Introduction
As Black Friday approaches, businesses seek the best way to stand out in a crowded marketplace. The traditional methods of advertising and promotions are no longer enough to capture the attention of customers bombarded with countless offers and deals over Black Friday. This is where SMS marketing comes in. With most consumers glued to their mobile phones, businesses have a brilliant opportunity to connect with existing customers through SMS.
The power of SMS comes from its high open rates and instant delivery. Unlike email marketing or social media posts that can get lost in the sea of notifications, SMS text messages are almost always read within just 90 seconds of being received. This makes SMS marketing incredibly effective for driving traffic and boosting sales conversions. And when combined with enticing offers and personalised messages, the impact can be even greater. By leveraging the power of SMS, businesses can reach their target audience directly, delivering exclusive deals, flash sales, and early bird discounts that drive traffic to their websites or physical stores.
So, if you want to beat the competition, you should strongly consider incorporating SMS marketing into your overall marketing strategy.
Crafting effective Black Friday SMS marketing campaigns
1. Segment your audience
To maximise the effectiveness of your Black Friday SMS marketing campaigns, it’s important to segment your audience based on their preferences and interests. By collecting customer data and analysing their past behaviour, you can create targeted SMS campaigns relevant to each customer. Alternatively, most online e-commerce stores like Shopify track the Last Order Date, Total Orders and Total Spend of each customer. This information can be used to your advantage to create higher targeted audiences. For example: –
- Last Order Date = Last 12 months
- Total Orders = two or more
- Total Spend = £50+
Creating a segment like this could significantly reduce your audience by up to 70% but leverage similar results regarding site traffic and converted orders.
For example, if you have a list of customers who have previously purchased electronics from your store, you can send them SMS messages with exclusive deals on the latest gadgets. Similarly, if you have a list of customers interested in fashion, you can send them SMS messages with discounts on clothing and accessories.
Segmenting your audience allows you to deliver personalised messages and tailored promotions that resonate with each customer. This not only increases the chances of conversions but also enhances the overall customer experience.
2. Create a sense of urgency
One of the key advantages of SMS marketing is its ability to create a sense of urgency. By sending time-sensitive offers and limited-time deals, you can prompt customers to take immediate action.
For example, you can send SMS messages with Black Friday flash sales that last a few hours or early bird discounts that are only available for a limited number of customers. By emphasising the limited time constraints, you create a sense of urgency that compels customers to act quickly.
Key phrases like “Hurry sale ends midnight!” or “Be quick, limited stock!” will improve click-through rates and overall sale conversions.
It’s important to communicate the expiration date and time of each offer in your SMS messages. This ensures that customers understand the urgency and are motivated to take advantage of the deal before it expires.
3. Personalise your messages
Personalisation is key to the success of any SMS marketing campaign. By addressing customers by their names and tailoring your messages based on their preferences, you create a sense of exclusivity and make customers feel valued.
The Text Global platform has an “Insert Merge Field” tool. Users can import their customer data, including their First name and then insert this into the SMS text message.
For example, instead of sending a generic message that says, “Black Friday Sale! 25% off all stock,” you can send a personalised message that says, “Hi [Firstname], our Black Friday sales are NOW LIVE! Get an exclusive 25% off all items.” This personalised approach makes customers feel special and increases the chances of conversions.
Tracking click-through rates and sale conversions
To measure the success of your Black Friday SMS marketing campaigns, it’s important to track and analyse key metrics.
1. Open rates
With SMS text marketing, you’re unable to track open rates as the message is delivered directly to a user’s mobile phone outside of an IP address.
2. Click-through rates
The click-through rate is the percentage of recipients who click on a link within the SMS text message. Tracking the click-through rate allows you to measure the effectiveness of your call-to-action, e.g. “Shop Now >> www.yourwebsite.co.uk”. The Text Global platform allows users to use custom-branded short domains that track the click-through rate and who clicks the link.
3. Conversion rates
The easiest way to track conversion rates is to use a unique discount code to redeem the offer within your Black Friday SMS text marketing campaign. Simply calculate the cost to send the SMS campaign vs the total converted sales generated through the code.
Conclusion: Leveraging SMS marketing for Black Friday success
Black Friday is a very competitive and aggressive period for any business. It’s important to use a marketing channel that guarantees your offers and discounts will be read. SMS text allows you to reach customers instantly and beat your competition.
Remember that the timing of your Black Friday SMS marketing campaign is key to its success. In addition, the tone of voice, placing a sense of urgency and a strong call to action, further increases your chances for a lucrative Black Friday sale.
Text Global has been helping brands maximise their Black Friday sale for over 10+ years. Please don’t hesitate to contact a team member at [email protected] or 01244 820025.
