Author: Talia Shani, Director of Marketing at Yotpo
Launching a new marketing channel can be overwhelming. Marketers already wear more hats than they can balance, and adding one more can seem like a daunting task. But SMS can help brands adapt to changing consumer preferences, offset the effects of recent privacy changes, and boost loyalty and retention.
The fact is, consumers want brands to text them. Yotpo research shows that over 72% of all UK consumers are signed up to SMS messages from at least one brand. There is a clear interest in texting, and therefore a prime opportunity for brands to start taking advantage of the channel.
Fast-growing companies need solutions that work with them to maximise that growth. SMS campaigns like new product launches, limited time offers and cross-sell initiatives can help your brand spread the word and drive conversion. On average, SMS messages have a 40% click-through rate. If you’re still on the fence, consider these benefits that SMS marketing can have for your brand.
SMS can boost email marketing
Email isn’t going anywhere, but using SMS alongside it can breathe new life into your email efforts and bolster your SMS channel from the get-go. Leverage them together to drive better engagement with every message. For example, use email to offer customers curated product selections, and text about more immediate items like flash sales, order deliveries and loyalty programme updates.
There’s a misperception that SMS is a “spammy” marketing channel. But because SMS is an opt-in channel, you can rest assured that subscribers actually want to receive your messages. Furthermore, nearly half of UK shoppers say that they would sign up for SMS in addition to email if it meant they’d know immediately about promotions, offers, and updates.
Texting boosts retention
Customer acquisition costs are steadily increasing, and Apple’s new privacy updates, including stricter limitations on targeted ads, data sharing and reporting capabilities for app users, mean brands will have to shift their advertising tactics to connect with their customers.
If every new customer costs more, brands need to increase their lifetime value to mitigate the expense. Brands can learn about their shoppers via text conversations, and use that information to personalise the customer journey.
It costs 5x more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing loyal customer, making brand loyalty an essential component of any healthy eCommerce strategy. Texting is a great way to remind loyalty programme members about unredeemed points, upcoming rewards and more.
SMS helps brands recover abandoned carts
On average, over 67% of customers abandon their carts on an eCommerce website. That’s lost revenue, and a shopper might just need that extra push to bring them back. More than 19% of carts are recovered with abandoned cart-specific SMS messages.
SMS is booming. Your consumers are on mobile, and they’re already signed up to receive texts from brands — meaning your competitors are already engaging them via text. Don’t lose out to the competition on revenue you could be driving.
Texts messages allow you to connect directly with customers
Consumers want to be able to have conversations with their favourite brands, and brands benefit from learning more about their customers’ preferences via 1:1 chats.
SMS has a 209% higher response rate than email, phone or Facebook messages. And, the more personalised you can get in your outreach, the better. Consumers are much more likely to make a purchase if the messages they receive are personalised.
Texting helps you reach a wider audience
SMS marketing is actually a massively impactful channel for every member of your audience. While it may seem like SMS is especially impactful for younger generations, like Millennials and Gen Z, the channel is also extremely popular with later generations as well, because, simply put, everyone is texting all the time.
Younger generations typically communicate via multiple channels all at once; they text, but they also use Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and more. Older generations may use fewer channels, but they still rely on texting as a primary way to connect with people and brands. No matter the age, texting is a part of life, making SMS marketing the ideal tool to reach every shopper.
SMS marketing solutions are easy to set up and automate
Many SMS marketing solutions enable both automation and personalisation, so brands can trigger the right messages to the right customers at the right time without the need for daily manual effort.
When evaluating solutions, choose one that integrates with the rest of your tech stack, to streamline reporting and the customer experience. If you’re strapped for resources, consider a platform with a dedicated client success team to help manage your setup and strategy.
SMS positions brands for change, today and in the future
SMS is a key channel to connect with customers to maximise sales and communicate on a personal level. As changing privacy regulations shift advertising strategies, SMS remains a strong channel to drive revenue when it matters most. Already, SMS marketing provides a staggering 20% of revenue for our eCommerce brands — and that number is growing fast.
As the eCommerce landscape evolves, brands need to find strategies to help them adapt to consumer preferences, changes in regulations, and more. Yotpo SMS gives brands the unique ability to engage customers with personalised, higher-converting experiences for each and every shopper.
