We are back with a brand new topic of discussion in our series - OnTap with Arctic Leaf!
With every OnTap discussion, we invite e-commerce merchants and industry leaders to have open, fun, and honest conversations. This series promises to deliver expert tips, tricks, and strategies around the most relevant industry topics from a panel of e-commerce heavyweights!
Our third discussion was recently held in August. Attendees heard from one of our key host Josh Garellek, Co-Founder & CEO of Arctic Leaf, and two of our partners, Jenna Crane, Director of Product Marketing from Klaviyo, and Ricardo Evangelho, CEO & Founder of HitPointPress.
Those who joined us learned SMS marketing foundations, how to create a successful strategy that contributes to their bottom line, and the legal compliance details to consider. Our unique panel of experts discussed:
- What is SMS marketing
- How do you use it effectively to grow your business
- When is the right time to start SMS marketing
- Top merchant concerns & questions
- Klaviyo SMS features
- Live merchant perspective
- And more...
If you would like to watch the full discussion for yourself, gain important insights, and hear the interesting discoveries from the live Q&A, simply hit the play button below!
We gathered our top 5 asked questions from this session and provided the answers below. Check 'em out!
Question: What are the best use cases for SMS Marketing?
Answer:
Beginner recommendations:
- Dedicated SMS Welcome Series
- Cart and/or Checkout Abandonment flow
- Customer Winback flow
- SMS Campaigns: boost sales/promotions + local or virtual events
- Provide SMS Two-Way Messaging to enhance your customer support
Intermediate recommendations:
- Back in Stock Notifications
- Browse Abandonment Flow
Cross-Sell / Up-Sell Flow
- SMS Campaigns: Seasonal or New Product Announcements
Use SMS Two-Way Messaging to provide unique customer experience
Advanced recommendations:
- Transactional SMS (Order Shipped, Billing Reminder, Appointment Reminders)
- Post-Purchase SMS (Tips & Instructions, Exclusive Content)
- Review Request
- Referral Request
- AB Testing
Question: From a messaging perspective, what is the best way to launch SMS to your customer for the first time? If you already have their email, how do you now capture their SMS or get them to opt in if it is stored? What are the best types of SMS messages that get people to click through but not make them feel bombarded?
Answer: The best way to get your existing email list to subscribe to SMS is to add an option for purchasers to subscribe at checkout. This method allows your best customers to subscribe passively. Additionally, you can send an email to existing subscribers teasing a new product drop where SMS subscribers will be the first to know and inviting them to subscribe.
Question: How can a small business use SMS to increase sales? We're past the startup phase and looking for new ways to bring in revenue.
Answer: Over 30% of consumers say that they want to receive SMS and not email from brands. That means by simply growing your SMS list and repurposing top-performing email campaigns to SMS subscribers, you will be reaching an audience that isn't engaging with email — therefore bringing in more revenue. Here's a list of other ways brands have found success with SMS.
Question: How can you grow an SMS list without drawing people in with a discount code? And how can you use an SMS channel to engage with customers in ways that aren't about sales/discounts or transactions?
Answer: There's a few options here including teasing new product announcements and inviting new subscribers to exclusive events. You can talk about how there is limited inventory/sizes and the best way to ensure that you get one of these new products is to subscribe to SMS because it has the fastest delivery. In Canada, you can also invite customers to use SMS as a two-way channel, asking them to text with their questions about sizing or selecting the perfect product.
Question: Is sms marketing less suitable for a new store? At what point should a store start using sms marketing? Is it only when I have 2k subscriber list?
Answer: SMS is a good channel to have in place for businesses of all sizes. We would recommend growing SMS subscribers via consent at checkout and multi-step forms as you build your initial email list. That way those who want to engage via text will have the option. You don't have to do too much with text right off the bat since you're so busy growing your business. Just allowing folks to subscribe and running a monthly SMS campaign will be enough to start.
To learn a little bit more about our speakers, keep reading!
Josh Garellek's love for technology and entrepreneurship fused into starting an independent gaming studio, which then thrived into becoming a full-service agency. Arctic Leaf is now stacked with a 40+ skillful team in shared offices across North America. Josh drives his passions through tech, marketing, and sales. He enjoys meeting new people and making new connections. If you have any questions for Josh, feel free to reach out to him directly here.
Jenna Crane is the Director of Product Marketing at Klaviyo. She has more than a decade of experience marketing B2B technology, at companies like Dropbox, Upwork, and Drift. She specializes in the hypergrowth stage — helping startups quickly and sustainably accelerate from early adopters to mainstream awareness and adoption, and building world-class product marketing functions. You can follow her on LinkedIn here.
Ricardo Evangelho is a business leader who can deliver a vision that is agile and can react to market demand. He has a proven track record in ability to deliver innovative and creative gaming accessories and products in a niche market. He identifies talent and works to foster that talent to its full potential. Ricardo has received the following accolades: Ottawa Forty Under 40 Recipient (2020), Invest Ottawa Bootstrap Marketing Award (2020), Canadian Business Startup List (2020, 17th place), Ottawa's Fasting Growing Companies (2021, 5th place).
Now that you're all caught up, we'd love for you to join us for future discussions! Simply click here and we'll make sure to add you to our early registration list in the future.
As always, feel free to reach out to marketing@arcticleaf.io if you have any questions about anything we covered in this discussion. We hope to see you soon!
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