SMS marketing is a somewhat hidden gem amongst the advertising world. It sounds fancy, perhaps even mysterious.

It’s not mysterious at all, however. It’s a vital part of getting your business’s name out there in the mobile-focused world we live in. In fact, most people use SMS every single day.

What Are The Benefits of SMS Marketing?

You’ll want to work with an SMS marketing firm to conduct the best strategies. Consider these benefits:

Higher Open Rate Than Emails

One of the biggest benefits of SMS marketing is the fact that texts are opened up to 98% of the time when received by your customers. This gives SMS an open rate higher than all other advertising options.

It’s easy for emails to get lost in a spam folder and it’s simple for a customer to throw away a flier they pick up at the mall. But with the prevalence of mobile phones and the popularity of texting, text marketing doesn’t go ignored.

More often then not, your customers will open that text and read its contents.

If you want to find a way to reach your customers more consistently, give SMSing a try.

Cost-Effective

It doesn’t cost much at all to send a text to a customer. Even when sending it to a lot of people, the cost is not a problem. It’s generally much more affordable when you compare it to other marketing options, such as buying a Facebook ad spot.

This makes SMS marketing a great choice for all businesses.

Especially for businesses that are just starting out and are looking for a way to start advertising without spending too much money in one go.

Mobile-Friendly

Being able to present your business as mobile-friendly is incredibly important these days. More and more people are using their mobile devices to do things like shopping and browsing. You don’t want to lose out on that kind of exposure.

SMS marketing is a big part of making your business mobile-friendly and can be a strong asset to your mobile marketing strategy.

Reach a Wide Demographic

Because so many people have cell phones and other mobile devices these days, your customer demographic can widen through the benefits of SMS marketing. Instead of focusing on just one marketing strategy that might only reach one section of your demographic, SMS marketing reaches everyone.

Works With Other Types of Marketing

SMS marketing for eCommerce doesn’t have to simply be a part of advertising all on its own. You can use it alongside all of the other ways you are marketing your business. It can be a quick and easy way for customers to connect to your message.

Use it to get more customers interested in your social media. Maybe offer a discount for anyone wanting to buy through your online website. Want to promote a new product?

Send out an SMS for that.

Fast Delivery

There’s virtually no wait time when it comes to SMSing. Once you press the send button, you can be certain that your customers will receive your message straight away.

The benefits of SMS marketing really shine here because this kind of advertising requires little prep time. There are no materials to gather or printings to wait for. There are no designs to complete or people to contact.

The only thing you need to do is come up with your message and send it away to your customers. And, because we already know that texts are far more likely opened than emails, you can be certain your customers will see your important news as quickly as possible.

Strengthens Customer Engagement

SMSing doesn’t just give you the option to engage with your customers more. It can also give your customers a way to engage with you.

It lets them feel that your business is more accessible. It makes your business become more a part of their lives instead of being just “that one store I go to sometimes”. Instead, you’re there with them on their mobile phone, prompting them to remember you.

Customers Can Opt-In

It’s always a good idea to give your customers an option. It’s great to send out your mass text messages, giving your customers the latest news on your business ventures. Let your customers decide if they’d like to opt-in and it will let them feel more comfortable with your business as a whole.

Plus, seeing how many customers opt-in to those updates can give you information that you can then use for later marketing strategies.

Customers Can Also Opt-Out

Giving customers the option to decline these messages, however, is perhaps even more important. If you keep sending out your texts, wanting to get an uninterested customer engaged, you could end up losing that customer altogether.

It’s better to give them that option to opt-out of these mobile messages instead of driving them away. They may opt-out, but there are other marketing strategies that you can use for those types of customers instead.

Flexible and Customizable

When it comes benefits of SMS marketing, one of the best is the fact that it is so versatile. You can mix and match text messages to fit with different things to help promote your business.

You can announce a sale, give a temporary discount, reward loyal customers, promote a new product, share news, and more, all from SMS.

It’s a great tool to have for any business, both big and small.

You may ask yourself, “Why should we use SMS Marketing?” The answer is simple: “Your customers are texting, so why aren’t you?” Text message marketing gives you the perfect opportunity to connect with your customers on the devices they carry with them all day, every day. If that’s not enough to get you to think about incorporating SMS Marketing into your marketing mix, here are 5 more reasons to consider.

