The world of e-commerce is changing. New online stores are popping up every day and that’s because of the fact that 75% of the millennials prefer to shop online over a brick-mortar store.

eCommerce marketers are constantly on the lookout for new ways to engage with their customers and drive more revenue and one channel that is becoming quite popular is SMS marketing.

SMS marketing is one of the most appropriate channels to support marketers as it has an incredible influence on the mobile audience and with a 98% open rate compared to 20-30% for email, e-commerce brands are leveraging SMS marketing to build better relationships with their customers. SMS is extremely powerful when done correctly.

Many recent studies have shed light upon the fact that SMS marketing has immense potential in the eCommerce sector as they are easy, convenient, inexpensive, and profitable and thus helps in engaging your target audience and generating more revenue.

Why is SMS Marketing A Powerful e-commerce Strategy?

Around 5.15 Billion people have mobile devices across the world which means 66.60% of the world’s population has a mobile device. It has become the preferred shopping companion for people worldwide.

According to a recent survey, 42% of all eCommerce purchases are made from mobile devices.

Unlike other marketing channels such as email, SMS is a highly responsive channel as 90% of SMS is open within 3 minutes of being received, in contrast to 90 minutes for responding to any email. It also supports other channels to drive overall success and uplift revenue.

Why Should eCommerce Brands Care?

As 75% of the audience prefers to receive offers and deals on their preferred channel – Text. SMS marketing has become the most effective technique for eCommerce recently. 

Here are the SMS marketing strategies to boost eCommerce sales

1. SMS Opt-In Choice

Amidst the huge competition in eCommerce, nailing the SMS opt-in is an important SMS marketing strategy for establishing your place in the lives of your audience. The robust way to build a good relationship with your targeted audience is to give them a chance to opt-in but it is also important to clarify that discounts and offers are only available for the audience to encourage them to subscribe. 

Once they are opt-in for the subscription, it allows you to share personalized promotional messages and offers to them.

Example: “Hi, Wait is over! Subscribe to our PIZZA weekly offers. Reply ” PIZZA” and get your 15% off on your next purchase”

2. Call-To-Action For Customer Engagement

Incorporating Call-to-action in your SMS marketing strategies is a way to approach the audience with clear content and the next action steps. It updates the audience what to expect when they click on your shared link. The message should be concise, and a strong command verb should be used to start your CTA.

If you constantly deliver the value that audiences are looking for in the SMS, they will never choose to Opt-out from the subscription and you will retain them as lifetime customers. The CTA must deliver a quick but irresistible suggestion to the audience. 

Example: “No plans for Saturday night, Join our Zumba class online. Click here for a free trial”

3. Personalized K.I.S.S Strategy For An SMS Campaign

A personalized SMS marketing strategies campaign approach improves conversion rate and customer satisfaction as it offers the most relevant and preferred information to the target audience. While doing SMS marketing for eCommerce it is also important to make sure the message is short, concise, and written in plain language. 

For this, implementing K.I.S.S strategy in SMS is an effective way as it shares short and simple personalized messages to the customer which capture their attention and pushes engagement levels even higher.

With a 98% open rate and 35% click-through rates, SMS marketing is one of the most powerful ways to convert visitors into loyal customers.

Example: “Hi Zena, It’s time to change your wardrobe collection, we have new summer Kurtis for you. Use the” SummerLove” coupon at the checkout”.

4. Right Time For A Prompt Response

Text Messaging is one of the most accessible platforms to interact with, with an open ratio of 90% within 3 minutes of delivery. When it comes to sending a text to the targeted audience, the right timing is crucial to get a quick response.

Around 26% of online shoppers shop online once a week, and 3% claim to shop once a day but it can be uplifted if the promotional SMS is shared at the right time. 

Below are the most popular times of weekdays that most marketers send messages are:

• (21%) 5pm – 6pm 
• (17%) 11am – 12pm
• (11%) 6pm – 7pm 

5. Time-Sensitive Rewards

“Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value”. A perfect saying by Jim Rohn, which can be implemented in your marketing strategy

For a successful SMS marketing campaign, it is essential to create a sense of urgency that gives the audience a reason to act instantly. Audiences with FOMO will not afford to miss something of their interest and will take immediate action. SMS marketing strategies with Rohn’s saying it is necessary to boost your audience with a good discount, which expires soon and also, irresistible. 

Example: “Last chance for 20% off on JBL earphones. Offer expires at 8 pm.”

6. Cart Abandonment Recovery

75% of the audience abandon their carts while shopping online. There can be many reasons such as high shipping cost, comparing prices, waiting for a sale, and any urgent work that results in downturn in your monthly sale.

For this, SMS marketing is a highly responsive channel for cart abandonment reminders, compared to any other channel such as email. People are more active on messages which makes it a great platform to remind the audience about the products they have left in the cart, and encourages them to return to the cart. 

Example: “Hey!! Looks like you left something in your shopping cart. Buy it today and get 10% off”

7. Customer Feedback Collection

According to a survey, 77% of consumers view brands more favorably if they get a chance to share their feedback with the brands.

SMS surveys help eCommerce brands to capture the most valuable customer data and evaluate them to improve their future activities. These are easily conducted automated feedback messages shared with consumers mostly after their purchase. The survey can be of either product or company-related. 

If you are looking for detailed feedback share the survey link with the audience in the SMS.

Example: “Hope you enjoyed shopping with us, please share your valuable feedback // LINK//”

Conclusion

A well-designed SMS marketing strategies are must-have for all the eCommerce brands to easily streamline their marketing strategies and boost their overall business growth. With a good SMS marketing platform, you can connect and engage with your target audience on a more personal level. 

SMS marketing is a secret weapon for all smart marketers to successfully build an empire in the eCommerce world.