With retail sales falling short due to the pandemic, a lot of retailers are rethinking their strategies and looking for a better way to reach their customers. Text messaging for retailers are seeing a massive boom in the past few years, as there is no more effective way to reach new customers than directly on their phone. Unlike other channels, SMS is a very easy and cost-effective way and can help engage with customers instantly. In this blog we are going to cover some proven strategies that retailers can use to keep their business going strong even during these difficult times. Let’s get started!

Getting Start With SMS

Before retailers send out any text messages, you need customers’ contact information made possible by opting in with a text keyword. These keywords are a word that a customer texts to a number, opting themselves in to receive text messages. Once contacts are added to your distribution list, you are now able to send messages about new products, sales events, and more.

Target Your Messages

When you have an intelligent solution like Trumpia, you can ask customers qualifying questions so you can send more targeted offers. For instance, when a new customer texts in your keyword, our system can ask “What is your favorite active wear brand?” Their answer will be recorded with our exclusive Data Capture, and when you have a sale on that brand, you can target all interested customers and send them information about the sale and a coupon to further encourage them to come to your store.

Why is targeting so important? 79% of customers expect brands to engage them in a personal way, meaning that if you don't you may alienate a large segment of your customers.

Use Texting to Answer Customer Questions

With Landline texting (sometimes referred to as two-way texting), customers can call or text the same number with questions about products or discuss complaints with management. This is especially great for customer service, as two-thirds of consumers say they would prefer to text over call. No one wants to risk playing phone tag, waiting on hold, or have an email get buried in an inbox. This also allows your staff to handle multiple requests at the same time, letting them use their time more efficiently and leaving a better impression with your customers.

Use SMS to Communicate with Staff

Managing multiple employees and schedules is a massive headache. Texting helps solve this by allowing you to instantly communicate with staff about shift assignments or job priorities. There’s no better way to fill in a missed shift than texting all of your employees asking if they want to pick up more hours in order to fill a last minute cancellation. You can also use texting to send employees their weekly schedules 

Send Out SMS Surveys

Besides getting info about customers and their shopping habits like what they actually buy, a survey can get you more information that you can then use to better target your customers. The survey should not be too long because you want your customers to actually complete it, but there’s also nothing stopping you from incentivizing them. Sending a customer a coupon after they complete the survey will make them feel appreciated, and increase the likelihood of filling out surveys and boosting brand memory in the future.

Use Multiple Channels to Attract Customers

One great way to spread the word about your new products or sales is through sending an attractive and fun picture message. It’s important for your messaging to be inviting, so If you include an offer like giving a discount if the customer shows the MMS message at the checkout, your customers will be more likely to go to your brick-and-mortar stores to reap the rewards.

If you have a large contact list, dividing it into categories will allow you to better segment your customers and send them targeted SMS and MMS messages. If you group customers by things like interests or age, send targeted offers that apply to their lives, increasing the chances that they visit you in-store or online.

Pairing email with text marketing is also important. 87% of retailers agree that an omni-channel marketing strategy is critical to their success. Even better, those who used both channels reported 91% greater year-over-year customer retention rates compared to those who don’t use both

If done correctly, SMS and MMS marketing paired with email ensures that your retail brand can engage your customers throughout the year, especially during busy times like back to school or holiday shopping.

Are you a retail business looking for a texting provider? Click on the link below to speak to one of our experts today!