Many businesses use CPC ads during the holiday season, when keyword prices skyrocket and competition is fierce. Another advertising method that businesses use to reach their customers is email, which can be effective, but SMS marketing is on the rise, and quickly becoming a more popular strategy. Bulk SMS marketing reaches customers wherever they are, making it one of the most cost-effective and direct marketing channels. Many companies claim response rates of 40% to 50% and click-through rates of 15%.
These rates are unheard of when compared to other forms of advertising. In this article, you will learn how text message marketing services is disrupting Black Friday and Cyber Monday shopping.
What is Black Friday?
In America, Black Friday is synonymous with shopping. It falls on the Friday after Thanksgiving, which is one of the nation’s biggest holidays. Many people use this as an opportunity to do their Christmas shopping without breaking the bank.
During the Black Friday sales event, the retailers use various promotions to increase the number of people who visit their stores. In the US, vendors’ promotional activity typically begins on the day after Thanksgiving and extends into the holiday season. Black Friday has turned into a month of deals designed to drive sales.
Black Friday is traditionally held on the fourth Friday of November. On that day, discounts and offers on different goods encourage consumers to buy the products.
The biggest American companies Walmart, Best Buy, Target, Amazon, Kmart, Sams, Club, Kohl’s, Macy’s, Staples, JCPenney, Toys R’ Us, Sears and many participate and generally with the best deals.
According to CNN, Black Friday began in Philadelphia in the 1950s. It has grown into the biggest shopping day for American consumers.
The success of the action for the salesman drew attention in other parts of the world and spread to neighboring countries, Canada and Mexico.
What is Cyber Monday?
Cyber Monday is a day dedicated especially to online deals and is celebrated exclusively on the Monday after Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekends. The term, Cyber Monday, was first used in electronic commerce in 2005. Today, it is just as big as Black Friday, if not more so. Most consumers are already accustomed to doing the bulk of their shopping online, so it’s much more convenient for them than standing in line, dealing with crowds, and taking away from their busy lives.
This commercial strategy allows people from all over the world to access the discounts of virtual stores in the United States, and in this way increases sales in the country.
To get the most out of this Monday of offers, many consumers stay connected with the stores of their choice and filter the products they want to buy since some stores keep the offers only for a few hours and not for the whole day. There are also websites that show which major stores have Black Friday deals available.
In the same way, you can register in portals dedicated especially to this type of sales such as Best Buy, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, or the store that you frequent the most.
Cyber Monday has been so successful that countries such as Argentina, Colombia, and Chile have joined this celebration of online sales that today celebrates 13 years in the United States market.
Black Friday vs. Cyber Monday Marketing
Though Cyber Monday is specifically for online shopping, the reality is that online retailers offer discounts on both Black Friday and Cyber Monday.
Looking at buyer behavior, Black Friday is key for purchasing big-ticket items, which often involve some future planning. That’s why you will see people camping outside electronic stores to make sure they get the specific tablet they want. There are often great deals on electronic products like TVs, laptops, appliances, and power tools.
Most People shop online for items that are more economical to ship and return. Consumers associate Cyber Monday with smaller products, gifts, and impulse buys. Think clothing, toys, and books after gift cards; these are the most popular gifts.
10 SMS Marketing Tips for Black Friday and Cyber Monday
Boost your subscribers’ list in advance
To effectively communicate with your audience, you have to build it first. This is another way you can use SMS to your advantage.
Keyword campaigns can be very simple, but they are also incredibly effective. Any keyword campaign should be beneficial both for business and customers. Allowing two-way communication in an SMS marketing campaign is paramount to its success.
How exactly does this work? Just layout a bunch of keywords across your channels (e.g. “Text BLACKFRIDAY2020 to
Use of Keywords
Keyword campaigns are an incredibly effective way to give your SMS subscribers early access to Black Friday deals. By utilizing two-way communication in your SMS marketing campaign, you can ensure its success. But how exactly does this work? It’s simple yet impactful. Just lay out a series of keywords across your channels, such as “Text BLACKFRIDAY2020 to [your business phone number] to receive exclusive Black Friday deals.” This allows your customers to engage with your brand and gain access to exclusive offers.
The beauty of keyword campaigns lies in their simplicity. When a customer sends the designated keyword to your business phone number, their contact information is automatically added to your database. This enables you to keep them informed about your upcoming deals and provide them with early access to Black Friday discounts. It’s a win-win situation for both your business and your customers.
By offering incentives or simply informing your customers about the upcoming deals, you create a sense of excitement and exclusivity. Your SMS subscribers will feel valued and appreciated as they receive personalized messages addressing them by name. This personal touch adds an extra layer of engagement and encourages them to take advantage of the early access they’ve been granted.
So, don’t miss out on the opportunity to maximize your Black Friday sales. Implement a keyword campaign and provide your SMS subscribers with the early access they deserve. It’s a straightforward and effective way to ensure your customers feel like VIPs and keep them coming back for more.<
Make your customer aware of the value of Black Friday and Cyber Monday
The perfect start to the festive season: Make sure you buy your Christmas presents this weekend to get a 50% discount!”
