10 Ideas to Sell Online with Text Message to Customers

You are about to learn new innovative ideas to sell online with text message. 

Whether you only market online but fulfill offline or you sell online and deliver physically, there is a big gap you can fill at the top funnel of your consumer journey using text messages. 

Selling with text messages, or SMS marketing, seems not to be the real deal anymore since digital channels like social media and Google Ads got very popular in Nigeria.

However, the truth hidden to many is that the target segment that you can engage, onboard and retain with text messages is still very much viable. 

Who are target segment for sms marketing?

Non Internet Inclined Youths and Parents

Folks who are neither active on WhatsApp nor frequent the Internet. Except you use radio or TV shows that these target segments passionately follow, you may completely miss out on them.

These target segment cuts across age, location and social class. If you have met a teenager who doesn’t have a single active social media account, you will appreciate the fact that not all teens that SnapChat can capture. 

Senior Citizens Who Trust Only Traditional Media

Another target segment you can reach via text message are the senior citizens who ONLY believe what TV or radio say. These Nigerians do not only follow happenings across TV and radio channels, they wait on them to validate whatever they hear from other sources. 

For these set of people, you will need text messages to follow up with them. The difference is what you sell and how you intend to sell online with text message. 

Business Objectives to Achieve with Text Message?

Like every other channel in digital marketing, you need a well defined strategy in order to successfully sell online with text message. Below are some business objectives you can set out to achieve with SMS marketing:

Awareness

You can create massive awareness about your business, product or services with text message so far you can across to the right audience.

Engagement

You can keep existing customers engaged in order to bring about repeat sales if you can come up relevant topic ideas as well as the best time to share them.

Something as simple as reaching out to a new customer for feedback on the product and buying experience can make a customer come back to buy from you. 

Sales

With the aid of personalized text message from platform like sendbulksmsnow, you can nurture prospects till they buy from you. People feel special when marketing messages address them personal.

This is a sweet spot you can hit over and over if you know how to send text message that emotionally resonate with prospects. 

Advocacy

You can seek to improve customer advocacy or loyalty by consistently sending text messages to catch up with existing customers. You can also give reason to talk about you online, depending on content you share and your approach to it.

Ideas to Sell Online with Text Message?

Brand Activation

For launching new product or relaunch of a product that has been in the market has experienced significant changes in branding or packaging, you can reach out to your existing customers or entirely new market using text message. 

The goal of campaign like this is to emphasize what is new and how to identify it when they see it. So keep your messages short, simple and straight to the point (KISS)!

Re-branding

Whether you recently changed your logo or any obvious element of your brand identity, even when you relocate to a new office, it is important you communicate it to at least customers who are already used to what you have changed. 

USSD Campaign

USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a global technology that lets customers send messages to an application that processes information they send.

As SMS allows people to send message from one phone to another, USSD let customers interact with an application on the other end. 

You know the voting system in Big Brother Naija or viewers answering Who Wants to be A Millionaire questions from home? 

You can do the same. Let’s say you sponsor an event, you can create a USSD code to create engagement among target audience. 

Sales Promotion 

When you have incentives, discounts and special deals on certain items, don’t let it be only for customers who want to buy at that time, you can sell online with text message by letting more people know about the offers. 

The reason some people buy actually is some form of bargain or reduction in price to show they actually have a stake in their buying decision. Informing as many customers as possible of this promo sales will help you sell more.

Flash Sales

Flash sales looks like promo sales mentioned earlier. Right? But, it is different in the sense that flash sales only last for a short period, offers limited editions or something that is not usually available. 

For instance you offer a limited edition of an item or make a very special order you created for the sole purpose of the flash sales  available for a day. You can also start sending text messages about what is coming up on that date without spilling the beans. 

Flash sales works best when it is built around scarcity, exclusivity and timeliness. Use text messaging to create all the needed buzz in order to raise curiosity. 

Customer Re-engagement

Depending on the nature of your business, you will set the period of inactivity that makes an existing passive. When this period elapses, don’t hesitate to reach out to them. 

You can offer a bonus or discount which inactive customers must redeem within a certain number of days (let’s say 3 to 7 days based on how juicy the offer is). 

Referral Program

One of the fastest ways to grow a business is customers bringing in new customers based on testimonials. 

With an attractive referral program that is promoted consistently via text message you, can remind customers why they need to refer others to your business at least once every two weeks. 

Loyalty Program

Loyalty program can help you not to only sell online with text message, but also increase engagement with customers. 

Three out of the stores I frequently go to buy things have loyalty programs. Only one of them regularly send me text messages reminding me of my accumulated loyalty points as well as things I could buy at highly discounted rates if I choose to use my loyalty points. 

This is an effective strategy to keep top of mind awareness unlike two other stores who tell me of my loyalty points only when I’m about paying for stuff I just bought.

Don’t just create a loyalty program, use text messages to keep customers in the loop. 

Strategic Placing of Promo Codes or Voucher

Beyond announcing promo sales with text message, you can create a campaign whereby certain promo codes or lucky numbers are placed at strategic locations. 

Customers will be given hints on these codes, where and how to find them. After locating these codes, customers send them via SMS to win prizes. This can be easily go viral depending on the response you get from customers. 

Airtime Competition

Airtime competition is common on social media these days. Many celebrities, influencers and businesses have used this approach to grow followership. This can also be used to encourage to interact with you via SMS. 

For instance, you send trivia questions or puzzle and participants are asked to send their answers via text message to a dedicated number. The essence of recommending text message here is the personal touch it adds to it. 

If you run a giveaway campaign, try to involve text messaging in the participation process to see how personal it can get.