With an open rate of 95%, SMS is emerging as an effective marketing channel. Amidst pushy ads on every YouTube click, interrupting video ads on Instagram, and lengthy emails, customers are now more receptive to quick SMS communications. 

As the latest data suggests, 50% of consumers purchase a product because of a brand message they received via text or WhatsApp. SMS as a channel has a direct impact on revenue when utilized correctly. 

But how do you implement SMS marketing that brings maximum results? In this post, we will explore detailed steps, tips, strategies, and best practices. 

What is SMS Marketing for eCommerce? 

Before diving into the strategies, let's first understand what SMS marketing is for eCommerce businesses. 

SMS marketing for eCommerce is using text messages to communicate with customers, promote products, and build long-term brand loyalty. 

These messages could include promotions, order updates, complaint status, feedback, etc. It can cover the entire customer journey, from sign-up, promotions, purchases, repeat orders, and trying to win back a lost customer.  

5 Reasons to Use SMS as a Marketing Tool for eCommerce

The top five reasons to invest in SMS marketing are as follows:

1. Preferred channel of consumers

A new study reveals that 75% of U.S. consumers make purchases due to SMS messages from companies, and 60% expect to receive texts from brands at least weekly, highlighting the growing importance of SMS marketing.

In fact, consumers aged 25 to 54 prefer to communicate with brands via SMS over email. Based on evolving consumer preferences, investing in SMS marketing is definitely a wise choice. 

2. Fast communication

56% of people check email less than three times a day. On the other hand, people check their phones as much as 144 times a day. This behavior makes SMS a much faster and more intimate way to reach consumers.

3. Easy personalization

You can easily personalize SMS campaigns. It's also easy to segment users and run campaigns based on their demographics and order history. 

For instance, you can offer first-time coupons to new users, launch deals based on regional festivals, and give exclusive discounts to customers who have not ordered for a long time. 

4. Effective for mobile commerce

Consumers check phones frequently, so SMS campaigns are perfect for flash deals and limited-time offers for mobile commerce. You can easily use SMS for all the major functions of mobile commerce, such as: 

• Order updates
• Promotions
• Feedback collection
• Loyalty programs

5. Suitable for customer service

SMS is more than just a marketing channel. Considering its quintessential nature of short and real-time communication, it is highly effective for customer service. 

You can build SMS workflows to keep consumers updated on orders, refunds, returns, complaints, etc. SMS also allows two-way communication, so consumers can reply to messages for any follow-up action or feedback if required. 
How to Start Using SMS Marketing for eCommerce

If you want to start implementing SMS marketing for your eCommerce business, here are five steps to begin: 

1. Define your goals and budget

Before starting with SMS marketing, assess your requirements. A few parameters to check are:

• Number of users you expect to reach out to (Current and how much it can grow)
• In which geography your customers are based out, and you will be sending messages in that region
• Number of messages you estimate to send per month
• Budget for SMS marketing

It's not possible to set these parameters in stone in the beginning. Still, having some general idea or ballpark estimates will help you choose the right SMS marketing platform.  

2. Choose an SMS marketing platform

The next step is to choose an SMS marketing platform. 

SMS marketing software is a technology platform used to run automated SMS campaigns. Common features of SMS marketing platforms are:

• Maintaining SMS list
• Sending campaigns
• Conducting automated analysis of campaigns or tracking KPIs related to SMS
• Enabling two-way messaging to get replies

Key factors to check in an SMS marketing software are:

1. Does the pricing fit your budget, considering the number of consumers, expected size of campaigns, and target geography? 
2.  Is the software easy to use and has detailed documentation for initial implementation?
3. Does the software divide consumers into meaningful segments to run personalized campaigns? 
4. Can the software be integrated with your current tech stack?
5. Does the software company have an easily accessible customer support team?
6. Does the software have any dashboards to track all the critical KPIs?

You can check these factors to finalize an SMS marketing software. You'll also get a list of top SMS marketing software towards the end of this post. 

