E-commerce is evolving at a very rapid rate and with recent changes to customer preferences, SMS marketing is gaining prominence as it proves capable of connecting with your target audience better than almost any other channel.
Imagine not having to bother yourself with confirming whether or not your customers have a good internet connection. That is what SMS marketing is about.
The timely and convenient nature of SMS makes it very favorable for your customers and your business and the channel serves a lot of purposes such as bulk SMS texting and is an excellent medium to acquire, retain, and convert customers while reinforcing brand connections.
With the receptiveness and responsiveness of the channel, your focus should be on carefully adding value by sending the right message through a trustworthy communication management platform at the right time. Here are some top strategies you can use to win over your customers in 2023:
Establish Two-Way Communication
If you want to build rapport and evoke a sense of urgency with your customers, then 2-way SMS marketing is the way to go. If done right, you will never miss a chance to provide instant support to your customers during their most crucial time of need.
They would also feel that human touch through real-time, 1:1 conversations with you.
You can also personalize your interaction by opening up more possibilities to engage your customers with interactive content, quizzes, and surveys and most importantly, retain your customers under a single conversation
Text Your Customers Like They’re People
You need to ensure that you are communicating as you would to a friend. Put yourself in their shoes. Don’t you think they would want to feel like they are having a conversation with an actual person over the phone instead of a bot?
Text messages are only 160-characters long and in order to relate to your customers you have to speak their language; friendly, soft, and conversational
Here are some tips on how you can sound more likable over text:
- Say “hi” and include their first name
- Address their questions first
- Show your brand’s personality in the way you text
- Avoid sounding so rigid or “professional”
- Always ask if there’s anything else you can do to help
- Let them know you’re available for them.
Keep Your Messages Concise
With the average attention span dwindling by the minute. Studies show that the average attention span for people is now 8 seconds.
This makes it very important to keep your message short and to the point when you send text messages, optimally 160 characters or less.
Add a Call To Action (CTA)
You should always include a call to action at the end of your SMS messages. What is the next step? What do you want them to do? What emotion do you want them to elicit?
These are the things you have to consider to point them in the right direction.
Keep the conversation going with content-driven communications.
Improve your customer’s overall experience with value-driven engagements, delivered straight to their mobile phones.
Ask for feedback or share tips on creative ways they can use your products or get the best services.
Send Order and Delivery Updates
Nothing calms a customer down like knowing that they are on your mind and you are working to ensure they get their money’s worth.
Sending them timely updates regarding their orders is both convenient and calming(We’ve all had experiences with deliveries getting postponed or canceled with no warning). With timely updates, you can text your customers to confirm their purchase, communicate the item’s estimated delivery timeline, and provide real-time updates especially if an order is delayed or expedited.
With SMS, you have the best channel for sharing tracking and delivery information in real time at your disposal.
Helping your customers track their deliveries will help to provide a seamless and stress-free delivery experience and will also remove any friction from the customer experience and keep your customers loyal to your brand.
Bonus Tip
Start a referral program
One great way to get new customers to sign up is by launching a referral program. Not only will you get new customers, but there will also be some form of brand awareness going on for you without you needing to burn cash.
One good example is T-Mobile’s referral program, where they offer their subscribers $50 if they refer their friends.
Bottom Line
SMS marketing is so effective, it doesn’t even feel like advertising and you can build a real relationship with your customers. You should consider bringing these strategies to life with BSG and get the most out of your marketing efforts.