5 Reasons Santa Should be Using SMS Marketing

As far as marketing goes, there is little doubt that Mr Claus has got a lot right. Santa is, after all, a brand that is recognised worldwide and generates billions of pounds in sales. And then there is the logistics operation that allows him to deliver on his promises – 1.2 billion customers (that’s the estimated population of under 14’s worldwide) to service in just 32 hours (allowing for differences in time zones) and 510,000,000 km to cover. Despite this, one key thing seems to be missing from Santa’s marketing mix – SMS Marketing. Here are 5 reasons why we believe he really ought to be using it.

1.Real-time messaging

Unlike traditional marketing channels such as email, one of the big advantages of SMS Marketing is that it would allow Santa to communicate with his customers in real time. The majority of people keep their mobile phones close to them at all times, and 97% of messages are read, usually within three minutes of being received. Email, in contrast, has much lower open rates and it can typically be anything from 30 minutes to 3 hours before they are read, assuming that the recipient has access to their inbox. Letters from Lapland take considerably longer to reach their recipient.

At a time like Christmas, getting your message to the right people at the right time is crucial, and SMS Marketing is by far the cheapest and most effective way for Santa to achieve this.

2. Virtual Mobile Numbers and Shortcodes

If there is one obvious flaw in Santa’s operation, it is his reliance on traditional mail as his main channel for communication. Having to sit down and write a long-form letter with your Christmas order, send it off in the Elf mail and hope that is safely received is far from efficient. SMS Marketing using a Virtual Mobile Number (VMN) and shortcode would be the ideal alternative. A simple text might look like this:

“Have you been a good girl/boy? Reply with YES to 87007 to confirm that you are eligible for a Christmas present”

To make the system even more customer friendly, an automated response could then be sent to the customer to confirm receipt of their message and request details of their chosen present. Our built-in online monitoring tools allow you to fully track your messages to measure delivery, open rates, replies and more (but not, unfortunately, check if those cheeky children are telling the truth).

3. CRM Integration

With a business operation as large and complex as Santa’s, it is essential to use an industry standard CRM system to manage contacts, inbound and outbound SMS messages, check the status of messages and generate custom reports. With the seamless API integration that the Fastsms system allows, Santa could do all this and more, helping to ensure maximum efficiency and allow him to really get the most out of SMS Marketing.

Whatever his system of choice, he would also be able to rely on support from a team of experienced developers should any questions arise.

4. Where’s my stuff?

With so many customers awaiting their deliveries, Santa would do well to select an appropriate medium to send updates on the progress of orders so that customers know exactly what the status of their order is.

SMS Marketing would allow Santa to make sure customers know when their order has been prepared and packed by his elves, when it has been loaded into his sleigh and when they can expect delivery – all without the need for customers to turn their backs on their family in order to boot up their computer and log into their email. SMS Marketing is an incredibly convenient channel that allows all the essential updates to be literally delivered to the palm of the hand.

5. How did we do?

If there is one area in which Santa could improve, it is probably customer satisfaction surveys. For many brands, collecting and monitoring customer feedback is now seen as an essential part of the transaction process and forms the basis for achieving excellence in customer service, yet Santa simply doesn’t seem to have implemented a system for collecting feedback.

A simple SMS -based customer satisfaction survey in which customers are able to rank various aspects of their experience would allow Santa to gain valuable insight and identify areas to improve. Alternatively, it is possible to use SMS to send a link to an online survey, although evidence suggests that customers are more responsive to entirely SMS based surveys.

Whatever your area of business, the experts here at Fastsms are always available to help you succeed with SMS Marketing. Call us today on 0800 954 5305 for a no obligation chat with a member of our award-winning team and we’ll get you up and running in minutes. Using a CRM system? Be sure to ask about our versatile API integration.