3. Grow your SMS list

After finalizing the SMS marketing software, you can now get your SMS list ready. For this, you can either persuade existing customers to join your SMS list or attract new users. A few strategies to grow the SMS list are:

• Offer discounts or coupons to incentivize users to join the SMS list
• Convert your existing email subscribers by sending out a campaign. You can also offer a discount in return for getting added to SMS lists
• Promote your SMS marketing list on social media (Youtube, Insta) in return for offers/exclusive deals/early access to products
• Add a sign-up form for the SMS list to your website
• Hold contests or giveaways that require participants to opt-in to your SMS list as part of the entry process

4. Design your first campaign

Once you have a full-blown SMS list, it's time to design your first campaign. It could be a welcome message, promotion, flash deal, etc. 

Tip: SMS marketing platforms provide ample templates. You can make use of any existing templates to design your first campaign. 

5. Assess and refine your campaigns

Success in SMS marketing (or any type of marketing) is all about continuously evolving. After rolling out campaigns, keep assessing how it's performing.

SMS marketing platforms provide dashboards that capture meaningful KPIs like SMS deliverability, click-through rate, etc. You can assess current campaigns and optimize future ones by tracking these KPIs.

7 SMS Marketing Strategies for eCommerce (With Examples)

1. Flash sales or limited-time offers

Flash sales are offers on products, usually lasting a few hours or days. It creates a sense of urgency in consumers, resulting in impulse buying. Also, it could be a good source of revenue generation in a short span of time. 

Example: Beyond the big end-of-season sales or festive offers, Amazon launches flash deals like summer offers, lasting only four hours. 

Ferns N Petals, a top gifting brand, ran Mother's Day deals for its customers. 

2. Cart abandonment reminders

Customers often leave products added to their carts, either because they have second thoughts or think that they will check them later. You can send a cart abandonment reminder to win back these lost customers. It could be a simple nudge or offers (like free shipping or discounts) to encourage customers to complete the purchase.  

Example: FirstCry, an online retailer, sends a cart abandonment reminder with a coupon code for a 10% discount for completing the order.

3. Order-fulfillment flow

What customers actually want to hear is their order status. 

Is it shipped?

Is it delayed?

Proactive communication on order status leaves a good impression on consumers. It shows that they trust their money with the right brand. To win this trust, you can design an SMS campaign for the entire order fulfillment flow.

You can design automated SMS workflows for all the below major stages of order fulfillment:

• Order confirmation
• Order shipping
• Order delivery updates
• Order feedback post-delivery

Example: Ajio, a fashion and lifestyle brand, keeps its customers posted on entire order progress via SMS.

4. Cross-sell and upsell

After a successful order, you can use SMS to upsell related to customers. It's important to understand the right time to send these messages. 

When the product just got delivered, and the customer hasn't even used it yet, your upsell message may sound pushy to get more money out of pocket. Design upsell or cross-sell campaigns to send out SMS, possibly a few days after consumers make a purchase. 

Example: PharmEasy, an online pharmacy brand, offers discounts on medical tests to customers who buy medicines via them. It's a relevant service for consumers and they can avail the offer for any follow-up tests. 

5. Holiday deals

You can use SMS to launch promotions around holidays like Christmas, New Year, Thanksgiving, Summer, etc. These are themed promotions around holidays offering products relevant to holidays. Holidays are good opportunities to reach consumers as they are generally in a mood to indulge and purchase around that time. 

Example: Pantaloons, a fashion retailer brand, ran summer holiday promotions. They promoted summer wear, perfect for a beach vacation, at a steal deal.  

6. Personalized offers

SMS marketing also facilitates easy personalization. You can segment customers based on location, order history, etc. And then give them personalized offers based on these details. 

Example: Myntra, a fashion eCommerce brand, gives exclusive offers to customers who haven't shopped in a while. 

