Did you know that every person in the US receives around ? Itâs a pretty big deal, isnât it?
Weâre using SMS to inform our family members weâll be late for dinner, share new experiences, jokes or ideas with our friends or postpone meetings due to ever growing traffic. Itâs simple, fast and convenient.
Now, tell me, how many text messages have you already received or sent today? Iâm quite sure you never leave your smartphone lying around. Maybe youâre even reading this article from your cell? If not, itâs surely in your bag, pocket or next to your laptop. You need to keep it close. After all, who knows what great news the next SMS will bring? You donât want to miss it, do you?
Since weâre so dependent on our cell phones and receive dozens of messages daily, why then are you not taking advantage of it? Why donât you use SMS as means to inform your customers about new products, time-limited offers or discounts?
Your competitors do. Theyâve already started casting spells on your customers with every text message, offering them their cool gadgets and services. They want to turn your loyal customers to the dark side.
Are you going to let that happen? Are you going to let them steal your customers? If not, then itâs about time to act!
As Wendy Clark once said: âIf your plans donât include mobile, your plans are not finished.â
Thus, itâs time for you to incorporate mobile into your Ecommerce marketing strategies. Text messaging will not only help you strengthen bonds with your customers, but also itâll increase your sales. How exactly does it work?
Key benefits of text messaging for ecommerce
Throughout years, marketers were relying on email marketing and social media marketing to reach their clients. Whereas those are still great strategies to use, text messaging is easier and more powerful.
Consider: itâs enough to push the âsendâ button and a moment later, your customersâ smartphones are already vibrating in their pockets, as if they were shouting, âHey! Youâve got a new message! Check it!â And what do your customers do?
Well, always wins.
If you receive a message, see your phone flashing that blue light every 5 seconds and canât check it... Well, itâs like an itch you canât scratch. So, you do it at the first chance you get. Simple human behavior.
Now, letâs get down to business. Here are the main benefits and the ways you can use SMS for Ecommerce:
1. Creating better customer experience
Text messaging is a perfect way to keep in touch with your customers from the moment they purchase a product until they receive it.
Remember, a well-informed customer is a happy customer. And, when a customer is happy with your services, they are more likely to make another purchase. Also, satisfied customers are more open to receiving more promotional messages from you in the future. Thus, improving customer experience is crucial to the development of your company.
Now, there are two main ways in which you can use text messaging to create a better customer experience:
Inform your customers about the status of their order
Imagine youâve just ordered a new limited-edition book in an online bookstore. You canât wait to get it, unpack it and put it on your shelf. The more precious an item you order, the bigger your desire is to get it and thus, the more difficult it is for you to wait until itâs delivered.
Has it already been shipped out? When will I have it? What if itâs lost? These are just a few questions that can keep you up at night.
Now, what if you received text messages with updates about your orderâs status? That would be great, wouldnât it?
Discover how Amazon to boost their customers' experience, for example, boosts their customersâ experience.
When you order an item on Amazon, you can enroll in SMS updates. Thus, theyâll be informing you about the :
Cool, isn't it?
Ask for feedback
Another great way to improve customer experience is to ask your customers for feedback via text messages. By conducting SMS surveys youâll not only learn how to improve your products and services, but also make your customers feel happy and appreciated. Once they learn you care about their opinion, theyâll have a more positive perception of your brand. Also, theyâll see a human being behind your brand, not a corporation.
Remember what David Ogilvy once said: âThe public is more interested in personalities than in corporations.â
Text messages are one of the best ways to ask for customer feedback.
, SMS open rates are more than three times greater than email open rates? Thatâs right! SMS open rates equal staggering 98%! Also, SMS-based surveys have high conversion rate. Smart Insight confirms that 31% of consumers respond to such invitations within 5 minutes.
It seems that SMS is one of the best tools to conduct surveys, so why donât you give it a try?
2. Increased customer loyalty and sales
In addition to creating a better customer experience, text messaging is a great way to enhance sales as well as the loyalty of your customers towards your brand.
Consider: once your customers provide you with their phone numbers, you can start gathering information about them. For example, about their hobbies and interests. Thus, if you figure out that one of your customers likes rollerskating, you can send them an SMS informing about your new roller skate accessories that have just arrived. Clever, isnât it?
Letâs take a look at two main ways you can use text messages to boost sales and customer loyalty:
Remind your customers about unfinished orders
According to , 67.45% of online shopping carts are abandoned before a customer closes a sale? It means that your sales numbers equal only one third of what they could actually be.
proves that many customers donât manage to purchase an online product because of a variety of other reasons:
- 24% of customers say that âWebsite Crashed,â
- 15% of customers admit that âWebsite Timed Out.â
Thus, in a number of cases, cart abandonment happens due to problems with the Internet provider. Also, many customers abandon their carts because something unexpected happened, for example, they could have received a phone call with disturbing news or had to run to work. As a consequence, by the end of a day, they no longer remember they wanted to buy something in your store. It slipped their minds.
The good news is that you can encourage your customers to finish the purchase. A friendly follow-up text message can do miracles.
Examples?
Consider: the used SMS to inform their customers about unfinished booking and thus, boosted their online sales by more than 5%! Pretty decent, isnât it?
