SMS polling collects audience opinions through text messaging. It allows businesses or organizations to determine the needs of their customers through simple and answerable questions via SMS. Some of the most common uses of SMS polls include research, feedback collection, surveys, and audience engagement during presentations. Knowing how to create a poll text free gives you a significant advantage over competitors in reaching your target audiences.
SMS polls are typically designed to collect short answers from participants by providing several possible choices on a topic. The process usually consists of creating questions based on desired keywords, giving several potential answers to vote for, and then sending the poll via SMS. Ensuring the questions and answers provided are simple and understandable is essential. One significant advantage of using SMS polls is its broad reach and convenience. Almost everyone now uses a mobile phone, and text messaging is still customers’ preferred communication platform. If you have yet to use SMS Polls, this article will give you better insight into how it works and its many benefits for various businesses.
What is an SMS Poll?
SMS polls are surveys in which individuals can respond to questions or requests for information using the SMS function on their mobile devices. It is also known as text message polls or text surveys. Collecting consumer feedback using different question types is a cost-effective method that business owners and market researchers can utilize.
Text polling services allow companies to gather customer insights efficiently and affordably using text messages instead of emails or paper surveys. Polls collect audience responses that inform decision-making and enhance presentations with interactive activities.
SMS polls with simple questions are a helpful way to understand what your customers want. Text voting in SMS marketing campaigns is a great way to engage your audience and start a conversation. Text polls efficiently get respondents’ feedback about their preferences or choices. Typically, SMS polls have single-answer or multiple-choice questions.
How do Text Polling Services Work?
Text polling services send an SMS message to the customer’s phone and collect their response. The information is then processed by the text polling service and used to identify patterns or trends that can be utilized to make informed decisions regarding products, services, or marketing efforts.
Text polling services can be used effectively for TV shows and competition voting through a Text to Vote method. The audience will text a keyword to a shortcode number to vote for your favorite contestant. It is prompted on the TV screen; viewers can participate instantly by texting the number using their phones. The exact process can also be used for political, radio, and research polls to identify supporters and gather data.
Using outbound SMS polls is another way to utilize text polling services. However, it requires having a list of contacts who have permitted you to text them. Mass texts are effective in polling a group of contacts with one question. Many businesses use mass texting software to set up an SMS poll and gather customer feedback.
To improve the clarity of your first mass text, consider including a question that prompts the recipient to answer and a specific keyword they must text to register their opinion. You can personalize this message for each contact using merge tags, such as their names. You can send automatic follow-up questions based on the reply or keyword received. Additionally, you can sync the survey results with your CRM to keep track of the responses.
What is the Purpose of SMS Polls?
SMS polls is a tool used to collect feedback and opinion from people quickly and accurately. This method benefits businesses that want to understand their audience better and collect valuable data that can be used to make decisions. Collecting feedback is essential for companies because it helps them understand their customers’ needs and preferences.
SMS polls also create an interactive experience with customers, which encourages customer loyalty and engagement. Through SMS polls, companies can get instant feedback on new products or services they are launching. Additionally, they make it easier to conduct surveys and polls that allow feedback from large groups of people.
Text polling also leads to audience growth and engagement. The company can access results in real-time, thus allowing them complete control if it is used for live surveys. SMS polling platforms also provide a cost-effective, quick, and convenient data collection method.
What are the Benefits of SMS Polls?
There are many benefits that SMS polls offer for businesses in various sectors. One of the main benefits of using SMS surveys is that most consumers today have a mobile phone with SMS capabilities and are checking it frequently. SMS surveys can also help your company with community outreach and customer engagement by providing valuable insights into your customers. Here are some of the other benefits of using SMS Polls.
- Increased Customer Retention – SMS polls will help you keep track of your customers and understand their needs. You can use this information to develop programs to increase customer retention.
- Cost Effective – SMS Polls are a cost-effective way to obtain consumer feedback compared to other marketing campaigns, as they only cost a few cents per message. Furthermore, they provide high open rates and prompt responses.
- Improved Customer Loyalty – SMS Polls allow customers to share their opinions, showing that you value their input. It improves customer loyalty and increases customer satisfaction.
- Broader Reach – Text polling allows you to reach a diverse population, as almost everyone, from baby boomers to Generation Z, has a smartphone with text messaging capabilities. This virtual method of communication also allows you to reach a global audience or focus your campaign on local feedback as necessary.