SMS Marketing: connecting brands and customers

1. SMS is Personal

Your customers have a very personal relationship with their phones. It’s the way customers engage with their friends and family. In fact, it’s the very first thing most people reach for when they wake up. Once your brand is invited into this inner circle — caveat: you need permission — you’ll have an immediate, more intimate way to have a one-to-one conversation with your customer.

2. SMS is Simple

SMS Marketing provides brands with an uncomplicated way to connect with customers. It doesn’t get much simpler than sending a text. For marketers, though, the trick is to be able to have an engaging chat when limited to around 160 characters at a time. Brief messages featuring incentive contests, coupon redemption, opt-in surveys, and polls help move the conversation along. Tip: Include your SMS number or a shortcode on your direct mail, email, website, and social media pages. This can be a proven way to entice consumers to opt-in to your SMS marketing programs.

3. SMS is Highly Targeted

A consumer’s relationship with their phone, combined with a permission-based relationship with your brand, is a powerful marketing tool. Surprisingly, the majority of consumers are actually receptive to interacting with businesses via text, just like they do with their family and friends. With their permission, this receptive audience can be a lucrative one. But don’t overdo it. No one wants their phone swamped with unwanted texts. As a best practice, consider that more than 2–4 texts a month risks annoying your customer. If your offer is relevant and written specifically for the individual customer, you are sure to make a connection. You can also send a mass text — targeting a bigger audience — with a coupon or special offer they can’t resist.

4. SMS Outperforms Other Channels

SMS Marketing boasts greater immediacy and attention than other digital marketing methods: from open rates to delivery, SMS topples email, Facebook, and push notification. When compared to other advertising categories, according to Mobile Marketer, SMS Marketing can lead to higher engagement rates and enviable ROI. While SMS outperforms other channels by leaps and bounds, it’s even more effective when used in conjunction with voice, email, push notification, and other channels, as an integrated part of your digital and mobile marketing strategy.

5. SMS is Easy to Implement, Manage, and Track

With most SMS marketing tools, you can quickly and easily monitor and measure the performance of each SMS marketing campaign. Because Text Marketing is permission-based, you’re off to an excellent start: you know exactly who you are messaging and, because of that, you can capture highly specific data about your customers including demographics, interests, purchase history, and more! Proving marketing value is the holy grail for every marketer, and SMS Marketing, if properly integrated into your CRM, allows you to measure the real-time performance of your text messaging campaigns — even mass texting can be tracked with proficiency.

Businesses around the world are continually looking for ways to advertise their products and services. This often implies finding new ways of reaching out to their potential clientele. We’ve all tried email marketing, blogging, creating different kinds of content, but not everyone really considers SMS.

Tips to Leverage the SMS Marketing Power

Now you know how SMS marketing will help you – but how do you reap the most out of it? Since not every SMS marketing campaign is equal to the other, we need to look at how a business can maximize its success with text message marketing.

Create a Team

It’s safe to say that SMS marketing can be done by a single person, but to increase its effect, you need a strong team. You’ll likely need a marketing program expert, on-location signage coordinators, retail experts, social media experts, and so on.

A team of experts can guide you through the process and calibrate your campaign, in accordance with your needs and expectations. Copywriting for SMS marketing campaigns can be complicated. There are now many tools and services like Trust My Paper, Grammarly, Studicus, and Hemingway that can help you create more appealing marketing copies.

Know Your Customers

For your SMS marketing strategy to be successful, you will have to send the right message to the right category of customers. Analyze location-based demographics and purchase history and use that information to send the right message to your potential clientele.

Write Clear Messages

You have a total of 160 characters that you need to use to express yourself efficiently. If you can, you may even do it in less. We’re living in the Attention Economy; people aren’t really into reading long messages.

Tell them exactly what they need to know – and don’t leave anything of importance out. Use the most appropriate language to awaken their sense of urgency.

Use Call-to-Actions

Call-to-actions have a particular way of stimulating people into taking action. CTA’s are essential in all marketing channels, and using them will considerably impact your response rates.

Get the Timing Right

Nowadays, timing is everything. Without proper timing, you might miss out on an excellent opportunity. Since SMS is all about immediacy, you really want to think your timing though, especially if your recipients are distributed in several time zones.

Final Thoughts

SMS marketing is here, and it’s here to stay. It’s time that you make peace with this fact, accept it, and learn how to use it. If you do a good job, you will notice a significant increase in your sales – and all you had to do was to send a couple of texts.

The customers have spoken!

