Designing For M-Commerce: 10 SMS Template Ideas for More Mobile Sales

According to recent stats from GSMA Intelligence, there are now more than 5.61 billion smartphone users across the globe.

As we embrace social media takeovers, smartphone searches, and app-based brand experiences, mobile-first commerce has become a primary concern for all online brands.

There are plenty of ways to enhance mobile brand engagement when connecting with customers via a smartphone device. However, with more than 7 in 10 smartphone users revealing that they have signed up to receive texts from businesses, SMS messaging remains the number one strategy for e-commerce sellers looking to get closer to their targets.

With a 98% open rate, SMS messages blow email promotions out of the water. Whether you choose to use an SMS medium to welcome new subscribers, offer discounts, or update on product delivery, it’s clear that powerful SMS templates can send customers straight to the checkout when done correctly.

With this in mind, we’ve compiled a list of SMS best practices and ten brilliant template ideas for more mobile sales in 2024 and beyond.

E-Commerce SMS Tips & Tricks For Seamless Customer Engagement

While simply sending an SMS message to your subscribers may grab their attention, getting consumers to stick around and take action on your message is another ball game.

Creating the perfect SMS template takes practice. Your template must be easy to read, quick to the point, and provide a clear call-to-action for your desired conversion.

Here are just a few tips and tricks to remember as an SMS beginner:

• Embrace The S.M.A.R.T Method: A brilliant fail-safe method to use as an SMS beginner is the SMART method. Before sending out an SMS template, ensure that your message is Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Relevant, and Timely for a sure shot at success.
• Make Your Messages Accessible: Avoid using many special characters and always spell your words fully. Not everyone understands ‘text speak,’ so it is important to keep this to a minimum, especially if your audience is wide and diverse.
• Stay In the Limit: Most SMS messages have a character limit of 160 characters. When crafting your template, keep this in mind. The key here is to opt for short and sweet. Also, remember that your links also take up characters if they are not hyperlinked to your text.
• Add Disclaimers and an Opt-Out: All promotional SMS templates should include disclaimers. This could be ‘Msg & Data rates may apply’ or ‘how to unsubscribe’. You must always lay all your cards on the table for your customers. Allow them to opt out of SMS alerts, or let them know the frequency of your text campaigns. This allows the consumer to remain in charge of the promotions they receive, leaving you with targets who are actively interested in engaging.
• Sync Your Style: Your SMS marketing templates should match the style of your overall branding. If your online store template is built using certain colors, themes, and unique slogans, it’s important to include aspects of these within your SMS campaign. This could be a brand-colored visual accompanying your text or a phrase commonly found on your landing page.
• Personalize Your SMS Templates: Customers love personalized messages. Segment your buyer personas and deliver targeted SMS templates that highlight specific offers, discounts, and product launches for the best chance at conversion.

Once you’ve reviewed SMS best practices, you can start creating your first set of targeted templates. 

10 SMS Template Ideas for More Mobile Sales

Let’s have a closer look at some of the most convertible template styles and some of the best use cases for SMS promotions:

1. The Welcome Message
2. The Buy now Pay later Service Promotion
3. The Customer Satisfaction Survey
4. The Discount Offer
5. The New Collection Template
6. The Abandoned Cart Reminder
7. The Loyalty Program Promotion
8. The Seasonal Sale Approach
9. The Order Delivery Confirmation
10. The Personalized Message

1. The Welcome Message

One of the easiest ways to ease your customers into receiving future SMS messages is to send a welcome message straight after you gain a new subscriber.

This SMS template is largely self-explanatory; however, there are ways to ensure you make a good first impression.

A great example comes from the beauty brand Clinique. Their welcome template tells subscribers exactly what to expect from the brand and even lets them in on an exclusive announcement before directing readers back to the website.

It’s also important to get creative with your welcome template. This is your first impression as a brand via SMS, so make it count. Offer new subscribers exclusive offers, information, or fast-tracked access to upcoming product launches.

If you make a customer feel special on the first interaction, you’ll surely see them coming back for more. 

2. The “Buy now, Pay later” Service Promotion 

This is a brilliant example of a promotional template that can be used to aid conversions on your mobile site or app.

As BNPL continues to take off amongst an M-commerce-led generation, offering your customers a buy-now-pay-later option is a brilliant way to get them on board.

Here’s an example of what a BNPL template could look like:

Create an SMS template that either reminds customers of a BNPL scheme you support on your store or better still, personalize an abandoned cart SMS, offering a ‘spread the cost’ option on products your targets are already thinking about.

3. The Customer Satisfaction Survey

SMS messages are extremely easy to interact with and boast an open rate that is hard to beat. Therefore, they are a brilliant medium for the all-important customer satisfaction survey.

The more feedback you receive, the better your customer service will be. So, it’s important to send these regularly to your loyal customers who frequently interact with your online store.