7. Loyalty programs

Loyalty programs are a great way to retain existing customers and encourage repeat purchases. Usually, loyalty programs offer perks like:

• Priority access to products
• Perks/coupons for select products
• Free shipping
• Redeemable points on every purchase

How do you keep the customer posted on loyalty programs? SMS. You can send SMS to customers on their points, new launches, offers, etc.

Example: Myntra also offers loyalty programs to its customers. Loyal consumers receive SMS notifications about new launches and offers. 

7 Best Practices for Effective SMS Marketing for eCommerce Businesses

1. Keep up with the character limit

Keep your message crisp, considering the 160-character limit and the nature of the SMS. Consumers want to take a quick look at it. So, a short and crisp message garners more attention.

2. Use simple language

Keep the text as simple as possible so the reader doesn't have to re-read it (which they won't). Maintain a conversational tone to avoid losing the reader. 

3. Send messages at the right time

You don't want to be blocked by sending an SMS at 2 AM in the night. Identify the right time to send a message based on the receiver's time zone. 

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act allows marketers to send marketing messages in the US only between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM local time. You can also check around which time you have a maximum click-through rate. 

Tip: Plivo CX offers intuitive AI support to help you identify the right time to send messages.

4. Keep a clear call-to-action

Add a simple and clear call-to-action stating what action you expect from a consumer. For example, ‘Buy now’ and ‘Check here’ etc. 

5. Add an opt-out option

Include an opt-out option at the end of every message to avoid being reported as spam.

96% of consumers have felt annoyed at least occasionally by SMS marketing messages at some point in time. Also, 56% of respondents have reduced or stopped purchasing from a brand if they found their SMS annoying.

Sending SMS to consumers who don't want to receive them can directly hamper your business. 

6. Ensure compliance

Check for data, consumer, and privacy laws specific to your target country. Follow all the laws to avoid getting in hot waters with authority. 

DoorDash, a San Francisco-based company, got in trouble with Australian authorities. They were hit by a $2 million fine for large-scale bulk messaging and crossing the spam limit as per local laws.  

7. Maintain consistent brand messaging

When you add a new channel to your marketing ecosystem, it represents your brand. SMS does have limitations due to its character limit, but the messages should still reflect your brand image. 

Maintain a consistent brand voice across channels, including the newly launched SMS channel.

4 Best Tools to Automate SMS Marketing for eCommerce

Here are the four top SMS marketing platforms for eCommerce businesses: 

1. Plivo CX Engage

Plivo CX Engage is an omnichannel customer engagement platform that combines marketing and customer support. It allows you to run SMS, MMS, Email, and WhatsApp campaigns. The platform also offers OpenAI-powered chat.

• Launch targeted SMS campaigns: Craft personalized messages and reach the right audience segments for maximum impact
• Effortless WhatsApp marketing: Expand your reach with outbound WhatsApp campaigns, engaging customers on their preferred platform
• Unified CX platform: Seamlessly transition from marketing to customer service, providing a holistic experience for your customers
• Unrivaled reliability: Leverage Plivo's owned messaging network for guaranteed message delivery and exceptional reliability
• Global reach: Expand your brand's presence worldwide with Plivo's extensive global coverage

Moreover, Plivo CX Engage facilitates customer engagement with features like scheduled sending, a visual message composer, and OpenAI-powered copywriting assistance. You can also easily segment audiences using tags, ensure compliance with opt-out management and launch targeted campaigns to maximize ROI. Thus, you can confidently deliver personalized experiences while maintaining data security and privacy.

Features:

✅SMS campaigns

✅API support

✅Pre-defined templates

✅AI support

✅Integrations

✅Reporting

✅GDPR compliant

✅CCPA compliant

Pricing:

With Plivo CX (Engage), you get all the features you need for effective SMS marketing at a price that fits your business.