According to a study by Twilio, nine out of ten customers would like to be able to communicate with businesses through text messaging. And the majority of those customers prefer SMS as their texting medium.

Here’s how those percentages are divided based on country:

If you haven’t started with text message marketing to communicate with your customers for your eCommerce business, here’s everything you need to know:

What advantages does SMS offer eCommerce businesses?

Why use text messages for eCommerce?

They are immediate.

90% of all texts are read within 15 minutes. Having a flash sale? You waste no time getting information to customers.

They are broad

Most users of smartphones still use text messaging, despite access to instant messaging apps like WhatsApp.

They are personal

Competing with giants like Amazon is tough. They set a high bar for customer expectations. One way you can meet those expectations is by having personalized and direct communication with customers through texts.

They are engaging

SMS is built for two-way communication. Have conversations with customers through text, i.e., responding to customer support tickets.

They are accessible.

Text messaging can reach anyone who has access to a mobile phone, And 91% of Americans have a mobile phone at hand at all hours of the day.

They are effective.

Text messages have a 98% open-rate, while for email, it ranges from 15-22%. Since most people are used to texting each other, they will be acquainted with using it as a communication medium.

What do you need to get started with SMS marketing for eCommerce?

For eCommerce businesses, using SMS marketing does not involve sending texts from your cell phone. Instead, you will be using a texting tool (like CallHub), to set up campaigns.

Here’s what you need to get started with SMS marketing:

1. A texting tool (like CallHub): This will give you a secure dashboard and enable you to set up multiple texting campaigns. Your tool will let you access campaign analytics as well as give your agents a single platform to use.
2. A CRM (like Salesforce): This integrates with your SMS platform and enables you to map every response back to each customer. You can also use the CRM to segment your audience and send alerts and notifications based on customer behavior.

And that’s it.

For basic use cases, like sending sale alerts, a CRM is not strictly necessary. You can download your contacts from your database and simply upload them to your texting tool. But a CRM can refine your SMS communication.

Once you have the tools in place, you can send out targeted SMS campaigns to your contacts and keep them engaged.

How can you use SMS to communicate with customers?

It is possible to use text messaging as both an avenue to generate more sales as well as a customer management tool for your business. That’s because text messaging is built for two way communication in addition to normal broadcasts.

You can use SMS to:

• Have two-way conversations with customers.
• Send out broadcast messages to your customer base.
• Send personalized updates to customers.

Here are some use cases where you might use SMS for eCommerce communication:

To remind customers of abandoned carts

Cart abandonment is an issue all eCommerce businesses have to deal with. Sending a text message is one way to remind customers to finish a purchase.

To provide customer support

Your agents can have conversations with customers through text messages and provide instant support.

To send out sale/event alerts

This is the easiest way you can use SMS for eCommerce. You can send out a broadcast message to all the customers who have subscribed to your SMS alerts and let them know about a new sale.

To attract customers with images

If your text messaging software lets you send MMS, utilize it to grab your customer’s attention through images and video snippets.

To send order updates

If customers opt-in to updates, send them an SMS, letting them know about the expected delivery date, along with a link to track their package.

To gather feedback

You can set up and SMS survey to get feedback from customers on their experience with the product or the delivery.

To send product recommendations

Send customers product updates and recommendations through text based on items in their wishlist.

Text message templates for eCommerce

Your e-commerce business can use text messaging to manage everything from sale alerts to sending out discount codes and shipping notifications.

Here are some templates you can use for your messages:

Looking for an SMS service for eCommerce? Try CallHub

Setting up and using an SMS system for your business is simple. The first thing you need to do is getting customers to subscribe to your SMS updates. One way to do that is through an opt-in campaign.

1. Set up an Opt-in keyword and shortcode.

Choose the SMS Opt-in campaign on the CallHub dashboard.

To set up an opt-in campaign, you need to have just two elements:

1. A keyword
2. A shortcode or long code (to act as Caller Id)

For example, ‘Text “JOIN” to 562498 for updates and reminders.’

Here, the keyword is “JOIN,” and the number is “562498”.

You can set a keyword of your choice while setting up your eCommerce SMS system and rent a shortcode or long code from your text messaging service. If not, you can use a cell phone number as the caller ID.

Once you finish setting it up, go ahead and promote your keyword and shortcode. When people text in your keyword to the number, they will automatically be added to your database.

2. Ask customers to sign up to your communications.

Let customers know about the SMS system advertising it wherever you can:

• Have a pop-up or form on your website, preferably with an incentive.

