With the rise of e-commerce and online retailers can offer something that most brick and mortar businesses aren’t able too and that is SMS marketing. This allows them to offer exclusive incentives to their new and existing customers to grow their SMS marketing list and drive sales.
This is a standard strategy in the e-commerce and retail space. Text messages can be promotional or non-promotional or a mixture of the two.
Today we are sharing five ways e-commerce and retailers can quickly grow their SMS marketing list.
Offer a Discount
One of the most common strategies for inviting new subscribers is giving shoppers a site-wide discount in exchange for their phone number to join your SMS list. People are more willing to sign up for a brand’s text messaging list if the brand offers them a discount in return for subscribing. You can offer a percentage off or a certain amount off their first order.
Conduct A/B Testing Often
If SMS marketing is new for your business it would be smart to run an A/B test. See what type of content resonates well with your subscribers and when your subscribers are most active by testing day and times messages are sent out. Play around with your copy and keep track of your KPI to see which wording is most successful. Generally, texts perform well when the copy is short and straight to the point.
Create Urgency
People hate feeling like they missed out on something, so create the feeling of FOMO with urgency. Grow your SMS marketing list with time-sensitive deals. For example, you can utilize this strategy with new product launches, holidays, or with the customer’s birthday so they can feel exclusive. Take advantage of these special occasions with time-sensitive offers like “today only”, “this weekend only” or “ 3 hours only” on your sign-up unit creates the feeling of urgency for your customers to sign-up or miss out on an opportunity for a great deal.
Try Non-Promotional Offers
There are many types of non-promotional messages that you can write to send to your customers that will build brand loyalty, engage your customers, and drive revenue for your business. Here are some ideas that your marketing team can try: free shipping, exclusive access to new product launches or behind-the-scenes content, and tips on how to use your product. These are all effective methods to engage your customers and increase sales.
Cross-Promote Your SMS with Other Marketing Channels
SMS complements your other marketing channels such as email, social media, paid ads, and in-store promotions. Leverage all the web assets that you have such as a landing page for a specific campaign include it in your email marketing, social media, and paid ads campaigns. This will aid in growing your text messaging list.
One of the best strategies that you can implement in this case is by doing a giveaway. If you have followed any influencer you know they love to do swipe links on Instagram Stories and Facebook Stories. Utilizing social stories is an excellent way to attract new subscribers.
Recap: Growing Your SMS Marketing List
When you are working on your SMS marketing list growth strategy it’s important to remember that subscribers just want to know how they’ll benefit from signing up to your SMS program whether that means they are going to get exclusive content, discounts, or be the first to hear about the latest products. Don’t forget to deliver a welcome offer to text subscribers immediately after they join so they don’t want to opt-out the first time you message them. Start your relationship off on the right foot and show your customers that you truly value them.