Owning an online store offers rewarding prospects. But attempts to attract new customers through SEO and social media marketing campaigns can be slow and laborious. You certainly have to have patience and persistence.
If your online efforts are lagging, SMS marketing services can help give you a boost. Text message services are direct, easy to use and rewarded with a high read rate – around 90% or more.
SMS marketing services can work pretty well for just about any business. Then there are other types of industries where they work exceptionally well – one of which is retail.
Surveys show that consumers are receptive to text messaging – more so than email or a phone call. In sms marketing statistics published by customerthink.com, 77% of consumers have “a positive perception of a company that offers text capability.”
SMS is convenient and stress free – essential credits for modern consumers. And retailers can take advantage of smartphone technology in general to improve the shopping experience for your customers.
SMS messaging services are not only useful for marketing and promotional purposes, but is a powerful tool that can help establish customer loyalty.
We will look at the different ways you can use SMS marketing in a moment, but first, let’s have a quick run-through of the process. Here’s how to set up your SMS marketing campaign.
The keyword you choose should be related to the product and the offer so you can distinguish which offer customers are referring to.
For example, if you have a sports store and want to promote men’s football shirts, tennis shirts and golf shirts, your keywords should be either ‘FOOTBALL, ‘TENNIS’ and ‘GOLF’ rather than ‘shirts.’
Your message should clearly state the offer and tell customers what they have to do – which includes the keyword. For example:
“10% of Premier League football shirts. Text FOOTBALL to 55489”
Keep the text message as short and simple as possible. Remember you only have 160 characters to play with.
To assess the effectiveness of your SMS marketing campaign, record the number of leads you receive from your text message together with the number of sales. Hence why you need appropriate keyword – especially if you have more than one promotion running at the same time.
SMS marketing is becoming increasingly popular with brands. Bulk text messaging improves communication channels, helps to rework customer relations and gives you flexibility to provide in-store interaction with customers.
Mobile technology gives retail stores greater potential than merely sending an SMS marketing message. Let’s take a closer look at the list of potentials.
When QR codes first came into existence, the lack of technology to accommodate the tool meant the experience was not as convenient as the idea intended. Now technology has caught up, QR codes are becoming increasingly popular.
QR codes work because customers want instant gratification and brands can send QR codes whenever you want. Furthermore, QR codes help reduce queues and people appreciate not have to hang around.
You can also use QR codes and other methods of mobile marketing to nurture leads. For example, if you have a customer in-store, you can increase your sales by offering discounts if they use a short code. A condition of the deal will be to opt-in to receive sms marketing messages.
Alternatively, you can promote specific items through an SMS marketing message using short codes using a keyword (as outlined above) or a QR code.
According to ninjalinkbuildin.com, 90 per cent of smartphone users say that SMS loyalty clubs have enabled them to benefit from reduced merchandise.
Retail brands that are faced with such stiff competition from dozens of other retailers win battles in the price wars, and SMS is one of the most effective ways for shoppers to see your offers.
By offering loyal customers the best discounts, you increase your selling power and improve interaction with consumers. Be careful not to overdo the text message blasts otherwise you risk losing loyal customers.
Shoppers prefer brands that offer some form of customer support. The benefits of a shop assistant have been utilized for decades and in the modern era, virtual assistants and social media interaction is improving customer support.
But most people prefer texting because it is the easiest and simplest way. You don’t have to be connected to a wi-fi to receive a text and consumers can act on the message immediately if they are on the go – essential for limited time only offers.
Successful businesses invest a lot of time and effort in building customer relations. SMS marketing even removes some of the effort as there is a direct line of communication that has a high percentage rate of being read.
Given the mobile-centric world we live in, SMS drip campaigns have the potential to replace in-store advertising. Messages can be triggered on certain cues such as somebody walking into your store, or within venturing within a 500m radius of your store.
The purpose of drip campaigns is to pique the interest of customers. Messages should clearly state what the offer is and want the customer has to do to take advantage. Time sensitive campaigns are the most effective as they get buyers to take immediate action.
SMS messaging is becoming the new channel of communication for brands to interact with consumers. Because sms marketing is cost-effective and has the most successful read rate of any other marketing channel, businesses are already replacing email for texting.
Whilst SMS marketing will not be used as a primary marketing channel because of its limitations with words and customer access, it is a powerful medium to support existing campaign strategies.
SMS marketing and mobile technology in general will have a central role to play in marketing campaigns of the future – not only for communication purposes, but for enhancing the all-round shopping experience for customers.
