Ecommerce is growing fast – particularly mobile commerce (or mCommerce). 

While email marketing has been the key to marketing strategies for years, SMS marketing is quickly gaining prominence.

Why? For starters, traditional digital platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Google are entirely oversaturated. SMS, on the other hand, is still in its early days as a marketing channel, with only 39% of businesses utilising SMS in marketing strategy. 

But most importantly, mobile phones have become the go-to preferred online channel for people everywhere (most notably, 78% of Gen Z). In other words, that little computer that’s become an indisposable part of our lives – that’s where we need to focus our attention as marketers.

There are more people who own a mobile phone than a toothbrush. Let that sink in.

With mobile phones now considered an extension of self, implementing SMS marketing for your business has never been more important. According to Shopify, text messages have a 98% open rate. So including SMS in your marketing strategy is a guaranteed way to meet your customers on their preferred channel and increase your sales.

Taking it one step further, Yotpo SMSBump has created a Click-To-Buy feature that aims to turn SMS marketing strategy into a seamless shopping experience. 

So, what’s it all mean? In this article, we’ll take you through Click-to-Buy and SMS marketing so that you can update your marketing strategy for a new eCommerce era. 

What is Click-To-Buy SMS?

This feature is all about removing tedious steps from the consumer’s path to purchase. With Click-to-Buy, brands can guide mobile customers from product discovery to purchase in seconds. All customers have to do is click on the link and reach the mobile checkout.

In essence, customers can purchase their favourite products as quickly as it takes to respond to a text, expediting the path to purchase and creating the seamless shopping journey that mobile consumers demand. 

It’s had some major results, too – brands using the Click-to-Buy beta feature saw up to 20 x ROI.

With new features like this, you’re probably wondering whether you should stay with the tried-and-true email marketing strategy you’ve been using or if you should convert to SMS?

Short answer? No. Email and SMS marketing strategies complement each other perfectly, producing a highly effective two-punch marketing message your customers can’t ignore.

In fact, merchants using two or more Yotpo products have seen their eCommerce sales grow 54% faster than those using one. 

 How Can You Start Using SMS Marketing?

With features like Click-to-Buy on the horizon, it’s clear that using SMS in your marketing strategy is vital – the proof is in the pudding. But how can you actually implement it to boost conversion and engagement?

What you need are some SMS marketing tools to reach customers on their preferred channels. Here are a few we recommend:

Loyalty really is the holy grail of eCommerce, so how can you use SMS marketing strategies to connect with your customer base in a 1:1 way?

By making sure your SMS subscribers get first access to sales, of course! Because nothing says personalisation like access to sale products before everyone else.

Sales are all about urgency and immediacy. You know what else is all about urgency and immediacy? Text messages. They’re delivered and read quickly, so they’re the perfect medium for announcing time-sensitive sales. 

A good SMS sale strategy needs to foster a sense of urgency and have a clear path to participation, so make sure you use clear, concise language and include a direct link to your website so customers can view all your sales products in one place. 

Inventory issues are all too common in eCommerce businesses, especially considering post-pandemic supply chain hurdles. 

But lack of inventory doesn’t just cause lost sales. It also negatively impacts customer satisfaction and loyalty. 

With SMS marketing, you can notify customers as soon as products are restocked so they can buy them before they sell out again. 

The result?

You recapture lost revenue and rebuild customer loyalty.

What’s the #1 thing customers want from you after they’ve made their payment? Their product, of course. That means the best thing businesses can do for their customers is to give them regular shipping updates.

With SMS marketing, customers no longer have to dig through their overflowing emails to keep up-to-date with their purchases. 

Instead, they can follow the ETA of their items directly from their phones. 

Just under 70% of eCommerce shopping carts get abandoned. That’s a whole lot of potential revenue that slips through your fingers!

Here’s the kicker, though: SMS marketing can help recover that lost revenue for you. 

How?

Automate a cart recovery text message to trigger within an hour of a shopper abandoning a cart. With people far more likely to check their texts instead of their email inboxes, an SMS has the ability to drive an immediate response. 

Any eCommerce business knows the importance of customer feedback – it’s a critical factor in building brand trust and loyalty. 

With SMS marketing, you can maximise your customer reviews by reaching customers directly where they’re most active – their phones. In fact, Yotpo found that SMS reviews have a 66% higher conversion rate than email reviews. 

Still Not Convinced?

Introducing SMS to your marketing strategy can also be good for your budget. 

Unlike social media or email marketing, SMS marketing campaigns are typically short, concise, and snappy. So, they don’t require the creative assets you typically need for digital marketing. 

What does that mean for you? Better engagement from customers and a cut down on your design budget. 

Plus, eCommerce marketing platforms like Klaviyo and Yotopo offer free trials and no lock-in contracts. That means you can test how effective SMS marketing could be for your business without a long-term commitment.   

Want to learn more?

SMS marketing has changed the way eCommerce businesses reach consumers today. Wondering how you can take advantage of SMS marketing to maximise engagement and increase revenue? Give us a call today and claim your FREE strategy session worth $1200. 

NEXT ARTICLE: Why Email Marketing is More Important in 2022 Than Ever Before (5 Reasons)