Send messages with special offers, discounts and coupons
SMS is a perfect tool to send your customers weekly notifications. In fact, admit that they prefer to be reached by brands via messaging over such means as email, social media or phone calls.
Thus, in order to boost sales as well as customer loyalty send your customers promotional messages. Itâll encourage them to make more purchases. For example, you can inform them about special or time-limited offers, discounts or give them coupons. There are many possibilities!
A small remark: donât send your customers any notifications against their will. Inform them that they can receive messages from you if they want to. Also, teach them how to sign up for such text alerts.
Check out how does it:
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Does it work? donât lie. Prospects who receive text messages convert at a rate that is 40% higher than those who donât receive any text messages.
Writing effective text messages: tips and tricks
Just like writing is crucial for your content marketing strategy to work, writing effective text messages is vital for your SMS marketing strategy to bring the desired results: more conversions and more sales.
Here are several useful tips and tricks that will help you create unique, meaningful and powerful text messages:
Personalize your message
Did you know that boosts conversions by 27.5%? It means that if you personalize your messages, your outreach will be more effective. Hereâs how you can do that:
- Include your customerâs name in the message.
- Add your companyâs name as well (make sure your customer knows who the message is from).
- Include any other personal information about your customer as long as itâs relevant to your message (e.g. favorite type of wine or shoe size).
Need an example? Look below:
Include a call to action
Letâs go back to high school for a moment. Do you remember ? Donât worry if you donât. Most of us take the basic laws of physics for granted. Basically, Newton said that for every action thereâs a reaction. Every cause has an effect.
Now, in a perfect world, when your customer receives your message, they convert. However, that doesnât always happen. In order to turn your prospects into customers, you need to write your messages in such a way that theyâll cause the desired reaction: clicking on a link and purchasing your product.
To make sure it happens, you need to include a call to action in each and every message you send. After all, how can your customers know what to do if you donât tell them? Remember, a message without a call to action is a worthless message.
Use power words
Research proves that , for example attention grabbers or words that evoke emotions in the reader, increase conversion rates. Make sure you use them in your text messages.
Here are several of the . Use them to your advantage!
- You,
- Free,
- Instantly,
- Because,
- New.
15 Useful SMS Templates for Ecommerce Sites
Itâs time for some practice now. Here are 15 SMS templates that will help you write your first powerful messages. Use them as guidelines and as a source of inspiration.
Order confirmation:
(name of your business): Thanks for shopping with us, (name of the person)! Your orderâs confirmed. To check the status of your package, click here: (insert link).
Shipping confirmation and details:
Hi, (name of the person)! Your package has been shipped. You can track it here: (insert link).
Hi, (name of the person)! Your new (product name) has been shipped to you. Estimated date of delivery: (insert a date). Track your package here: (insert URL).
Delivery confirmation:
Hi, (name of the person)! Your package has been delivered and waits for you in our shop, (insert address). You can collect it Mon-Fri, 8.00 A.M-9.00 P.M.
Ups, it looks like your package from (name of your business) has been dropped off at (name of the Post Office and the address). You can collect it any time after 9 A.M. Donât forget to bring a document confirming your identity!
Your package has been successfully delivered. Enjoy your new (product name), (the name of the person)! Thanks for doing shopping at (your websiteâs URL). Have a lovely day!
Asking for feedback:
I hope youâre enjoying your new (product), (name of the person)! Would you recommend us to your friends? 1-definitely! 2-yes, 3-maybe, 4-not really, 5-no.
Thank you for visiting our online shop (name of your business) and purchasing (product name)! On a scale 0-10, how happy are you with our services?
Weâre sad to see you go. You are now successfully unsubscribed from (name of your business). Would you help us improve? Hereâs a 5-question survey: (insert URL).
(name of the person), we value your feedback! Tell us what we should improve: 1-delivery time, 2-payment options, 3-customer support, 4-categorization, 5-updates, 6-search in the sidebar.
Special offers, discounts and coupons:
Christmas is approaching. Have you already bought presents for your loved ones, (name of the person)? If not, check out our new limited-edition winter accessories here: (insert link). Write âlove itâ to receive 10% discount.
End of season sale in (name of your business)! Get up to -50% for leather jackets, bags and wallets. Hurry! The offer lasts until Sunday, (insert date).
(name of a person), thanks for shopping with us for over a year now! To express our gratitude, weâre sending you a $10 coupon for your favorite books. Hereâs your code: (insert the code). (name of your business)
Buy 3 and get 1 for free! Hurry! The offer lasts till Monday, (name of the person)! Sign up now and shop online for your favorite (product names) on (your websiteâs URL).
Hi, (name of the person)! Donât miss our new winter collection! Type in (insert code) to receive 15% off: (your websiteâs URL).
For more creative templates, click or .
Text Messaging: Use, Use, But Donât Overuse!
Whereas text messaging is a great strategy to increase sales, you need to be mindful of the number of messages you send to your customers. Nobody likes receiving dozens of messages daily on their phone, email and social media. Thereâs a limit to everything. If your customers decide that youâre pushing things too far, theyâll unsubscribe.
In order to make sure your SMS marketing campaign works, remember: be effective but not invasive!
