Many ecommerce brands will say the biggest challenge they’ve been facing in the past couple of years is reducing cart abandonment.
Baymard Institute found that the average cart abandonment rate for 2023 is a staggering 69.99%. In other words: nearly three-quarters of ecommerce customers are going through the buyer’s journey and leaving before they finalize their purchases.
This is where SMS marketing comes in, as it is (among other benefits) one of the best strategies of tackling high abandoned cart rates. It’s one of the best ways to connect with your customers and increase your sales in 2023. If you run an e-commerce business on WordPress, you need a platform that can help you use SMS marketing effectively and affordably.
The perfect solution if you’re new to SMS marketing is CartFox. It’s a platform that’s very versatile yet beginner friendly and fully automated. With CartFox, you can:
- Recover lost sales by sending abandoned cart SMSes to your customers
- Create personalized SMS campaigns that match your customers’ interests and behavior
- Send post-purchase SMSes to enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Create powerful SMS strategies with no programming skills – you only need to install the plugin that is supported on WordPress/Woocommerce, Shopify, Magento, OpenCart and Prestashop
In this article, we’ll show you how to use these three core SMS marketing strategies with CartFox and take your online revenue to the next level.
Why SMS marketing in 2023?
The top five features that distinguish SMS marketing from other channels:
- High Open Rates: SMS marketing has a high open rate, with 98% of texts being opened within three minutes of delivery. This makes SMS an effective way for businesses to reach their customers and get their attention.
- Personalization: SMS marketing allows businesses to personalize their messages, addressing their customers by name and tailoring the content to their interests. Personalization can help increase customer engagement and drive sales.
- Timely Delivery: SMS marketing messages are delivered almost instantly, making it a quick and efficient way for businesses to communicate with their customers. This is especially useful for time-sensitive promotions and announcements.
- Cost-Effective: Compared to other marketing channels, SMS marketing is relatively cheap, making it accessible for businesses of all sizes. The cost-effectiveness of SMS marketing can help businesses maximize their marketing budget and drive more sales.
- Easy to Track: SMS marketing campaigns can be easily tracked and measured, allowing businesses to see the results of their efforts and make data-driven decisions. This can help businesses optimize their SMS marketing strategies and improve their ROI.
Turning abandoned carts into sales through abandoned cart SMSes
Abandoned cart SMSes are one of the most powerful features offered by CartFox. In today’s fast-paced world, customers are often in a hurry and may forget about items they have left in their cart. With the help of CartFox, businesses can recover a significant portion of these lost sales.
When a customer enters their mobile number at checkout and then leaves the website, CartFox will send an SMS reminding them of their unfinished order. The SMS will include a link to the abandoned cart, making it easy for the customer to complete their purchase. The CartFox research team has found that abandoned cart SMSes can recover up to 30% of all clients who abandon their carts, providing a significant boost to sales and customer satisfaction.
A few practical examples of how abandoned cart SMSes can be used to recover lost sales are Abandoned Cart Reminder, Limited Time Offers, Personalized Recommendations and Abandoned Cart Surveys.
Abandoned Cart Reminder: When a customer abandons their cart, CartFox will send an SMS reminder, including a link to the cart. This can help the customer quickly and easily complete their purchase.
Limited Time Offers: Businesses can use abandoned cart SMSes to offer limited-time promotions or discounts to customers who have abandoned their cart. For example, a store could offer a 10% discount on the items in the customer’s cart if they complete their purchase within the next 24 hours.
Personalized Recommendations: CartFox allows businesses to personalize the abandoned cart SMSes they send. For example, if a customer has left a specific product in their cart, the store could send an SMS promoting related products or offering recommendations based on the customer’s browsing history.
Abandoned Cart Surveys: CartFox can be used to send surveys to customers who have abandoned their cart. This can help the store understand why the customer left their cart and make improvements to the checkout process, increasing sales and customer satisfaction.
Two examples of abandoned cart reminders are: “Don’t miss out! Complete your purchase now with this link: [insert link to abandoned cart]. Limited time offer: use code HELLO10 for 10% off.“, or “Hey [first name], we’ve noticed you’ve left some items in your cart. Click here to continue shopping: [insert link to abandoned cart]”.
Send personalized SMS campaigns tailored to your customers
In addition to abandoned cart SMSes, CartFox also allows businesses to create and manage SMS marketing campaigns. This includes sending promotional messages to customers, announcing new products, and offering discounts.
SMS campaigns are an extremely popular choice to send SMS notifications to the clients interested in a particular product and might be interested in buying a newer, improved version of the product or catching seasonal sales to buy more. Because of CartFox’ segmentation feature, we can easily tailor the SMSes to match the customers’ temperament and style.
The expert’s advice is to use SMS campaigns in conjunction with multiple different events. You might notify your customers about an upcoming product that might interest them, while also offering them a free shipping coupon for the product. It’s a win-win for both the store and the customer!
Post Purchase SMSes
In addition to abandoned cart SMSes and SMS marketing campaigns, CartFox also allows businesses to send post-purchase SMSes. This feature has a number of benefits that can help online stores improve their sales and customer satisfaction.
