Have you been facing challenges with making your texts more personalized and less bland conversational? Don’t let the customers feel detached resulting in your SMS campaigns being neglected. This guide uncovers techniques you’ll need to optimize your SMS marketing campaigns thoroughly with 100% success.

2. SMS marketing as we all know is an abbreviation for “short
message service.” Also known as SMS marketing, brands use it to
connect with their customers.
SMS messaging is still one of the most-loved features of
smartphones, quick and easy. It is also one of the most engaging
when it comes to interacting with customers because smartphones
are omnipresent. Despite showy app developments in the market
and advanced features, SMS technology has endured.
SMS marketing is great for three main things:
• Boosting brand awareness,
• Creating engagement from customers,
• Trigger more sales.
As an unusual and underused channel, SMS marketing offers
eCommerce marketers a unique opportunity to build a relationship
with their customers.
SMS marketing strategy along with the right tools and just the right
strategy, any business can implement a similarly powerful text
marketing strategy. Getting the customer till your store is one thing
but keeping them is altogether a task and that too the hardest one
and while technological advancements are quick with their
advancements.

3. Most of them still have a long way ahead of them before they can
provide a one-stop solution. Hence, you need a solution that
delivers what it promises whether it’s a good ROI or keeping things
simple for you.
The uses of SMS marketing in eCommerce are no longer
constricted to just normal product announcements or order
confirmations however those are equally important. SMS
marketing campaigns are now used to improve the fostering
relationship between the customer and the brand.
And with that, SMS marketing has an impressive 98% open rate2
,
compared to 19% open rates1
achieved by email campaigns for
retail businesses. SMS can be differentiated from email in the
sense that text messages are very short, with a word limit of 160
characters and more immediate delivery.
SMS marketing uses the same workflow as email marketing, only
instead of sending your customers an email, you send a text
message with a character limit. Well, that’s the whole point, you
want the customer to read the precise information without having
to go through their noisy email inbox.
99%
Open rates for text
messages
+30%
CTR - Click Through
Rate
25X
ROI - Return on
Investment
1
MailChimp, Average Email Campaign Stats of MailChimp Customers by Industry, 2018
2
MobileSquared, Conversational Advertising, 2010
3
Wigzo Internal Data
2 3
3

4. Why Use SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing may work well during high-volume events, like the
holiday season and special occasions but what about all around
the year? As we have known email to be the king of marketing, all
thanks to the phenomenal ROI it brings along. But, ever since SMS
marketing came into the big scene and created a niche for itself
where the businesses can directly connect with the customers.
Having said that we wouldn’t say that email marketing is a fad, it is
very much in use still everywhere but, the high speed and flex of the
SMS are creating the renaissance for the tool.
As a standalone channel, SMS marketing has robust benefits. Wide
dispersion and great usability are only a few of them. What are
some other advantages and how can businesses benefit from
integrating SMS with other marketing channels?

5. Advantages Of Using SMS Marketing
There are a few characteristics of SMS marketing that give brands
who use it correctly a competitive edge over others and helps in
standing out:
SMS is quick
SMS campaigns are received instantly, and most importantly,
they’re read almost immediately considering the users have the
phones next to them 24*7.
SMS have higher open rates than email
Where customers have to look through their inbox for email
messages, SMS gives you an immediate notification on your
phones. The customer would any day use SMS as their first
preference. Also because the notification stays in place until the
message is read by the recipient. This means that a customer is
more likely to at least open your SMS and go through it once.
SMS gets a higher engagement rate
Not only is the SMS usually read even before it’s opened as the
notification keeps flashing on the screen as soon as you receive
one. What’s more? SMS aren’t just opened more frequently, they
also earn more clicks over an email.

6. Doesn’t cost your customer anything
One of the biggest advantages of SMS marketing is its a
cost-effective way of engaging with customers. It is extremely
affordable for small businesses.
Fresh & Untapped
While many eCommerce sites are really hitting it with text
marketing, it still hasn’t hit the masses. Many people still haven’t
even considered it. This offers you an edge over many
competitors who likely haven’t taken SMS marketing too seriously
yet! Many brands are aware that texting is a quick way to reach
their customers, but they’re still figuring out how to best utilize it
for their company’s specific needs. By starting SMS marketing
early, you’ll have more time to learn what works for you and see
results for the undeniable ROI.
Easily Trackable
Examining SMS marketing campaigns can be tracked in a similar
way you track your Google Adwords or Facebook campaigns. You
can get analytical insights about what works and what does not.
Your conversion rates will rule what you do next.

