July 05, 2025 - 6 min read

SMS for paperless receipts

Introduction

The AGEC law puts an end to the automatic printing of sales receipts. This major change of use for retailers is nevertheless good news for everyone, combining a positive ecological impact with new digitalized communication between brands and customers.

The dematerialized ticket means a better experience and a universal tool for centralizing invoices. And for businesses, it's an excellent way of enriching customer data and diversifying marketing and loyalty strategies. We explain it all in this article.

The end of systematic receipt printing: what's changed?

Since the 1st^er On August 1, 2023, the law on the fight against waste and the circular economy (Loi AGEC) put an end to the automatic printing of cash register, bank card and voucher receipts. This measure aims to reduce paper waste and limit exposure to the chemical substances present on printed tickets.

Most of the tickets are concerned:

Retailers must now inform customers of their right to a ticket on request, via a visible display at the checkout. They can also offer dematerialized alternatives, such as sending tickets by SMS, e-mail, banking application or QR code.

Some exceptions remain:

Why do you need a paperless ticketing solution?

If the end of the paper ticket has many advantages (ecological, financial, data security...), it also has 2 major drawbacks:

There's only one way to recreate or even strengthen this disappearing link with the customer: the dematerialized ticket.

The advantages of paperless receipts :

This change in buying behavior has many benefits.

Customer benefits

Benefits for brands

The end of receipt printing is also good news for businesses. Among other things, there are the cost savings associated with purchasing paper, ink, maintenance and printers, but the biggest opportunity is marketing for merchants.

Adopting the dematerialized ticket allows you to demonstrate your eco-responsible approach to communication and to comply with the AGEC law, but it's also and above all: an opportunity to capture customer data and build customer loyalty.

Environmental impact: a nuanced analysis

The dematerialization of sales receipts aims to reduce the environmental impact of paper printing. However, digital storage and transmission can also have an ecological cost (energy consumption, resources). It is therefore crucial to adopt a balanced approach: dematerialization while optimizing processes to minimize the overall ecological footprint. more ▶︎

Beyond the ticket: an opportunity for customer relations

Once the customer's opt-in consent has been obtained, the merchant can communicate much more than just a receipt to the customer, and enrich his customer database at the same time. SMS marketing SMS marketing is the perfect tool for drive-to-market advertising, and can be used to announce in-store events such as sales, open days and pre-sales. SMS is the perfect tool for the drive to store and it goes without saying that the recipient's number is the crucial element for communicating via SMS!

You can also start communicating without leaving your dematerialized receipt ! Your e-ticket can very easily use the same codes as its physical counterpart. Slip your offers and promotions under the purchase information, and you 'll be on your way to creating a new buying intent.

In fact, it's even possible touse this dematerialized solution without clear, positive consent. For commercial canvassing, the CNIL states that "if the person canvassed is already a customer, and if the canvassing concerns similar products or services provided by the same company, prior consent is not required. In this case, the CNIL considers that legitimate interest may constitute a valid legal basis."

The dematerialized sales receipt can therefore become an entry point to an enriched customer relationship. This approach transforms the receipt into a loyalty tool, reinforcing customer commitment and optimizing the shopping experience.

Consumer trends and adoption

According to a May 2024 OpinionWay-Perifem survey:

These figures testify to the growing adoption of paperless solutions and increased consumer confidence.

How do I generate paperless sales slips?

Some cash register software packages already offer functions for generating dematerialized till receipts. All transaction information is processed by the software, and an additional option is available to determine whether you wish to print the receipt, send it by SMS or e-mail it to the customer.

Services Messaging API from smsmode^© allow you to connect your cash register software with our platform, in order to send receipts by SMS, thanks to an automated query to the corresponding phone number.

Why is SMS the best channel for paperless tickets?

As with many other uses (OTP, information, marketing, etc.), SMS stands out from other communication channels thanks to its direct, simple and personal aspect.

Record opening rate: The opening rate for SMS is 98%, compared with around 20% for e-mail, which means that customers are more likely to see their receipt if they receive it by SMS.
Fast delivery : SMS are delivered in real time, all the faster thanks to direct smsmode operator connections.^©. This means that customers receive their ticket immediately after their purchase, whereas an e-mail can be delayed, filtered or land in a spam box.
Accessibility: All cell phones are equipped to receive and read SMS messages. It's the universal channel, even for checking receipts.
Interactivity: SMS offers the possibility of including clickable links or actions to be carried out directly in the message. This allows customers to follow the link to their receipt, but also to take part in a satisfaction survey or access your social networks to follow you!
Simplicity: SMS are short and concise, making them easier to read and understand than an e-mail that may contain additional information deemed irrelevant. Your customer may quickly delete your e-mail if it doesn't seem to meet their expectations immediately.

GOING FURTHER

The SMS Klaviyo Webhook

Optimize your e-commerce SMS promotion, retention and reminder strategies with our plugin.

Conclusion

Any change requires adaptation, and at the same time creates an opportunity. The dematerialization of sales receipts is no exception to the rule. Getting to grips with the subject allows you to capitalize on this opportunity. SMS for dematerialized receipts not only simplifies compliance, it also gives you a chance to enrich your customer base and diversify your marketing strategy.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

June 05, 2025 - 3 min read

Summer sales: send your communication by SMS at an unbeatable price

Christelle ARNAUD

Introduction

June 25, 2025 is a highly anticipated day for French consumers, as it heralds the start of the summer sales ! This is a busy shopping season, so it's the perfect time to communicate with your customers by SMS . smsmode^© offers 4 quick and easy operations.

All the benefits of SMS communication

A message read at 95%

With a read rate of between 95% and 97%, you can be sure that your SMS pro will be read by your customer! In comparison, emailing has a read rate of just 25%.

Unparalleled efficiency

92% of SMS messages are read within 4 minutes of receipt. This makes SMS a simple, personal, direct and ultra-fast means of communication.

Low cost support

With its ultra-competitive rates, SMS is first and foremost the most economical digital medium on the market!

The right message to make your summer sale a success!

Invite to private sales

Mobilize your privileged customers and prospects by offering them exclusive deals before the sales period. You can play on the ephemeral aspect of the sale: offer reserved for the first registrants, lasting only a few days...

MyShop

Private sale in your boutique on Wednesday June 26 from 7.30pm: take advantage of -15% on a selection of items.

Take advantage of promotional offers

For your SMS communication to be relevant, it's not enough just to have the right products, you also need the right promotions. Propose discount offers, free gifts or progressive discounts...

MyShop

Sales at your boutique. Up to 50% off on a wide selection of items! I'm off to your boutique and our website www.votreboutique.com

Inform your customers of different brands

Your customers don't always know when the sales start, or when the various markdowns are. Think about informing them a few days in advance by sending them a SMS reminder It's an excellent way to establish a regular link with your customers throughout this period.

MyShop

Summer sales: 2 days to go before the second markdown. Come and enjoy an extra 30% off on all our items!

Remember your opening hours

Opening times can sometimes be changed during sales periods. The shops close later or open exceptionally on Sundays. Communicate with your clients on these changes to make them the best informed possible.

MyShop

On the occasion of the summer sales, we remind you that your shop is open every day from 9am to 7pm.

