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
3 Reasons Your Customers Want You to Use SMS Messaging
In my last blog I looked at five reasons you want to use SMS messaging in your business. In this blog we're looking at the same topic, just from the consumer's point of view. For example, how do you really know your customers want you to send them messages via SMS? Isn't email or a phone call good enough? Is it worth your time to learn how to use SMS messaging in your business?
8 Key Reasons SMS Marketing is So Effective
You might not have run an SMS marketing campaign yourself, but you are likely to have received some form of SMS communication from a business. Whether that's a commercial brand running a competition or a healthcare provider, such as your GP or dental practice, sending you an appointment reminder. If you have run an SMS marketing campaign before, you're likely to already be aware of the effectiveness of the platform for communicating with customers, but might need help justifying your use of SMS messaging to other people or departments in your business. Here, we've listed out the key reasons SMS marketing is so effective.
5 Reasons SMS Marketing is Ideal for Retailers
How Wayne Dyer Inspired SMS Messaging
If you’re tuned into the self-help industry at all, you know who Wayne Dyer was. He spent decades writing transformational books to help people improve their lives and find happiness. He died summer 2015 at his home in Maui at the age of 75. It’s probably an understatement to say he inspired millions of people. So when I came across an article about a publisher using SMS messaging to let people know about a new book discussing his legacy I wasn’t too surprised. Not at first anyway.
Work 24/7 Without Being in The Office! The Benefits of SMS Scheduling
In our demanding, 24/7 world it is difficult to stay on top of your SMS marketing campaign but with scheduling you can ensure you are getting your message to your audience whatever the time.
Two Companies Using SMS in Surprising Ways
In many ways, SMS messaging is so commonplace people don’t think about it. They just do it. For example, using SMS for mobile marketing in retail is a fairly standard use case whether you’re a company or the consumer. But there are always exceptions – those who innovate when it seems there’s nothing new to be had. Here are two examples of companies from the US using SMS in ways no one else is – yet.
How to Use SMS Marketing to Counter Retail Fatigue
Uncertain economic times and an ever-extending holiday retail season is apparently making Brits less excited about the “usual” sales. But don’t worry, find out how SMS marketing can help you boost sales even in the face of retail fatigue.
SMS Marketing for Artisan Food Producers
SMS Marketing For The Equestrian Sector
The British Equestrian Trade Association’s findings from their National Equestrian Survey 2015 put the economic value of the equestrian sector at £4.3 billion of consumer spending across a wide range of goods and services, with the average spend per horse during the same year at £3600. It is an incredibly varied industry encompassing all types of businesses from sole traders making a living in remote areas to multinational companies. Their customer base typically tends to be busy people who lead largely outdoor lifestyles so the obvious and most effective means of communicating with them is by mobile phone, yet very few equestrian businesses appear to be utilising SMS text messaging marketing. So how could businesses in this sector benefit from this method of marketing?
3 Retail Predictions to Increase Footfalls This Holiday Season with SMS Messaging
Last year footfalls for some high street shops dropped during the Black Friday weekend. Even though the UK spent a record breaking £1.1B, some saw their in-store sales slump. Find out the three things retailers need to do to get customers to come back.