Every seasoned marketer knows that there’s more to developing a customer relationship than just convincing them to purchase your product. According to a study conducted by Wordstream, 96% of the people who visit a website will leave without ever converting to a lead or sale. That’s a pretty high statistic, meaning the methods of converting a lead to a customer can be more complicated than one may think.
With that being said, once a lead converts, it’s important to focus on engaging with the customer and nurturing your relationship with them. SMS marketing is one of the most personalized, direct ways of communicating with customers, and taking advantage of this unique opportunity to maintain a dialogue is a crucial aspect of SMS marketing not to be overlooked.
We’ve compiled a list of concise methods for brands to strengthen their customer retention through SMS. Read on to learn more!
Ask Your Customers About Their Shopping Experience
Did you know that on average, SMS messages have a 98% open rate? 90% of people open texts within the first three minutes of receiving them, and 85% of smartphone users prefer SMS to email and/or calls. According to the same data, one in three (33%) of customers have sent an SMS to a business but never received a reply.
With such high open rates, integrating SMS marketing into your overall strategy should be a no-brainer. Sending a message to your customer once they’ve completed their order, once it’s been shipped, and once it’s been delivered is an easy and sure-fire way to communicate directly with your customer, and it also opens the door for them to reply back seamlessly and without having to jump through several different customer service hoops.
Pro Tip: Once an order has been delivered, be sure to automate a follow-up message x days later to ask your purchaser how they are liking their order and encourage them to leave a review on your website.
Hi <CUSTOMER NAME>! <BRAND> here. How are you liking your recent purchase? Do you have any questions or concerns about the product? We’d love for you to leave a review on our website below! <LINK>
Segment Your Campaigns With Hyperpersonal Data
Validity’s The State of SMS Marketing in 2023 proposed a variety of questions to eCommerce consumers, including to list their reasoning why they may become annoyed by a brand’s SMS messaging. 34% of respondents mentioned “Messages that aren’t relevant to my needs/interests” is a major nuisance: 58% of people mentioned that receiving annoying messages would unsubscribe from these lists.
This is an important piece of data that brands should understand in order to improve their SMS campaign efforts: segmenting based on customer habits, like order frequency, average order value, previous items purchased, and more are more likely to keep your customers interested and invested in your product.
BRAND:
Hey, <CUSTOMER NAME>! We noticed you previously purchased <PRODUCT> and wanted to make sure you knew that it’s restocked and ready to ship! Want to place another order? Reply Y to get started.
Boost Your Omnichannel Marketing Efforts
A study by Adobe discovered that “companies with the strongest multi-channel customer engagement strategies enjoy a 10% year-over-year growth, a 10% increase in average order value (AOV), and a 25% in close rates.”
Promoting your brand’s text message list through other channels, such as your website, social media, or brick and mortar location, streamlines the communication process and provides a stress-free solution for your customers to ask questions about their orders or a product via text message.
Pro Tip: Adding a sign-up sheet at your in-store location is an easy way for customers to get involved in your SMS list. Offer a 10% discount code on their next order as an easy incentive!
BRAND:
Hey <CUSTOMER NAME>, congrats on joining our VIP text list! As our way of saying ‘thanks’ for the support, use <CODE> at checkout on your next purchase: <LINK>
Need help setting your SMS campaigns up for success? Get in touch with the Voxie team today!