15 October 2021

What You Need To Know About SMS Marketing For Shopify

SMS Marketing has the potential to put you in the position to compete with even the biggest brands on Shopify. We’ll give you a rundown of everything you need to know before you get started.

Brett Fleiner

Reading time: 12 minutes

Marketing is vital to your success no matter what line of business you are in, but finding the option best suited to your needs and your budget can be challenging. There are many marketing tools and strategies available in today’s market.

Still, SMS marketing is quickly becoming one of the most affordable and rewarding ways to increase conversions and bring in sales.

Let’s dive deeper into what SMS marketing is and look at some essential points before you implement this into your marketing strategy!

What is SMS marketing?

‘SMS’ stands for ‘Short Message Service’. It’s hard to find a mobile network or device that doesn’t support SMSes.

SMS marketing refers to how brands communicate with customers through text messages regarding promotions, updates, alerts, and more. It is a direct and more personal form of marketing because you’re sending 1-on-1 messages to your customers. Of course, this pool of customers are those who have opted in to receive these messages

Think of it as email marketing, but through SMS instead.

Several SMS marketing software out there also allow you to create automated campaigns, provide advanced reporting, and allow the scheduling of SMSes.

Benefits of SMS marketing

Affordability

SMS marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to attract new and repeat customers. Sending a text to customers costs a fraction of what you need to spend on a single social media advertising campaign.

Most SMS marketing options allow you to only pay for what you need and do not have any over-the-top hidden fees attached. This cost-effectiveness also makes it easier to scale your SMS marketing campaigns as your business grows and ensures you don’t need much capital to get started.

Skip the spam folder

SMS marketing boasts a near-perfect open rate of 98%, which is higher than all other marketing strategies. This means your messages are almost guaranteed to be seen instead of being ignored entirely. This higher open rate naturally translates to higher conversion and increased traffic.

SMS marketing exploits the fact that most customers check their phones constantly and are more likely to read a text message than they would be to read an email. Studies show that consumers are unlikely to leave an unread text message in their inboxes, while with an email, they will not open anything that looks like marketing.

Wide reach

No alternative marketing strategies can compare with SMS marketing’s reach and versatility. Marketing via social media or web campaigns limits your audience to only those who have access to these.

SMS marketing brings the benefit of being able to reach almost anyone and anywhere. With mobile phones becoming increasingly affordable and SMS being the most basic function of these devices, your marketing campaign has virtually no geographical limits.

Increased engagement

SMS marketing gives you and your customers an easy and convenient way to communicate. Your customers will not have to log onto a PC or wait until they get home to reach out to you regarding your products or promotions.

Also, customers are familiar with sending text messages. This familiarity gives a more personal feel to their communication with you and your brand.

Instant reach

Have a popular product back in stock? Sending an SMS only takes a few seconds, and your customer receives them almost instantly after you send it.

There’s no need to wait for them to navigate to your store and check. You could be selling out again within minutes of restocking, thanks to a strategically sent SMS marketing campaign.

Versatility

SMS marketing offers you the flexibility to use the platform for multiple purposes — promotions, sales, abandoned cart recovery, or customer service are all possible with this single marketing channel.

7 essential tips on how to use SMS marketing for Shopify

With all the benefits we have outlined and the endless potential that SMS marketing can offer your Shopify store, it’s important to remember that it still does take some hard work to get going. Here are some essential things to know when getting started. 👇

Consider your customer

As effective as SMS marketing can be, you don’t want to overdo it.

Always consider your customers and ensure you are not sending a constant barrage of messages. Nobody wants to be pressured into making a decision, and sending message after message in too short of a period is almost as bad as selling substandard products.

You are legally required to offer your customers an opt-out option for your marketing messages. If you were to overdo the messaging, you could almost guarantee that many of your customers will take advantage of this.

The goal of your marketing communications should be to attract customers and make them feel like an important part of your brand. Frustrating them with a never-ending wave of texts will only have results opposite to those you desire.