• Ask them if they want updates on the delivery after making an order.
• Advertise your opt-in campaign through social media channels.

Now you’re all set to start sending updates straight to your customer’s mobile phones

3. Send your first message.

You can send messages through the SMS broadcast campaign on the dashboard.

Type out the message you want to send, for example, alerting customers about a sale:

Choose the list with the numbers of the customers you want to send the message to.

Now schedule a time you want the message to go out and hit DONE.

Sending out a group text to your eCommerce customers is as simple as that.

Want to try out CallHub for your business? It’s easy to get started. You can try it out for free by signing up.

SMS over call.. a new trend in the contemporary world but have you ever wondered, how it can be profitable for the eCommerce brand?

Not yet, Right? 

So, take a look at the perks of SMS marketing for business growth:

• 66% of the audience prefer SMS over email/call as it is a convenient way to connect with customers, thus eCommerce brands opting for “call-to-messaging deflection” strategy can increase customer satisfaction and boost the overall performance of the business. 
• With the right approach, text messaging can help the brand sell more as SMS has a 98% open rate and 36% CTR on average.
• Outclass personalized SMS experience can offer 55% of the audience to happily buy more products.

SMS as a Cost and Time-saving partner

SMS marketing, compared to any other channel is low-priced and is one of the most efficient channels to communicate with customers.

A well-designed and planned bulk SMS campaign can help eCommerce brands to stay ahead of their competitors by sending a message to the targeted audience at a single time, which will be cost-effective and time-saving.

Due to this promotional, transactional, OTP, all the messages are shared via SMS because of low- cost investment of the brand and high response rate of the audience.

Unique SMS keyword for audience

The keyword in SMS Marketing is a unique short-code that comes with an offer or benefits for the customer. For a better approach to the audience, avoid using special characters or more than one word in the keyword as it might confuse the audience. It is best advised to keep the keywords simple, easy, and short.

Example: When the audience receives the keyword on SMS such as “TEXTSHOES to 252525 to receive a monthly discount alert before others” it will be easier to understand.

The audience will respond to SMS with “TEXTSHOES” to 252525, then you will immediately share an exclusive discount code on shoes to the audience that they can apply to their next purchase.

Curtail cart abandonment rates

SMS marketing for eCommerce is a highly responsive channel for cart abandonment reminders, compared to any other channel such as email. It reminds the audience about the items they have abandoned in the cart and encourages them to return to checkout. 

For a prompt response, share the URL link in SMS to direct the audience to the cart to complete the purchase.

Example: “Hey!! It looks like you forgot something in Cart. Buy it before it’s sold out”

Notify the audience about relevant events

As we know, the Audience generally reads text messages within 3 minutes after receiving the SMS notifications, thus the best channel to notify the audience about all the events is SMS. 

Notifying the customer about events such as ongoing discount or sale, confirmation of the order, shipment, order out-for delivery, order delivered, and many others in eCommerce SMS marketing keep the customer engaged. It creates a seamless purchase journey for the audience by notifying them about each stage of the order. 

On the other hand, it also helps an eCommerce brand to build loyal and satisfied customers which leads to cut-down inbound time-draining order queries and enhances customer retention rate.

Example: Notifying customers from “Hey there? Your order having 2 items has been confirmed” to “Your product is out for delivery and will reach you before 6 pm” will not only make customers upbeat but will also reduce unnecessary interaction of customers with the support team regarding order related queries.

Implementing SMS Customer Support

SMS marketing is the easiest and yet the powerful channel to conduct two – way conversation between brand and audience.

Contemporary Audiences are choosing texts over phone conversations for customer support to save their time, thus implementing SMS customer support for the audience will be more profitable for the eCommerce brand. It can help the customer to get a prompt response on their query, as text messaging has a reputation for being more accurate and instant than a call or email.

SMS customer support enhances your relationship with customers by being available on their preferred channel (SMS) which increases customer satisfaction and loyalty.

Feedback for upgrading

SMS surveys help a brand to evaluate customer reviews about the product and services to improve the company action plan. 

Following up with customers for feedback, once they have received the product can provide real-time information to the brand about customer opinion on services or product. It enables the marketers to understand customer product preferences, customer contentment, discover the areas of improvement and accordingly rectify them.

It is generally suggested that feedback should be taken after every purchase to engage the customer and make them feel their opinion matters.

