For shops and businesses, the holiday shopping season is a critical time. In 2021, Cyber Monday and Black Friday were the largest and second-largest shopping days in the United States, respectively.
And 2022 won’t be any different, according to e-marketer. Indeed, it is anticipated that Cyber Monday sales will increase 12.0% to $12.22 billion. Black Friday spending, meanwhile, is expected to increase 9.8% to $9.91 billion.
Google revealed that digital channels accounted for 96% of all transactions, which is interesting but probably not surprising.
Additionally, according to Adobe, cellphones accounted for an astounding $88 billion (43%) of internet sales during the 2021 Christmas season.
It goes without saying that mobile devices are becoming more and more important in the customer journey. Mobile gives customers unmatched 24-hour access to their favorite brands for everything from product comparisons and searches to final purchases.
In light of this, it is impossible to overestimate the advantages of SMS mobile marketing over the Christmas season.
Customers receive SMS immediately on the device they wish to use for shopping. Recommendations that most people follow at all times and check, on average, once every four minutes!
How to use an SMS gateway to increase sales during Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday
With the assistance of an SMS services provider, your company may increase sales in a variety of ways. Among the most successful are:
Sales that happen quickly
Businesses may communicate directly and nearly instantly with SMS thanks to its 97% open rate, which shows that 95% of text messages are opened within three minutes of being sent. It is therefore the perfect medium for advertising “flash sales.”
Promotions for products
The busiest shopping days of the year are Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Thanksgiving. So when is a better time to promote products via text message? This could include exclusive deals like “buy one, get one free” or special discounts on goods or services. Use enriched media, like MMS, to make your promotion stand out.
Contests
SMS contests are a great way to keep your audience interested in and involved with your company. They’re also a fantastic method to expand your database before the holidays! Offer discounts, prizes, and other incentives to subscribers who tell their friends about the competition to kickstart your mobile marketing campaign.
Campaigns for customer loyalty
One of the best strategies to keep your customers engaged and make them feel appreciated is through customer loyalty programs. Any SMS marketing strategy should include SMS-based loyalty programs since it is usually believed that obtaining new customers is five times more expensive than keeping existing ones.
The Best Techniques for Holiday SMS Marketing
It’s a good idea to review some of the best practices for delivering bulk SMS before launching your campaign.
Obtain consent
Getting consent before sending SMS marketing messages is required by law in the majority of nations. Make sure your list of subscribers has agreed to receive bulk text messages from your company before launching your SMS marketing campaign. Legally, you must also provide recipients the choice to unsubscribe from receiving messages in the future if they so desire.
Determine your company.
Clearly identifying your company as the sender is crucial when sending bulk text messages. Using a sender ID is among the best and simplest methods for accomplishing this.
The name or number that appears on the SMS is the sender ID. It allows people to quickly recognize your brand and can be either numeric or alphanumeric. Make careful to identify your company at the beginning of the text message if you are not utilizing Sender ID.
Time is of the essence.
When sending bulk text messages, time is crucial, just like in many other aspects of life. Although there isn’t a single best moment to launch a campaign, there are a few crucial factors to keep in mind. Above all, avoid sending SMS very early in the morning or late at night out of consideration for the time of your recipients.
Although sending an SMS campaign is most commonly done at noon, the best time to do so will depend on your target group and the nature of your product or offer. You might find it helpful to send your SMS sooner and at an odd hour, like 11:17 am, since noon is a common period for texting.
Divide up your lists.
You can give your audience more specialized text messages by using segmentation. Your SMS campaigns are likely to have a considerably higher cut-through rate if you send messages that are more pertinent to your recipients. Additionally, segmenting lists keeps you from sending recipients pointless offers, which lowers the quantity of opt-outs.
Make your message unique.
Customers like their messages to be personalized, according to a number of recent research. In fact, 72% of consumers will only interact with personalized communications, per a study conducted by Smarter HQ. Eighty percent of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that provides a personalized experience, according to another Epsilon survey. It goes without saying that personalizing your SMS messages is beneficial. The merge-send feature of SMSGlobal makes this quick and simple.
Choose the best SMS gateway for Cyber Monday, Black Friday, and Thanksgiving.
Feel free to contact our helpful Customer Success team, who are available around-the-clock to assist you with any questions you may have, for more pointers and recommendations on sending and receiving SMS over the holiday season.
