We’ve said it time and time again: in today’s attention economy, it can be a struggle for businesses to develop ideas on how to garner their customers’ attention—and to keep it. Thanks to the fairly recent development of SMS marketing, it’s becoming a bit easier for brands to directly communicate with their customers in a brief, yet engaging way.
When it comes to marketing your holiday offers during the end of the year, it’s important to consider the following data.
For starters, mobile shopping is certainly on the rise in the United States. Last year, mCommerce, or mobile commerce sales, accounted for 41.8% of total eCommerce sales and is expected to hit 43.4% by the end of 2023. According to the same article, 50% of all eCommerce purchases during the 2022 holiday season were made on a smartphone.
As less and fewer people make their holiday purchases in-person these days, it’s important to maintain and nurture your customer relationships. SMS helps you do this and reminds them of your brand’s unique offerings to share for the holiday season.
So, how can you integrate SMS into your marketing plans this holiday season?
Make sure you have a website pop-up…and that it’s working.
- If your website’s pop-up to sign up for SMS messages is up and running, ensure it has updated holiday messaging. Encourage your website visitors to opt in with a special offer to shop for the season.
- Pro Tip: Add a sign-up link to your business’s social media pages to optimize the opportunity for list growth.
Invite subscribers to make an order or reservation for the big day.
- Everyone is busy during the holidays, and reminding your customers to act with plenty of advance notice is a gift in and of itself. Sending an SMS campaign to customers with the reminder to book their tables or place their orders ahead of time will not only make your business run smoothly but your customer’s life, too.
- Make sure you send a campaign with your business’ deadlines for these offerings to avoid frustration.
- Pro Tip: Create an automation to trigger a message sent to your subscribers once their order has shipped and encourage them to reply back with any questions or concerns.
Remind your subscribers of your last-minute gifting ideas.
- Finding the right present can be tough! Whoever you are shopping for, Gift Cards are a quick and easy option to give this holiday season and (most) can be purchased with a tap and sent off with a click. This will certainly come in handy for those last-minute shoppers (one in five say they wait until December to start holiday shopping).
- Even if your business isn’t running a promotion on Gift Cards and/or merchandise, it’s still crucial to send an SMS campaign to your subscribers reminding them of your offerings.
Run a holiday flash sale exclusively for your SMS subscribers.
- Who doesn’t love being treated like a VIP? Treat your SMS subscribers to an exclusive, one-time sale to encourage them to shop your holiday offers.
- Pro Tip: Test different sale types! Run a BOGO 50% off sale vs. a 20% off sale and see which performs best to help guide your future segmentation.
Encourage your subscribers to give back.
- Did you know that a company’s charitable giving is a contributing factor of 73% of Americans’ purchase decisions? If your business regularly partners with an organization or is collecting donations in honor of the season of giving, be sure to get your SMS subscribers involved.
- Pro Tip: Share a short message about your brand’s mission to make an impact, or share that a portion of proceeds made during a set amount of time will be donated to various charities.
Need help setting your SMS campaigns up for success? Get in touch with the Voxie team today!