If you own a business or brand that sells goods and services, you need to pay attention to retail marketing. After all, the primary reason for running any business is to profit, except, of course, if it is charity. But this article is not discussing charity.
SMS marketing has proved to be one of the most successful ways companies and organizations market their goods and services. In today’s article, we will discuss five SMS retail marketing trends you can consider to increase profit. Let’s get started.
Alt: A screenshot from a phone
Why SMS Marketing?
Before we start discussing the five SMS retail marketing trends, let’s first talk about the advantages of SMS marketing. One of the main benefits of this form of marketing is that it is straightforward. You can choose from several top real estate texting service agencies that allow brands to send promotional text messages to their target audience.
Besides the ease of using this marketing option, research has shown that people read text messages faster than they open their email. Besides, SMS is relatively spam-free and uncluttered, so there is a higher chance your audience will see your messages.
#1 Establish a Customer Loyalty Program with SMS
This is one of the trends that you can adopt when using SMS retail marketing for your business. SMS customer loyalty programs are a common strategy used by many top retailers to keep their customers coming back for more. The idea is simple; you give your customers the notion that the more loyal they are, the more perks they can enjoy.
Some businesses reward their customers with free discounts, VIP access to new products, exclusive offers and flash sales. If you have a business, you can also follow this trend and reward your loyal customers with great prizes. This can help you achieve more sales and, in the end, increase profit. However, be cautious not to offer rewards more than you can afford.
#2 Notify Your Audience About Related Events
Thanks to technology, getting messages across to people is now easy. Note that customers become loyal to a brand that they feel like they are part of. So as part of your SMS retail marketing strategy, you want to ensure you carry your audience along about related events. For example, if you have a flash sale, product launch or giveaway contest, you may want to inform your audience through SMS marketing.
In your text messages, ensure you provide direct links to the event, product or promotion you are informing them about. In addition, avoid making the messages unnecessarily long as this tends to put off most people.
#3 Customer Order Journey Update
Another common trend you may consider using SMS retail marketing is updating customers about their order journey. It is an effective way to inform your customers about the status of each stage of their order journey. For instance, some e-commerce platforms let customers know when their order is successful and when their package will arrive.
SMS marketing for order journey updates can increase your consumers’ trust in your brand. They can also know what is going on with their order and quickly reach out to your support department if there is a change. While some may argue that using email for customer order journey updates is equally effective, it still boils down to not missing out on order updates. Some people receive hundreds of emails daily and may easily miss an important update. But with SMS marketing, it’s almost impossible to miss out on these order updates.
#4 Feedback for Upgrading
As we mentioned earlier, you should always treat your customers like they genuinely matter to your business. So one of the trends you can jump on in this regard is sending SMS surveys. These should be short surveys to help you know what your customers think about your brand and what to improve. E-commerce brands often follow up with buyers for feedback concerning the product they bought. You can also do this for any business, whether goods or service-related.
By using SMS marketing to get feedback on how to improve, you can enjoy a better relationship with your customers, and this can boost your business growth.
#5 Send Previews to Emails
Interestingly, you can combine SMS marketing and email marketing to achieve even more outstanding results. Since research has established that people tend to open SMS faster than emails, you can send previews to your email campaigns through text messages. This way, your audience can know to expect your email and look forward to reading them. But be careful here, so you don’t abuse SMS marketing and send meaningless email previews. Make sure you only use this tactic when you really have something that will interest your audience in the emails you want to send.
Summing It Up
This article has discussed five common trends in SMS retail marketing and how your brand can benefit from them. SMS marketing can help your company drive more profit, especially when used correctly. So if your business model permits it, establish a customer loyalty program with SMS where you can reward loyal customers accordingly.
Likewise, you can notify your audience of special events and use text message marketing as a way to update customers on their order journey. Besides that, SMS retail marketing can come in handy for getting feedback from your customers and upgrading your business to offer better services. If you follow the trends discussed in this article, your company or brand can profit from SMS marketing.