A Shocking Trend: Is SMS Marketing Really on the Rise?

Beep, beep. You got a discount!

Wait…what!?

If you thought SMS marketing went extinct long ago, then you’re WRONG.

Actually 97% of text messages are opened. What’s more, 77% of loyalty program members also said that they would be happy to get loyalty updates in SMS.

SMS might just be what your marketing strategy needs. Check out the infographic below, designed by Trumpia, before starting your campaign for some tips and tricks.

Vibes reported that 77% of loyalty members said that their brand loyalty would be affected positively, if they received messages on their mobile which notified them of special offers or surprise gifts for their birthdays. But be careful because, according to the latest reports, millennials tend to lie about their birthdays to get loyalty discounts sooner. So consider sending your surprise gifts on the anniversary of their enrollment in your loyalty program.

And the good thing is that you can involve your loyalty program in every part of your mobile strategy. Just see how Starbucks did it!

Starbucks has the following in their mobile app:

• Mobile loyalty card: Starbucks loyalty members can earn rewards by purchasing through the mobile app, or simply scanning their recipe to it. The cool part here is that this also helps the company collect more customer information, like member preferences.
• Digital wallet: Starbucks let’s customer load money onto their loyalty card and mobile app, too, in order to pay for their future purchases. Business Insider reported that, because of this feature, customers have loaded $1.2 billion on their Starbucks cards so far (the plastic cards and the app combined)… which means that they have more money than some banks!
• Order & pay ahead service: This is one of the best features on their mobile app! Customers can order what they want, pay for it, then pick it up at the closest franchise. Goodbye, long waits in line! The success of this service is apparent. In fact, pay ahead represents 10% of total transactions at Starbucks.

Okay. Starbucks has effectively shown how you can inspire some serious engagement in your mobile app ALL THE TIME. But there’s another trend we should mention when it comes to mobile: Facebook bots acting as personal shoppers in messenger. And it works! Spring recently launched this feature, allowing 1,000+ brands and retailers to sell their products there.

And it’s really simple: the bot asks what you are looking for, you choose your gender, then you’re presented with different product categories of clothes, shoes and accessories. After choosing what you want, via thumbnails with links to the products, you can check the items themselves, and make the purchase right through Messenger. Awesome, isn’t it?

“Instead of browsing a website, customers will have a conversation with the e-store’s bot, the same type of experience customers get when they go into the retail store and are served by a salesperson.” says Dorit Deddi from mmuze, a Chatbot-as-a-Service company.

Mobile is the future. So BE THERE. A loyalty program can help you. If you’d like to introduce one to your e-commerce store, then a ready-to-integrate solution like Antavo is the way to go. Contact US to see how we can help you.

By: Timi Garai