Know your target audience

While sending a text message to all of the customers on your lead list may seem like a good idea, it can be the nail in the coffin for your marketing.

Imagine receiving a text message about an irresistible deal on a product you would love to get your hands on, only to find out you are not eligible due to your location or some other factor. It definitely would not leave a good impression and could create frustration.

You want to be sure you target the correct demographics for that specific promotion or reward by keeping track of customer information on your customer relationship management (CRM) software.

You can also take advantage of segmentation features offered by your SMS marketing software, ensuring you only send messages to those with the highest likelihood of purchasing.

Simple but sublime

It can be tempting to include multiple deals, tons of enticing product information, or a long list of rewards to draw your customers in, but SMS marketing communication is always best kept concise.

Your messages should highlight what is in it for the customer and how they can avail of the promotion or reward.

Limiting the length of your text will reduce your overall costs and ensure your customers are not bombarded with too much information to process. Seeking assistance from someone with copywriting experience or reaching out to the experts behind the app you are using can ensure optimal messages are ready to be sent out.

Alternatively, you can always use pre-built message templates so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel for every customer conversation.

Familiarize yourself with the terminology

Get familiar with common marketing terminology you are bound to be exposed to when starting SMS marketing for your Shopify store. Being armed with the knowledge of industry terminology will make your life a whole lot easier. Here are a few examples of such terms:

Open Rate: The percentage of messages you send that are opened
Click-Through Rate: The percentage of customers who clicked on links contained in your messages.
Short Code: A short code is the phone number dedicated to your account. This is the number you will send and receive text messages from
Keywords: A short word customers send to your short code to join that particular promotion

There are many other terms to get familiar with but do not be alarmed — none of them are too technical and you’ll pick it up as you go along.

Add personalization

In this age of automation, customers are growing increasingly wary of system-generated text or emails. Adding even the slightest personalization makes a massive difference.

Setting up your SMS marketing software to include a customer’s first name or details about their last purchase makes the customer feel like you are paying attention to them. They are essential and increases the chance of them purchasing.

For example, when sending abandoned cart recovery messages, highlighting the product’s name to your customer will most likely get them to revisit their cart instead of simply telling them that they’d left something.

Respond swiftly

Try to be as responsive as possible.

If a customer reaches out to your business regarding a campaign or promotion, answering it swiftly increases your chances of closing a sale. This also opens the door to provide additional options or upselling opportunities.

If a customer has to wait for a reply before purchasing and only receives the response a day later, they would most likely have found an alternative or completely lost interest. After all, 83% of online shoppers need some sort of assistance to push them to make a purchase, and 78% of leads will buy from businesses that respond first.

SMS marketing induces impulse buying, and fast responses ensure you exploit that.

Compliance is key

One of the biggest challenges facing marketers is the massive number of regulations placed on reaching out to consumers. This is for a good reason — it would be ridiculous for a customer to receive wave after wave of marketing communication from every store or seller they interact with, not to mention unsolicited communications.

Ensuring you maintain compliance with these regulations is vital to your marketing campaign’s success. The TCPA, CTIA, and CCPA all provide guidelines on protecting your customers’ privacy and data, and you should be familiar with these before deciding on adopting SMS marketing.

How to Connect SMS Marketing Software to Your Shopify store

Step 1: Select an SMS Marketing App

Your first step will be to find software best suited to your specific needs. Shopify offers many options and they all have similar features with some slight differences, so it’s best to take your time when making a decision.

Also, take advantage of free trials or free versions of an app to really dive deeper into the app and explore its features to see if it’s suitable.

💡 Additional resource: Top 17 SMS Marketing Apps for Shopify

Step 2: Integrate your app

Once you have decided on the best app for your store, it’s time to integrate it into your website. Follow the developer’s guide or installation tutorial to integrate your SMS marketing app for Shopify.

