Why integrate SMS into your email marketing strategy?

While competition for consumers' attention is fierce, text (or SMS) marketing is emerging as a powerful solution to boost your email campaigns. Immediate, personal and extremely engaging, this channel can transform your results while seamlessly integrating with your email marketing efforts. Let's explore together how and why you should add it to your e-commerce strategy in this article.

The benefits of a winning duo: SMS and emails

Email campaigns are perfect for detailed and regular communications: newsletters, brand stories, new product catalogs, bestsellers, etc. But what about messages that require quick action? This is where text shines with its conciseness and immediacy.

A Klaviyo survey of 8,000 consumers reveals that SMS messaging is just behind email as the preferred channel. Additionally, 72% of respondents expect at least one message per week.

According to a Gartner study, texts achieve an open rate of 98%, much higher than the 20% to 30% of emails. This channel particularly appeals to 18-34-year-olds, of which 77% have a positive perception.

Thanks to their conciseness, texts also facilitate quick actions, such as a click or a response to a keyword, which reinforces their effectiveness for targeted campaigns.

Compliance: the pillar of a successful SMS strategy

Before diving headfirst into text marketing, make sure you understand it and lay a solid foundation for compliance. Not only is it a legal obligation, but it's also essential to forge and maintain a trusting relationship with your customers.

An effective text marketing strategy is all about compliance and transparency. Make sure to update your privacy policy, get explicit consent via a double opt-in, and make it easy to unsubscribe with keywords like “STOP”. These practices strengthen your customers' confidence while complying with regulatory requirements.

Building an engaging SMS list: your first challenge

Even more essential than in an email mailing list, an SMS list must be carefully built to ensure the quality and relevance of your messages.

Here are a few ways to achieve this:

• Targeted registration forms: place strategic pop-ups or banners on your online store to encourage your visitors to register. To get the best response, it's a good idea to offer a concrete benefit like a discount code.
• Offer it at the time of purchase: during checkout, ask customers if they want to receive text updates, including to track deliveries or receive exclusive offers.
• Incentive campaigns: offer unique benefits via text, such as priority access to private sales or limited inventory alerts.

In the case of a text marketing strategy, it's vital to clearly state the value your customers will get in order to increase your chances of building a committed and quality list.

Simplify your campaigns with SMS automations

Once your list is built, set up automations to optimize sending messages while reducing your efforts. Text lends itself particularly well to strategic communications.

Sending a welcome message to your new subscribers or relaunching an abandoned cart are simple but effective actions to engage your customers. You can also schedule event alerts, such as reminders for an upcoming webinar, the launch of a flash sale, or the arrival of a new product.

The key to SMS effectiveness: talking to every customer individually

Just like with your emails, segmenting your text messages is essential to maximize their impact. Ensure the relevance of your messages by personalizing them according to the preferences and behavior of your customers.

Some effective segmentation topics are purchase history to retain or reactivate customers, localization for targeted promotions, and online behaviors to offer appropriate product recommendations.

Thoughtful segmentation turns every text into an opportunity to strengthen the relationship of trust with your customers.

Measure, test, optimize: the secret to effective SMS marketing

Text marketing, like any strategy, requires regular monitoring to maximize its effectiveness. Here are the key indicators to monitor:

1. Open rate: measure whether your messages capture attention as soon as they are received.
2. Click-through rate: evaluate the effectiveness of your calls to action (CTAs).
3. Conversion rate: check if your text messages generate concrete results (sales or registrations).
4. Unsubscribe rate: a high number may indicate excessive frequency or irrelevant content.

This data allows you to adjust your campaigns and maximize their performance over time.

Find the right pace for your texts: not too much, not too little

To avoid saturating your subscribers, spreading your text messages is essential. Sending text messages at a reasonable frequency, such as 1 to 4 per month, can maintain engagement without the risk of annoying your contacts.

The key lies in the diversity and relevance of the messages sent. Make sure every text message brings real value (exclusive offers, personalized reminders, or alerts about important events).

Keep in mind that the goal is to strengthen your customer relationship, without ever making the mistake of sending superfluously or intrusively.

Take action: integrate texts and boost your results

By integrating texts into your email strategy, you pave the way for more direct, effective, and above all, more engaging communication. This duo leverages the respective strengths of both channels to build a unique and seamless customer experience. Ready to take the plunge? Integrate text messages and transform each exchange into a unique opportunity to redefine your customer interactions for better results.

THE POWER OF UNIFIED EMAIL AND SMS MARKETING

These powerful marketing tools share one key trait: they work even better together.

To unlock the full potential of your email and SMS marketing, it’s essential to have both channels fueled by rich, Customer-First Data™—all in one place.

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