• Free plan: Get started with 300 SMS messages per month, perfect for testing and smaller campaigns
• Paid plans from $19/month: Scale your marketing efforts with plans offering 1500+ SMS messages per month
• Full-featured across all plans: Access all powerful Plivo CX Engage features, regardless of your chosen plan
• Flexible pricing: Choose the plan that aligns with your SMS volume needs and budget

Pros:

• Supports both marketing and customer functions
• Brings entire customer data into one platform
• Affordable pricing
• High deliverability rate as Plivo has its messaging network

Cons:

• Currently works for Shopify eCommerce brands only

2. Omnisend

Omnisend is an omnichannel marketing automation platform for eCommerce businesses. It is a marketing automation solution supporting SMS, WhatsApp, push notifications, segmentation, and dynamic Facebook and Google ad integrations.

Features:

✅SMS campaigns

✅Email campaigns

✅Push notifications

✅Facebook ads

✅Google ads

✅API support

✅Pre-defined templates

✅AI support

✅Integrations

✅Reporting

✅TCPA compliant

✅GDPR compliant

✅CCPA compliant

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month - Perfect for trying out the platform.
• Standard: Starts at $16/month - Ideal for growing businesses focused on email
• Pro: Starts at $59/month - Best for high-volume senders using email and SMS

Pros:

• Excellent customer support
• Fully integrated with all major eCommerce platforms. No third-party connectors required
• Easy to use

Cons:

• Omnisend's reliance on a third-party SMS provider means they have no control over message delivery, geographic reach, or deliverability optimization, leaving customers with no accountability for ensuring successful text message campaigns
• Limited pre-defined templates
• Slight learning curve

3. Klaviyo

Klaviyo is a popular marketing automation platform working with leading eCommerce businesses. It stands out for its advanced features, such as smart segmentation, omnichannel support, 250+ integrations, and more.

Features

✅SMS campaigns

✅Email campaigns

✅Push notifications

✅API support

✅Pre-defined templates

✅AI support

✅Integrations

✅Reporting

✅GDPR compliant

✅CCPA compliant

Pricing:

• Free: $0/month - For trying out the platform with up to 500 contacts and 500 email sends per month.
• Email: Starts at $45/month - For businesses focused on email marketing, with tiered pricing based on the number of active profiles and email sends.
• Email & SMS: Starts at $60/month - For businesses using both email and SMS, with tiered pricing based on the number of active profiles and email sends, plus additional costs for SMS/MMS credits.

Pros:

• Extensive features and integrations 

Cons:

• Implementing these advanced features requires the expertise of an agency
• Expensive for small and mid-size companies
• Users often complain of slowness in the platform

4. Sendlane

Sendlane is a unified marketing platform supporting email, SMS, reviews, and forms. It offers advanced features such as automation workflows, behavioral tracking, real-time analytics, and deep-data integration. 

Features

✅SMS campaigns

✅Email campaigns

✅Reviews

✅Forms

✅API support

✅Pre-defined templates

✅AI support

✅Integrations

✅Reporting

✅Real-time analytics

✅GDPR compliant

✅CCPA compliant

Pricing:

• Pricing: Starts at $0.00615 per SMS credit (includes estimated carrier fees of $0.00285)
• Minimum Purchase: 2,500 SMS credits (recommended for up to 1,250 contacts)

Add-Ons:

• Additional SMS Credits: Available in various packages (250 credits for $6.25, 500 credits for $11, etc.)
• Monthly Activation Fee: $10 for phone number and module activation

Pros:

• Excellent customer support
• Good email deliverability

Cons:

• Expensive for small and mid-size companies

Kick-start Your SMS Journey With Plivo CX Engage

With API support, AI features, ample integrations, reporting, and pre-defined templates, Plivo CX Engage has all the must-have features to kick-start your SMS journey. The best part is that it is also an affordable solution. You can send a text message in the US for as little as $0.0095. 

Beyond marketing, you can also use Plivo for customer support. Get in touch with our team to design the most cost-effective SMS campaigns.

Schedule a demo today!