SMS Marketing for the retail sector can lead to excellent business results: here’s how to create an effective and performing strategy.
In recent years, it has been amply demonstrated that having a well-organized SMS marketing strategy is essential for implementing the business of the retail sector. Social media offers many benefits such as brand awareness, target profiling, customer loyalty and much more. To be able to improve your business, however, it is essential to build a social media marketing strategy that is the result of analysis and transversal programming: this is what you need to know to plan a truly effective sms marketing strategy for stores .
- Sms marketing for shops: advantages and potential
- Increase in brand awareness
- Better target profiling
- Targeted advertising
- Loyalty and increase in brand loyalty
- Improve customer service
- Brand reputation monitoring
- Retargeting
- How to create an SMS Marketing strategy for retail
Sms marketing for shops : advantages and potential
Through social communication channels it is possible to build a communication and advertising strategy that allows you to achieve many medium and long-term objectives. Numerous sector researches have shown that people spend about 4 to 6 hours a day on social networks, from PC and mobile, so these platforms are perfect for reaching your target and offering them an ad hoc loyalty path. Here are some of the advantages for those who choose to invest in creating an SMS marketing strategy for the retail sector.
Increase in brand awareness
Social media are the perfect platforms to be discovered by new potential customers: according to some recent analyzes, it has been estimated that almost half of the Italian users on Instagram discover a new beauty brand through this channel. Increasing one’s brand awareness through social channels serves not only to retain historical customers, but to identify new ones, updating them on products and on special initiatives carried out by the brand and the store, as in the case of the launch of a new product or a collaboration with an influencer.
Better target profiling
Through social media it is possible to create more precise customer profiles and set up data driven campaigns . In addition to collecting data, it is essential to know how to study them, as in the case of the insights provided free of charge by Facebook and Instagram which provide a lot of useful information on gender, age, origin of one’s audience. Data analysis and monitoring must never be missing from a high- performance and targeted sms marketing strategy for stores .
Targeted advertising
Unlike old media, such as the radio or the pages of a paper newspaper, social media allow you to get to know your audience better and, consequently, to reach them in a more efficient and precise way. Through advertising campaigns it is possible to reach a specific target in order to create content that really interests the people who are reached. Thanks to an effective sms marketing strategy, you will no longer make the classic mistake of “reaching the heap” in a generic way, but you will be able to convey ad hoc content aimed at your reference niche .
Loyalty and increase in brand loyalty
People on social media aren’t just looking for products, but quality service and the chance to be heard by their favorite brands. Social media, unlike the website, are very close to consumers and favor the creation of interactions that are the basis for building positive and long-term relationships between customers and the brand. In this way it is possible to increase loyalty and at the same time brand loyalty: a satisfied customer will most likely make a friend discover the brand from which they buy, creating a positive word of mouth.
Improve customer service
To stand out from competitors, it is not enough to have a quality product at competitive prices: the key to success is to offer quality customer service. In fact, the more active consumers are on social networks, the more they expect their favorite brands to use these channels to guarantee support and assistance. Many people decide to get in touch with retailers through social channels. For this reason it is advisable to develop ad hoc tools, such as an integrated chatbot, and to offer customers an always courteous and helpful assistance service .
Brand reputation monitoring
Social media is like a square in which people come into contact with each other and discuss, exchanging views and opinions and creating user generated content . Thanks to these platforms, retailers can monitor conversations regarding their brand and even competitor brands. In this case it is essential to develop good social listening, intervening in case of negative criticism and finding new inspirations to always offer a better service.
Retargeting
Within an integrated strategy of sms marketing for retail , it is essential to devote oneself to the activity of retargeting. According to some data, 70% of online carts are abandoned without making the purchase: through a retargeting strategy it is possible to remind potential customers which products they wanted to buy, proposing ad hoc discount codes or special offers to win them over.
How to create an SMS Marketing strategy for retail
Defining an SMS marketing strategy for retail requires a series of important steps that must be studied and coordinated in an integrated way. To create it, it is important to evaluate the return on the initial investment and build objectives that evolve from the short to the long term: this is the procedure to follow.
Goal setting
The first step in building an integrated communication strategy is always the same: defining the objectives to be achieved. If some brands want to increase traffic on their e-commerce, others prefer to collect leads to retain new customers through an ad hoc funnel : defining objectives is the first step to create a targeted strategy.
Choice of channels
After identifying the objectives and obviously the target, it is essential to identify the most suitable social platforms to convey your message. Each channel differs in some respects: if FB has a target of older users, Instagram is perfect for those who want to target millennials. Defining the channel is important to build the most performing message, both in terms of text and visual.
Content creation
Content creation is fundamental in a retail sms marketing strategy. Many companies make the mistake of thinking that sharing stock offers is enough to build a strategy, but this is not the case. Content cannot be exclusively commercial , but also interactive and inspirational, perfect for building a loyal community. The next step is to proceed with the creation of ad hoc promotions, perhaps involving influencers and micro influencers in the sector. The contents can also vary by format: if on some social graphics and photos they have an important appeal, in others the videos are certainly more performing.
Construction of a funnel
In addition to retaining customers with personalized offers, it is also important to intrigue and delight potential customers and to do so you need to create a funnel. Through the creation of brand awareness content, then product and then promotions, it is possible to accompany the user in a purchase process that is outlined directly by the ad hoc brand. Within the construction of a funnel, the role of the newsletter is fundamental and must accompany the activities that are carried out on social channels.
Advertising campaigns
Social networks are platforms with free membership because they were initially used by people as tools for social interaction. Over time they have evolved and transformed into marketing tools, but to be used efficiently in an SMS strategy it is essential to invest the budget in advertising . For this reason, depending on the objectives and targets, sponsorship campaigns can be created that allow you to achieve important business results, as in the case of retargeting and lead generation campaigns.
Customer care
Any brand that decides to invest in online must have customer service available and always ready to help customers. Many companies rely on dedicated external customer services that are active every day during office hours so that the customer can always contact someone and feel heard. Another possibility is to use Facebook chatbots or other platforms, but they cannot fully replace a customer service made by people. Investing in this aspect in an SMS marketing strategy is a fundamental aspect.
Data monitoring
One of the most positive aspects of online advertising is that every action can be measured . In a sms marketing strategy such as in email marketing, we must never forget or neglect the data monitoring phase which allows us to understand if the proposed strategy is performing or should be optimized in some steps. Data analysis is essential to build ad hoc paths for the different target audiences , setting the direction to follow to build medium and long-term objectives.