Is it time for your organisation to implement SMS in communication? Many companies have yet to take the plunge, often because they have no idea where to start.
If you've also asked yourself the question "how on earth do we collect those SMS permissions?" - then you've come to the right article.
Below we guide you through why permissions are so important, how you can collect SMS permissions from your target audience and what you need to be aware of during the collection process.
Happy reading!
What is permission marketing?
Permission marketing refers to forms of marketing where a company only communicates to and with a consumer after the consumer has actively given their permission to do so. Typically, we talk about permissions in online marketing.
If you've ever signed up for a newsletter or said "yes" to receiving a call from a company, you've been in close contact with permission marketing. In this case, the company has only communicated directly to you after you have given your permission to do so.
What are permissions and why do you need them?
Permissions are authorisations given by consumers to your business. For example, you may be authorised to call them with an offer or send them news via SMS. An authorisation means that you can contact the consumer directly via the medium that the consumer has given permission for.
The last point above is important to understand.
For example, if you have an email newsletter, but you always send your offers via SMS, it's important to get permission to contact the consumer in both places (if you want this). If a consumer has given permission to receive your newsletter by email, this permission does not also cover the receipt of SMS messages - and vice versa.
If you send messages without first obtaining this proper authorisation, you are actually breaking marketing law.
Chapter 3, section 10 of the Danish Marketing Practices Act states:
"A trader may not contact anyone by means of electronic mail, an automatic dialling system or fax for the purpose of direct marketing unless the person concerned has given his prior consent".
You can read much more about this in our in-depth article on SMS legislation.
So why do you need these SMS permissions?
This is primarily because it is illegal to communicate directly to a consumer without first getting the consumer's permission to do so. Direct communication includes SMS, email and phone calls - three very effective forms of communication when used strategically.
In addition, permissions are important if you want to build a trusting relationship with your customers.
One thing is what the marketing law says. Another is the relationship you want to have with your customers. You're probably not interested in annoying them or sending information that they don't find relevant or valuable. This can be a direct route to losing customers.
When a consumer has actively authorised you to contact them, it's a sign of genuine interest in your company and/or your product. That's why this group of consumers is so valuable to your business.
How can you collect permissions for SMS?
There are many creative ways to grab consumers' attention and get them to sign up to your SMS list. Below we give you 6 examples of how you can collect SMS permissions.
1. Customer clubs and loyalty programmes
Customer clubs or loyalty programmes are an initiative that recognises and rewards the most loyal and/or returning customers of the company. It's a great platform for building customer loyalty, but also for collecting SMS permissions from consumers.
All or part of your loyalty programme can work over SMS. For example, you can use the SMS channel to invite customer club members to special VIP events, or you can send them offers by SMS that only apply to this customer group. This will make your members feel special and increase their motivation to continue being part of your customer club and thus your SMS list.
2. Competitions and polls
SMS competitions and polls are great ways to promote your business and your product or service while encouraging consumers to sign up to your SMS list.
Typically, a customer will enter the competition by sending an SMS to a 4-digit number. For example, the SMS can contain the customer's answer to a question. When the customer sends this message, you have their phone number. However, this doesn't mean that you can just text the number, unless the terms of the competition are made very clear to the entrant.
If you run a competition for the purpose of obtaining SMS permissions, it must be clearly stated that by entering the competition, the consumer also consents to electronic marketing. The competition must not obscure or overshadow this purpose, as you would not fulfil the requirements of the Marketing Act.
3. Pop-ups
A pop-up or slide-in on the company website is an obvious and very popular way to collect SMS permissions. This is partly because a consumer who has already reached your website has shown some interest in your product or service.
A well-organised pop-up offers the consumer more information or maybe even a discount from the company they have just shown interest in. All they have to do is sign up to the SMS list.
When you create a pop-up on your website - whether it's through your email system, your website's operating system or third-party software - you usually have the option to choose who sees your pop-up.
It can be a good idea to create one pop-up for those who have never given you permission for direct contact before and another pop-up that only appears to those who, for example, have already given permission to receive emails but not SMS.
4. Lead ads on social media
Social media lead ads have exploded like never before in recent years. This form of permission marketing is also known as lead generation. The strategy is usually that your company produces a piece of content that consumers want. For example, an e-book or a video guide that relates to the company's product or service.