Example: “Hey Maria! Thank you for shopping with us. To serve you better please share your review with us. 1. Excellent 😊 2. Good 😊 3. Average ☹  4. Bad ☹”

SMS as Future market trend

SMS marketing is a popular channel among all the marketers for its hassle-free reach to the audience, incredible customer engagement, and dynamic conversion rate which ultimately profit the business.

According to a study, 75% of millennials would rather text than talk on the phone as the phone calls are time-consuming. Unlike other channels, SMS is a better and flexible platform to provide orders related to ongoing sale updates to millennials as they are never without their phone. The response rate of the Millennials on sales and discounts on messages will be higher and that will enhance the business revenue of the eCommerce brand.

If personalized messages are shared with the audiences of all generations (GEN X – GEN Z) and are satisfied with the service and customer support of a brand then it increases customer acceptance towards future SMS for the same business which gives a better opportunity to the brand for exceptional future marketing.

If you want your WooCommerce store to benefit from text marketing’s 45% conversion rates, read this article.

For years, e-commerce stores got away with this. Sure, it was inefficient, but the economics still worked.

Now there are too many well-funded direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands playing fast and loose with their marketing budgets. As a result, customer acquisition costs have reached a point where they’ve outpaced customer lifetime value (LTV).

You’re likely reading this because you’re searching for a WooCommerce SMS marketing solution. So, you already have an inkling that text marketing is a great way to reach an engaged audience. You’re also probably well aware of the challenges facing e-commerce marketers.

While you should be dubious of money-making silver bullets, with SMS conversions rates as high as 45%, texting is a cost-effective way to acquire customers.

Why Is Text Marketing So Effective?

People subscribe to receive your texts, your message is guaranteed to reach an audience genuinely interested in what you have to offer. It goes a long way to explain the high engagement and conversion rates businesses see when they send personalized SMS campaigns.

What SMS Messages Should You Send to Your WooCommerce Customers?

Here are some examples of how your WooCommerce store can use texting.

1. Offer SMS Customer Service

Many e-commerce stores use texting to answer more complicated customer questions that require a human response.

Text messages have a reputation for being more instant and personal than emails or webchat, so companies usually make themselves only available to answer questions for a select number of hours a week.

Take a look at this example from Versed, a leading skincare retailer. They offer a hotline that customers can text in for questions:

2. Send SMS Order Notifications

The reason why people like SMS over any other source of communication is that it requires no extra effort and doesn’t disturb their daily routine.

3. Launch Products

You can also use SMS to launch products. If you have a VIP program, consider giving them early access and/or allowing them to pre-order the product.

This can also be an organic way for you to spread the word, as VIPs may naturally share how much they like the product with others in your customer base.

4. Collect Reviews

E-commerce customers are a clever lot: they know that all the shiny adjectives you’ve put into your product descriptions are there to provoke a sale.

That’s why adding customer reviews and feedback to your product pages can help you increase sales. And you can grab your customers’ attention by sending feedback requests directly to their mobile device.

5. Send Promotions

Promotional texts are the bread and butter of most WooCommerce store’s text marketing strategy.

With SMS marketing, you can create a unique SMS keyword that your subscribers can text in to receive a discount code. When your subscribers text this keyword, they’ll immediately receive an exclusive discount code that they can apply to their next purchase.

Marketers understand why it’s critical to target customers with the right message at the right time.

For product marketers and eCommerce managers, SMS is an increasingly essential part of multi-channel marketing —,, especially with a mobile-first online retail market.

In this article, we’ll summarize 6 benefits you may not know about SMS marketing for Shopify. We’ll also outline how to use SMS effectively for better lead acquisition, closing rates, and customer loyalty for your Shopify or Shopify Plus store.

Things Shopify Store Owners Need To Know About SMS Marketing

1) SMS is one of the most immediate channels available

SMS marketing is perhaps the most direct route to customers when it comes to D2C marketing. With a 98% open rate and a 5x click rate compared to other channels (such as email marketing), SMS is a more casual and less threatening channel for customers.

Not only do standalone SMS marketing campaigns have a high success rate and proven ROI for Shopify merchants, but they also enhance and support other marketing channels like email and social marketing. As mobile shopping activity continues to rise, shoppers expect to receive offers, discounts, consultations, and other promos through mobile messaging.

2) SMS can help you recover lost sales

Merchants not utilizing SMS as part of a mobile marketing strategy are missing out on building direct relationships with customers. As a result, this could mean sacrificing sales.