7. Engagement Rates
Considering how the masses, especially the Millenials open their
phones as soon as they open their eyes in the morning the
engagement rates are bound to be high. Talk about the
click-through rates or the open rates, they soar higher than the
email any day given the convenience factor. The stats show that
all engagement over text messages happens within the first 5
minutes.
Let me draw some comparisons here; The average click-through
rate for an SMS marketing campaign is around 36%. Compare that
to email click-through rates and it falls to the floor at just above
3%. That is insane!
Fast & Easy To Personalize
Extending a personalized gesture of addressing a customer by
their first name on SMS can boost your response rates by making
the customer feel valued. Another great thing is that they have
super fast transmission.

8. Rise of SMS Marketing
& an Omnichannel
Experience
The ability to touch and try on a product before
purchase is less and less of a concern. Instead,
brand coverage, social media presence, and
overall lifestyle affinity win Gen Z from their
one-click purchase on Amazon or through the
newest drop app.

9. Rise of SMS Marketing
In the early 2010s, marketers were forecasting expenditure on
mobile advertising for the upcoming decade. Funds allocated to
SMS campaigns were so minor that they were almost invisible
compared to display, search, and other mobile marketing
channels.
Once, Stephen King said: “Sooner or later, everything old is new
again.” Ten years ago, no one could even imagine that this would
happen to SMS text messages and that they would bring such
stunning results. Bear in mind that text messaging has some of
the highest reach as a marketing channel around the world with
more than 5 billion daily users. SMS marketing has been
underestimated for a long time without a reason.
So what has changed over the last decade?
Several favorable circumstances helped text messaging to rise:
Instant messaging and chatbots have fostered the texting culture
Years ago, the primary channel for companies to communicate
with their customers was email. That has now changed, and
customers are eager to receive marketing messages and interact
with brands instantly via more personal channels like chatbots,
messengers, and SMS.

10. With chatbots, we do not mean that you will soon be having
meaningful conversations with your Roomba, but rather that, when
you’re using Facebook Messenger or any other chat service, you
might end up talking to a robot instead of a real person.
The robot on the other end of your chat conversation will not be a
machine that comes right out of a Jetsons cartoon though. It is
essentially a resourceful computer that will gradually become
smarter and smarter due to the current AI (artificial intelligence)
revolution. Eventually, chatbots will be so sophisticated and smart
that you never actually know if you are talking, or, in this case,
chatting to a human or a computer. For some, this might feel like a
creepy development, and for others, chatbots will be a great help
when it comes to solving their problems and answering their
questions. We leave it up to you to decide what you think of this
development.
The rise of the omnichannel experience
The ability to touch and try on a product before purchase is less
and less of a concern. Instead, brand coverage, social media
presence, and overall lifestyle affinity win Gen Z from their
one-click purchase on Amazon or through the newest drop app.
Customers navigate among different media while searching for
information, buying products, reach out to customer service and
finally use brick-and-mortar self-service to pick up what they’ve
acquired online.

11. They expect a highly personalized, seamless customer experience
while interacting with a brand. That’s the reason they are so ready
to share personal data, like their phone number, to engage with
brands.
The ability to touch and try on a product before purchase is less
and less of a concern. Instead, brand coverage, social media
presence, and overall lifestyle affinity win Gen Z from their
one-click purchase on Amazon or through the newest drop app.
Customers navigate among different media while searching for
information, buying products, reach out to customer service and
finally use brick-and-mortar self-service to pick up what they’ve
acquired online. They expect a highly personalized, seamless
customer experience while interacting with a brand. That’s the
reason they are so ready to share personal data, like their phone
number, to engage with brands.
Customers no longer respond to generic bulk messages
Unlike a decade ago, they now expect personalized offers, and
brands are looking for ways to provide them. In this context, SMS
becomes a perfect fit to address customers’ needs and valuable
addition to your overall marketing toolkit.
SMS marketing is a powerful and affordable tool to get things in
motion and there are a few things to keep in mind before you get
started.

