5 SMS Marketing Tips for Opticians

The spring/summer season is typically a time when people change their wardrobe and even their entire image. Dark and heavy styles and colours make way for lighter, brighter alternatives that reflect the longer, warmer days. As well as changes to the wardrobe, many people will adjust their hair colour and style for the summer season. All of these changes mean that for those wearing glasses, it is often also time to change frames for something that is more in keeping with the season’s look. So how can opticians use SMS Marketing to help increase sales and attract new customers? Here are 5 top tips from the experts.

1. What’s in, what’s out

As well as being responsible for eye care and examinations, opticians are also the first point of call for many who wear glasses when it comes to finding the right frames. SMS Marketing is a great way to share information about the latest seasonal trends in eyewear and introduce your customers to the latest choice of frames. Although it may be hard to describe glasses in an SMS, SMS Marketing supports clickable links, which can be used to allow your customers to navigate directly to your website directly from the SMS message. The link may take them directly to your online catalogue, or alternatively, send them to your latest blog post.

Choosing the right frames can be a difficult task, so providing customers with useful advice, hints and tips will always be seen as value-adding and help to nurture the relationship as well as build trust – both of which are key to generating sales.

Of course, don’t forget the opportunities for upsells and cross-sells, from treated lenses to prescription sunglasses.

2. Appointment reminders by SMS

It is said that time is money, and this is certainly true when it comes to missed appointments. No-shows waste valuable time and prevent other customers from getting the service they deserve – and in most cases, they arise simply because customers forget that they have booked an appointment. All of this can be solved with SMS Marketing.

When a customer first books an appointment, immediately send an SMS message such as:

“Dear Ms Thomas, thank you for booking your appointment at Claire’s Opticians in Bolton on Monday 4/06/2018 at 10:00. Can’t make it? Call us on 01204 837502 to reschedule.”

This can be followed up with similar reminders at reasonable intervals, for example, a week before and two days before.

If you want to make it even easier for customers to reschedule, consider setting up a Virtual Mobile Number (VMN) to allow customers to reply by SMS.

3. SMS Marketing for promotions and special offers

Everybody loves a chance to save money, especially when it comes to unavoidable expenditure such as glasses and eye examinations. SMS Marketing is a great way to send the latest offers and promotions to your customers, especially if they have used you on previous occasions.

SMS Marketing excels because of the very personal nature, so it is most effective when offers are designed to be relevant to a specific customer. For example, if a regular customer is soon due for their regular check-up, why not send them an invitation with a special discount. All it takes is a message such as:

“Dear Mr Jones, our records indicate that your next eye check is now due. Call Claire’s Opticians now on 01204 837502 and receive a special 25% off your next frames as a thank you for your loyalty…”

4. Your frames are ready

In most cases, both frames and lenses have to be ordered so are not usually available to take away on the same day. However, one a customer has chosen their new frames, they’ll be keen to be wearing them as soon as possible.

SMS Marketing is an ideal way to let your customers know when their new frames have arrived in-store. Whilst email could be used, there is a good chance the message could be overlooked in a cluttered inbox, and an SMS message is likely to be received instantly by the customer, wherever they happen to be at the time. Even if they are not on the computer, they won’t miss out on this exciting information.

5. SMS Marketing for Follow up and satisfaction surveys

Making sure your customers are happy with their new frames and also their entire experience is key to growing your business and maintaining your reputation, and SMS Marketing is the ideal solution.

Why not text your customers a week after they’ve received their new frames with a message such as:

“Dear Mrs Adams, we hope you are feeling great in your new glasses. If you need any adjustments, pop in at any time and we’ll be happy to help…”

A simple gesture such as this can help to forge a long-term relationship with the customer that encourages them to come back again and again – and costs next to nothing.

If you are keen to monitor and improve customer service than an SMS survey is an ideal way to gain valuable insight into the customer experience. Asking a series of short questions that can be measured on a numerical scale is the preferred method, for example:

“On a scale of 1-5, how well did the optometrist explain the procedures?”

Of course, be sure to first ask the customer for permission to send them the SMS survey, and thank them for participating. It is also good to invite them to share any feedback that isn’t covered by the survey questions with an open message.

If you are keen to get maximum response, consider using a prize draw or similar as an added incentive.

Want to get started with SMS Marketing today? Call the award-winning team at Fastsms now on 0800 954 5305 now and we’ll have you up and running in no time.