SMS Marketing Strategies You Should Know to generate more revenue

SMS marketing allows brands to establish authentic relationships with people who interact with them. With an understanding of the various types of text message marketing available, you can target your most engaged segments and optimize the channel.

Since e-commerce keeps growing day by day, if you run a business it is necessary to incorporate all skills and tricks in order to survive in this competitive world. 

There is rapid growth in e-commerce, especially mobile commerce. Despite the popularity of email marketing, SMS is rapidly gaining traction as another option for marketers to send messages. 

How come? Due to the fact that it communicates through noise better than virtually any other channel. 

Consider the possibility that all of your marketing communications were seen almost instantly – without the need to connect to the Internet. That can be achieved via SMS marketing.

Our experts have shared their best practices, top tips, examples, and more so you can get started with SMS marketing to increase e-commerce sales.

What is SMS marketing?

The term SMS marketing refers to the process or channel used by many brands to communicate with customers. The SMS message conveys a text message which might contain either of the following: campaigns, promotions, news, products updates, and much more. 

The SMS channel is owned, just as email marketing is. Thus, you can send SMS marketing messages to any number, share any content you want, and decide when to send them. From the start to the finish of the text marketing campaign, you can control the overall experience for your customers.

Basically, text messaging is a method of communicating offers, information, and other messages to existing customers who have consented to receive them. It’s imperative to get permission before text messaging any existing customers. 

Types of SMS Marketing Campaigns

There is no such thing as a generic SMS marketing message. SMS marketing will differ depending on who you’re messaging and what you want to accomplish.

Sending SMS messages is just one aspect of SMS marketing. Following are two types of SMS marketing as described by two different strategies.

#A. On-Demand SMS

The first SMS marketing strategy is On-Demand SMS. This involves sending universal SMS messages, such as general discounts, company alerts, or holiday promotions, on a schedule that suits your marketing schedule or promotional schedule. SMS marketing on-demand is not dependent on subscriber behavior.

#B. Discounts and Special Offers

Sale prices, discounts, and promotions appeal to your audience’s sense of urgency. In these messages, you may offer some kind of discount on full-priced products or a promotion like “Buy One, Get One Free.” The CTA should always be clear and encourage recipients to click on your site.

#C. Alerts and News

Inform your audience about company and product news through alerts and news. Sending SMS marketing messages to customers could inform them about store hours, new product offerings, events, or simply wish them a happy holiday. Senders can also respond to SMS marketing messages by providing more information.

#D. Competitions and Contests

Businesses use SMS marketing to engage both potential customers and existing customers through competitions, contests, and text-to-win campaigns. You will need a photo of the consumer using one of your products along with the required entry information to enter. You should include whether you are going to add those who have joined your list in these SMS messages.

#E. Behavioral SMS

Another SMS marketing strategy is called Behavioral SMS. These are triggered SMS messages that appear when a subscriber makes a reservation, abandons a shopping cart, or requests customer service. In comparison with bulk email, On-Demand SMS is like Behavioral SMS is like triggered email.)

#F. Personalized Discounts

A customized discount is a discount, a sale, or a promotion that is tailored to a specific recipient. The emails are sent after subscribers browse or make a purchase to reengage them. People feel they’re getting a special, private sale when they receive these messages as if a unique discount opportunity is being offered. You should create urgency by time-limiting these messages.

#G. Reminders

A reminder is helpful for appointments, reservations, special events, and subscriptions. Subscribers receive these SMS marketing messages when they perform an action on your website (e.g. buy tickets, make reservations, etc.).

SMS marketing messages remind subscribers to consider making a purchase when they are nearby similar events or your stores. Text messages serve as a reminder for customers, so be sure to send time-sensitive messages so that clients can change or cancel appointments or reservations if necessary. The earlier you make these arrangements, the fewer cancellations and no-shows you’ll encounter.

#H. Product or Loyalty Program Updates

It may only be relevant to some customers to receive updates such as backups of certain items or new points or rewards in loyalty programs.

The fact that these messages are delivered right to their phones makes them feel special and valued. Updates of this type can be sent in response to behaviors such as customer purchases or restocking items on customers’ wish lists.

Reasons why you should use SMS Marketing as Your Marketing Tool

Today, getting your products or services in front of potential customers is one of the biggest marketing challenges. As a result of information overload and social media ads, our inboxes are filled to overflowing. SMS comes in handy in this situation.

#1. Mobile commerce is a good fit for SMS marketing

According to a recent study, (46%) of people use their mobile device between 5-6 hours per day in their personal time. 

This makes mobile-friendly marketing a critical investment for businesses. As SMS messages are designed to be viewed on mobile phones, this is an easy task.

SMS is perfect for sending information that must be delivered immediately, such as flash sales and limited-time offers. A new text message can be difficult to resist when the ding of a mobile phone is heard during most of our waking hours. With SMS, we can send messages quickly and easily.

#2. The higher the open rate, the greater the engagement

SMS messages are not only being opened but they are also being engaged with. A 98 percent open rate is typical for SMS messages. 

It is important to remember that many consumers will only open a text message to remove a notification from their phones. This is why engagement metrics such as clicks and conversions should be given more weight.