Tips for optimizing your SMS campaigns

WHITE PAPER

SMS advertising through 5 action sheets

Our free white paper " SMS Advertising through 5 action sheets" will help you discover all the possibilities offered by SMS advertising for mobile prospecting.

Personalisation

Use your customers' data to personalize your SMS (first name, purchase history, etc.). A personalized message is twice as likely to convert.

Choose the right time to send

The best times to send SMS are between 12pm and 2pm or between 6pm and 8pm.

Include links and calls to action

Include links to your site or special offers to make it easier for your customers to take action.

MyShop

🎁 Exclusive offer: -10 € on your online order with code SOLDES10. Order now: www.votreboutique.com

Analyze performance

Use analysis tools to track the effectiveness of your campaigns (open rates, click-through rates, conversions).

By implementing these strategies and tips, you'll maximize the impact of your SMS campaigns during the summer sales. Don't hesitate to adapt these examples to your business sector and customer base for optimal results.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

May 12, 2025 - 4 min read

Travel booking platforms and SMS

Elsa Paparone

Introduction

We see you coming, already in mid-June and we still have not chosen a destination to leave this summer with Jules. Fortunately, for the last few minutes the Airbnb and other Booking.com are here to make your job easier.

That one who never went through an online booking platform to Booker his holiday raises his hand. We've all done it at least once. To benefit from interesting rates, by saving time... There are many reasons that may have thrown us into the arms of these seers of online booking.

For some years now, the platforms of this type have multiplied.

At smsmode, many of our customers are start-ups. That's why we decided to take a closer look at this phenomenon.

How do start-ups use SMS/Push notification?

This month we look at the case of online booking platforms, specifically Airbnb, a popular home-based booking platform.

The need arises from the service

You crossed the steps, this typical apartment in the heart of Trastevere is booked. To find the host that will allow you to live your Roman adventure, you went through Airbnb.

Once you've entered your telephone number, you're "followed closely" by the platform, at every stage of your user journey. The platform will engage with you via SMS, push notification, emailing and sometimes even phone calls. The goal? Engage your community!

Why choose SMS ?

The SMS pro is the must-have tool for companies. Users need guidance throughout their experience. In this sense, SMS communication, however brief, is a highly effective tool.

In the interests of responsiveness, these start-ups have made the wise choice of SMS. Why deprive yourself of this means of communication when you know that, according to :

No means of communication today ensures such a fast access to the addressee! It can even be combined intelligently with another channel, that of emailing.

Finally, it's important to understand that when it comes to SMS, it's all about trust. When a consumer enters his or her telephone number and agrees to its use, he or she is placing his or her trust in you and your service.

Communication strategies SMS/Push notifications

- AIRBNB

Communication tools: E-mails, Push notifications, SMS, Telephone.

Airbnb pursues an ultimate goal with these solicitations: to take advantage of key moments in the customer journey to bring the user back to the platform. As each SMS is justified, the user doesn't feel spammed. This is a very important criterion for building customer loyalty.

- TRIPADVISOR & BOOKING.COM

Communication tools: E-mails, Push notifications, SMS, Telephone.

TripAdvisor and Booking.com use SMS less frequently than their counterpart Airbnb. Indeed, the latter can rely on its "chat" function between private individuals to justify these multiple additional messages. A feature that TripAdvisor and Booking.com do not have. It's important to note that the timing of SMS notifications and marketing messages is not subject to the same regulations. SMS notification is not time-limited, but SMS marketing is!

Why choose smsmode for your SMS/push notification strategy?

In recent years our clientele has been diversifying. Today, half of our customers are from the start up sphere. In the face of this, it was necessary to adapt as quickly as possible in order to meet your particular needs.

With 15 years' experience in the mobile messaging sector, our teams are sure to be able to help you set up your mobile strategies for your SMS marketing campaigns and for your notification/reminder communications for appointments, order confirmations, etc...

Available to you:

Keep in mind that SMS is your new digital ally, offering you a dynamic image at lower cost! We've got you covered! Several hundred start-ups have already put their trust in us! For example, we've been working with Doctolib since its inception, revolutionizing the medical appointment scheduling sector. We also work with Foodchéri, the Food app that delivers delicious home-cooked meals between lunch and dinner at the office.

So many references that have and continue to forge every day our expertise and our know-how!

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

April 23, 2025 - 3 min read

Mother's Day: the perfect time for a campaign SMS !

Elsa Paparone

Introduction

Mother's Day, just like Father's Day or Valentine's Day, is an event not to be overlooked in marketing. Many people are short of gift ideas for their mothers. A company that proactively offers its advice has a great chance of increasing sales. According to a study by Maximiles.com, more than 8 out of 10 mothers receive a gift every year on this occasion. This is an opportunity for every retailer to set up a targeted SMS campaign to boost online or in-store sales during this festive season.

Why set up a SMS campaign for Mother's Day?

For this year 2023, Mother's Day will take place on June 4th. This is surely the perfect year to add a high performance channel to your marketing!

Sending SMS marketing campaigns to your customers has many advantages for your brand!

First of all, there's the technical aspect: SMS can be deployed much more quickly than other channels such as email or display. A contact base and an impactful text of 160 characters (146 with SMS STOP), that's all you really need. SMS allows you to be ultra-reactive and agile. Your gift ideas will be in the mail in just a few clicks.

On the other hand, SMS allows you to reach all your contacts instantly and personally. This personalized communication is also an opportunity to simplify your customers' lives with your tips and ideas for spoiling their moms, and is an excellent way of building loyalty.

A perfect model for flash events

Mother's Day is also an opportunity for retailers to offer last-minute deals to customers looking for gifts. And for this kind of occasion requiring fast, effective communication, SMS is perfect and has many advantages over other marketing channels such as emailing for promoting your products, thanks in particular to :

Simple, fast & effective, SMS is undoubtedly the tool that will enable you to achieve all your objectives this Mother's Day!

6 tips for a successful Mother's Day campaign SMS

SMS is 160 characters to make an impact. Like Black Friday, Father's Day or Valentine's DayMother's Day responds to a logic of urgency, which you need to integrate into your SMS campaign by making your offers exclusive, or by playing on FOMO (Fear of missing out).

Is this your first campaign? Don't worry, we're here to help you!

Discover the 6 tips that will give you the best chance of success for your SMS campaigns, especially for Mother's Day.

1. Find the right timing

For your SMS campaign to be effective, set it up at the right time! More than half of all French people start their search several weeks in advance. So it's vital that you reach your customers as soon as they start looking for gifts! At the same time, according to a Statista study, over 40% of products sold on Mother's Day are last-minute purchases (flowers, chocolates, pastries...). Your message, delivered at the right time to consumers waiting for the perfect moment to buy their gift, can have a record conversion rate!

The ideal timing depends on your sector, but as a general rule, starting your campaign 15 days in advance, then sending out a second mailing a few days before the party, is ideal for achieving your objectives.

2. Give latecomers last-minute ideas

Our cupboards are full of pasta, but that's no reason to make a noodle necklace at the last minute! Come to the rescue of your most indecisive customers by reminding them that you're waiting for them with open arms! Use your last-minute SMS campaign to highlight the perfect Mother's Day products.