12. It’s not just about
selling anymore;
it’s about building
a place for your
customers to return
to, again and again.

13. Decide On Your Goals
It’s always a good idea to take baby steps when starting with
something new in order to understand the challenges you might
be facing in the beginning. Start small and simple. Don’t set too
many targets at once and try to run after too many objectives at
the initial stage of your SMS marketing campaign.
Now, your goal could be anything, just set an eye on one for
starters. Be it the number of subscribers you want to target or you
want to run a campaign for a specific product in order to drive
more sales for it. Whatever your goal is just to stay focused.

14. Service Updates
Each message brings value—especially if you’re including links
with delivery status updates and since it is increasingly trending
for large shipment and delivery companies to offer a
complimentary SMS update to the customers expecting their
parcel. This use of SMS improves the customer experience to a
great extent as it conveniently alerts them of the exact time slot
they need to be available at.
This could also be used in cases where your store has a new
product just launched. Keep your customers informed with an
SMS update
Have A Clear Call To Action (CTA)
SMS campaigns require powerful, concise messages with a call to
action, that you want your customers to take. It allows you to
measure the success of your targeting when the customer goes
ahead in the exact workflow as you decided for them.
Provide Customer Support
Businesses do not always have the time to respond to messages
that customers send. However, it would be bad practice and
offensive to ignore their attempts to reach out to you in case they
have doubts. For this reason, Automated Acknowledgment
Messages are crucial. This type of automation involves setting up
a customer service channel that requires minimal input from the

15. company’s side. The SMS platform responds automatically based
on keywords it detects in the customer’s message.
Abandoned Cart Reminders
A simple SMS works like magic for abandoned shopping cart
recoveries. Some people don’t really abandon carts deliberately.
They may have been distracted while shopping and forgot to
complete their purchase. In this case, you just need to nudge them
with a gentle reminder about their purchase. If your eCommerce
strategy provides this phenomenon wherein you can identify
abandoned carts, you can set up text message alerts then, it will
work wonders. If your game is on point, you’ll already be doing this
via email. However, sending a personalized text reminding them to
pick up where they left off is more powerful. If you do this, make
sure you give them a direct link to their cart so they don’t have to
hover on the complete website to continue down the funnel.
Ask For Feedback & Purchase Reviews
In case you are actually wanting to better your customer
experience whether in-store or online, then SMS review or
feedback polls make a brilliant deal. It is a popular practice for
companies to text customers after they have made a purchase, or
if they called a customer service line or received delivery in order
to rate their experience about the quality of service being
provided. This is done by replying to a text with the relevant

16. number on a scale of 1 to 5. This information is extremely
valuable and can give you a real insight into the necessary
improvements required at your end to take your brand to the
soaring heights.
You can also send out a poll to customers or maybe a short
survey asking them what they think about your most recent
product launch, brand redesign or anything else you feel that
would help you with customer engagement and acquisition or
retention for that matter. Remember that it should include
everything from how convenient it was to navigate through your
site, to your product availability, and ease of check out. Once a
person has elected to receive texts from you, it’d be a good idea to
set up an SMS survey to auto-drip out 10 to 20 minutes after
they’ve completed their purchase. This gives them some
“relaxation” and doesn’t make them feel “plagued”. Be sure to keep
your survey BRIEF, yes that’s what is vital here else it will just not
interest the client contextually. Additionally, you may want to focus
on rewarding each person for taking your survey to boost
participation.
Send Personalized Rewards & Messages
Just because you’re using an automated marketing tool to send
your messages to your customers doesn’t mean you can’t make
the experience PERSONAL. A Salesforce study found customers
were happy to share more personal data in exchange for

