The 2016 Rio Olympics once again gave the world a glimpse of some of the fastest, strongest and the most focused athletes in the world. As expected, the likes of Michael Phelps, Simone Biles and Usain Bolt didn’t disappoint. They came, they promised and they delivered!

As amazed as I was with the consistency and the fortitude of these athletes to deliver results every time, it got me thinking as to how people like you and I can take a lead off their successes.

How do we deliver our marketing campaigns like champions? How do we dominate the circuit (Market)? How do we win Gold?

Let’s look at what our champs have done:

• Focus: Beset by injuries, Bolt missed quite a few championships in the run-up to the Olympics. He even pulled out of the qualifiers for the Olympics courtesy of a hamstring injury but featured in the main draw for Rio as Jamaica does not mandate athletes to be a part of qualifiers to make it to the main contingent. The six time Olympic champion brushed aside all these distractions and stayed focused on the bigger goal – The Olympic Gold.

What can we learn? – It’s important that we marketers and sales people stay focused on our product and on our customer’s needs. Our text marketing campaigns have to stay focused on offering specific solutions to the pain points of our customers and not on offering generic solutions.

• Preparation: Phelps, the most decorated swimmer of all time and the winner of 28 Gold medals started preparing for Rio a year back. His regiment included a six hour training stint in the pool and a 12000 calorie intake - every day!                              

What can we learn? – Do your homework before you launch a Text based marketing campaign is key. If you design your text marketing campaign around emerging technologies or even pre-empt issues and suggest solutions around future tech, then you are a winner. Create campaigns that drive responses, not just reads. Sound interesting by talking about how your product can help customers embrace and transition to emerging trends and technologies. Research the issues that your target audience face and talk their language (I’m not only implying a multi-linguistic text marketing campaign but also one laced with “Industry-Specific-Jargon”

• Consistency: Simone Biles is arguably one of the best gymnasts the world has ever seen. That’s a pretty big accolade right there. To get this credit at such a young age (She’s just 19!!), she’s delivered some of the toughest moves in gymnastics on a consistent basis. By the time she was at Rio, Biles was already a favorite. People got so used to seeing her on top that nobody expected anything but perfection from her. All that she had to do was not try anything different and just stick to what she does best – perform her routines to perfection! She came and as predicted, she delivered.

What can we learn? – Your Text marketing campaign, just like Bile’s performances have to be consistent. It’s not only the content that matters but also the timing that does. Your campaigns have to follow a particular format and all the associated launches, campaigns have to follow the same format. In other words – Pick a format, pick a date, pick a time. And Stick by it! Consistency is everything!

If you have been running an engaging text marketing campaign, your customers would be waiting for your text to come at the same day and time that they last received it. The least you could do is not disappoint!

A lot of our clients at AppShark have embraced text marketing and have planned their campaigns by using the Open SMS Pro App! The Open SMS Pro App allows one to send text messages to leads and contacts, Chat with Leads or Contacts directly from Salesforce, Conduct SMS/Text Campaigns from Salesforce. So the next time you think of promoting your product/service to contacts and leads on your Salesforce platform, pay a visit to the AppExchange and download the Open SMS Pro App.

So what are you waiting for? The secret’s out – You know how to win Gold now. Start preparing your next text marketing campaign like an Olympian! Be focused, be prepared and be consistent. Rack up that Gold – In sales terms, in dollar terms!