7 SMS Marketing Ideas for the May Bank Holiday

The Early May bank holiday is fast approaching, and with it comes another great occasion to pump up the sales efforts and cash in on the long weekend. Whether you are in travel and tourism, outdoor and leisure, hospitality and catering or any other sector for that matter, a long weekend always brings opportunity if you get the marketing right. SMS marketing is low cost and highly effective, meaning it is an ideal channel for a short, sharp campaign around this much anticipated mini break – so here are seven ideas to get you thinking.

1. SMS Marketing for Flash sales

A three-day weekend is always a great time to run a flash sale and get that extra footfall through the doors. All you need to do is send an SMS message to your customers along the lines of “Don’t miss the flash sale at Claire’s Boutique this May bank holiday. Get 10% off everything for 3 days only!” SMS can be used as the sole channel for such an offer or can be used in addition to your other marketing channels such as social media.

The same approach can be used to market both products and services, lending itself as well to a used car event at a local dealership as to a special weekend of pampering treatments at a local spa.

Just make sure that the style and wording of the SMS message creates a real sense of urgency and excitement to entice your customers to participate.

2. Text to Win

SMS competitions are always popular, and SMS Marketing makes it incredibly simple to run a special competition that requires entrants to text in – and is a great way to boost brand awareness and engagement, as well as expand your SMS Marketing list.

All that is required is a shortcode and keyword combination and you can advertise across all your channels with a message such as “Win big this May bank holiday at Golden Sands Leisure Park. Text WIN to 87007 for a chance to win a range of prizes including 3 nights in one of our luxury static apartments, a free meal for two in our restaurant and an exclusive boat trip in the bay…”

3. What’s on

Organising an event during the long weekend? Don’t just shout about it on social media, make sure that everybody on your SMS Marketing list hears about it first hand. After all, SMS messages are far more likely to be seen that both social media posts and emails.

Another advantage of SMS for sharing this kind of information is that those who are travelling to your area for the long weekend may well have limited or even no internet access – but they’ll still be able to check what’s on offer on their mobile phone. And once they’ve received the message, they don’t even need to be in signal to be able to check back.

4. Discount vouchers by SMS

A great way to entice people to spend during this busy period is to offer something that is too good to miss – like a special discount voucher sent direct to their mobile phone. It is simple to send a voucher code by SMS that allows the customer to get a fixed percent or fixed value off purchases, and statistics show that such promotions tend to get a good response.

All it takes is an SMS message such as “Dear John, to celebrate the May bank holiday, here’s 10% off all purchases just for you. Simply show the following voucher code at the checkout to redeem: JHG1083…”

With SMS Marketing, you can send a unique code to each customer as in the above example, or simply use the same code for everybody. SMS can also be used to send a link to a scannable QR code or barcode, should technology be your forte.

5. SMS Marketing for Event invitations

If you are organising an event over the weekend, such as a live music concert or a celebrity talk, or perhaps a family fun day with various attractions, then why not make sure you fill the house by using SMS Marketing. To boost attendance, create a sense of exclusivity for your customers with a message such as “Doug, you’re invited! Please do join us on Sunday 6th May for an evening of exceptional contemporary jazz music…”

A personalised invitation such as this will create a sense of obligation, increasing the likelihood of attendance and helping to make the event a success.

6. Travel advice by text message

With many people across the UK expected to spend the bank holiday weekend away from home, SMS Marketing can be used to provide useful advice to your customers – and also drive sales for your products or services. Short break health insurance is always a good fit, whilst home insurers could offer tips on keeping the home secure – with potential for upsells and cross-sells on both policies and security products.

For businesses that are related to driving, tips on avoiding traffic jams and staying safe on the road are great ways to begin a dialogue with the customer and introduce them to your offers.

7. SMS for Reviews and ratings

Whether you’ve organised a one-off event for the bank holiday weekend, run a hotel, guest house or campsite, provide holiday insurance or operate a tourist attraction, making sure your customers have had a great experience should be high up on your list of priorities – especially bearing in mind that the Spring bank holiday is not long after the Early May bank holiday.

Encouraging customers to share their feedback shows them that you care about more than just their money, and can play a crucial part in building and maintaining your reputation, which is key to attracting both returning and new customers.

All it takes to gather this valuable information is a few SMS messages that allow customers to rank elements of their experience, such as customer service, on a numerical scale. Using SMS Marketing increases the likelihood of getting a response as it is instantaneous and convenient, and doesn’t require anything other than a device which most people have in their hand all the time.

To get started with SMS Marketing now and make the most of the May bank holiday weekend, call the team at Fastsms on 0800 954 5305 today and we’ll have you up and running within minutes.