers at the same frequency you would your active subscribers wastes your SMS budget. Worse, it can irritate less engaged users, leading to unsubscribes.
• Segmentation leads to more sophisticated analysis - The key to understanding your core audiences lies within your own data. Segmenting your SMS list into subgroups helps you pinpoint their individual motivations and engagement patterns, especially when these segments are benchmarked against one another.

List Segmentation Tactics

Segmentation Based on Enrollment or Geographic Location

This type of SMS list segmentation primarily applies to scenarios in which someone enrolls while physically in one of your locations, perhaps by using a QR code or while interacting with a sales representative. However, you can also gather this type of information online with a simple question. For example, when asking web visitors to enroll in its loyalty program, Chili’s asks people to specify their “favorite” restaurant location.

Based on where the subscriber enrolls or identifies as their primary location, you can activate:

• Localized text marketing campaigns - Let’s say you run a coffee franchise and want to send an MMS mid-April. Your Arizona customers may be enticed by images of iced coffee while your Connecticut customers may be more tempted by pictures of a warm drink. Consider another scenario: one of your franchise locations operates in a city recently affected by a natural disaster. In this case, your SMS messaging should vastly differ from what you would send to customers in other locations. Hence, the power of location-based SMS list segmentation!
• Socioeconomic-based targeting - A Manhattan coffee shop likely serves a different clientele than one in a Memphis suburb. Understanding these key differences and applying them to location-segmented audiences allows you to send SMS messages that effectively target diverse socioeconomic groups within your customer base.

Self-Assigned List Participation

Asking customers to disclose what types of products and content interests them the most not only helps you segment them appropriately but also shows your dedication to providing a relevant, tailored experience. There’s numerous opportunities to collect this sort of feedback, including, such as asking audiences to “check the boxes” when filling out the form online.

However, arguably the best tactic is to ask post-enrollment via text. This not only helps keep your sign-up form as streamlined as possible but also allows tools like Voxie to automatically segment customers based on their response.

Based on the information customers provide, you can segment your SMS list to deliver more purposeful engagement. After all, one person may be eager to receive weekly health tips while another may think the content intrusive or offensive. The parent scouting for deals on the best kids’ sneakers will have very different interests than someone concerned with the newest style releases. By giving SMS subscribers the ability to craft the specific content and deals they receive, you’ll have a stronger retention rate.

Behavior-Based List Segmentation

By integrating your SMS platform with tools like your CRM or POS, you can leverage existing customer information in a new way. With the right software integrations, you can provide sophisticated SMS tools like Voxie with data about customers’ purchase frequency, favorite products, and requested services.

This data—as well as the data you collect using Voxie itself—unlocks exciting list segmentation opportunities, including those based on:

• Product or service preferences - There’s arguably no greater indicator of someone’s interests than the products or services they bought in the past. If someone visited a salon specifically for full highlights, chances are they’ll want a touch-up or similar service in the future. Someone who buys YA teen novels will have wildly different tastes than someone who collects historic biographies. Sorting customers by such insights and integrating with your SMS tools will allow real-time list segmentation based on their proven interests.
• Purchase frequency and behaviors - Individualized patterns don’t only apply to what someone buys, but also when and how frequently. The person who makes frequent small purchases throughout the year may be driven by completely different motivators than the customer who makes infrequent but large purchases during the holidays. Such insights can help you refine your SMS messaging to individual audience segments, as well as perfect the timing to maximize engagement.
• Customers at risk of dis-engaging - Customers who haven’t purchased within a set timeframe are at high risk of churning. Voxie helps you win them back by integrating with your existing marketing tools to automatically launch targeted campaigns. For example, send an SMS segment a special promotion featuring deeply discounted products, and rekindle their engagement.
• SMS engagement rates - Voxie enables you to automatically segment your SMS list based on engagement frequency, distinguishing frequent responders from those who rarely interact. You can further refine segmentation by campaign type. This precision targeting ensures that your messages reach the most receptive audience, maximizing ROI and minimizing wasted spend.
• Loyalty program participation - Your text message marketing strategy should differentiate between loyalty program members and non-members. Voxie can streamline this process by integrating with your loyalty program software to automatically re-classify subscribers based not only on their membership status but also their level of engagement. For instance, let’s say a participant hits a high point threshold; you could automatically send them an SMS reminder of all the various loyalty program perks at their fingertips.
• Appointment attendance or no-show - If some of your repeat customers have a habit of showing up late for appointments (or not at all), you can coordinate your scheduling software with your SMS platform to automatically add them to a designated list. In turn, you could ensure that these individuals receive extra reminders, helping to reduce your overall no-show rate.
• Event participation - If an SMS subscriber attends an in-person or digital event, automatically add them to a list to receive targeted follow-up messaging about that event. For example, let’s say someone attends a networking happy hour at your establishment; you can send them text notifications about other upcoming happy hours and professional events you’re hosting.

Tips to Managing and Refining Your List Segmentation

• Pair your list segmentation with audience insights - Segmenting your SMS list is just the beginning. The next step? Crafting targeted messages for each audience. The more data you gather about specific segments, the more effective your targeting becomes. Develop comprehensive marketing personas by leveraging insights from social listening, customer surveys, behavioral analytics, and third-party research.
• Conduct ongoing analysis of list-specific data to confirm marketing assumptions - The priorities and fads popular among today’s 20-something customers will be noticeably different than they were five years ago. Our point? Audiences and the competitive landscape are always evolving. Consistently evaluating which SMS campaigns resonated most with specific list segments will help you stay on top of emerging trends.
• Achieve hyper-personalization by integrating Voxie with your Customer Data Platform – Integrating Voxie with your CDP enables you to tailor communications across all marketing channels based on real-time customer behavior. For example, if a contact hasn’t opened the last three emails but consistently engages via SMS, this integration can automatically shift their messaging strategy to prioritize text, ensuring each customer receives messages through their preferred channel.

Most importantly, Voxie can automatically remove contacts who unsubscribe from all lists, ensuring your SMS program stays TCPA-compliant.

Implement Smart SMS List Segmentation at Scale With Voxie

Voxie builds industry-leading SMS platform capabilities specifically for franchises and multi-location businesses. This means you can segment SMS lists by individual locations, and precisely control who can manage and modify those lists. Furthermore, gain valuable insights by comparing campaign performance across different franchisees, allowing for advanced strategic analysis.

Automated and responsive list segmentation is one of many ways Voxie helps franchises improve SMS management at scale. Other features include:

• Nuanced access controls to balance franchisee independence with brand oversight
• Strategic playbooks and SMS templates controlled by the franchisor
• Numerous digital assets tested and proven to help grow subscriber lists
• Multi-step drip campaigns triggered by recipient behaviors
• Two-way communication supported by Conversational Intelligence
• Bespoke tool integration solutions facilitated by our hands-on Customer Success team
• Brand-level visibility into franchisee SMS conversations with customers