How Text Can Increase Retail Engagement & Loyalty From Existing Customers
When it comes to retail success, getting customers to your site or through the door is just one half of the battle. How do you keep customers coming back, especially when online competition and logistical challenges can make it tough for your retail business to remain top of mind to a customer?
The answer comes in the form of loyalty programs and engagement opportunities that allow you to continue to keep the line of communication open with past customers.
#1
Increase Retail Engagement with Loyal Customers
You may be spending marketing budget on email campaigns and social media, but what is the ROI? It can be tough for even the most loyal customers to see your messages in a deluge of marketing materials from competitors. That’s why a multi-channel marketing campaign should also include text-message marketing.
Encourage Text Sign-Ups Through On-Site and In-Store Signage
Text marketing stands out from emails by connecting to customers where they are: On their phones. Encouraging sign-ups with in-store and online signage gives you a list of customers who are excited to engage, along with tools to measure CTR and ROI.
Use Text To Upgrade Contactless Offerings
Even as brick-and-mortar stores remain open, contactless pickup and contact-free shopping options remain important to many in your customer base. SMS capabilities can update your customers on contactless delivery capabilities, and can be used to personalize tracking delivery and updates directly to your customer.
Use 1-1 Text for Personalized Engagement
Providing a customized experience is one way to stand apart from other retailers. Enabling 1-to-1 texting encourages customers to reach out and ask questions, and allows your business to provide a personalized and customized shopping experience.
#2
Drive Repeat Sales
SMS marketing is a great way to drive repeat sales with customers and continue the conversation after the initial sale. SMS capabilities can be an integral component to a loyalty program, and can also be a way to share blog posts, updates, and other need to know news.
Create a Loyalty Program
A loyalty program is a way to create rapport with customers and provide them with insider access they wouldn’t otherwise get. Coupons are a great way to drive loyalty programs. In-store and online signage can encourage sign-ups. Make sure the coupons are valuable enough that the texts are read, opened, and considered. Tracking engagement can help you assess the sweet spot. For example, do customers respond better to a 10% off promotion or do they prefer to see a dollar savings amount, like $5 off your order or no delivery fee?
Share Valuable Information
Text can be a valuable way to show your customer base what your business is all about and the intangible value you offer to your customers. For example, you may have a blog or newsletter that needs fresh eyes. Sharing this information with customers is a way to create engagement, guide people toward products, and track what resonates with consumers — and what they pass over.
Encourage New Sales
Following up on previous purchases is a great way to drive new sales. It’s also a way to allow your business to be top of mind in the future for related products.
Encourage Engagement By Asking for Reviews
Customers who have a positive experience want to share their insight — and it’s helpful for you to remind them what would be most helpful. Sending a link to Yelp, Google, or another review page is a way to continue the relationship. Enabling 1-to-1 messaging can also be a way to rectify anything that didn’t go right, so customers have an avenue to share their concerns directly with you instead of sharing them anonymously online.
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