A text message survey is often short and sweet. Regarding an SMS template, you can choose from two different options here. You can either use the SMS message to send a survey in text format or embed a link within your message to direct your target to a larger survey online.

In this example template, Qualtrics have opted to direct their customers to an onsite survey using an SMS call-to-action.

With great use of emoji guides and a to-the-point request for customers to ‘share their feedback’, targets are encouraged to interact with the attached link and fill out a satisfaction survey.

4. The Discount Offer

If you’re looking for some conversion incentive ideas for your next SMS template, opting for a discount offer is always a failsafe.

A discount-driven SMS template should include links or codes to exclusive discounts for subscribers to use and enjoy on-site. This drives more engagement surrounding particular products and launches and remains the most convertible form of SMS messaging.

Abercrombie & Fitch does this well with their clearance offer templates. Offering links to male and female collections with over 70% off marked price, they know how to drive conversions at high speed.

We love their straight-to-the-point approach, the seamless pathway to checkout, and the use of capitalization for speedy reading and the highlighting of big words. 

5. The New Collection Template 

Did you know that 72% of people make a purchase after receiving a text from a brand they are subscribed to?

For new product launches, sending out an SMS message to loyal subscribers is a great way to build excitement and encourage convertible leads to head straight to the checkout.

This is what your new collection template could look like:

The key to a new product launch template is to create a sense of exclusivity and urgency. Let your SMS subscribers know that new products are flying off the shelves, and offer them an exclusive discount if they get there first.

6. The Abandoned Cart Reminder

A whopping 70% of e-commerce shopping carts are abandoned. Sending a targeted SMS message to browsing shoppers is a brilliant way to rectify that.

Within a few hours or even a day of a customer’s visit to your online store, why not create an abandoned cart template for a well-timed SMS reminder?

Here, you can see UpWest provides their subscribers with a fast-track back to their browsing session.

Reminding customers to purchase items they may have forgotten about is a great way to use your SMS marketing strategy to raise on-site conversions.

7. The Loyalty Program Promotion

You can also use your SMS strategy to promote your brand’s loyalty program. Why not give targets a taste of what they could gain by being a member of your brand?

An SMS message is a great way to remind customers about your loyalty program benefits and even offer them a small incentive for joining.

Take a look at this template example:

If a prospect is already interacting with your SMS messages, they are likely to take a closer look at your loyalty program. Your SMS template may just be the push they need to make the leap and become a premium member.

8. The Seasonal Sale Approach

Everyone knows that the holiday season is the best time to send out an SMS promotion. Themes SMS templates always go down well around large-spend holidays such as Black Friday and Christmas, so it’s important to get yours just right.

There’s no doubt that Starface knows how to boss a Black Friday promotion. Creating a sense of urgency with limited-time deals, they encourage customers to act fast if they want to enjoy a hefty discount in the run-up to Christmas.

9. The Order Delivery Confirmation

This SMS template acts as more of an automated message than a classic promotion, but using SMS as a medium to notify customers of delivery or any potential delivery problems can help buyers act quickly when receiving their parcels.

Here are some of the ways you can create a delivery-focused SMS template:

There are plenty of options when it comes to creating a delivery SMS. Just ensure that you provide customers with all the information and offer a link to a tracking page where buyers can view updates in real time and contact couriers in the event of an issue.

10. The Personalized Message

Last but not least, let’s talk about customizable SMS templates.

Depending on your target audience and the type of SMS campaign you plan to launch, custom SMS templates can be a great way to get up close and personal with each and every buyer persona.

Segmenting your targets into groups based on age, purchase history, location, and more can help shape the type of SMS message you send out. For example, if you are splitting messages between a GenZ and Millennial demographic, you may include different emojis in your message for each group.

Depending on previous purchase history and historical interactions with the brand, you may also personalize offers and discounts on a target’s most purchased product for a greater shot at scoring a new conversion.

Personalization plays an essential role in SMS messaging; the question is, how do you plan to use it in your future marketing efforts?

Boosting Sales With Smart SMS Marketing

As the SMS scene continues to take off, it’s time to organize your templates so you can have the best shot at scoring that all-important conversion.

From delivery updates to seasonal promotions, SMS messaging can be used to target customers from all angles. With an astonishing open rate and hyper-customisability, it’s no surprise that brands are flocking to text marketing in a competitive e-commerce landscape. 

Author Bio

Dmytro Spilka is the CEO of Solvid and the founder of Pridicto. His work has been published in Entrepreneur, Creative Bloq, Shopify, Zapier, Mention, WordStream, and Campaign Monitor.
 

About the Author

Dmytro Spilka Director and Founder at Solvid

Dmytro is a Head Wizard at Solvid, a creative inbound marketing & software development agency in London. His work has been featured and mentioned in a wide range of publications, including The Next Web, Business2Community, Huff Post, Kissmetrics, Crazy Egg, Sitepoint, SEMRush, and more.

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