Who is not seen is not remembered. This idea fits perfectly into the business world, even more in a scenario of public competition, in which it is necessary to put into practice various forms of disclosure of the company. The options of SMS for e-commerce range from free to paid, in the offline and online universes.
In this context, it is vital to remember a device that has become almost an extension of our bodies: the smartphone. Among the tools in it and the possibilities of helping to promote a brand, we can highlight social networks, email marketing, and SMS.
You may be wondering: does SMS still work? Not only does it work as it can be a powerful marketing weapon in a business like virtual stores. Want to know how to count on this ally?
In this text, we will explain how to adopt the sending of SMS to e-commerce, and we will give five tips to do this in practice. Also, we will highlight the advantages of mobile marketing. Come on?
Contents
When to use SMS for e-commerce
The data is there and do not lie: 90% of people who receive SMS open the message quickly, within 3 minutes after receiving it.
According to Marcelo Caruana, marketing director of E-goi, although it is very common to use SMS for physical store promotions, it has countless utilities for a virtual store. Want to know how? We will show below:
- upselling and / or cross-selling: it is possible to propose an upgrade to the purchase of a product or service;
- Transactional SMS: To send data for payment, confirm a purchase or ship an order;
- a complement to other channels: in the case of an email, for example, you can send an SMS to people who have not opened the message;
- informative: you can talk about an event, send the confirmation of registration in a webinar, a news alert or confirmation of medical consultation.
That’s many options. However, not everything is a sea of roses, so you should take some care. After all, when you are inconvenient, the shot backfires.
The ideal would be to have a crystal ball to guess when the customer wants to receive your SMS. However, according to Caruana, as this is still not possible, we have some tips that can help you not to waver with the consumer:
- try to send targeted messages according to interests (if the customer visited a page of a particular product, for example);
be careful with the time zone: do not send an SMS at 5 am, for example; - do not SPAM – that is, send SMS to anyone who consented to the sending;
- Be cautious when choosing the company that does this type of service.
- Be wary of very cheap suppliers.
SMS in practice
Track 5 Powerful SMS Marketing Tips.
1. SMS to confirm order
The SMS for e-commerce can follow the whole process of the purchase – that is, from the order to the after-sale. This facilitates the transaction and brings credibility to the company.
One of these submissions may be at the time the customer places an order. This way, you officially communicate the request and provide a number for the consumer to follow up on delivery.
2. Confirmation of payment SMS
Sending a payment confirmation SMS is a way to make the customer safer concerning the transaction. This makes the relationship with the customer closer and can be a differential for him to buy back into your e-commerce.
3. Delivery confirmation SMS
Sending an SMS so that the customer confirms that they have received the merchandise is a way of showing concern for the person who bought it in his store. Also, it is another way to control the performance of your business.
4. Satisfaction survey SMS
Service can discourage a purchase or loyalty. To avoid this, it is essential to know what your consumer thinks about your company.
In this way, you can do a satisfaction survey with the help of SMS. It is possible, for example, to request a rating for the service or to ask if the person was satisfied with the purchase.
5. SMS for after sales
One of the biggest challenges of virtual stores is to retain customer loyalty. The ideal, therefore, is to invest in transparent relationships, so that the customer experience is the best possible. In SMS for after sales you can, for example, give tips for the customer to take better advantage of the product or divulge discounts for the next purchases.
Advantages of SMS for e-commerce
Among the advantages of SMS for e-commerce, according to Marcelo Caruana, marketing director of E-goi, we can highlight:
- Increased sales: SMS has high delivery and high opening. Thus, sales increase naturally;
- security and confidence in the purchase process: this goes from the order to the after-sales;
- loyalty: through SMS, it is possible to send messages with exclusive promotions and discounts;
- Customer feedback: can be done through satisfaction surveys, for example. Using SMS may be essential for you to understand the full consumer experience.
So what did you think of the tips? Do you agree that sometimes it’s the details that make the difference to the business? Speaking of making a difference, we still need to talk about the advantages of investing in mobile marketing.
Advantages of investing in mobile marketing
First of all, it is essential to define the concept of mobile marketing. In general terms, this is a set of marketing strategies that seek to take advantage of the features and characteristics of mobile devices in order to interact, relate and influence consumers and potential consumers of your company.
Of course one of the ways to take advantage of mobile marketing is SMS, but there are other possibilities that go far beyond that. To begin with, Portugal already has more than one active smartphone per inhabitant. This data indicates that mobile is a determining factor these days and it is especially essential that e-commerce is very attentive to this reality.
Who does not pay attention in this scenario can lose space for the competition and lose the chance to win new consumers. Before you start investing in mobile, pay attention to your website or blog, as they must be responsive (yes, there are still unresponsive pages out there).
Among the advantages of investing in mobile, we can highlight:
- mobile shopping is growing more and more;
- the mobile allows segmentations according to the user’s location;
- the use of applications is increasingly popular among users;
- mobile devices allow quick and direct communication.
We could talk about several other advantages, but we need to finalize this article. We strongly believe that SMS for e-commerce is much more than an efficient and effective strategy.
However, to reap the benefits, you need planning, focus, and consistency. It’s not magic, but it can help your store grow and consolidate itself in the market. Also, do not forget the strength of mobile marketing: it will not stop growing.
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