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are becoming an increasingly popular time to buy. Many of your competitors will be very active during Black Friday, so it is important to not only tell people about the huge savings, but also to tailor the message to your customer. A relevant message will force them to take action. Make your customer aware of the coming festival season and emphasize how Black Friday and Cyber Monday is the perfect time to get a discount on presents.
Messages with emotion
The response rate for a text message that conveys emotion increases by more than 50%. Apart from this, research shows that buying gifts for others is more rewarding than buying gifts for oneself. The holiday season is coming up, it may be a good time to remind your customers of this with a SMS marketing services. Add some Christmas spirit to your message to show the customer that your company is run by real people.
“Giving makes you happy. Buy your Christmas presents from [your company] and get a 25% discount!”
A mixture of a reminder to buy gifts and an emphasis on the relevance of your SMS will raise the likelihood that your client will purchase from you.
Emphasize loyalty
Mention your relationship with the customer. An SMS will feel more personal to your client than an email. Use that information and ensure that your communications always have that personal touch.
Remind your customer that they are important to you and that you would like to award them for their care and loyalty. For example, you could highlight that repeat customers are given an additional discount. Giving perks to loyal customers is a fool-proof way to keep them coming back. Give them every reason to go to you instead of your competitor.
Phrase the discount in a different way to others
If you want your SMS to stand out in comparison to your competition, the disrupt-then-reframe (DTR) technique is the best option. As the SMS undermines their habitual way of thinking, you raise the chances of them visiting your shop and website. If you want to give a discount of 30 dollars on a spend of 80 dollars, you can make the offer sound a lot more interesting by rephrasing it:
“3000 cents discount when you next spend 80 dollars or more! Don’t miss out on this special bargain!”
It may sound silly, but it is a worthy strategy to try.
Fear of missing out
Loss aversion, or the fear of missing out (FOMO) is a strong driving force in marketing. If you can get the customer to feel like they won’t have the same opportunity for this deal again, it creates a sense of urgency, and they are likely to buy whatever you’re selling.
“30% off! THIS WEEKEND ONLY” is a simple example of this strategy.
Be sure to emphasize what the customer will be missing out on if they do not partake in the offer you are presenting them.
Use an accompanying landing page
Sometimes your message may exceed more than 160 characters. For this add a link to a mobile landing page. Set your customer’s interest with an SMS and tell them more on the mobile landing page. You can reach your customer in a personal and different way and still be able to tell them more than in your 160 character SMS.
Getting Customer Feedback
To effectively gather customer feedback after their Black Friday purchase, there are several methods you can use:
1. Send a personalized text message to customers: Reach out to customers individually via text message, addressing them by name. Politely ask them to rate their purchase experience at your company on a scale of 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent). This allows customers to provide specific feedback about their Black Friday shopping experience.
2. Encourage reviews: Request customers to leave a review about their shopping experience on your company’s review platform. Provide them with a link that directs them to the review page. This not only helps gather feedback but also boosts your online reputation.
3. Seek product feedback: After customers have made their Black Friday purchase, follow up with a text message asking for their thoughts on the specific product they bought. This allows you to understand how satisfied they are with the item and any improvements they might suggest.
4. Measure likelihood to recommend: Gauge customer satisfaction and potential word-of-mouth promotion by asking customers to rate, on a scale of 0 to 10, how likely they are to recommend your company to friends or family. This will help you understand the level of customer loyalty and identify areas for improvement.
Remember to keep the text messages concise, polite, and respectful of customers’ privacy. Additionally, provide an option for customers to opt-out or unsubscribe if they no longer wish to receive feedback requests.
Conclusion
Black Friday and Cyber Monday are the biggest shopping days of the year. Don’t let them go to waste. Use them to wrangle in as many customers as possible by implementing these simple but effective SMS strategy this fall, and watch your business grow.
The Role of Text Messaging in Healthcare
Communicating with patients is an important role of healthcare professionals. The medical sector includes clinics, hospitals, wellness centers, rehabilitation centers, therapists, and anyone who provides medical services. Patients are essentially customers, but they rely on healthcare workers to heal them and fix their ailments. Because of this, there is another level to the relationship between patients and providers that is often overlooked. There are many ways to communicate with customers. SMS marketing has become a popular method thanks to the many benefits it offers.
Using SMS for Payments
Digital transactions and transfers already make up the bulk of the market, where it is possible to transfer money and pay bills through a banking application installed on a smartphone. Payments made through SMS are becoming increasingly popular in the market and, nowadays, you can even make charges with the use of this technology. If your phone is capable of sending texts and you have a service that offers this solution as well as generates a secure payment link for that company’s customers, you can take advantage of this tool.
Today, we see many companies, from all industries, using this service. Even NGOs and foundations make payments via SMS, proving its effectiveness and ease of use.
Hiring Through SMS; Cheaper than Indeed?
People don’t lose sleep over unread or unanswered emails. Your email inbox is probably full of unread messages as you’re reading this. Your texts, however, are likely all read and responded to (if necessary). Considering that texts are rarely ignored, it’s a mystery that more businesses aren’t using SMS to recruit new team members. Regardless, let’s dive into why you should consider it for your business.
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