SMS marketing for holiday shoppers
The rush of holiday shopping is nearing its peak this week. As people wade through the frenzy and chaos of trying to find the perfect gift, a text message from your store might be just what they need. At least that’s what a study form MarketLive might be telling us.
Their study focuses on mobile users and what it is they want from retailers this shopping season. The results are encouraging – and exciting – for any retailer who connects with customers using a mobile device.
While the study covers many different aspects of mobile marketing, I want to focus here on the ones related to SMS. After all, there are a few days left before Christmas, which is plenty of time to get together an SMS campaign to reach those last minute shoppers. But some of the other aspects of mobile examined by Marketlive would take a bit longer to implement. Unless of course you already have aisle maps available in an app for your store. You don’t? Then let’s get back to what you can do with SMS.
People are ready to give it up
One of the hardest things about SMS marketing is getting the information you need from your customers – their mobile number at a minimum. People are generally guarded about giving out their personal numbers, but that might be changing. MarketLive found that 55% of people surveyed felt comfortable sharing their information and preferences with marketers – if they got something in return. In general people thought it was worth sharing when doing so offered them convenience and personalised product recommendations.
“Text alerts are now an accepted way to receive coupons and promotions,” says Ken Burke, CEO of Marketlive , “and personalised product suggestions based on prior purchases or online viewing patterns are now expected.”
That last sentence is a pretty bold statement. While there’s a convenience factor to getting personalised suggestions, there’s also a creepy factor when it’s obvious the suggestion came because the company knows what you’ve been doing online. It’s a fine line really, but the data appears to show more and more people are accepting what good it can do, rather than worry what can be learned about them. Privacy is losing out to convenience. That’s a good thing for marketers, as long as they protect and manage the data they gather appropriately (or else be subject to a PR and legal nightmare).
Getting local
Another trend the study found is how text messages impact in-store shopping. For example, 78% of respondents are likely to visit a store after they receive an SMS alert prior to their going to the shops. The article on the study doesn’t make it clear whether those 78% were already planning to go shopping or if the messages prompted the shopping trip, but either way, sending an SMS message got those people into the store.
Another 69% want in-store text messages sent to them. This means they’re comfortable with the store knowing they are there, and then triggering a special text message for them while they are shopping. This is a special case of localised SMS marketing that can be implemented in a variety of ways.
Happy accidents, or localised messaging, result in 62% of people making a purchase after receiving an offer sent to their mobile while they are in the store. That’s an impressive number for sure, but there’s no breakdown of how the offer was received – by signing up to an SMS marketing list, by simply entering the store (localised messaging) or if they got it coincidentally on their visit. But if you’re able to send SMS messages to people while they are visiting your store, you’ve got a great shot at making a sale.
In the few days left before Christmas why not set up an SMS marketing campaign of your own? If there are people in your store, you’ll certainly increase the chances they’ll buy something if you send them a message. And don’t forget, you’ll increase the chance that they’ll even come to your store too.
Related Articles
SMS Remarketing: What It’s All About
You’ve seen or heard about remarketing online. But did you know you can use SMS to remarket to visitors who abandon their cart in your ecommerce store? According to one study, using it can double your conversion rates. Check out the blog to see the details.
B2B Needs to Get Mobile and Digital
Businesses that sell to other businesses (B2B) are having trouble keeping up in the digital and mobile age. That’s according to a couple of eMarketer articles. The reasons for it are varied, but it may be mostly because they’ve been slow to acknowledge a change in culture.
SMS Marketing And Why It Matters For Online Retailers
Enhancing Two-Way SMS Messaging with Autoresponders
SMS messaging can be a one-way, or a two-way affair. Sending coupons, sale notifications, or event announcements are all one-way messaging. The recipient doesn’t need to reply in order to use the information sent. In two-way messaging though, recipients can reply to your messages. And that makes it much more interesting, engaging, and potentially a lot more work to manage.
SMS Marketing and Mobile Wallets
In one of my blogs last week, I talked about a marketing study by Vibes and what it said about SMS marketing. This week I wanted to take another look at it from the perspective of the mobile wallet industry, also covered in the report. It turns out there is a strong case for integrating your SMS marketing with mobile wallets. Let’s take a look.
Attention! The mCommerce Summit is Happening Now
Mobile Marketer is holding the mCommerce Summit: State of Mobile Commerce 2016 today in New York City. And you'll get to find out what happens when I get back and write about it next week. But today, I'm going to give you a sneak peak at what I'm seeing in New York at this moment. Before I do though, be sure to check our fastsms Twitter feed throughout the day. I'll be sharing the best tidbits as they come up in each session as they happen.
How to Use SMS Messaging to Improve Customer Service
Global brands are increasingly taking advantage of a Short Message Service (SMS) to connect to customers and improve customer communication and engagement. This trend is taking root amongst small companies too, as they grasp the potential to not only communicate effectively in real-time but use SMS to save time and money in their customer relations procedures.
Advantages & Disadvantages of SMS Marketing
SMS marketing is very different to most other more traditional marketing tools, specifically because of its short-form, text only nature. This certainly shouldn't put you off though. We have put together our guide to both the best things about SMS marketing and some of the potential problems, and how to work around them.
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.
How to Avoid Failing at SMS Marketing
For many businesses it's often a knee-jerk reaction to create an app, or to run mobile ads, or to start an SMS list. But without really understanding what it’s all about, you can waste a lot of time and money before realising what you actually need to do.