17. personalized offers. One simple way to achieve this with
automated technology is to send them birthday wishes along with
a special reward. The beauty of fetching data about your
customers when they checkout, is how using that information can
help you personalize your text messages, which definitely results
in higher engagement rates alone.
Send your customers personalized birthday gifts, such as
discounts coupons on their favorite products. Nothing more says
you’re paying attention and making the whole experience for them
a great deal. Tailor-made coupons make your customers feel like a
million bucks and add value every time.
Add Promos
Marketing your business no matter how big or small, can be tough
in the competitive and ever-growing eCommerce world, but
automated marketing with bulk SMS continues to crush other
channels. A benefit of automated marketing is that you can
quickly share real-time promotions. You can even make your
group message personalized with group merge messaging. It’s
pretty straight forward too. You’re simply doing a text blast to your
subscriber list with some type of offer that drives people to your
website eventually. Some use cases would be – get creative and
draw from special events like holidays and big shopping days like
Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

18. People love being the first ones in the row and know about
discounts on products they love. SMS marketing is a great way to
grow your eCommerce business by giving you the opportunity to
notify VIPs about your promotions.
Direct Customers With Links
In order to increase your store sales, you need to provide your
subscribers with a link to your product in your SMS message. This
will increase the chances of conversions because subscribers
don’t have to go to your entire website to look for the product.
Click-through rates on texts are around 50% and so it is also a
great way to keep their interest. You can provide a direct link to the
product or product category that you’re looking to push. Because
you want to make things as easy as possible for your customers
and not hard. Take that load of site navigation out and send them
directly to where they need to be.

19. Text Messaging For Your Existing Marketing Strategy
While SMS isn’t a new platform, it’s something that marketers are
only now beginning to use effectively and in a refined manner.
While there’s a bit more learning on that front than the best
practices already carved out for email marketing, you don’t have a
large brink for error.
Given the juxtaposition of SMS for customers, it’s important to get
it right in the first go itself.
So, here’s what you need to do -
#1. Get Permission
Just like email marketing, it’s important to get permission from
your customer for SMS marketing too. This is a simple practice as
you can add the option of including a name, phone number or
other details like emails in the form that you need to fetch in your
newsletter subscription field.
However, start off by giving full disclosure to your customer: tell
them what kind of text messages they should expect to receive
from you further on.
Secondly, don’t misuse the permission granted to you. SMS is
intimate, immediate, and unconcealed in getting your customer’s
attention. Use your SMS marketing campaigns for critical
information. Overusing this channel or abusing it by any means is
the fastest way to kill it for your customers in no time.
Also, offer the customers an option to opt-out with every

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21. message. Just like email, you also need to make sure you give
customers an unsubscribe link or a number they can text “STOP”
to just in case they can’t relate with your brand at all and they need
to unsubscribe from the service.
#2. Use an SMS Marketing Tool
SMS marketing can make you all excited, but before you blast out
your phone and start sending manual messages to your
customers, know that you should really be using an SMS platform
for this.
A great SMS marketing tool can help you nail your strategy in
several ways:
● You’ll be able to automate your SMS marketing easily and
send bulk messages at once.
● Certain SMS marketing tools will help you with an option
to incorporate SMS directly to your email automation
workflows.
● SMS campaigns can be triggered the same way emails
are, with the same level of segmentation that allows you to
target your campaigns.
● If you don’t have SMS permission, you can trade another
channel so your customer still gets the message you want
to send them.
An SMS marketing tool will also give you an insight into important
metrics so you can see exactly how much your campaigns are
making an impact. And with that data, you can adjust your

22. campaigns to try different tactics to get the highest ROI possible.
#3. Incorporate Rich Media into Your Campaigns
Mobile messaging includes more than just plain text. It’s now
possible to get the engagement rates of text messaging soaring
while providing customers with the experience of an app.
Rich media messages (RMM) can also be used to share
appointment scheduling and payment processing.
Improve the customer experience and engagement, click-through
rate by sending media like video, images, GIFs, via mobile
messaging. Rich media allows for more flexibility in the types of
messages sent.
● Stores can send product images or coupon GIFs.
● Stores can send out delivery notifications.
● Stores can send abandoned cart reminders to the users.
● Utility companies can send bill payment reminders and
late payment notices.
● Banks can send payment reminders that link directly to a
payment gateway.
● Businesses can send interactive surveys.
#4. Keep it Short, Sweet, and to the Point
Not only should you keep your SMS campaigns numbered, but
limits on characters are way too critical and of great importance
for your campaigns to run smoothly and successfully. Your