3. Build customer loyalty

Mother's Day is a golden opportunity to let your customers know that you're there for them! Take advantage of this event to recontact your loyal customers and re-launch your "cold" contacts. You can also insert a link in your SMS and redirect your customers to a blog article compiling tips or gift ideas for the festive season. It's an excellent way of building loyalty and selling indirectly by being useful.

4. Personalize your messages

When writing your SMS, you'll need to stand out from the crowd. Present original, attractive content. Don't hesitate to personalize your SMS by using the variables to insert your customer's first and last name, thus establishing a more direct and personal communication! Thanks to the information you have, you can also address your customers by segment, targeting them by gender or purchasing habits.

5. Propose an attractive promotional offer

Inserting a promotion will make your SMS message even more attractive. Propose a truly advantageous commercial offer to take full advantage of the performance of a SMS campaign: free delivery, progressive discount, promo code or even discount day. An unmissable, limited-time offer triggers the famous fear of missing out, and encourages people to take action.

WHITE PAPER

10 best practices for a successful SMS campaign!

Optimize your messages for the holidays. Discover essential practices and tips for integrating mobile SMS marketing campaigns into your communications.

6. Adopt a multimedia approach

You don't just have 100% text SMS at your disposal. With a cell phone number, you can also opt for a text message. MMS campaignan RCS message, or an enriched SMS , otherwise known as a Rich SMS. This is the practice of using SMS performance to drive a successful drive-to-web strategy. Your SMS can contain a link to a blog article with your tips, or a landing page where you can present the different products you've selected. smsmode^© offers its subscription customers a intuitive landing page editor for a successful Rich SMS operation.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

April 23, 2025 - 4 min read

Prepare your SMS campaigns for Valentine's Day

Romain Didelot

Introduction

Valentine's Day is a celebration of love celebrated by 70% of couples in Europe. And marketing professionals are well aware of this. For many retailers, Valentine's Day is the perfect time to launch a campaign to boost sales. After winter sales, Valentine's Day is the marketing period not to be overlooked this February. SMS is the ideal communication channel to get your marketing campaigns off to a flying start on the festival of love.

Let's find out how these short, simple, yet powerful messages help to streamline the delivery process and strengthen user/customer loyalty.

The SMS campaign: ideal for flash marketing operations

There are 33 million couples in France, and over 70% of them celebrate Valentine's Day. That's 66 million potential gifts to give! An opportunity not to be missed for your boutique to delight these lovers. Your communication must therefore be effective. An SMS campaign will boost your sales and increase your online or in-store traffic. For this kind of campaign, SMS has proven to be more impactful and effective than email. An open rate of 90% for SMS, compared with an average of 20% for e-mail, which often ends up in the trash or in junk mail.

Valentine's campaign ideas

This event lends itself to many different formats. You can relaunch your recurring customers via an SMS campaign and push products similar to their last purchases. Propose gift ideas, gift sets or unmissable promotional offers. Advertise attractive prices and vary your messages! Of course, don't forget to personalize the sender and content of your message, so that the recipient perceives your message as a unique and personal proposition. A study shows that 58% of people are prepared to receive several marketing messages if the content is relevant and interesting. An SMS that helps people find the right gift for their loved one is bound to be considered relevant.

You have a CRM such as Adobe Campaign ? It will enable you, for example, to send your personalizedSMS en masse. Just give us a phone number and we'll do the rest!

GOING FURTHER

All smsmode plugins^© compatible

Some SMS designs for Valentine's Day

Special offers Valentine's Day

It's important to come up with attractive offers for February 14th to attract your customers' attention. The aim is to increase traffic in your store and make it easier for them to make decisions. Send a simple SMS to alert your customers, then analyze the response.

For example, this hairdresser informs his customers of his special offer by SMS.

[SenderID]

Need a makeover for February 14th?

Coiffure Aix offers special Valentine's Day packages. Low prices today, no appointment necessary!

STOP 3123

Promotional Offers

The promotions you offer can be very welcome for Valentine's Day! In fact, you need to offer something to do with this holiday, which encourages the search for gifts, whether original or more classic. Discounts, promo codes or special offers - these types of messages always please the recipients. More simply, you can confirm a delivery of flowers or chocolates!

Example:

[SenderID]

Hello Nicolas, difficult to find a gift for Valentine's Day?

A bouquet of roses is always a pleasure, especially when it's 15% off at Lovefleurs!

STOP 3123

Delivery time

Whoever hasn't said to themselves on the eve of an important event "gee, I forgot!", raise your hand. As much as we love our loved ones, buying a gift at the last minute has become a habit for some. In this case, the most constraining factor is the delivery time: whether or not the parcel will arrive by the desired date. Reassure your customers and guarantee express delivery by indicating that you'll be able to deliver on time!

[SenderID]

Valentine's Day is just around the corner! No presents yet? No need to panic. 24-hour delivery on orders placed before Feb. 13.

Order here: [URL]

STOP 3123

Game-Contest

Organize a competition that will make your customers want to visit your store rather than one of your competitors. It's an opportunity to showcase your company. Like this restaurant, you can offer prizes that lovers can share!

Example:

O-Resto

For Valentine's Day, O-Resto offers you your dinner!

To enter, visit our Facebook page and win a dinner for 2 worth 120 euros.

STOP 3123

GOING FURTHER

See all our examples of SMS Marketing

And boost your inspiration even further.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

MARKETING

How to use SMS as a lever forAdobe Campaign engagement

Download the use case

The Adobe Campaign SMS plugin from smsmode^© poster over 2 billion SMS sent. To optimize the management of these campaigns, our customers have used the following functionalities :

SMS automation

From your workflows, SMS messages are sent in real time, based on specific actions or events.

Fine audience segmentation

Customized audiences (company size sector, past purchases...) are applicable to the SMS campaigns created.

Centralized customer data

Contact activities linked to the SMS channel are automatically fed back into your CRM and qualify contact records.

Advanced tracking & reporting

Detailed tracking (deliverability, interaction, unsubscription, message status, etc.) is available directly from Adobe Campaign.

Find out in detail how the smsmode plugin^© Adobe Campaign has enabled brands to take their marketing strategies a step further by making interactions more direct, personalized and effective.

Download the use case

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

February 06, 2025 - 5 min read

drive-to-store: the marketing strategy for stores

Romain Didelot

TL;DR

(summary)

SMS drive-to-store is an effective strategy for generating traffic at the point of sale, thanks to the power of SMS marketing: 95% read rate, easy personalization and rapid deployment.
By combining geo-targeting, incentive offers (promos, coupons, competitions) and follow-up, brands create a direct link between digital and physical stores. Simple, measurable, effective.

Introduction

The Internet has become a privileged point of contact between retailers and their potential customers. But in-store sales are not dead. It is evolving and benefiting from digital technology, particularly for its marketing and, more specifically, for bringing web users into physical stores. This practice is known as drive-to-store. Find out how to generate qualified traffic in-store with SMS marketing, and how this technique can boost your sales.

What is drive-to-store?

Drive-to-store refers to all the marketing actions implemented to generate in-store traffic. It brings together a variety of communication strategies, all converging on the same objective: to use prospects'/customers' geographical data to drive them to a physical store near them.

And drive-to-store isn't just an acquisition technique, it also (and above all) concerns loyal customers, about whom you already have useful information for running a targeted campaign in a geographical area. What's more, you already know their interest in your brand and your products.

