There’s still time to create an SMS campaign for Black Friday
Tomorrow is Black Friday. This day of shopping frenzy was imported from the US just a few years ago, but experts predict UK consumers will eagerly spend £200m on Black Friday. That’s twice what was spent last year.
In an article in The Guardian, Johnathan Reynolds, director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, commented that Black Friday is a “buyer’s market” and retailers need to do everything they can to be competitive. A great way to get out ahead of the competition is with an SMS campaign.
But what if you have never used SMS or created a campaign before? Don’t worry. True, it’s last minute, but retailers can still get their SMS campaign rolling for tomorrow.
Fastsms accounts can be set up in just a few minutes. The account is free with no setup charges. And once your account is created you receive 10 credits you can use for testing. Testing is as simple as sending a message or two to your staff to see how easy it is to do. The system works much like an email application so the learning curve is fast. You can be up, running and tested in under 15 minutes. It’ll take a little longer to learn all the features, but you’ll have the basics down in that time.
If you’ve got a customer list that includes name and mobile number you can import it directly into our web based SMS service called NetMessenger. You can also automatically assign customers to groups to make segmenting your messages easier. But you don’t have to do that if you don’t want or need to. Or if you use Outlook for managing your contacts, you can get started without having to import your contacts by using our Outlook Mobile Service.
After testing, you’ll be convinced you can actually create and send messages easily. Next, you’ll want to purchase the credits you’ll need to send messages to your customers. You’ll find SMS is one of the most affordable, effective direct marketing methods. For 1,000 fastsms credits the cost is just £35. And the more credits you buy, the less it costs per credit. And yes, in the UK, one credit equals one 160 character message.
Now that you know the amazing value of our SMS messaging service, you need to send out messages to get your sale noticed on Black Friday. Here are some ideas on what to send: A coupon code redeemable in store, special sale details (“20% off everything!”), or a door buster sale during certain hours early Friday morning to let them know you’ll be opening early. You can send the messages out on Thursday afternoon or evening when people are planning their shopping, or even early on Friday (but not too early) so people get the message while they are out shopping.
You’ve got the rest of the day today to (1) get your account setup, (2) your list imported, (3) purchase your credits, (4) to write and (5) send your message. Just five steps to better sales to kick off the holiday shopping season. What are you waiting for? Get your account setup now.
Related Articles
5 Creative Ways to Use SMS Messaging to Boost Your Marketing
SMS messaging can be a hugely productive way of developing your marketing strategy. Text messages are read - on average - in less than 5 seconds. That means you only have a short period of time in which you can impress your potential customer. People are starved of concentration thanks to hundreds of digital and offline distractions, along with the many other companies all reaching out to them through SMS. In order to be effective and get the most from SMS text messages, you need to be creative with your SMS marketing. So here's how...
A Checklist for Your First SMS Marketing Campaign
This year SMS marketing is predicted to become an even bigger piece of the mobile marketing pie. Businesses of every size will be launching their first ever campaigns. If you’re one of them, take a look at our handy SMS marketing checklist below to help you do it right from the very beginning.
Do Your SMS Marketing Messages Sound Spammy?
If you aren’t seeing a positive response from your SMS marketing then your list may be thinking of it as spam and just ignoring it like they do much of their email. So take your latest marketing messages and examine them again with these four questions in mind.
4 Tips for SMS Marketing Success
SMS marketing is one of the most effective and efficient marketing channels currently available, enabling businesses to directly communicate with their target customers. If you're considering building your first SMS marketing campaign, or you have already ran a campaign but achieved limited success, read on to see how you can build an effective SMS marketing campaign to achieve your business objectives.
SMS Messaging Still Seen As A Differentiator In Retail – For Now
How many retailers use SMS messaging? According to a recent survey, not that many. And that isn’t the only surprising result shared in the survey conducted by Internet Retailer. Companies large and small know how useful SMS can be. Read on to see why now is the perfect time to start.
When the Internet Goes Down, SMS Messaging Can Save the Day
At the end of February, Amazon’s S3 servers went down. And so did much of the Internet. What can we learn from the experience about communicating with customers during an online disaster? According to experts, having a plan that includes SMS messaging is key.
The Biggest Lie in SMS Marketing
Have you seen articles telling you SMS marketing can’t be used to acquire new customers? Or that it isn’t a good way to so? Don’t believe them. You just have to know how to use SMS to get new people to sign up for your list. Read on to find out how.
Proof SMS Messaging Gets Results: Increase Sales
Can SMS marketing increase sales numbers? In the next entry of our Results Series you’ll see the kinds of results that real companies achieved. We’ve rounded up sales numbers and timelines to show you how well, and how fast, SMS marketing can improve your sales.
3 Tips on Making SMS Messaging an Integrated Part of Your Marketing
One of the key takeaways from the Salesforce 2015 State of Marketing Report was that when mobile is integrated into your marketing strategy, everything performed better. That makes sense when you think about it. Mobile is a unique channel that provides you a direct link to your customers.
Avoiding Fraud on Mobile Coupons in Your SMS Marketing
SMS coupons have redemption rates ten times email coupons. Averages run around 30%, but they could be as high as 45% for personalised messages. Even with those great numbers, retailers can still lose money to fraud. Find out how make sure customers only redeem your coupon once.