Merchandising for SMS Marketing Success

SMS marketing offers online retailers a quick, low-cost path straight to customers’ busy fingertips. To provide a clear path from SMS to purchase, make sure your site is properly merchandised to provide a great shopper experience. 

Why Use SMS Marketing in Ecommerce?

A mind-blowing 46% of U.S. adults spend five to six hours a day on their phones. Unsurprisingly, this translates to growth in mobile purchases. Mobile sales were up 15% in 2021 and are projected to account for 44% of sales by 2025. If you’re reading between the lines, SMS is an obvious choice. 

What about the data? Average SMS open and click-through rates stand at 98% and 54%, compared to just 20% and 6% for email. 

Consumers are clearly responsive to SMS communications, but campaign success is measured by what happens when a link is clicked. What are some ways retailers can deliver an experience that converts recipients into happy, loyal customers?

SMS Marketing Best Practices

Take a Targeted Approach

Ready to implement SMS messaging? Take some time to document your goals:

• Who is the audience?
• What do you want to achieve?
• How are you going to deliver an engaging experience? Consider the entire journey from SMS message to checkout. 

This process helps develop your overall strategy and makes sure that messaging is on point. Do not treat SMS marketing as a standalone campaign. By integrating it with an entire omnichannel strategy, you ensure consistency throughout the entire customer experience.  

Incentivize Subscription

The first thing you want to do is build a customer list. With any kind of list-building, customers may need some persuading to opt in to SMS. Offer a discount code or incentive in exchange for their information. Highlight the promotion across all marketing channels. Note: Make sure to remain compliant with data protection regulations as you build your list.

Make an Enticing Offer

It’s true: modern consumers are obsessed with their mobile devices. But it’s not enough to just make an appearance on their screen. In a flood of messages, emails, and app notifications, you need to stand out. Create urgency by sending a limited-time discount code or alert shoppers to an exclusive flash sale for subscribers. Remember, SMS is an informal method of communication. Keep it short, simple, and straight to the point.

Strategically Merchandise Your Landing Page

You’ve made an eye-catching offer and successfully drawn the shopper to your site. Now what happen? Are you linking to a page that delivers a great shopper experience? If your SMS marketing campaign is focused on a limited special offer, link your customer directly to an appropriately merchandised landing page with consistent messaging, sale banners, and relevant products boosted to the top. For flash offers, use campaign scheduling to execute a quick launch and deactivation of landing pages. If you’re sending promotions to customers in specific locations, factor geo-merchandising into your plan. Conversion rates determine an SMS campaigns success so it is vital to invest in mapping out a streamlined path to purchase.

Part of the Plan: On-Site Merchandising 

If you’re planning a SMS campaign, take time to evaluate the entire end-to-end experience. Your efforts should extend far beyond the message itself. From the audience you’re targeting to the offer you’re sending, to the on-site experience after the shopper clicks on the SMS link. Set your SMS marketing up for maximum possible conversions by integrating relevant merchandising tactics into your strategy.

Get in touch if you’d like to learn more about optimizing your online shopping experience.