There’s still time to create an SMS campaign for Black Friday
Tomorrow is Black Friday. This day of shopping frenzy was imported from the US just a few years ago, but experts predict UK consumers will eagerly spend £200m on Black Friday. That’s twice what was spent last year.
In an article in The Guardian, Johnathan Reynolds, director of the Oxford Institute of Retail Management, commented that Black Friday is a “buyer’s market” and retailers need to do everything they can to be competitive. A great way to get out ahead of the competition is with an SMS campaign.
But what if you have never used SMS or created a campaign before? Don’t worry. True, it’s last minute, but retailers can still get their SMS campaign rolling for tomorrow.
Fastsms accounts can be set up in just a few minutes. The account is free with no setup charges. And once your account is created you receive 10 credits you can use for testing. Testing is as simple as sending a message or two to your staff to see how easy it is to do. The system works much like an email application so the learning curve is fast. You can be up, running and tested in under 15 minutes. It’ll take a little longer to learn all the features, but you’ll have the basics down in that time.
If you’ve got a customer list that includes name and mobile number you can import it directly into our web based SMS service called NetMessenger. You can also automatically assign customers to groups to make segmenting your messages easier. But you don’t have to do that if you don’t want or need to. Or if you use Outlook for managing your contacts, you can get started without having to import your contacts by using our Outlook Mobile Service.
After testing, you’ll be convinced you can actually create and send messages easily. Next, you’ll want to purchase the credits you’ll need to send messages to your customers. You’ll find SMS is one of the most affordable, effective direct marketing methods. For 1,000 fastsms credits the cost is just £35. And the more credits you buy, the less it costs per credit. And yes, in the UK, one credit equals one 160 character message.
Now that you know the amazing value of our SMS messaging service, you need to send out messages to get your sale noticed on Black Friday. Here are some ideas on what to send: A coupon code redeemable in store, special sale details (“20% off everything!”), or a door buster sale during certain hours early Friday morning to let them know you’ll be opening early. You can send the messages out on Thursday afternoon or evening when people are planning their shopping, or even early on Friday (but not too early) so people get the message while they are out shopping.
You’ve got the rest of the day today to (1) get your account setup, (2) your list imported, (3) purchase your credits, (4) to write and (5) send your message. Just five steps to better sales to kick off the holiday shopping season. What are you waiting for? Get your account setup now.
Related Articles
SMS Marketing for the Domestic Pets Market
With consumer spending on Britain's 57 million furry friends valued at over £4.5 Million and all the signs showing that this is only going to increase, there has never been a better time for the sector to invest in marketing - and SMS marketing should be top priority. As pet owners spend more and more time pampering their pets and investing in pet paraphernalia, the opportunities are infinite. SMS marketing is one of the best ways to ensure that your offers get seen - and in most cases, instantly. With its low costs, exceptionally high open rates and above average response rates, SMS Marketing offers huge potential for ROI.
SMS Marketing for Jewellers and Jewellery Makers
How to Use SMS Messaging to Improve Customer Service
Global brands are increasingly taking advantage of a Short Message Service (SMS) to connect to customers and improve customer communication and engagement. This trend is taking root amongst small companies too, as they grasp the potential to not only communicate effectively in real-time but use SMS to save time and money in their customer relations procedures.
Top Three Things Retailers Should Do to Keep Customers on Their SMS Opt-In List
You've run a successful SMS opt-in campaign for your retail store. Now that you have your list, do you have a plan to keep them from opting out? Wait, you mean there's more to this than just sending out coupon codes? There is if you want to keep your customers from opting out.
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!
A Checklist for Your First SMS Marketing Campaign
This year SMS marketing is predicted to become an even bigger piece of the mobile marketing pie. Businesses of every size will be launching their first ever campaigns. If you’re one of them, take a look at our handy SMS marketing checklist below to help you do it right from the very beginning.
Retailers Can Use SMS Marketing For More Than Just Coupons
Discount codes, limited time sales, special exclusive pricing...you may have seen, or used, all of these in a text message campaign. For retailers, it is the most obvious and direct use of SMS marketing. It works and it's cost effective. But are there other ways you can put your SMS channel to work for you?
How to Avoid Failing at SMS Marketing
For many businesses it's often a knee-jerk reaction to create an app, or to run mobile ads, or to start an SMS list. But without really understanding what it’s all about, you can waste a lot of time and money before realising what you actually need to do.
The Super Amazing Speed of SMS Marketing
One of the greatest advantages of SMS marketing is how fast it is. You might be thinking I'm talking about the almost instantaneous delivery rates, or how quick it is to write a message and send it to your entire list - but this time we're talking about how fast you can get results.
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.