Why conduct drive-to-store actions?

The consumer 's in-store experience, the physical interaction with the product and the expert advice offered by the sales assistant all mean that in-store sales still have a clear advantage over digital. However, digital is king in other areas: acquisition, targeting and interactivity. Drive-to-store lets you combine the strengths of both businesses to boost your sales.

Retailers who succeed in the ever-changing digital landscape are those who anticipate and adapt to marketing trends. This makes drive-to-store an essential investment. In fact, it accounts for 66% of French retail advertising budgets, or nearly 74 billion euros a year (source: hub institute).

Many consumers have a ROBO (Research Online Buy Offline) approach, and drive-to-store allows you to be the store where customers finally come to buy.

SUCCESS STORY

How to boost local business with SMS campaigns?

The drive-to-store benefits of SMS

The first advantage is control. SMS gives you cost control, agility and total independence in managing your campaign. In fact, it's possible to set up drive-to-store SMS campaigns whatever the size of your contact base and your business. SMS marketing can also be used for many other purposes, such as click and collect, e-booking, couponing, competitions, promotional codes or loyalty rewards...

Another important competitive advantage is that SMS is distinguished from other advertising channels by a number of KPIs:

STUDY

SMS marketing trends and key performances under the microscope

Discover our major study based on 745 million SMS sent.

How to run a successful drive-to-store SMS campaign

Good targeting

The first step is to qualify your database. To maximize your chances of success, you need to segment your contacts according to their geographical location (city, department, postal code of your customers/prospects). You can also further segment your database by selecting consumers according to purchasing habits, inactivity time, loyalty points, etc.

An offer adapted to your objective

Choose your strategy according to your sector of activity, the size of your company and the objectives you wish to achieve:

Highlight an exceptional discount that encourages people to go to sales or private sales.
Send an Enriched SMS with a geolocation link to announce a store (re)opening.
Use purchasing habits and the direct mail option (variable messages) to promote a specific product that has just (re)appeared on your shelves.
Send an SMS with a link to a competition or an exclusive promo code giving access to discounts to boost your visits.
Communicate a special offer for loyal customers to pamper them.
Redirect your targets to a mobile landing page for Click and Collect or e-booking, to drive additional in-store visits and sales.
Include a countdown timer on your landing page to create a sense of urgency.

GOING FURTHER

Documentation on SMS enriched

Extend the mobile experience with rich SMS , for interactive, multimedia exchanges

The different drive-to-store strategies

Even if the goal is the same, there are different approaches to drive-to-store (and different results 😉 ). Some methods are search-oriented, such as :

Other techniques on display :

Unfortunately, most of these techniques have their drawbacks. First of all, there's the lack of information about the target. For most of these actions, we know nothing about the consumer, his intentions, his relationship with the brand...

Then there's the cost. Whether it's a product that needs to be installed on your website (like the product locator), developing your presence in search results or running large-scale advertising campaigns, a lot of investment in time and/or money will be required, with conversion not always forthcoming.

To overcome these problems, you need to be able to aggregate data on your prospects (zip code, town, telephone number, e-mail) and use a channel where your advertising cannot be missed, without the cost being prohibitive.

You can collect information in a number of ways: tracking browsers, filling in forms, creating online or in-store customer accounts...

The most effective channel for distributing your advertising is SMS !

How to measure the impact of my drive-to-store campaign

Of course, the aim is to generate in-store traffic, but you also need to be able to measure the impact of your campaign. Performance analysis will need to combine online and offline information. The best way to do this is to integrate a specific element into your promotional offer. This can take the form of a barcode, a QR code or a special visual. When your customer visits the store, he'll present this code to benefit from a promotion. For your part, you can collect the relevant data to measure the impact of your campaign and learn more about purchasing behavior: sales generated by the campaign, purchase times, conversion rate, product type, number of units per ticket...

All this data will allow you to know if your campaign was a success, but also to determine the type of customers who are sensitive to drive-to-store, the most attractive items or the most appropriate type of message.

The incremental visit

The incremental visit is an increasingly popular type of analysis for calculating the impact of a drive-to-store strategy. It compares the behavior of two groups of users segmented according to their exposure to the advertising campaign (control group or NON-exposed group VS exposed group). The analysis carried out over a given time interval is used to determine theuplift, i.e. the variation in the number of visits attributed to the drive-to-store campaign.

Drive-to-store: a numerical success

3 out of 4 consumers say they complete their orders in shop. (Samsung smart Retail study)
8 out of 10 French people have the "digital reflex" to prepare their purchases online before going to the point of sale. (arcep)
76% of smartphone users who have received a communication from SMS have already visited a point of sale following this communication. (MMAF)
Drive-to-store accounts for 58% of total retail advertising spend (The State of Drive-to-Store Advertising 2019″ conducted by IHS Markit)

What about drive-to-web?

If drive-to-store uses different channels to generate in-store visits, drive-to-web works on the same principle, with the aim of generating traffic to your website.

Although certain techniques differ, advertising via SMS remains highly effective for drive-to-web. For example, it's possible to direct consumers to your products by sending them a Rich SMS containing a link to your website.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

STOP SMS: mobile marketing legislation

You are obliged, when carrying out any SMS marketingcampaign, you are required to offer a simple, clear and free way of opting out of receiving further solicitations. This legal obligation, required by the CNIL (French Data Protection Authority), applies to all commercial or advertising SMS campaignsthe presence in your messages of a means of unsubscribing or a "STOP SMS" message.

If the unsubscribe procedure is not clearly communicated to your recipient, you run the risk of a fine of up to €20,000 in the event of a complaint. On the other hand, if you only send informative SMS , you are not obliged to include this information in your message.

Be sure to use this statement and remain in good standing with the obligations of the CNIL!

What form does STOP SMS take?

Our SMS sending services automatically manage the correct wording for each of the numbers you send.

How does "STOP SMS" work?

Sending an SMS to confirm unsubscription is compulsory, and a credit will be automatically debited from your account each time you unsubscribe.

Managing the "STOP SMS" on your account

By integrating the automatic "STOP SMS" function into your customer area, you are fully compliant with current legislation.

If you only run informative campaigns, please contact our team (e-mail:smsmode or 04 91 05 64 63), so that we can set your account to "notification". You will then be able to activate or deactivate the "STOP SMS" message at any time.

STEP 1

STEP 2

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

December 10, 2024 - 4 min read

Prepare a holiday campaign SMS

Elsa Paparone

Introduction

As 2024 draws to a close, it's important to communicate with your customers! This moment of high marketing tension is ideal for announcing your promotional offers by SMS. A relationship-based SMS campaign can also prove effective, and be very well received by your customers. smsmode^© can help you plan your campaigns and optimize the use of SMS during the festive season.

The importance of SMS for the festive season is well established!

A study conducted on the behavior of the French during the holiday season confirms that 51% of French people plan to make at least one online purchase and that at least 25% of them say they make their purchases from their smartphone. This data is all the more important when we know that purchases on cell phones are constantly increasing and are even aiming to surpass the good old PC!

Integrate an SMS campaign campaign as part of your end-of-year communication plan allows you to diversify your marketing strategy, and approach the festive season with peace of mind! By using this marketing lever, you also bring your customers closer to the act of buying, as the mobile is very often used as the last step before going to the point of sale. In fact, 76% of people visit a store within 24 hours of seeing an offer that interests them.