23. customers’ attention span means that you need to get to the point
quickly.
If you have an offer, if your message has important information
about their order, include it in the message. Make it a regular
practice to always include a link so the customers can get more
detailed information about the offer/update you’ve sent.
Another great practice is to follow up with an email. If you’ve sent
something important, make sure you’re sending a follow-up e-mail
as well in case the customer needs any help.
#5. Personalize
While the objective is to make sure your SMS campaigns are
relatable enough, it’s even better when they’re personalized. As
mentioned earlier that a great SMS marketing tool will certainly
allow you to use segmentation for your SMS campaigns. If you
can target them the way you do your emails, you already are
ahead of your competitors without a doubt.
Always maintain the closeness with your customer by using their
first name, or personalizing your messages. Send offers that are
relevant based on location, or previous purchase behavior. This
helps build and maintain the relationship and helps you retain so
many of your lost customers as well.
#6. Experiment with Timed Delivery
Even though your customers have their phones next to them

24. nearly 24/7, trust me, they don’t want phones buzzing in the
middle of the night receiving disruptive messages during meals or
holidays. Remember, many people have their text message
notifications enabled on their phones all the time. This means that
sending a text message at 3 am is going to result in a very grumpy
customer. Sending messages at the right time ensures that the
customer will open and read them. Timing also creates a positive
customer experience.
Additionally, test your campaign success using metrics: such as
open rates and click-through rates, in order to identify your top
customers and regions. Send messages based on the specific
area so your offers get to them when they’re most receptive.
#7. Keep It Conversational
Smartphone users are used to more casual, short written
compared to other, longer-form mediums. Avoid coming off as too
generic by using appropriate abbreviations and embrace a more
playful, indulging and conversational tone. A customer’s text inbox
is a very personal space to them, so craft messages that are
similar to the other relevant texts that they receive. Keep the
formal language for your website or other types of
communication, like email marketing.
#8. Include a Strong Call to Action
Don’t send out messages just for the sake of it; make sure that

25. each and every message you send to customers includes a strong
CTA. The best CTAs excite your audience because they motivate
customers to take action. For example, give customers a way to
take advantage of promotions or confirm appointments as a way
to move along your conversion funnel.
Some sample SMS messages for marketing:
● Confirm your appointment today!
● Leave us a review for a chance to win an exclusive prize!
● This deal ends today!
Include the following best practices to encourage customers to
click on CTA’s:
● Use language that’s directive and urgent. Steer away from
overused CTAs like “Download,” “Sign Up,” and “Join.”
Never make it complex and lengthy for the customer.
● Use bold colors for CTAs. Choose a color that contrasts
with your brand colors to make the CTA stand out from the
rest of the message yet for the customers to relate to it
easily. You want to make it clear to customers what
exactly you expect them to do.
● Keep them precise. CTA buttons are small and to the
point.
#9. Incorporate Branding
16 million text messages are sent across the globe every minute,

26. which means your customers are constantly receiving messages.
It’s vital that your brand is immediately recognizable, so it stands
out from other brands. Your logo and brand name should go in
every message to create brand awareness. It drives repeat sales,
retains customers, and keeps you on top of their mind.
Also, be consistent with your branding. Use a template. Keep the
same colors, fonts, and images across your website, emails, and
other marketing promotions.
#10. Create Urgency in Messages
Creating a sense of urgency pushes your customers to take
advantage of deals before they expire. Cash in on your customers’
fear of missing out by creating a sense of scarcity in your
campaigns and include phrases like:
● Limited time offer
● While stock lasts
● Only For Today
● One-time Deal
There are multiple ways for businesses to use SMS in their
strategies. Many of them send standalone SMS campaigns to
boost sales. That’s not the worst scenario, but there are more
possibilities to employ text messages. Bearing in mind that only
13% of merchants use this channel, the following 5 ideas can help
you take advantage of this gap.

27. 5 Additional SMS Marketing Ideas To Go With
You can have all the best practices and tools in the world, but
without new and fresh ideas to implement, you’re still nowhere.
Here are five ideas that can help you score a lead in these perfect
situations
1. New Sign-Ups
There is nothing better than a well-timed SMS message to
welcome your customers. Everyone expects and likes a gesture of
a welcome email, but adding an immediate SMS for it will be a
pleasant surprise for your customers.
If you are offering an incentive for signing up, send the discount
code or link via SMS immediately after they fill in their details, then
follow up that SMS with an email in case the SMS wasn’t enough
to get the customer to purchase or the customer didn’t notice it in
the first place.

