According to data from Klaviyo, 72 percent of people have made purchases after receiving promotional text messages. If you're looking to drive more sales for your eCommerce store, suffice it to say that eCommerce SMS marketing is a powerful avenue to explore.
To help you master SMS marketing for eCommerce, we've put together a guide covering SMS marketing automation strategies for eCommerce, compliance considerations, and the best platforms you need to know about.
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Understanding SMS for eCommerce
SMS marketing for eCommerce involves sending targeted marketing messages via text to your audience of SMS subscribers. The key benefit of eCommerce SMS marketing is that text messages have an extremely high open rate (as high as 98 percent). Since most people check new texts right away, they also tend to result in immediate engagement. While strategies such as email advertising and social media marketing also have their advantages, neither method can compete with SMS marketing when it comes to these two metrics.
Compliance and Regulations
The benefits of SMS marketing are clear, but you can land in hot water if you don't comply with regulations regarding SMS. The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) are two such rules that brands are required to follow, and you'll want to deeply familiarize yourself with what these regulations require.
One common theme of SMS marketing regulations is that brands are required to obtain a person's consent before sending them SMS messages. You must also provide an easy way for customers to unsubscribe.
You can help ensure your brand's compliance by keeping records of all consents, including timestamps and opt-in methods, and regularly updating your contact list to remove opt-outs.
Effective eCommerce SMS Marketing Strategies
Shopify SMS marketing can offer a wealth of benefits, but only when you employ the right strategies. If you’d like to start reaching potential customers via text, here are some top SMS for eCommerce marketing strategies to consider:
- Building a Subscriber List: Collecting sign-ups via your website and social media pages will enable you to start building your subscriber list. You can offer incentives like discount codes to help encourage sign-ups.
- Personalization and Segmentation: Customization of your SMS marketing messages can significantly improve engagement. By segmenting your list based on things like customer behavior and demographics, you can target your messages to specific segments for better relevance and personalization.
- Timing and Frequency: You’ll want to send messages at times when your audience is most likely to engage, such as mid-morning or late afternoon. It's also important to avoid overwhelming subscribers. Limit how frequently you send messages—too many texts can lead to higher opt-out rates and customer fatigue.
- Crafting Engaging Messages: SMS marketing thrives when messages are brief, clear, and engaging. Keep them short and to the point, and include an actionable CTA to drive conversions.
- Automation and Workflows: SMS marketing automation strategies for eCommerce are essential for efficiency and timeliness. With the right SMS marketing platform, you can automate SMS marketing processes for things like abandoned carts, order confirmations, shipping updates, and more.
- Integrating SMS with Other Channels: For maximum impact, integrate SMS with other marketing channels like email and social media. This omnichannel approach creates a unified and cohesive experience for your customers.
Top SMS Marketing Platforms for eCommerce
Effective SMS marketing requires brands to leverage an eCommerce SMS marketing platform. These platforms come equipped with all the tools and features you need to manage your subscriber lists, send out messages, and analyze the results.
Our top recommendation for SMS marketing platforms is Klaviyo. This tried-and-true option combines tools for both SMS and email marketing, and its deep integration with eCommerce platforms like Shopify makes it an excellent choice for Shopify SMS marketing.
Mailchimp, Attentive, and Salesforce Marketing Cloud are a few other platforms that are worth considering.
How Agencies Like Groove Commerce Can Help
If you’d like to take full advantage of eCommerce SMS marketing, then working with a full-service eCommerce marketing agency such as Groove Commerce is a great option. Thanks to their expertise, access to leading tools and platforms, and efficient, proven processes, these agencies can offer a lot of advantages to eCommerce store owners. They include:
- Specialized strategies that are tailored to your business
- Compliance guidance to ensure your campaigns meet all legal requirements
- Assisting with setup and integration of SMS platforms like Klaviyo
- Ongoing support and optimization
Thanks to these benefits, eCommerce stores that work with an agency specializing in SMS for eCommerce tend to see some impressive results. Consider, for example, how Groove Commerce helped one fashion brand boost its revenue by 77 percent through a combination of SMS and email marketing strategies.
Conclusion
When used in effective ways that comply with relevant regulations, SMS marketing is a powerful tool for eCommerce stores. If you’d like to start using SMS marketing to engage your customers and drive more sales, we can help!
Order a free website audit or contact us today to learn more about how our experts can set your eCommerce store up for SMS marketing success!