SMS to improve your customer relations

Send your vows

Even if there are a lot of holiday greetings at this time of year, a short, quick-to-read SMS is always well received by recipients. What's more, SMS offers you a 97% read rate, so you'll stand out from your competitors. For an extra touch of creativity and originality, why not opt for the landing-page feature accessible from your SMS ? This solution enriches your SMS campaigns, makes the content of your message interactive, increases its effectiveness and enables you to generate traffic on your site thanks to the 36% click-through rate of SMS.

Communicate on the hours of the points of sale during the holidays

Your store or company's opening hours change over the holidays. Your customers can't always be informed of the various changes. So it's up to you to let them know, and what better way to do it than with SMS ? Its content won't miss the mark, and will also enable you to (re-)specify the location of your various points of sale. These SMS campaigns are sure toincrease your in-store traffic over the Christmas and New Year period.

Confirm Orders and deliveries

Used in e-commerce, the order confirmation reassures the user during the purchasing process. Don't forget to specify delivery times to avoid any worries on the part of the buyer. This type of automated message is sure to save your customers a few calls or e-mails concerning their order. They'll be sure to receive their purchases before December 25th.

In order tosend these messages automatically, you will need to integrate our REST API into your applications or web services. To learn more, please visit our API documentation.

SMS marketing to promote your products

Give gift ideas

The holiday season is like no other in terms of shopping behavior. Mother's Day, perhaps, because the challenge is to find gifts for loved ones, and it's not uncommon to quickly run out of ideas. This is a great opportunity for your company to promote its offer or services. An SMS marketing message containing a short link to a web page featuring the best gift ideas can boost your sales.

Spread your offers and promotions

The festive season is synonymous with special offers, and customers know it. They're all on the lookout for promotions and special offers they can take advantage of. Let them know what products or services you're offering for Christmas and New Year. Opt for SMS to communicate quickly and effectively: the reading time for recipients is less than 4 minutes. Do you offer promotional codes? Share them by SMS ! An SMS promo code is devilishly effective, so create a dedicated one to see the conversion rate of your campaigns.

Promote your private sales

By definition, your private sales are aimed at your loyal customers. Use SMS to promote them! Nothing could be simpler than programming an SMS with the offers you're proposing and the dates. A read rate of over 97% ensures that you won't miss your communication on this special event.

WHITE PAPER

SMS advertising through 5 action sheets

Our free white paper " SMS Advertising through 5 action sheets" will help you discover all the possibilities offered by SMS advertising for mobile prospecting.

The marketing events that punctuate the end of the year

November 25: Black Friday

Black Friday" is an institution in the United States. It has become an unavoidable event in recent years in Europe. The great promotions it allows make it a great sales opportunity for merchants and e-tailers. It is the perfect time to start Christmas shopping for many consumers.

November 28: Cyber Monday

This "Online Monday" is the Monday Next Black Friday, and thus the continuation of this day of extraordinary promotions. Originally, Black Friday was reserved for physical retailers. Cyber Monday was therefore born at the instigation of e-tailers to compensate. It's the ideal day for a Rich SMS campaign leading to your landing pages!

December 25: Christmas

It is the keystone of the end-of-year celebrations, the day when each family exchanges gifts under the tree. The days leading up to Christmas are an incredible opportunity for your company to stand out, both in terms of customer relations and marketing.

The business potential of the holiday season does not end with Christmas. Then there is the period of gift returns, but also of gifts. The young public that received money for Christmas also represents an opportunity. Segment your customer contacts to maximize your chances.

The invaluable data you collect on buying behavior can also help you prepare for upcoming events: private sales, clearance sales and, of course, the winter sales, which will take place from Wednesday January 11 to Tuesday February 7, 2023.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

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November 15, 2024 - 7 min read

Take advantage of SMS for your drive to web strategy

Romain Didelot

Introduction

A company simply can't exist online if it doesn't generate traffic to its website. It is therefore imperative for e-tailers to find traffic channels, especially during marketing events when classic channels (SEO, Social Ads, Google Ads...) are saturated. It's in this context that SMS, as a direct and personal communication tool, is effective (and often underestimated) for drive to web.

The advantage of SMS lies in its reach: exceptional open, click and conversion rates, with 95% of messages read within three minutes Next receipt. This speed guarantees a message that reaches the audience immediately, making SMS a powerful lever for increasing not only traffic, but also sales on your online store.

Follow our guide to integrating SMS into your drive-to-web strategy, maximizing the effectiveness of your campaigns and understanding the elements that will make your marketing efforts a success.

Drive to web & SMS

What is drive to web?

Drive to web is a marketing technique that exploits the reach of an acquisition channel to generate traffic to a website. It's a technique very similar to drive to store, the only difference being that in drive to store, traffic corresponds to the number of consumers attracted to a physical store, and not to the number of visits to the website.

If we take the example of drive-to-web by SMS, the strategy takes advantage of the ubiquity of cell phones, to offer companies an instant communication channel with consumers (the SMS 😉 ).

The benefits of SMS as a traffic-generating channel

SMS is an excellent channel for redirects to websites for many reasons:

High open rates: Often in excess of 95%, the open rate of SMS virtually guarantees a message read, whereas emails or push notifications plateau at around 30%.
Instant delivery: Messages are delivered in seconds, enabling real-time interaction ideal for time-limited offers or important announcements.
Personalized communication: Thanks to the use of variables, SMS enables a high degree of personalization, strengthening customer relations, commitment and loyalty.
High profitability: The low cost of SMS (with flexible formulas ranging from prepaid to subscription, depending on business needs) coupled with a very high conversion rate mean a record return on investment.

STUDY

SMS marketing's key performances under the microscope

Find out more about our major study based on 745 million mailings SMS.

7 best practices for a successful drive to web by SMS

As you can see, SMS has a lot to offer when it comes to digital acquisition. But how do you ensure that a campaign generates traffic?

We have compiled 7 points to check to make your campaign a success:

Target your audience by objective

This database of campaigns SMS also applies to drive-to-web campaigns. First, you'll need to clearly define your target profile. Loyal buyer? Online consumer? Follow-up lead? You decide.

Segment your database using these and other criteria such as geographic location, purchasing habits, length of inactivity, loyalty points... This approach allows you to personalize your mailings for each customer segment and optimize your ROI.

For example, send specific promotional messages to customers interested in certain categories of products or services, or spoil your loyal customers with exclusive offers.

Write powerful messages

Catchy text is essential to maximize the impact of the SMS campaign. It should be short (preferably within the 160-character limit), engaging and include a clear call to action.

Adopt a simple structure: company name, customer name, details of the offer or promotion, conditions, call to action (CTA) and STOP SMS.

Customize text with variables to include the customer's name or details of purchasing preferences.

Offer exclusive deals or incentives to create a sense of urgency and exclusivity, motivating customers to visit your website.

See concrete examples below(section 4) 👇

Manage the timing and frequency of mailings

The aim is simple: avoid pestering customers and maximize efficiency.

Timing: send your SMS at times identified as strategic. Sales, Black Friday and private sales are the obvious highlights, but other one-off events can also be considered, such as anniversaries, product arrivals or new store openings.

