A picture is worth a thousand words. Have you ever wondered why? That’s because our brains process visuals 60,000 times faster than text. How can you leverage the power of the visual medium? MMS messaging can help your business get an edge over the other brands that are vying for your audience’s attention.

Use cases of MMS messaging for business

BMW got a 30% conversion rate^[1] with an MMS campaign that sold snow tires. It used MMS in conjunction with its customer database to create extremely personalized images of how the snow tire best suited for the customer’s BMW would look on his car.

Starbucks created excitement around a new summer drink this year, Pumpkin Spice Latte, using MMS. It used social media to spread the word about the drink and direct fans to their website. Once they reached the site, they needed to optin to receive the MMS with a unique code that would give them early access to the new drink.

MMS messaging is a versatile means of business communication. Whether you are in marketing, sales or support, you can start and continue more conversations with your customers, using MMS.

4 ways of MMS vs SMS marketing for business to attract more prospects

1. Coupons- A scannable coupon makes it easy for consumers to redeem offers, since it’s on the phone, a device they take everywhere. Businesses reduce the risk of a coupon being used multiple times.

2. Contests- You can always count on a picture of the prize to draw more responses than you would have got from a plain text. Ask contestants to reply by text, to make it easier for them to participate.

3. Videos- MMS messages are more than images. Videos increase brand recall by 33%^[2] and message recall by 45%, according to an AC Nielsen and IAB report. For example, Movie halls can send teaser trailers to regular customers. Bonus- MMSs can easily be shared, increasing your reach.

4. GIFs- Looking for an instant way to connect with your customers emotionally? Share GIFs To configure moods of upcoming festivals, to tap into the positive feeling they have for these events. You can also newsjack with GIFs, to make your brand memorable. Again, GIFs call out for sharing, so you are likely to reach a larger audience than you would without MMS.

2 ways of MMS messaging in sales to accelerate time-to-win

5. Relationship building- The ‘meet and greet’ is an important first step in sales. What if you could do this virtually? MMS can help your customer put a face to your name. Here’s an example. Home buying is a long drawn out process, where the customer needs to trust his realtor throughout. If a realtor sends an MMS introducing himself to a prospect, that’s a great way of getting started on the right foot. He can go on to share MMSs of properties matching the prospect’s criteria, to make it easy for him to shortlist the ones he wants to visit.

6. Visual appeal- Seeing is believing. If a prospect can see your product, he is more likely to be interested. Industries like food and tourism, which rely on the power of images and videos to convert leads, can also MMS prospects to move them faster through the pipeline, counter objections and create strong CTAs.

3 ways to retain more customers with MMS messaging in service

7. Documentation- Wouldn’t your customer find it convenient to send and receive documents you and he need through his phone? By doing so, you can speed up response time and reduce cost. For instance, in the insurance industry, the quicker the required documents are shared with the insurance company, the faster claims can be processed. By enabling customers to send supporting documents through MMS, insurance companies can increase customer satisfaction. Delivery reports for MMSs can be confirmed easily, which might not be the case for physical documentation.

8. Operations- The possibilities for using MMS in operations and support are endless. Here’s one. If customers can take a photo of a defective product and MMS it to you, it will be easier for you to understand the issue. Or let’s say you send tickets via MMS. Customers will be less likely to misplace them, as that will also involve them misplacing their phones. Airlines can send boarding passes to passengers as MMSs. Sports and concert tickets can also be sent by MMS, increasing operational efficiency.

9. Audio- You can send instructions to customers for installing a product, for instance, as an audio file. They can listen to it over and over, making it convenient for them to understand and follow.

Summary

MMS message is a powerful way to make your audience sit up and notice your brand. By personalizing it using data from your CRM and combining it with your other communication channels, you can greatly increase the impact of your message. Whichever industry and function you are in, this visual medium of MMS vs SMS messaging is sure to get you more customers and revenue for your business.

MMS feature is now available in the new SMS-Magic release.

To configure MMS in your Org, read our resource on ‘How to Configure MMS’ or contact us at sales@screen-magic.com.

References:
[1]: BMW MMS Campaign Gets 30 Percent Conversion Rate
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/09/17/AR2008091700847.html

[2]: If a Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words, What Is a Video Worth?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-macfarland/if-a-picture-video-production_b_4996655.html