How to Increase Retail Foot Traffic with SMS Marketing
A printed voucher for 10 pounds off any purchase – valid in store one month from now.
That’s what I found in my shopping bag after purchasing some clothing for my daughter. Great! I thought, but that’s so far away I’ll never remember to go back to the store.
Then I read the voucher again, just to double check the dates it was valid, and I saw the retailer had added a “text redemption code”.
If I send a text message to the retailer with the 12 digit code on the voucher, they will send me, by text, up to two “Supercash redemption alerts” during the week of the sale.
Brilliant! Now I will be sure to get back into the store during the week of the sale thanks to a couple of text reminders.
What They're Doing Right
This retailer is doing everything right (well almost) when it comes to using SMS marketing to drive people back into the local retail store. Let’s look at how they did it:
- Gave out printed vouchers at the store for a future event. They know customers responding to this offer are already people who visit the local store in person.
- On the voucher they boldly printed the code and instructions to receive text alerts about the sale. Anyone reading the voucher would have a hard time missing the opportunity.
- They clearly stated how many times a person that opts in would receive text messages. By letting people know that they are signing up for a limited number of texts they will be more likely to sign up. No one likes the unknown, or wants to be spammed about other sales in the future they may not want to know about.
What They Could Be Doing Better
If I could suggest one thing to their SMS marketing team it would be to make the redemption code something easier to type in. The random mix of 12 digits and numbers printed on the voucher could be difficult to type in correctly. How would someone know if they typed it in wrong? A verification, or error message from the retailer would help, but why make it difficult for your customers?
Next time you’re looking to increase foot traffic to your store, why not try this approach – only use a simple text keyword code to help your customers (especially those who might be typing on a small keyboard!).
Related Articles
Don’t Believe The Myth of The “Cashless Shopper”
Sometimes bloggers or journalists get a bit carried away. They see some data or fact, and run off to declare there’s a trend you need to know about. The latest one I’ve seen is all about how to reach the generation of “cashless shoppers”. The argument goes that you need to use SMS messaging to reach customers because they are all shopping online – where you obviously can’t pay in cash.
Proof SMS Messaging Gets Results: Increase Sales
Can SMS marketing increase sales numbers? In the next entry of our Results Series you’ll see the kinds of results that real companies achieved. We’ve rounded up sales numbers and timelines to show you how well, and how fast, SMS marketing can improve your sales.
5 Reasons to Receive SMS Online
5 Reasons You Want to Use SMS Messaging in Your Business
Are you looking to grow your business? Get more customers? Have larger profits? Of course you are. Isn't every business looking to improve, grow and generate more sales? More and more businesses are realising how SMS messaging can help them do all those things. But it's nice to have some facts to back up what most people seem to assume is true.
Insights Into The Best SMS Marketing
It’s been said that to be successful at something, you need to find someone that’s already done what you want to do, then emulate them. You don’t need to create or rewrite the rulebook every time. This is true of marketing too. While it’s a creative field, there are tried and true examples of what works. This is why case studies are so important to helping you understand how something like SMS marketing can work for you.
SMS Marketing: Don’t Forget About Print!
The focus for advertising campaigns today is often mobile, web, or digital. It’s certainly true that more and more people are using technology for just about everything. But with all that technology, it’s easy to overlook another, more traditional form: Print!
5 Ways to Use SMS to Save Money and Improve Your Retail Business
Every good retail business owner knows that the key to success is keeping his or her customers happy. Your level of customer service should be all encompassing to succeed and should consist of more than just being polite to the customer at the till.
Avoiding Fraud on Mobile Coupons in Your SMS Marketing
SMS coupons have redemption rates ten times email coupons. Averages run around 30%, but they could be as high as 45% for personalised messages. Even with those great numbers, retailers can still lose money to fraud. Find out how make sure customers only redeem your coupon once.
How to Increase Website Traffic with SMS Messaging
Read some practical advice on how you can use SMS messaging to drive more traffic to your website. Include a shortened url in your SMS marketing message that sends the recipient to a special offers page or a how-to video or even a top-up page for consumables. But make sure the page is mobile friendly.