Frequency : Dose your mailings to avoid appearing intrusive. Excessive repetition of marketing messages can be perceived as spam and lead to numerous unsubscribes. Your campaigns need to be received at the right time to maintain customer interest without saturating them.

Integrate SMS into a multi-channel (and automated) strategy

By synchronizing SMS with other channels such as email, push notifications or social networks, you can create a consistent user experience that ultimately increases engagement and conversions.

You can also consolidate user data and analyze the entire customer journey.

For example, a user who receives a SMS may be redirected to a conversion page and then receive a follow-up email, a cart abandonment email...

This enables us to multiply contact channels, better understand the customer journey and optimize all marketing actions to generate longer-lasting interactions and more frequent conversions.

Of course, the more you can automate this process, the more efficient you'll be. What's more, automation also enables you to segment audiences, personalize messages according to user behavior, and schedule messages to reach customers at the most opportune moment.

Optimize the mobile experience around the message

To maximize the effectiveness of a SMS drive to web campaign, it's essential that recipients land on a mobile-optimized page. The user experience must be fluid and immediate, as any friction risks losing the visitor's attention. A good mobile landing page creation tool enables you to quickly design attractive, simple pages adapted to small screens. These pages can include a clearly visible CTA, concise and relevant content, and reassurance elements (customer reviews, similar products, etc.).

What's more, some landing page designers (such as smsmode^© 😉) make it possible to customize URLs and measure the performance of each campaign. This facilitates click tracking and ongoing optimization by identifying the most engaging pages for users. These tools help reinforce the impact of the SMS campaign by aligning the mobile experience with the expectations of the target audience.

Measure the performance of your campaigns

Tracking the impact of your SMS campaigns is essential for knowing their return on investment and adjusting your strategies accordingly.

There's no "drive-to-web" without links, so you need to exploit their presence. You can use tracking tools (Google Analytics, Matomo, Plausible...) to analyze clicks on direct links to your website, or you can use link shortening services (like the smsmode^© 😉), which will allow you to optimize the length of your messages and track clicks directly from your SMS sending tool.

Measuring the impact of your SMS campaigns enables you to see which strategies are working best and make adjustments accordingly. Use the data collected, analyze open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates... you'll know your strengths and weaknesses, and be able to continually improve your results.

Comply with regulations and best practices

To ensure the legitimacy (and therefore the success) of your campaigns SMS, it is essential to comply with data protection regulations and follow good practice in SMS marketing.

Consent and Opt-in: Make sure you obtain your customers' consent to receive SMS by adopting a legitimate opt-in (online registrations, in-store registrations, keyword subscriptions...). This guarantees respect for preferences and ensures compliance with the RGPD and data and consumer protection laws.

Transparency and clarity: SMS messages must be clear and transparent. Avoid ambiguous or misleading terms, and make sure that customers can easily understand the content and purpose of the message.

Also include an unsubscribe option (STOP SMS) to allow customers to unsubscribe from the mailing list if necessary.

GOING FURTHER

Discover the 10 keys to effective, profitable SMS campaigns.

Examples of messages optimized for drive to web

SMS direct marketing

[SenderID]

Web exclusive!
🎉 Take advantage of -20% on the whole store with the code WEB20.
Click here to access ➡️ [short link].
Offer valid for 24H !

SMS personalized invitation

[36037]

Hello [First name]!
A new product you might like is available!
Get a sneak preview here ➡️ [URL].
Let us surprise you! 🌟

SMS event

[Sender ID]

Today's the big day!
Join us now for our exclusive online launch.
Click here to access ➡️ [short link].
Early birds get special gifts 🎁.

SMS reactivation

My website

Long time no see, [First name]!

Save 15% on your next online purchase
here: [ URL].
We're delighted to see you again!

SMS with limited offer

[Sender ID]

End of season!
Last day to get 30% off your favorite items!
Click here ➡️ [short link].
Limited quantities, don't delay! 🕒

SMS competition

Store

🎁 Enter our competition and win a voucher!
Click here to play ➡️ [URL].
One winner a day, try your luck now! 🍀

NEED MORE EXAMPLES?

All our examples of promotion, sale, private sale, welcome messages...

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many advantages to integrating SMS into a drive-to-web strategy, but the key to success lies in accurately targeting the audience and creating high-impact messages. Ensure compliance with regulations, carefully manage the timing and frequency of mailings, and you'll have all the weapons you need to boost your web traffic, solidify your customer relationships and increase your sales. Now it's up to you!

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

November 07, 2024 - 5 min read

Personalize your SMS marketing campaigns

Elsa Paparone

Introduction

With an opening rate that defies all competition, SMS is a quick and easy way to win over your targets. But in today's busy world, companies need to grab attention quickly and make a lasting impression. By personalizing your campaigns SMScampaigns, you give your message the chance to be remembered. Let's find out together how mobile messaging can help you generate engagement with your recipients through tried-and-tested use cases.

With mobile messaging, you can reach your recipients anywhere, anytime. SMS , an indispensable tool for your emergency communication strategies. We explain why!

The need to personalize SMS marketing campaigns

Tailoring the content of your mailings is the sine qua non for engaging your target audience. By adapting it to the needs, preferences and behavior of each of your customers, you can create a more relevant and engaging experience. Tailoring is the key not only to increasing open and click rates, but also to reinforcing the relationship of trust built up with the company by creating a unique experience. A personalized SMS campaign is a strategic lever for achieving sales objectives while optimizing communication.

GOING FURTHER

High-performance marketing.
10 tips to maximize the impact of your campaigns SMS

In this guide, identify the contact points where SMS can optimize your advertising campaigns.

The advantages of customizing SMS

Tenfold commitment

By sending messages tailored to the expectations, behaviors and habits of each customer, companies create genuine interactions. A personalized SMS captures the attention of its recipient, and this targeting "effort" strengthens the emotional bond between the consumer and the brand, as the latter feels recognized. By precisely targeting the consumer, you engage in a loyalty-building process, deliver information perceived as more useful, and ultimately improve your conversion rate.

Strengthening customer relations

By offering tailor-made communication, brands show their users that they understand their needs, thereby building trust and loyalty. A personalized mailing not only maximizes immediate engagement, it also creates deeper, more lasting bonds with your customers, contributing to loyalty. The royal road to creating ambassadors!

How to personalize your SMS ?

The variable field (direct mail)

This is the basis of the personalized message. Include variables in your SMS ($variables at smsmode^©), which will be replaced by the recipient's name when the message is sent. Using the recipient's first name in the message creates a more intimate and engaging approach.

Database segmentation

Segment your contact base according to criteria such as purchasing habits, geographical location, or specific preferences. This enables you to send targeted offers that meet individual needs with precision and boost your ROI.

The personalized Sender ID

Customize the sender of your message. This technique allows you to display, for example, your brand name as the sender of the message, so that people can identify you directly. The recipient will then receive a text displaying the chosen name (company name, brand, etc.) instead of a standard mobile number or short code.

Dynamic information

Use information or events linked to your customer to trigger messages. This could be product recommendations based on previous sales, personalized reminders for special events (birthdays, limited promotions, etc.) or even follow-up messages after a shopping cart abandonment.