Littledata found that, on average, nearly 60% of mobile shoppers abandon their carts before completing checkout.

Many of these incomplete checkouts may be due to unanswered questions. And while automated messaging may not solve these barriers to purchase, it can certainly reengage shoppers through incentives or simple reminders to complete their checkout.

3) SMS helps you better understand your customers

You can learn more about the purchasing behavior of your customers by studying back-and-forth conversations.

For example, Wigzo is a performance SMS marketing solution that offers a dashboard showing customer conversions from which merchants can track trends, like commonly asked questions or concerns preventing them from purchasing.

This type of insight helps merchants understand the customer journey (and blockers) their customers face, which can lead to better Shopify conversion rates.

4) SMS will increase customer engagement

SMS marketing can help you directly build 1:1 relationships and trust with your customers.

Shoppers appreciate messages that make them feel valued or special, especially when messages include personalized responses from real humans that solves their barrier to purchase.

Whether shoppers are casually browsing before a first-time purchase or they are returning for a repeat purchase, shoppers are more likely to buy when they experience a level of brand trust.

5) Full-service SMS marketing for Shopify merchants

By combining AI with the world’s best live agents, the company has created the most personal marketing channel ever. The platform drives up to 20% increases sales for Shopify stores by answering questions, providing suggestions, offering deals, and up-selling.

Conclusion

SMS marketing is becoming an increasingly essential channel as a direct line of communication to get in front of shoppers, recover lost sales, understand customers, and increase customer engagement.

SMS can be used as part of a multi-channel strategy for engaging with customers at each stage of the customer funnel to help increase conversions and ROI for your Shopify store.

SMS marketing is a great way to engage with customers—especially when 95% of adults in the US own a mobile phone.

Not convinced? Consider these SMS statistics:

• 82% of people keep notifications turned on for SMS messages
• 95% of texts from businesses are read within 3 minutes of being sent
• The average response time for a text message is 6,000% (60X) faster than email
• The average SMS campaign conversion rate is 45%

But once you’ve got the phone number of your target customer and they’ve opted-in to hear from you, what do you send to them?

You don’t want to dive into their notifications just for the sake of it. You need to constantly deliver value, and give them a reason to engage with you.

SMS Marketing Ideas to Generate More Sales

1. Give customers exclusive SMS-only offers.

Do you get frustrated when you see incredible deals—only to find they’re limited to new customers? You’re not alone.

So offer exclusive discounts and promotions to past and current customers through text. For example

• “Get 10% off when you show this text”
• “Use the code ‘SMS’ at checkout for a free upgrade”
• “SMS exclusive: Save $10 when you shop this weekend via this link! bitly.com/exclusive”

92% of shoppers use a discount code at some point during the year, so these SMS exclusives give people a reason to stay on your subscriber list (and to purchase again).

2. Run competitions.

We all want a chance to win something, which is why you can get your SMS audience engaged by running competitions through your text messaging strategy.

Even messages as simple as these can help you skyrocket engagement rates:

• “Reply WIN to be entered into a chance to win a year’s supply of XYZ”
• “Want to win a free product? Text ENTER to 582-045-3850 to enter our competition. – CompanyYouLove”

Or you could take it a step further and partner with another company to run a joint SMS competition. For example: If you’re an accounting firm, partner with a receipt management company, and run competitions with one text that says:

“Reply with WIN to get one years’ free consultancy, PLUS lifetime access to BRAND’s software!”

These joint competitions are a win-win for everyone involved. Not only can you borrow each others’ audiences (especially if you send the same text to both lists), but you’ll improve overall engagement rates when customers enter to win.

3. Notify audiences about upcoming sales.

If you’re planning a flash sale, tell your SMS audience before it happens. That way, they can make sure they’re around to purchase during the sale period.

Examples:

• “Flash sale starts Monday at 2pm CST. Don’t miss out!”
• “QUICK! 50% off sale starts at 5pm tonight, ends at midnight PST. Use this link for your special discount: oursite.com/special”

Want to take it a step further? Attach an image or flyer in these messages to give your audience a glimpse of the items included in the sale.

You can also offer to remind your audience closer to the sale. For example:

“Our 50% off sitewide sale starts Monday at 3pm. Click here to be reminded! yoursite.com/link”

Add anyone who clicks the link to a segmented list, and send another reminder a few minutes before the sale starts.

