Brands that use text messages to speak to their customers build better relationships and improve retention, with average lifetime value (LTV) rising by as much as 25% when SMS is used for two-way communication.
With Facebook and Google advertising costs at an all-time high and traditional email marketing offering poor engagement rates, ecommerce brands are increasingly incorporating SMS dialogue across their customer journeys to scale revenue more sustainably.
Research from SaaS start-up Blueprint – which surveyed more than 100 leading brands across the UK and US – finds that text message conversations move buyers from first to second orders more effectively, reduce subscriber churn, and improve a store’s understanding of what makes customers make multiple purchases.
Days Brewing, makers of 0.0% alcohol free beer, took part in the study and saw a 62% LTV increase from customers engaged via text compared to those only contacted through more traditional channels. Days’ Co-Founder Duncan Keith comments: “The results have been amazing – text messages give you an incredible relationship with the consumer and helps to deliver our growth ambitions”
Also amongst the participating merchants were refillable cleaning product brand Homethings and vegan protein store Misfits Health, which saw LTV increases of 33% and 8% respectively.
Harvey Hodd, Blueprint CEO and Co-Founder says: “Even with the eCommerce explosion of the last 18 months, consumer-facing companies remain disconnected from their customers, often relying on legacy 1-way communication to deliver a clunky purchasing experience. Only by understanding what really makes customers tick can brands truly modernise their customer journeys – and having conversations via SMS is the most powerful way to achieve that.”