GOING FURTHER

Avoid mistakes.
The 17 points to check before sending your campaign SMS.

Examples of SMS

Language adapted to the tone and style of each customer group further enhances the effectiveness of personalized SMS . These examples of content have proved their worth in various sales strategies undertaken by our partner companies. It's up to you to adapt them and make them a strength of your communication.

First name + exclusive offer

[SenderID]

Hello [First name],
benefit from 20% off your next purchase at [Brand name].
Valid only for you until [Date].
Don't miss this exclusive offer!

Recommendations based on purchases

[SenderID]

Hello [First name],
we've selected items you might like
based on your last purchase from us.
Discover them here: [ URL].

Abandoned cart reminder

[SenderID]

Hi [First name],
your items are still waiting for you!
Complete your order and benefit from free delivery.
Click here to complete your purchase: [URL].

Anniversary promotion

[Company]

Happy birthday [First name]!
To celebrate this special day, we're offering you 30% off our entire range until [Date].
Treat yourself with your code: BDAY30.

Invitation to a local event

[Sender ID]

Hello [First name],
our store in [City] invites you to a VIP evening this [Date].
Come and discover our new products with a 15% discount on the whole store!
Confirm your attendance here : [URL].

Loyalty reward

[Sender ID]

Thank you [First name] for your loyalty!
You've earned a lot of points!
Receive a €10 discount on your next order.
Use your code: FIDELITE10.

TO FIND OUT MORE

All our examples of promotional messages, sales, private sales, welcome,...

Conclusion

In an increasingly competitive market, a strategy based on information gathering has become essential to offer a customer experience that sets you apart. Adapting message content to your target audience is a powerful lever in both marketing and customer relations. By personalizing messages, you capture attention. Whether through the use of variables, audience segmentation or personalization of your sender, you have a greater chance of increasing your conversion rate, as well as building long-term customer loyalty. It's up to you!

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

October 29, 2024 - 8 min read

How to generate in-store traffic

Romain Didelot

Introduction

Generating customer flow at the point of sale is the lifeblood of every retailer. A task that has become difficult for convenience stores. With the rise of online sales and social networks, attracting customers' attention is becoming increasingly complex. However, there are a number of best practices you can follow to generate visits and boost sales: optimized shop windows, web and drive to storeephemeral events and 6 other useful marketing tools!

What is in-store traffic?

Traffic refers to the number of people visiting a store during a given period. This key indicator of a physical store's performance can be calculated on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The more traffic there is on site, the more likely it is to lead to that coveted sesame: the local purchase. That's why this recurring presence is often the first point to measure the effectiveness of your communication, or of any other traffic-boosting initiatives, such as promotions, special on-site events or improved customer experience.

How do you measure traffic to your point of sale?

A variety of tools can be used to measure the flow through your store. Most often, a people counter is installed (laser located in gantries, calculation of the number of door openings...). More often than not, retailers can find this data in their cash register software.

How do you measure the impact of marketing actions on in-store traffic?

There are several more or less complex ways of measuring the impact of your actions. You can, for example, use a promo code dedicated to each of them; the number of times the promo code is used represents the number of conversions attributed to the corresponding action. In this way, you can calculate the conversion rate of each of your campaigns.

You can also aim wider and integrate indirect conversions, matching every sale made by a customer reached by your campaign.

Finally, a message with an incentive such as "Show me at checkout and get 20% more" can serve you well as a measurement tool. All you have to do is count the number of items sold with this promotion to calculate the ROI of your operation.

By keeping a close eye on your customers' comings and goings, you can adjust your strategy in real time to achieve your sales and profitability targets.

Simulate your return on investment in 3 clicks

↓

The drive to store, the marketing strategy to generate traffic in store

Drive to store" is a web strategy designed to attract potential customers to a physical store. The aim is to use digital channels such as online advertising, social networks and SMS marketing to ensure a high level of online and offline communication to generate on-site traffic.

This method often involves the use of geo-targeting techniques to reach consumers in the vicinity of your local store. These ads can take the form of banners, videos or other formats, and can be distributed across different online channels to reach a wide audience.

The aim is to stimulate customer interest in your brand. Exclusive promotions, time-limited offers, loyalty benefits... anything to attract more visitors. By Next tracking the performance of "drive to store" campaigns using data analysis tools, companies can optimize their strategy and increase their return on investment.

Why SMS is ideal for generating in-store visits?

SMS is a highly effective loyalty and promotional tool for attracting customers to your business. By running promotional campaigns SMS (promotions, private sales, stock clearance, etc.), whether occasional or frequent, you can ensure recurring, stable traffic to your business. The read rate of a SMS is close to 95% within 4 minutes of receipt, so this medium offers you the guarantee of being visible to your database, but also of being remembered: SMS marketing memorization rate: 60% (source: INSEE)

SMS = marketing tool?

Targeted and customizable, SMS can also be enriched with content such as a URL link, an image (MMS), a dematerialized offer (m-coupon) and so on. Contact management and statistical campaign feedback make SMS one of the most relevant media in mobile communication.

GOING FURTHER

10 tips to maximize the impact of your campaigns SMS

In this guide, identify the contact points where SMS can optimize your advertising campaigns.

How to use SMS to create point-of-sale visits?

Here are a few ideas on how to use SMS to increase traffic to your business:

Send special offers

Exclusive promotions transmitted digitally to customers will encourage them to come to the point of sale to take advantage of them - this is the basis of drive to store.

Example:

SMS private sale

⚡ Flash sale tomorrow!

30% discount on your entire store.

Exclusive to our best customers.

Present this message at the entrance. Meet at [Store name].

Use promotional codes

Promotional codes reserved exclusively for consumers enrolled in your online loyalty program have a dual beneficial effect. These codes can obviously be used in-store for discounts, but they also give the feeling of being part of a privileged experience, of being enrolled in a useful program, and they also benefit your brand image.

Example:

SMS promotion

🔥 Exceptional offer!

-30% off ALL stock this weekend only!

Don't miss this opportunity!

Visit [Name of retailer]. ⏳

Send appointment reminders

If you offer beauty care services (hairdressing, manicure, massage) or recurring services (maintenance, technical inspection...), you can send appointment reminders via SMS to reduce cancellations and missed appointments by a factor of 4.

Example:

Appointment reminder

📅 Hello [First name],

a reminder of your appointment at [Salon name] on [date] at [time].

We look forward to welcoming you!

If you need to modify or cancel, please contact us at [number].

See you soon! ✂️💇‍♂️

Promoting new products

By using SMS to inform your customers about new products, you can guarantee that they will be seen by as many consumers as possible, especially your customers who have already shown their liking for your products. Encourage them to come and discover new products, and guarantee a high return on investment.

Example:

SMS new products

✨ Our new collection is available today!

Discover our latest products and benefit from

20% discount on your first purchase. 🛍️

See you soon at [Company name]!

Creating a sense of urgency, a key to in-store traffic

Use short, punchy messages to create a sense of urgency, informing your customers of a last-minute special offer or in-store private sale. This can encourage them to get to your store quickly so they don't miss the opportunity.

SMS is a direct and effective way of communicating with your customers, increasing in-store traffic and building customer loyalty.

GOING FURTHER

Discover the 10 keys to effective, profitable SMS campaigns.

