SMS Marketing for Your E-Commerce Website

Whether during the holiday season or throughout the year, e-commerce websites need to adopt effective communication strategies. SMS is an essential channel for attracting new customers and retaining existing ones. It keeps your customers informed about all your offers and news, giving them everything they need to shop with confidence. SMS has several advantages for e-commerce and offers an excellent value for money.

SMS for E-Commerce: A Channel to Integrate for Prospecting and Customer Retention

E-commerce continues to grow at a remarkable pace. By 2040, it is estimated that 95% of global purchases will be made online. With revenues exceeding 100 billion euros, France is currently the second-largest e-commerce market in Europe. The lockdowns and health crisis accelerated the development of French online retail. Knowing how to communicate effectively on your sales website has therefore become essential to stand out from the competition. SMS is ideal for this purpose, boasting a read rate of over 95% and being straightforward to implement.

There are several ways to use SMS marketing for e-commerce:

1. Encouraging Your Customers to Buy

Mobile phones are an extremely useful tool for staying connected to the world and accessing promotional offers. Mobile technology simplifies the way you communicate, making any information more accessible. Take Rich SMS, for example — a highly effective feature that gives your customers access to all the information they need about your product. This option allows you to insert a link in your SMS to redirect recipients to your website or online store. A single SMS provides everything your customer needs to make a quick purchase. You can then track the clicks generated by your link and easily evaluate the performance of your campaign.

You can further encourage customers to make a quick purchase by using SMS. For instance, notifying them of a previously out-of-stock product’s availability allows them to buy the desired item in just a few clicks.

2. Keeping Customers Informed About Order Status and Delivery

A loyal customer is a satisfied customer. And SMS is the perfect tool for achieving this. A customer may hesitate to buy out of concern about not receiving their order or receiving it in poor condition. To encourage purchases, you should reassure them by highlighting on your website that SMS is used to keep them informed at every stage of the order process. Similarly, a lack of payment security can discourage purchases.

To address this, simply combine OTP SMS and transactional SMS. One secures the purchase, while the other is used to keep your customers informed about their delivery status. A simple alert will remind customers of their delivery date or notify them of any delays.

You can, however, send order confirmations by email. Since the customer will still be online after completing their order, they will be able to check the email straight away. The remaining information can then be sent by SMS.

3. Re-Engaging Inactive Customers or Prospecting

SMS for e-commerce is a powerful way to re-engage inactive customers. These are customers who may have browsed your store without making a purchase. With SMS, you subtly remind them of your brand’s existence and cleverly encourage them to return. For example, you could offer an exclusive promotion to be presented via SMS in-store. You can also encourage them to order on your e-commerce site using the Rich SMS feature mentioned earlier. To re-engage your customers in a more original way and further motivate them to come back, you can also use voice SMS — a highly persuasive and differentiating channel.

You also have the option to prospect through opt-in contact database rental. This means that the rented numbers were obtained with the consent of their owners. This feature allows you to segment the contact list by geographic area, age, or even gender, so you can target the customers most likely to be interested in your offer.

4. Evaluating Your Website Quality Through SMS Surveys

Even if you believe you are doing everything possible to satisfy your customers, there are times when a customer encounters a problem that leads them to never shop with you again. To prevent this, you can use SMS surveys to identify any potential issues with your online store, during the ordering process, or at the delivery stage.

This way, you prevent those issues from recurring and ensure that you maintain the quality of your services. You can also ask your customers directly for their opinions on your products and find out where improvements could be made. Positive reviews can be highlighted on your social media channels or website. Our SMS survey feature enables you to create a genuine conversation with your customers and nurture the relationships you have already built.

5. Building Customer Loyalty

Today, SMS marketing platforms make it possible to personalise messages using variables within the campaign content. For example: first name, last name, or an exclusive code. This option is particularly valuable if you want to send exclusive offers to your customers via SMS. SMS for e-commerce allows you to promote older products, or new ones that match your customers’ preferences or past purchasing behaviour.