SMS for retail

Nowadays, communications via mobile devices are essential, so if you have a company dedicated to the retail industry, you should think about an SMS Marketing strategy. SMS for retail will be a key point.

The retail trade is growing more and more. This is due to the boom in online sales, as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

There are many channels that can help us to reach our customers effectively. However, if we want a direct and personal communication, it is best to use SMS Marketing for the retail business.

Retail SMS uses

Customer loyalty programmes are very easy to implement via SMS. Studies conclude that returning customers spend 67% more than first-time customers.

Before we look at the benefits of SMS for retail, let's look at some basic tips on how to use text messaging to reward repeat customers:

• Bringing customers back to our ecommerce or shop with exclusive coupons.
• Notify customers via text message about new launches, products or different offers.
• Sending SMS personalised shipping notifications to let our customers know when their order arrives.
• Promoting special dates for our sales with seasonal SMS. All these dates can be found in the Marketing Calendar.

Advantages of SMS for retail

SMS for retail has many advantages. Now is the time for us to know the advantages we will get to increase sales in our business. This may be the impetus we need to start working with this channel. Some of the advantages are:

• The first advantage is that it is a direct and personalised channel. This makes communication with our customers more effective and faster than with other channels.
• We can carry out a geographical segmentation, so we can work with customers who are in our locality.
• It provides greater security as we can be sure that the message will reach each of the recipients and they will receive it immediately.
• It also allows us to attract new customers in the short term. This produces very good results in the sales of our business. If we create good campaigns with text messages, we can optimise the loyalty rate of our consumers.
• Finally, it improves the image of our business, as we show customers that we are adapting to new ways of communicating with them. So they will value digital marketing strategies.

Get subscribers with SMS for retail

If we don't have subscribers, we won't be able to send our campaigns. So first of all, we have to get them. To do this, we can use two strategies to improve our reach. These strategies are detailed below.

To attract subscribers, the first step is to capture the attention and interest of new customers, as loyal customers do not need to be convinced.

To do this, we will need to offer a good incentive to motivate them. For example:

Immediate discounts

If we want to attract new customers, it is time to offer them an instant discount. The only information we ask for is their telephone number.

VIP List

Everyone likes to feel exclusive. So if we have a physical shop and we make a sale to a new customer, this is the moment to ask for their details to send them promotions. We can also apply it to our ecommerce. What we are looking for is for the customer to feel special when they make their first purchase.

Offers and sweepstakes

Offering a product at a lower price will always arouse the interest of our new customers. We can also carry out sweepstakes and use social networks to promote them and thus obtain the data we need.

Show what you sell

There is no better way to get a new customer's attention than by showing them what we have to offer. This goes beyond showing the product or service we sell.

We have to show them the benefits they can get if they buy it. If customers don't see what we are selling, even the incentives won't work.

We have to transmit a clear and precise message that leaves no doubt in the mind of the potential buyer of the product or service. The most important thing here, though, is to encourage them to subscribe to our contact list.

The purpose of all this is to encourage the person to subscribe. This way, we will have their authorisation to send them text messages related to our business.

Improve communication with Afilnet

Afilnet is an omni-channel platform that enables messaging across different digital channels. It is an A2P platform that integrates bulk SMS, Email, Text-To-Speech and Instant Messaging.

If you want to learn more about how to implement a marketing strategy for your business, you can access our website and contact us. We will be happy to advise you.