Benefits of Post-Purchase SMSes:
- Improved Customer Experience: Post-purchase SMSes allow businesses to follow up with customers after they have made a purchase. These messages can be used to thank customers for their purchase, provide product information, and offer follow-up support. This helps to improve the overall customer experience and build customer loyalty.
- Increased Customer Satisfaction: By sending post-purchase SMSes, businesses can show their customers that they value their business and are interested in their satisfaction. This can help to increase customer satisfaction and lead to repeat purchases.
- Increased Brand Awareness: Post-purchase SMSes provide an opportunity for businesses to promote their brand and products to their customers. This can help to increase brand awareness and drive sales.
- Improved Sales: By following up with customers after they have made a purchase, businesses can encourage repeat purchases and upselling. This can help to improve overall sales and increase the customer’s lifetime value.
How Online Stores Use Post-Purchase SMSes:
- Thank You Messages: Many online stores send thank you messages to customers after they have made a purchase. These messages can be used to thank customers for their business, provide product information, and offer follow-up support.
- Product Feedback: Some online stores use post-purchase SMSes to gather product feedback from their customers. This can help to improve the product and the customer experience.
- Upselling: Many online stores use post-purchase SMSes to promote related products and encourage upselling. For example, if a customer has purchased a camera, the store might send an SMS promoting camera accessories.
- Customer Surveys: Some online stores use post-purchase SMSes to conduct customer surveys. This can help the store gather important information about the customer’s experience and make improvements.
By following up with customers after they have made a purchase, businesses can encourage repeat purchases and upselling, leading to improved sales. Additionally, by providing excellent customer service, businesses can build customer loyalty, encouraging repeat purchases and increasing the customer’s lifetime value. By gathering product feedback from customers, businesses can improve their products and the customer experience, leading to increased sales and customer satisfaction. Finally, by promoting their brand and products, businesses can increase brand awareness and drive sales.
Case Study: Smania store with 1.064.455 € revenue from abandoned cart SMSes
S-Mania, an online store offering a variety of products from fashion to home decor, generated 1.064.455 € in revenue (with an investment of 22.000 Euros) in just six months by using CartFox’s WordPress plugin. The team at S-Mania put effort into utilizing the app’s features and targeted specific groups of customers with tailored messages and offers. The app also offers a custom account for every country they sell to and allows translating SMS messages for different markets. S-Mania’s success serves as an example of how powerful this tool can be for online stores looking to boost sales and revenue.
Features that make CartFox on a personal level
The CartFox development team went above and beyond to make CartFox as personalized as possible and to respect user’s privacy. Every SMS can include an unsubscribe link to make sure the user never gets bothered again. Another feature is the “quiet hours” from 10pm to 6am, making sure that SMSes don’t disturb users during the night.
Safety first
It’s important to remember that SMS marketing is subject to privacy and data protection laws, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Before sending SMS messages to customers, businesses must obtain explicit consent from their customers and provide information about how their data will be used. Businesses must also ensure they are following all relevant regulations, including those related to SMS marketing.
By using CartFox, businesses can ensure they are compliant with these regulations and can focus on delivering targeted and effective SMS campaigns to their customers. To maintain the privacy and protection of customer data, CartFox also implements the highest level of data security measures to keep customer information safe.
All you need for SMS marketing in one plugin
Starting an SMS marketing campaign with CartFox is simple and straightforward. All you need to do is install the plugin (available on all bigger CMS platforms), register, and you’re ready to go! The platform is user-friendly and does not require any technical knowledge or expertise to set up and use.
Upon registering and installing the plugin, you will be greeted by 30 pre-written and tested SMS templates that have been translated into 15 different languages. This allows you to reach customers from all over the world, regardless of their language or location. You can customize these templates to fit the tone and style of your brand, or even create your own SMS messages from scratch. The platform also allows you to personalize SMS messages with customer information, such as name, order number, and product details, to create a more personalized and effective experience for your customers.
In addition to its user-friendly interface and pre-written SMS templates, CartFox offers a variety of tools and features that make SMS marketing even easier and more effective. With the ability to segment your customer list and target specific groups with specific SMS campaigns, you can ensure that each message is tailored to the recipient and more likely to result in a successful conversion. Additionally, CartFox provides detailed analytics and reporting so you can track the performance of your SMS campaigns and make data-driven decisions about future campaigns.
What about the pricing?
CartFox uses a pay as you go pricing model, meaning that there are no subscription fees to start using CartFox – you only pay for the SMSes that you send. The pricing for individual SMS-es can be found here.
Conclusion: Free to use and 500 free messages
SMS marketing is a powerful tool for WordPress-based e-commerce businesses looking to reach their customers effectively and drive sales. CartFox makes SMS marketing accessible and effective, with features such as abandoned cart SMSes, SMS marketing campaigns, and post-purchase SMSes. With its ease of implementation and use, CartFox is a must-have for any business looking to improve their SMS marketing efforts in 2023.
Not sure if CartFox will suit your needs? Don’t worry. You can send the first 500 SMS-es for free! Register here >> Cartfox and enter this coupon code: GERNL500 to receive free messages.
