Monday 4 March 2013

Text Message Marketing Strategies for Retail

Using text message marketing in the retail world is a fairly new concept – which is funny, because text messaging as a feature itself is considered to be a standard feature for almost all mobile phones out there. In fact, text messages are included in pretty much every single cell phone plan! This means it’s a no-brainer to get involved with SMS marketing as a retailer. It’s inexpensive, expansive, and everybody knows what it is and how it works. Most people use text messaging as a major form of communication – whether it is between friends, family members, or even co-workers. Over 90% of the US population owns a mobile phone that has text messaging capabilities.

Retail text message marketing is highly appealing to consumers. Everyone carries their mobile phone with them nearly all the time, and everybody loves a deal, right? The old way of saving a few bucks would be to search for, clip, and collect coupons – and then have to remember them when you visit the store. Only to dig them crumpled out of the bottom of your purse or pocket to redeem them, yet in a timely manner – which is nearly impossible to determine due to the tiny print on the bottom of the coupon, right? Those days are behind us thanks to the use of text message marketing. Now, a shopper can receive mobile coupons, sent straight to their text message inbox – therefore they don’t have to worry about losing them, or even searching for them in the first place.

Now on the other side of the coin is the retailer, and the benefits are mighty clear for them as well. By keeping your shoppers in the loop with your deals, sales and events – you are keeping them connected to your store. By communicating with people via their preferred form of communication means you will build a stronger bond with them, and this is how loyal customers are created. Plus, take control over your business numbers. Slow times ahead? Send out a few spontaneous offers. New merchandise shipment coming in? Let everybody know to expect the next season’s outfits to arrive this weekend - which means one big sale!

As a retailer, there are endless ways to get creative with text message marketing. In addition to advertising sales and sending out coupons, you can provide your customers with a few tips, just for fun. For example, if you own a hardware store – offer a how-to fix it tip. If your store sells ladies clothing – offer a how-to tie a scarf tip. People will feel touched that you are reaching out to them simply to look out for their best interest. Use text marketing to conduct a shopper survey, find out which items are getting the best reviews.

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