Meghan is a Partner at Prestige Pro Media, an expert eCommerce development company for some of the largest Influencer brand names on Shopify.
We see it a lot. Brands are hesitant to move into SMS and messenger marketing, citing their instinct that customers will feel frustrated by a brand name’s outreach on such individual channels. Used responsibly, as part of an omnichannel method, Facebook messenger, SMS, or a mix of the two, can make your customers feel more empowered to engage with your brand. While email is a fantastic tool for informing possible customers and producing an action in reaction (store, and so on) these more tailored messaging channels use a unique environment that few other channels provide: encouragement for direct reply.
For this reason, SMS and Messenger need to be used in addition to email at the correct time and in the best location, to add a conversational channel to a brand’s marketing technique. Utilizing conversational channels allows brand names to develop highly engaged audience sections to which they can promote brand-new or limited products, solicit feedback from consumers on shopping experiences, and even understand what customers desire in brand-new product offerings– constructing an intimate relationship with the brand name and increasing the ever-important metric of Lifetime Worth.
However prior to you start reaching clients in more ways and building much better relationships, you need to gather customer information for your CRM to use SMS and messenger in your method. There are a couple of methods we have used at Eminence Pro Media to strengthen the collection of customer information to much better serve a dynamic CRM marketing strategy:
- Enhance Onsite Pop-Ups
Email collection pop-ups have ended up being quite standard in the onsite commerce experience and if your clients are not in the best stage of the journey, it becomes more of a nuisance than an opportunity. Software application alternatives like Octane AI partner with marketing automation platforms to use pop up integrations that enable prospective consumers, who might be skeptical about divulging their contact information, to take a ‘soft choose in’. This soft opt-in sends out a particular reward to the visitor’s Facebook messenger to redeem instead of needing to provide any contact info. Messenger can then be used to pass on additional promotions, get feedback, and even collect much better contact details from that engaged consumer down the roadway.
- Offer SMS as an interaction alternative in checkout
Routine online buyers understand they eventually have to provide contact details, and it’s usually in checkout. Give your consumers the alternative to provide an SMS capable phone number to receive order updates, shipping notices, and provide feedback on the products they ordered. Don’t beat the gun though. Remember this is an extremely individual channel, so make sure your SMS efforts serve the client before you send promos that serve the brand name– and always use language that motivates clients to ‘save your number.’ Absolutely nothing is more 1:1 than being a contact in somebody’s phone.
- Run promotions on SMS and/or Messenger
If you’re a brand name that currently has an audience or a CRM to work from, think about hosting a promo via SMS to encourage the collection of mobile numbers from your existing customer list. Send out an email and Messenger touchpoint to your engaged segments to text an SMS number to get a marketing code in reaction, OR host a promotion to your Instagram audience to take part in a text opt-in-to-win or receive a particular reward. For brand names that have built a devoted audience, SMS provides a quick and direct way to notify faithful consumers about minimal items, brand-new item drops, and unique offerings for a more personalized brand experience.
There’s not a one-size-fits-all communication channel for eCommerce. A client’s journey matters and sophisticated division of your CRM and omnichannel collection tools can help you maximize your owned channel touch indicate reach consumers– not just to inform them, however, to interact with them.