So what’s the good news? When it comes to both click rates and conversion rates, text messages can be more effective than email, depending on the content you share with your audience. Weblihost, for example, has a click rate of 32 percent when sending SMS messages.

#3. Brands can instantly reach customers with text message marketing

Once they receive a text, people tend to read it quickly. Approximately 90 percent of all texts are read within three minutes. 

If you plan on announcing a special offer to your subscribers as soon as possible, emailing them may result in them missing your message and not acting accordingly. 

Send them a text instead so they see the timely message sooner and will be more likely to take the action you want them to take.

#4. Communicate with shoppers using their preferred methods

Additionally, SMS enables you to communicate with shoppers in a way that suits their preferences. They want to feel that their opinions matter to brands, and they want to be in the know. 

Businesses can use text messaging to alert customers to offers, events, and other important news relevant to them, making them feel included.

How to Get Started Using SMS Marketing

What are the best places to start if you’re trying to decide whether to use SMS marketing? This guide will help you send out your first SMS marketing campaign.

1. Narrow and define your goals. 

If you are planning to use this new channel, make sure you think about your goals and identify exactly what you want to accomplish.

A good starting point would be to reduce the time the customer waits and to reduce the time the customer calls customer support. Then you can send SMS text messages notifying customers that their order is on its way and will arrive at a specific date, or you can send SMS text messages after the sale.

It is almost impossible to get overwhelmed by the possibilities with SMS – which makes it easy to become overwhelmed. Merchants often want to expand their mobile reach, but fail to figure out the ‘why’ and ‘how.’ To overcome that, start with one main goal, then focus on quick wins.

2. Find the best SMS marketing platform

An SMS Marketing Platform should have complementary integrations, robust list-building tools, personalization and targeting capabilities inside campaigns and automation, and the ability to engage subscribers in real-time, two-way communication.

The next step is finding the right partner after you narrow your focus. Make it a priority to work with a vendor who enables easy set-up and launch but also allows you to scale with your SMS channel over time. 

Several SMS providers are integrated with BigCommerce’s e-commerce platform, including:

• Klaviyo: One of the most popular marketing automation and customer data platforms, helping its users build better relationships with their customers. 
• Omnisend: A powerful e-commerce-optimized email and SMS marketing automation platform for fast-paced teams looking to boost revenue without adding extra work. 

• Attentive: Over 4,000 leading brands trust our best-in-class text message marketing solutions. Make SMS a top revenue channel within months, and increase revenue through text messaging.

3. Work on growing your subscriber base.

As soon as you select your SMS marketing platform, you’ll need to build your subscriber list. 

Any major e-commerce platform allows you to add a checkbox to your checkout flow so that SMS subscribers can be collected via a form on your website, in an email flow, or by adding a form to your website. If people want to opt-in, you can also provide them with a phone number and keyword.

Compliance is one of the most important points to keep in mind when dealing with SMS. Since SMS marketing is a permission-based channel, it is crucial to do all aspects of your SMS marketing program in a very compliant manner. 

4. Launch your first campaign

Start slowly and experiment with new ideas to see what works best for your e-commerce business. 

Consider SMS as a separate channel and experiment with it. It’s a good idea to begin with a small campaign. Focus on differentiating your messages if you are emailing about the same promotion. Using marketing automation, you can include SMS into an omnichannel customer experience as soon as you gain confidence.

#5. Conduct more tests 

You shouldn’t assume that the first time you do something you’ll be successful. And the second time, either. It doesn’t matter how many times you do something. 

You can gain insight into what you’re doing right and where you can improve your SMS marketing by reviewing your results and metrics. To determine the best SMS strategy for your e-commerce store, keep testing different messages, times, and days. 

Best Practices for SMS Marketing in Ecommerce 

We’ll discuss some important best practices for ensuring the success of your SMS marketing campaign now that you’ve established a strategy. 

#1. Provide your customers with value

Make sure you offer something of value when you reach out, such as:

• Offerings that are unique or special – especially if they are only sent to your SMS recipients.
• A limited-time deal, such as BOGO items for the rest of the day when you want to clear out stock.
• Customers who may be interested in attending an event will need this information.
• Introduce new products or services to your SMS list first, especially if they’re exclusive.

#2. Keep it short, sweet, and to the point

Ensure that you are as concise as possible. Your messages will be viewed on small screens.

Don’t send a string of texts, but rather a single call to action (CTA). You might not appreciate sending three messages to communicate one thing if people still pay a surcharge on texts. 

#3. Personalize your SMS marketing campaigns

While you’re at it, be sure that your brand voice is being used whenever possible, and make the effort necessary to personalize your messages. 

By creating sections of the list, you can text groups the topics they are most interested in. Use data automation to include the names of people when sending messages.

Conclusion

No matter how you feel about your SMS marketing, it’s important to start testing this strategy as soon as possible, no matter what you think is the best approach. Every campaign you launch gives you the data you need to begin putting together the learnings you’ll need to create texts that will convince all recipients to go online and make a purchase. As a result, you’ll reach your customers on their favorite device, the one device they won’t leave home without.