4. Learn more about your customers with surveys.

You always want to learn more about your customers. Their information helps you build accurate buyer personas, find more people similar to them, and improve your product or service.

You can use text surveys to do that—especially when asking questions like:

• “How would you rate us out of 10?”
• “How likely are you to recommend us to a friend?” (Calculate your NPS with the responses)
• “What could we improve?”
• “Are you likely to buy from us again?”

Notice how those questions are short and to the point?

Don’t fall into the trap of overwhelming your list with tens of questions. The smaller the task you ask customers to do, the more likely they’ll be to do it.

5. Send personalized messages to specific shoppers.

Chances are, you’re sending product reminders to your customers via email or re-targeted advertising.

Why not do the same through text?

These SMS product reminders might be more effective because most people have their phone on them at all times—and more importantly, they check texts more than email.

Take a look at the products people have added to their online cart. (Or, if you’re selling services and have already spoken to the customer, head back to your CRM and find the services they expressed an interest in.)

These messages can normally be automated or triggered based on customer behavior. E.g.:

• “Do you still need help with PAIN POINT? Solve it today by hiring one of our experts.”
• “Still interested in our PRODUCT? Only 6 left. Get yours now: LINK”

Final Words

Are you ready to launch a text messaging campaign that engages, nurtures, and converts your ideal customers?

Say goodbye to scratching your head, thinking of things to send. With these SMS marketing ideas for eCommerce, you’ll have months’ worth of content to engage your customers throughout the sales funnel and beyond! Now you just need a way to send texts.

What is Retail Text Message Marketing, and How Can it Grow Your Business?

Operating any kind of retail business comes with its own set of challenges. How do you attract more customers, connect with them, and keep them coming back, all while turning a profit?

The solution is simple: text message marketing. By sending mobile coupons, text alerts, and SMS sweepstakes, you can increase customer loyalty, drive customer traffic on demand, and bring in more revenue.

It all begins with connecting your customers in the space where the point of sale begins. In this day and age, that space is on your cell phone. 77% of shoppers use a mobile device to search for products. By text enabling your business, and in turn your products, you take control by driving mobile searches up.

SMS marketing for retail can help grow your business in a number of convenient ways, including:

• Improving customer experience with texting
• Incorporating SMS into your social media strategy
• Creating a mobile referral program
• Encourage product reviews with SMS marketing

Uses of Retail SMS/Text Message Marketing

Retail businesses are in a great position to benefit from text message marketing. Teeming with visual aids, exclusive offers, and customer testimony, the retail industry is a playground for text marketing campaigns.

Here are just some of the ways you could begin utilizing SMS with your business.

1.Build a Customer Loyalty Program

Customer loyalty programs are simple to set up with SMS, and research shows that repeat customers spend 67% more than first-timers. Offer subscribers to your text club exclusive benefits such as flash sales, first access to new products, and members-only events. With custom fields, you can ensure that all your messages will be personalized helping each subscriber feel valued. This is essential given that 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognizes them by name, recommends options based on past purchases, OR knows their purchase history.

2. Text Out Coupons

Everyone loves saving money. Sometimes the prospect of saving some money is just the push a customer needs to make a purchase. Especially when the item is more of a “want” than a “need”. Regardless, offering coupons via texting is a great way to connect customers with your marketing messages and ensure they’re being read. Texting does have a 98% open rate after all! And with MMS, you can even include rich media to showcase your products and entice customers further. 73% of consumers are more likely to purchase a product or service if they can watch a video explaining it beforehand.

3. Give Product Updates

Let customers know when their product is ready with customer text notifications. This can be used for in-store pickup or for online orders. Additionally, if customers need to set up an appointment to schedule a fitting, a demo, etc., you can send out links to do that saving both parties time!

4. Promote Events

A great way to get people to look at your products is to get them into your space (we know, that’s about as groundbreaking as florals for spring). However, this marketing tactic has several hidden benefits. As a retailer, you have one of the most coveted necessities for event planning: space! Partner with local restaurants or entertainment to draw people in and soak in the bonus publicity from your partnership. The best part? Sending invitations and reminders is easier than ever with texting. With link tracking, you can even monitor who is checking out the event and give them an extra nudge.

5. Create a Customer Service Program

More than half (54%) of retailers said the customer experience is their most important area of focus. By text enabling your business, you can advertise a text-for-help program where customers can ask you all their questions to be answered in real-time, all through their mobile device. Learn more about how digital customer service can work for your retail business.