Step number 1 is to decide exactly what you think you’ll need cell marketing for… If your business is a small pizza shop it’s going to have a lot different needs then say a nightclub or a doctor’s office.

So take a look at these possible features and decide which ones you may ever want to use:

• Plain text messages and coupons
• pictures, video, or audio messages
• Automatically track redemption of text coupons through coupon codes
• Mobile voting
• Text appointment reminders

A small pizza shop may never have a need for more than the ability to send plain text messages and coupons. A nightclub may want to be able to have more interaction with their customers, like mobile voting and text to screen. A doctor’s office may want to send out text appointment reminders.

So once you’ve looked through the list of features and decided what’s essential and what’s not, step 2 is to find a company who offers what the features you want.

Look around locally and see if anyone is offering the features you want. If not, you’ll have to go with a national company. One important tip is to make sure they offer good customer service. Some companies only offer email support, and that may not be enough for you.

Once you find a company and evaluate its available support, then you must evaluate they available plans. You want to buy close to the amount of text credits you need every month, and if they roll over for at least a few months that’s even better.

If you have to buy 500 text credits that expire every month and you can only use 100, your business will be losing money.

Once you’ve decided on a desirable text message marketing vendor that meets your needs, step 3 is to let your customers know that you are offering text deals. Put signs up in your place of business that tells them to text your keyword to your short code to start receiving text coupons. Hand out flyers with receipts. Put your message right on the receipts! Put the message on all your advertising. Have your cashiers tell people.

Once you have a list started, step 4 is to start your cell phone coupons campaign. Pick a day, pick a message, send it out, and track the results.

Cell phone marketing is a fantastic way to keep in touch with your customers. Open rates are high and immediate and response rates are also high. You should see immediate benefits with very little work. So get out there and start on these steps today!