- Maximize Purchase Volume and Value – By understanding your customers better through SMS polling. You can create targeted campaigns to boost sales and maximize purchase volume and value.
- Easy Setup – SMS survey software allows you to send multiple surveys simultaneously, saving you time and effort compared to sending surveys manually. You can use built-in survey templates or custom surveys and schedule your text surveys, making planning more accessible and your time more efficient.
- Quick Responses – Research indicates that text messages have a higher open and response rate than emails. Text messages have a 90% open rate within three minutes of receiving them, with a possible response rate of 45%. In contrast, emails have a 20% open rate and a 6% response rate. Studies indicate that SMS messages have a 209% higher chance of response overall than other survey methods, including social media, phone calls, and email. Although the response rates vary, many users respond to different types of texts like appointment reminders, opt-in promotions, and event updates.
- Convenient response and delivery tracking – To collect data from text-based surveys, it is necessary to have a central hub to track responses and deliveries. Many SMS survey software options offer real-time tracking of activities, response rates, open rates, and other metrics directly within the software.
How to Create an SMS Poll?
SMS polls are very effective because it takes a few seconds to send a text message and for the audiences to share their answers. Here are the steps to create effective SMS polls using text messaging platforms.
1. Create Your Questions Based on Your Keywords
The first step is to determine the questions based on the keywords and the information you want to gather. What are your audience’s main questions when registering and interacting with your brand? Identify the relevant Keywords and Sub Keywords they need to use to engage with your brand. Additionally, develop messaging for your group texts, including reply templates. Launching your first text-to-vote campaign is the easiest way, but other options are available for polling your target audience.
2. Provide a Number of Possible Answers to Vote
It is a best practice when conducting SMS polls to provide your target audience with several possible answers to vote for. It will help you gather more reliable data and allow your customers to submit meaningful responses that accurately reflect their opinions. Most people want the quickest methods to complete requests, and having possible answers ready will encourage them to pick answers that they relate with.
3. Send the SMS Polls and Wait for the Response
Once you have created the questions and prepared potential answers, it is time to send the text message polls to your subscribers. It is easy to accomplish this step using an SMS marketing platform. Check your list and ensure that everyone has opted in to receive these messages from your company.
You will get more responses and have better results for your polls if you send them to people who have already expressed an interest in your brand. Wait for the audience responses to come and use all the feedback to improve your products and services and increase customer satisfaction.
What are the Potential Uses of SMS Polls?
SMS polls can be used in various ways to increase customer engagement. Here are a few potential use cases for SMS polls:
- Gathering Feedback – Use SMS polls to quickly collect customer feedback regarding their experiences with your products and services. You can ask specific questions and get insights on improving their satisfaction levels.
- Review or Survey – Use SMS polls to quickly survey your customers about their experiences with a product or service. This feedback can improve customer satisfaction and gain insights into customer preferences.
- Send Open-Ended Questions – You can use open-ended research polls through SMS to get feedback quickly. Text messages are a good option as they are more casual and faster than emails. The message recipient can reply to your question. Be aware that open-ended questions may receive various responses, which can be challenging to measure and quantify.
- Text-to-Vote Campaigns – You can use text messaging to conduct a text-to-vote campaign. It is an effective way of getting feedback from your audience regarding the products and services you offer.
- Multiple Choice Polls – You can also use SMS polls to send multiple-choice questions. It is an effective way of getting feedback from your audience about the products and services you offer.
What is the Importance of SMS Polls for Businesses?
SMS polls are essential for businesses because they provide a quick, easy, and cost-effective way to get feedback. It helps companies increase customer satisfaction and engagement. Text polls also help enterprises develop measures and understand their customers’ opinions.
Companies must text polls as part of their marketing strategy to gather customer data and feedback more efficiently. Text message surveys offer valuable insights that can help enhance your business, which may be available through something other than email surveys or phone polls alone.
According to mobile marketing experts, using SMS polls and surveys for marketing campaigns generally results in higher response rates than other methods. Nevertheless, the response rate can vary depending on the industry. Most mobile users respond to SMS messages that include promotional deals, event updates, or appointment reminders.
What are Examples of SMS Polls?
The key to creating effective SMS polls is to keep them simple. Text messages have a 160-character limit; asking for feedback within this limit has to be straight to the point. Here are some examples to try.