To get their hands on this piece of content, the consumer must provide an email or phone number and agree to receive marketing messages afterwards.
If you choose to collect SMS permissions this way, however, you should be aware that there may be a certain amount of early cancellations.
Some will only sign up to get your free content. You can try to keep them by sending them messages that are valuable and relevant enough to make them want to stay on your SMS list afterwards.
5. Turn email permissions into SMS permissions
Maybe you already have an email marketing permission list or something similar. You can convert that list of customers into SMS permissions with a well-worded email.
You may experience some reluctance from consumers to give out their phone number. This may be because a phone number often feels much more personalised than an email address. In this case, it may be a good idea to collect emails first and then later on try to get permission to send SMS messages as well.
If you want to try to get SMS permissions from your email list, the best approach is typically to send a well-worded email in which you make it easy for the recipient to say "yes please" to receive SMS messages from you. Of course, it should also state why the recipient should sign up for the SMS list.
In the case study at the end of the post, you can read how KAIKU turns their email permissions into SMS permissions.
6. Get permissions at check-out on your website
An obvious opportunity to retrieve SMS permissions is when a customer is shopping on your webshop. A customer who has just shopped - or is in the process of finalising a deal - on your website will often also be interested in hearing more from you. Especially if you entice with VIP offers and news before everyone else.
If you enable the consumer to sign up for your SMS list at check-out, it is important that the consumer actively chooses to give you this permission. You cannot have an automatically ticked box with "Yes please for newsletter", or just start sending the customer SMS messages because they have shopped with you and asked for delivery information via SMS.
The Marketing Act still applies here, and the consumer must have actively opted in to receive marketing SMS messages from you.
Case: How KAiKU collects SMS permissions on email
At home and lifestyle store KAiKU, they use inMobile to send SMS messages to their customers. Initially, the idea was to use the SMS channel only for customer service, but together we quickly realised that the channel was also ideal for launching KAiKU's new customer club.
KAiKU typically uses SMS to send messages about special promotions or invite customers to events and customer evenings in their store in Brabrand.
From the time KAiKU started with SMS in September 2022 until March 2023, they have managed to collect 305 SMS permissions for their SMS list. The vast majority of these registrations have come from KAiKU's existing email followers. However, some have also been signed up via a physical list in the store where customers can sign up to receive SMS.
To start building a list of SMS followers, KAiKU chose to send a well-worded email to their email followers. In the email, they pointed out that it is also possible to hear from them via SMS.
They sent a total of two emails, both with great results. Their first email had an impressive open rate of 52.2%, with 6.7% of those who opened the email going on to sign up for the SMS list.
The conversion rate among all recipients was 3.5%. That's the equivalent of 240 new SMS permissions that KAiKU picked up just by sending a well-worded email to their email followers. In other words, a group of consumers who have already shown great interest in KAiKU and who have now expressed even greater interest in the company and its products.
The numbers are impressive and we look forward to seeing how KAiKU grows their SMS list going forward.
Want to be inspired by KAiKU? Below you can see how the company created a simple email with a clear message and added a link that easily directs the recipient to a landing page where they can sign up for the SMS list.
Step 1: Send the persuasive email
Step 2: The converting landing page
What you need to know about SMS marketing legislation before you get started
We've already mentioned marketing law in some of the other sections of this article, but it still deserves a section of its own.
We can't emphasise enough how important it is to remember that you must not send SMS messages to your customers without first getting permission in the correct way. Improper handling of permission collection and subsequent use can result in an expensive fine - and worse: Distrust among consumers.
So here's a brief summary of the most important things to remember when you start collecting your SMS permissions.
- An authorisation must always be given via a clear sign-up button and/or a checkbox, which must not be automatically ticked.
- A sale must not be conditional on marketing authorisation being granted (e.g. at check-out or in a competition).
- Always make sure to link to your privacy policy so the consumer can read how you process personal data.
- It must always be possible for the consumer to easily unsubscribe or withdraw their consent.
- When collecting permissions, always remember to include the following information:
- Which company the customer will receive marketing from.
- How the customer receives marketing (e.g. SMS or email).
- Which product categories they want to receive marketing in (e.g. clothing, furniture, food, etc.)
- How the consumer can unsubscribe or withdraw consent again.
If you remember the above rules, you shouldn't get in trouble with marketing law. When in doubt, always double-check the rules before you start a permission campaign.
