One of the most lucrative holiday shopping times of the year is almost upon us, and retailers must be ready to capitalize on it. Text messages can play an integral role in the success of the Valentine’s Day shopping season if retailers plan ahead and utilize a strategy that can both boost sales and increase brand loyalty.
If a text message strategy hasn’t yet been part of the 2024 marketing plan, Valentine’s Day is the perfect opportunity for that to change. There are many ways text messages can enhance sales and customer service this time of year.
Launching a Rewards Program
People aren’t spending more on Valentine’s Day gifts than Christmas and other holiday gifts, but they are buying fewer items that are often at high price points (e.g., jewelry, watches, bags, perfumes, etc.). Because many people will spend a large amount on one gift, it’s a great time to launch a rewards program, which people often won’t fuss with unless they’re going to get a large chunk of points within a single purchase right off the bat. Texting can be used to both tell existing customers about the rewards program, enticing them to shop ahead of Valentine’s Day, and be used afterward as a reminder to join. Point update texts can also be sent every month or two to entice people to come back and spend beyond Valentine’s Day.
Texts About Sales/New Items
Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to send text messages about upcoming sales and new items (so long as they’re hyper-relevant to the customer). Since anti-spam rules require retailers only text people who have explicitly signed up to receive them, retailers know messages are reaching people who are already brand fans, increasing the chance of a sale. To tailor this for Valentine’s Day, consider sending messages about like products to people who purchased something around Valentine’s Day last year. For example, if someone purchased a watch on Feb. 5 last year, a different watch or piece of jewelry could be shared via text message around the same time this year.
Consider Two-Way Texting for Enhanced Customer Service
Having a web-based chat is commonplace for retailers, but offering two-way texting with a local, human employee is still atypical. Train a small handful of team members on texting and begin providing customer service such as answering questions about store hours, sales and returns. Two-way texting can also be used to offer gift suggestions via text. The recipient can respond YES to a text linking to a product selection if they would like to receive another Valentine’s Day gift idea. This back-and-forth texting can continue on until the recipient has found a gift idea that works for them.
Hopefully your business already has a texting program in place. These tips can help retailers enhance and build upon their existing text message strategy to bring in even more sales for Valentine’s Day. That said, specifically tailored and well-strategized texting has a place in a retailer’s marketing repertoire year-round.
Tom Sheahan is the CEO of Red Oxygen, a leading business SMS solutions provider that serves companies in the U.S. and beyond.
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