Product feedback – Consider asking about the frequency of product usage instead of just using a standard 1 to 10 scale. For instance, ask how often they use the product. Example:
- Hi [FirstName], we hope you enjoy your [PRODUCT]. Please let us know how frequently you’re utilizing it.
- Always
- Sometimes
- Rarely
- Never
Thanks, [COMPANY]
Service feedback – Creating an SMS-driven satisfaction survey can benefit service-based businesses. It is because 58% of customers tend to stop using a service after having a single bad experience. Through the survey, companies can listen to the voice of their customers and respond accordingly to improve the customer experience continually. Example:
- Hello [FirstName], we would appreciate your feedback on your recent experience with [REP1] regarding [SERVICE]. Your review will be instrumental in helping us improve our services. Please click the following link to leave your review: [URL]. Thank you.
Delivery feedback – Understanding your customers’ feedback on the delivery experience in eCommerce is essential. For example, we have designed a workflow for customers who rate your service as 5 out of 10 or lower. It will help you identify the areas that need improvement. Example:
- Hello [FirstName], we hope you enjoy your new [PRODUCT]. Could you rate your delivery experience on a scale of 1-10? Thank you.
- Dear [FirstName], we apologize that your experience was not satisfactory. Please briefly let us know what exactly went wrong.
- Dear [FirstName], thank you for your feedback. We will use it to improve our delivery service.
Event feedback – One way to improve your next event is to ask your recent attendees how they felt about it. It would be even more helpful to ask them why they chose to attend so that you can ensure their expectations for future events. Example:
- [FirstName], we want to know your reasons for attending [CONFERENCE]. To participate in a quick 2-minute survey and enter the draw to win a $100 gift voucher, please use this link: [URL].
What are Text Polling Services?
Several SMS polling services are available to help you send out text polls. The most popular options offer distinct features, affordability, user-friendliness, and good customer support. Below are some top picks for SMS software with poll and survey services.
- JookSMS – JookSMS is software available on the web for sending SMS messages. It includes a user-friendly dashboard, templates that can be customized for surveys, and reports that are generated automatically. Additionally, it offers interactive polls specifically for SMS-based marketing campaigns.
- SurveyMonkey – SurveyMonkey is a powerful software platform for creating online surveys, polls, and questionnaires. It includes features such as data exporting, detailed reports on the results of SMS polls, and comprehensive analytics to help you analyze your results quickly.
- SlickText – SlickText is a mobile marketing platform that enables businesses to manage their SMS campaigns and create polls. It allows the creation of customized polls with various features such as reporting, analytics, and integration with multiple social media apps.
Can Restaurants Send SMS Polls to the Customers?
Yes. Restaurants can send out SMS polls to their customers. It is an excellent way for restaurants to collect customer feedback and understand their preferences. Through SMS polls, restaurants can ask customers about their overall experience, food quality, service satisfaction levels, and more. It helps them continuously improve the customer experience to ensure repeat customer visits.
Can SMS Marketing Involve SMS Polls for Their Leads?
Yes. SMS marketing uses polls to collect valuable customer data, including product and service feedback, preferences, opinions about promotional offers, etc. SMS polls can be used to understand customer interests and needs better. For example, companies can use SMS polls to establish relationships with leads by asking questions about their lifestyles or habits. It enables the company to create targeted campaigns for the leads. You can read more about What is SMS Marketing, Guide and Benefits to understand more about its concepts and how to use it for your business.
Can SMS Polls Help with Decision Making?
Yes. SMS polls help businesses make better decisions by providing objective data from customers. Companies can use SMS polls to gauge customer sentiment and feedback on their products, services, pricing, promotional offers, etc. It helps them understand their customers’ wants and make informed decisions about their business strategies. SMS polls also allow businesses to respond more proactively to customer needs before they become dissatisfied.
What is the Difference of SMS Polls from SMS Surveys
An SMS poll is a text message that allows you to gather feedback from recipients immediately. These polls typically present single-answer or multiple-choice questions, providing quick insight into the recipient’s preferences or choices. It is ideal if you aim to increase engagement in presentations, establish Net promoter scores, or get instant answers using multiple-choice or yes/no questions.
In contrast, Text or SMS surveys are campaigns that gather user feedback through text message responses or by providing links to survey software or platforms. These surveys typically involve multiple questions and group feedback into different categories of results. Surveys are generally more in-depth than polls and are commonly utilized to assess product adoption or experiences, gather input from staff or employees, and obtain customer information.