What will Christmas spending be like this year?
This year will be particularly difficult for many consumers due to the cost of living crisis. What does this mean for retailers? Well, two things:
- Christmas gift buying will start earlier to allow people to spread the cost.
- The quantity of gifts will be much more important than the quality. More for less will be a priority.
Why SMS marketing campaigns will be your shopping saviour
Heading into the Christmas holidays your target audience will be exposed to many different marketing strategies. The average person is now estimated to encounter between 6,000 to 10,000 ads every single day through a variety of different channels. We found this figure to be astounding and couldn’t see how it was even possible but, it’s also set to rise over the coming years.
What does this mean for marketers?
It means that customers are becoming overloaded and probably zoning out of most of what they are seeing. One huge plus point for SMS marketing is that it’s subscriber-based, so consumers have to opt-in to receive your text messages. This confirms interest in your brand and means that you won’t be marketing to people who don’t want to hear from you.
One of the other great benefits is the 98% open rate. SMS messages are read within minutes making them the most successful way to communicate directly with customers. Email marketing has only a 22% open rate possible due to the excess number of emails the average person receives daily. However, you should still be using both these channels to see optimum results.
SMS marketing messages are instant and can reach the recipient wherever they are. The festive period can be a chaotic time for many consumers so having the convenience of receiving offers and Christmas gift ideas via text is very appealing to many.
Our guide to your perfect Christmas sms marketing campaign
There are many ways to engage your audience with your Christmas sales. We have outlined some guidelines for creating festive SMS marketing campaigns to get your started:
Grow your subscriber list
The run-up to Christmas sales is a great time to boost your customer database. To get your SMS marketing program initiated, you will need to put your efforts into customer data collection. It won’t be difficult at this time of year to find consumers who are on the hunt for Christmas gifts and more importantly, people who are looking for a bargain. Encourage customers to join your subscriber list by letting them know how they can benefit.
Take a multimedia approach to showcase the benefits of being a subscriber. Reach customers via your website, social media, print marketing campaigns, and email channels and invite them to sign-up to receive your SMS. Customers are particularly drawn in by:
- Competitions
- Introductory discounts
- A free gift
- Exclusive deals
- Special access and privileges
- Loyalty programmes
When creating your content for your SMS marketing messages remember that your subscribers can also opt-out so make sure it’s relevant and worth sticking around for. Check out some of our free articles, How To Grow your Database and The Crawl, Walk, Run Approach to becoming Successful in SMS marketing. Not only do we want to show you how to reach new subscribers, but also to be able to enhance your level of engagement with them.
Pre-Christmas sale
You may have stock left over from Black Friday or the summer season that you need to clear out before restocking for Christmas. Once you have grown your subscriber list, direct them to your pre-Christmas sale. This is a great start to your Christmas series because many customers are looking for bargains to help their Christmas spending go further this year. The pre-Christmas sales are the last chance customers will get to shop for sale items before the big day and will hopefully be able to get some of their gifts early doors.
Follow your theme
If you have a Christmas theme for your marketing program this year, then stick with it across your media channels. Keep a continuity that will make your brand instantly recognisable. For example, if you are using a Christmas character, maybe you could sign off your messages from the character. Or, if you have been promoting a particular deal or product on your other channels, reinforce it and remind customers by following it up with a text message.
Add a link to your SMS messages to take your recipients straight to the Christmas action.
Send out your gift guide
Traditionally retailers sent out gift guide brochures by snail mail or had them available to pick up in-store. To reduce our carbon footprint many catalogues and brochures have gone digital.
Consumers will be exposed to a wide range of Christmas gift guides online through social media and email. Many will be scrolled past and ignored. Send a link to your Christmas gift guide as part of your SMS campaign. Get people thinking about what they want to buy this year and budgeting in advance. Some retailers add release dates for their Christmas products, which is a great reason to contact your subscribers via SMS more often to remind them of launch dates.
Communicate your festive schedule
Most consumers want to get organised for Christmas and plan their gift-buying. Those who are a bit more last minute can be encouraged by the brands they love. Let your subscribers know your schedule. Send SMS messages containing important information such as:
- When your Christmas collection is likely to drop
- Opening hours for bricks-and-mortar-stores
- last delivery dates
- Returns policy for gifts
Start your SMS Christmas Countdown
A really popular way to engage consumers with Christmas spending is to use a countdown to Christmas. The 12 days of Christmas theme lends itself perfectly to SMS messaging.
Introduce your “12 days of Christmas SMS extravaganza” to your subscribers ahead of the day and let them know what treats and goodies they can expect to receive. Include:
- Flash sales
- Free gift with purchases
- Free delivery
- Discounts and deals
- Early access to newly launched products
- Extra loyalty points
Another great tip for countdown success is to use an SMS Christmas competition campaign. At Christmas time, competitions are really popular as people try to win some of their gifts. Take the opportunity to send a daily competition link to win products from your gift guide.
Show gratitude
As the rush of Christmas comes to pass, schedule a yuletide message for your subscribers around the Christmas holiday season. Wish them a Merry Christmas and thank them for their support. Maybe include a voucher to be used in the coming year.
SMS messages like this show the human side of your brand and help to build a relationship and customer loyalty.
After Christmas
After the festive rush comes the Boxing Day and January sales. Fortunately, your SMS marketing campaign was so good this year that you have a healthy database already at your disposal. You know that your subscribers want to hear from you so they can be the first to hear about your sales, news, and New year product launches.
Start your holiday campaign with TextAnywhere
With TextAnywhere, you can send SMS marketing in Bulk to anybody, anywhere, and across all networks. You can manage your data list with personalisations, segment your audience, and track the progress of your campaign. Simply start your free trial today!