Step 3: Configure your workflows

Once your installation is complete, you’ll want to create automated workflows within the SMS marketing app. Start with the most basic workflows like abandoned cart recovery and order confirmations, then work your way into setting up a new product or update triggers.

Setting these workflows up will save you a lot of time in the long run. Keep in mind that depending on the app of your choice, you’ll most likely be able to edit or alter these in the future.

Step 4: Start lead generation

Once you’ve got your app set up and your workflows in place, you can start your lead generation by adding opt-in options below on your checkout page.

By checking this opt-in option, customers consent you to send them marketing communication.

To remain compliant, requiring your customer’s phone number need not be mandatory. You must also inform customers of their ability to opt-out and provide them with an estimated number of text messages they can expect to receive monthly.

Step 5: Kickoff your first campaign

Once you’ve collected sufficient customer data, it’s time to start sending out your first batch of messages!

🔥 Special Feature: GIPHY and Pexels integrations for personalization

Pricing: Free (SMS charges may apply)

🔗 Shopify link

Types of SMS messages you should send your customers

Abandoned cart recovery

Abandoned cart recovery is one of the most common e-commerce challenges. Even large e-commerce companies aren’t spared from the high cart abandonment rates.

According to a recent study, the average cart abandonment rate across all industries is over 69%. While there is no single reason why customers abandon their carts, the natural behavior of how people browse e-commerce sites accounts for a big share of cart abandonment. Many people do window shopping, compare prices, and even use their online shopping carts as a ‘wishlist’.

These are unavoidable factors that lead to cart abandonment.

As an e-commerce owner, this is where you step in. To lower cart abandonment rates, send them text messages to prompt them to revisit their cart and complete the purchase.

Here’s an SMS template you can use:

Promotional messages

We as consumers are spoiled for choice. With a myriad of options out there, choosing a business we want to patronize is a breeze.

This is where e-commerce owners start to scratch their heads — how do businesses then ensure that they drive customers to their e-commerce site to make a purchase amidst all the competition?

The answer: Sending promotional messages through chat messaging platforms.

This is a casual and non-pushy way to drive more traffic to your site. Unlike sending emails, platforms like WhatsApp or Messenger create an informal environment for you to share special deals and promotions.

Also, 82% of people open every text message they receive, while email’s open rates are only 20%. This means that your customers are more likely to read your messages and check out your promotions instead of ignoring them entirely.

Here’s an SMS template you can use:

Reviews and feedback

Online reviews can make or break your business. A whopping 93% of consumers say that online reviews have influenced their purchase decisions.

However, collecting reviews and ratings can be challenging because 71% of consumers will leave a review about a business, only if they were asked. In other words, customers rarely give honest reviews about a business if there was no push or motivation to do so.

Here’s where sending them prompts for reviews and feedback comes in handy.

Chatting with customers through messaging platforms creates a more personal and natural flow because of the informal environment. You can take this opportunity to send follow-up messages post-purchase to ask your customers about their experience with your products and services.

Here’s an SMS template you can use:

Customer service

50% of customers say they would switch to a new brand after just one bad experience. And, after more than one bad experience, around 80% of consumers say they would rather do business with a competitor.

Unfortunately, e-commerce businesses don’t have the upper hand of having a physical store and ground staff to provide the human touch that shoppers crave. This is why you should focus on providing excellent customer service via chat messaging.

Your customer service reps can also deliver quicker and more timely responses through chat messaging as compared to other conventional communication methods.

Here’s an SMS template you can use:

Conclusion

We hope that this article has given you better insight into SMS marketing and the essential things you need to know before you get started.

As intimidating as it may seem to someone who might have little or no knowledge of marketing, the process of getting started is not as daunting as you may think.

SMS marketing for Shopify can have a significant impact on the success of your business and it has cemented its place as one of the most effective marketing channels there is.

With all the benefits and essential information laid out for you, there shouldn’t be anything holding you back. Go ahead, get started with SMS marketing today!