28. 2. Special Days Discounts
SMS requires a special occasion, and what’s a better special
occasion than a customer’s birthday or anniversary? Show your
customers you care with an offer that lasts for a few days around
their special day. You can either put the offer directly in your SMS
message, or you can send it as a teaser for them to check their
email for a special birthday gift. It sends a sense of a more
personalized relationship.
3. Time-Sensitive Offers
Maybe you have a special promotional offer going on, and you
want to make sure your customers have every opportunity to take
part. For your very best sales and promotions, you can add a
sense of urgency to your text messages. As long as you’re not
sending SMS campaigns every day, you should be doing good.

29. 4. Cart Abandonment
Cart abandonment is a HORROR to any eCommerce brand. With
almost 7 of every 10 carts abandoned for any number of reasons,
it’s easy to see WHY!
Normally, a cart abandonment email is battered as the best
response to this situation. But its made even better if and when
you amalgamate with an SMS. Understand your channels’
strengths and weaknesses thoroughly.
SMS is well attuned for immediacy, and email for information.
This combination can be super effective, but know the limit of
your SMS workflow for an abandoned cart. You just don’t want to
overdo it and put the customer off.
A well-timed cart abandonment reminder sent via text is an
effective way to re-engage high-intent shoppers

30. 5. Order confirmation and shipping updates
Where SMS can really gleam, is in the order confirmation forms
and shipping updates. Giving your customers the choice of how
they receive their updates, gives them a feeling of empowerment.
Your customers can enjoy the benefits of updates to their shipping
directly on their mobile phones without having to open an email.
It’s also a great idea to place a link in the SMS so they can check
out more details about the tracking of their shipment but make
sure it is all hassle-free and not much of a pain to the customer.

31. Target Predefined Segments
● Multiple Purchases
● Shopping Cart Abandoners
● One-time shoppers
● Coupon Lovers
● VIP Shoppers
● Big Spenders
● First Purchasers
● Low AOV
● Active
Use our predefined segments
Identify a highly profitable segment to achieving revenue growth.
Use our predefined smaller but more finely-tuned customer segments
to discover valuable information about the characteristics of your
site’s most valuable visitors.
Target segments to provide better online experiences, improved
engagement and increased conversions.
These include -

32. Statistics on SMS Marketing
Performance
SMS performance in general
Text Messaging Performance on Black Friday

33. Most statistics in the industry come from SMS service providers
that share their studies and survey results. However, the amount
of sent messages allows us to glean valuable insights and
comparisons with other marketing channels.
Marketers using three or more channels in campaigns enjoy a
purchase and engagement rate which is 250% higher than those
using single-channel campaigns
95%
The % of text messages that
are read within the first 5
minutes
22%
Monthly recurring Revenue
70%
The % of Americans who would like
offers from their favorite
businesses sent right to their
cellphones
20%
The % of an avg redemption rate
for a the % of text messages with
value that are forwarded to friends
& family
150
The number of times an
avg American looks at
their cellphone per day

34. Key Takeaways
There isn’t yet a lot of competition in SMS marketing since it has
been reborn and has created new possibilities for eCommerce
businesses. While it’s not a good idea to opt for SMS over other
marketing channels completely, eCommerce marketers would get
the most out of incorporating SMS in their bigger campaigns. SMS
marketing is more effective than the majority of other digital
marketing channels so far, with customers offering a phone
number in addition to their email address shows an even higher
level of intent.
However, sending text messages is more expensive than email;
but businesses can get the most out of SMS marketing by
incorporating text messages in their automated workflows and
mixing them with other channels.
Enrich your marketing strategy by sending SMS campaigns for
your best promotions, which will earn you a higher click through
and order rates.

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Automation Platform
The Most Comprehensive Mobile Messaging
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36. Contact Information
Query info@wigzo.com.com
Support support@wigzo.com
Phone
Jay 800-530-7791 (US)
Pratik +91 97119 98407 (India)