9 techniques to boost footfall in your store

Welcome to the world of retail marketing, where generating excitement around your physical business is the key to success. Here are a few strategies that can help you attract more customers:

Optimize your showcase

Your store window is your first impression with potential visitors. By optimizing it to be eye-catching and engaging, you can grab the attention of passers-by and entice them into your store. Make sure you share your message visually, with key products and your new collection visible at first glance. Don't forget to include the opening hours and prices of the products on display. If your company has won an award (Meilleur Ouvrier de France, for example), don't hesitate to highlight it.

Build up your discount policy

Offering exclusive promotions, discount vouchers or an extra percentage for several purchases = real incentives. Communicating around these benefits is simpler and will enable you to build customer loyalty to guarantee traffic with each campaign and over the long term. The SMS website, with its agility and record penetration rate, is the ideal channel for communicating limited-time offers, special discounts for members, free gifts with a purchase, and so on.

Organize special events

Vernissages, private sales, product demonstrations and launches, and workshops are all great opportunities for a local merchant to build up a quality clientele. (Yet another area where SMS can help boost your visibility 😉)

Advertise locally

Physical or Internet advertising campaigns are another great way to attract more customers. Go local to keep costs down. Use local advertising media such as newspapers, magazines, local websites, billboards, flyers, leaflets, radio or TV ads to publicize your store and the offers you make.

Reward loyal customers

You've probably seen this sentence somewhere: "It costs three times as much to recruit a customer as it does to retain one." And it's true. Offer rewards to your loyal customers, such as discount coupons, gift cards for their birthdays, bonus points to feed a loyalty program. This will not only encourage them to return to your store, but also potentially convert them into ambassadors for your brand. SMS is also an excellent tool for building customer loyalty.

Create an exceptional customer experience

A quality customer experience, or the careful treatment of each person entering your store, can make all the difference. This is what we call clienteling. By creating a pleasant, welcoming environment and offering high-quality products, your efforts will be rewarded by a steady flow of customers.

Create Facebook, Instagram and Google My business profiles

Social media is a great way for local businesses to have a web presence. Facebook and Instagram profiles allow you to communicate directly with your loyal customers, share information about your products and services, and promote your brand to a wider audience. Google My Business, for its part, will help you to exist on the web, with or without a website, and provide you with credibility and an online showcase to increase footfall at the point of sale, and provoke purchases.

Use location-based advertising

Geotargeted ads target customers based on their geographical location. Using digital advertising tools such as Google Ads or Facebook Ads, you can create ads that target consumers within a specific geographic radius of your store. You can also use data from your existing subscribers to find new prospects with similar interests.

Use influencer marketing

It's about working with influencers (or Key Opinion Leaders) to promote your business, your products and trigger the buying action. By working with influencers who have a large and engaged local audience, you can draw attention to your brand and encourage their followers to visit you.

Its actions take many forms, from sponsored posts to product reviews and brand mentions. It's up to you to decide how to use this strategy, which has become increasingly popular in recent years as social media has gained in importance as a marketing tool.

Conclusion

By using these and other strategies, you can increase in-store traffic and increase the chances of making sales and retaining customers. Physical retail is far from dead. Digitalization is also an opportunity you can take advantage of by applying drive to store and web to store strategies. Once these strategies are in place, don't forget to measure your results by calculating the conversion rate and the return on investment of your campaigns.

Create your free account

Try out our SMS platform and benefit from 20 free test credits, with no obligation.

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

MARKETING

ULTIMATE CHECKLIST
The checklist for effective SMS marketing

- PDF AVAILABLE IN FRENCH, ENGLISH AND SPANISH -

The ultimate checklist for sending SMS marketing includes 17 essential points to ensure the success of your SMS campaigns.

Contact database, message, send time, test, legal obligations, statistics. It's all there.

Download the checklist

Need more info?

We look forward to hearing from you.

July 09, 2024 - 3 min read

Engage gym customers with the SMS

Elsa Paparone

Introduction

Are you a gym manager looking for an innovative way to engage your members and improve their customer experience ? Then you've come to the right place!

Long considered a simple tool for personal exchanges, SMS has over time established itself as a powerful and versatile information channel for any type of company wishing to communicate with its customers.

Gyms need to communicate with their members on many occasions. SMS will enable you to strengthen customer loyalty, optimize the management of sessions and appointments, and promote your special offers instantly.

Let's take a look at how SMS can help you reinvent and energize exchanges between your organization and your customers.

Use of SMS for gyms

SMS is ideal for customer relationsIt is therefore useful for many purposes that can be deployed by a gym to communicate with its members:

The benefits of SMS for fitness centers

Undeniable performance

Let's compare text messaging with its main competitors: e-mail, social networks and paper communication or flyers.

In terms of reach, the undisputed leader in this competition is SMS , with a read rate of 95% within 3 minutes Next being sent. It is currently the most effective dialogue tool. This compares with email, which has a read rate of between 20% and 30%, and can remain unopened for hours or even days.

The visibility of (free) posts on social networks varies, depending on the social network's algorithm and the time of publication (the magic of social networks). Generally speaking, only 10 to 30% of subscribers, whether on LinkedIn or Instagram, will see your post.

Turning now to the response rate, the ability to generate rapid responses is crucial when sending out your commercial communications. Short messages have a response rate of 45%, compared with just 6% for emails. Interaction on social networks depends on the audience's engagement with the brand and the relevance of the content shared. They therefore vary widely, but are generally lower than for other channels.

The conversion rate of SMS marketing can easily reach 30%, thanks to its direct and personal nature. The conversion rate for email is between 2% and 5%, while for social networks it varies, again depending on the platform and type of content. They are often lower than text messages, at between 1% and 2%.

Last but not least, the paper medium is being shunned in recent times because of its higher environmental impact. Producing a flyer is slower, more expensive and less effective in terms of reach and impact.

SMS is not only the most effective means of communication, but also the most economical.

Unbeatable value for money

SMS is the cheapest marketing mailing service on the market. In fact, the cost of a mobile messaging campaign is particularly competitive, and its its ROI is impressive. It allows you to maximize your visibility without increasing your marketing budget.

Universal communication medium

The strength of the short message service also lies in its medium. Who doesn't own a cell phone? Young and old alike are almost universally equipped, whether it's to meet the need for access to all the functionalities offered by a cell phone (social networking, etc.) or to the most basic of them all, making a phone call.

Fast, instantaneous exchanges

Contact your customers anywhere, anytime by message (please moderate for SMS marketing which is not possible on Sundays and public holidays). SMS can be received and read almost instantaneously, making it ideal for reminder communications (course reminders, subscription expiry reminders, etc.).

GOING FURTHER

Discover the 10 keys to successful mailings SMS

Examples of SMS for gyms

Course reminder

[SenderID]

Hello [First name], you've booked a cardio pilates session with Baptiste at 6.30pm this evening! Don't forget to arrive 5 minutes beforehand.

- Cancel my reservation

[SenderID]

[First name] Thank you for registering with our [gym]. We look forward to welcoming you to your first class.

- I'll make a reservation.

170 characters

137 characters

Cancellation

[SenderID]

Hello [First name] we regret to inform you that your yoga session of 05/07 19h has been cancelled, we invite you to reschedule it here

- I reschedule my session

175 characters

Exceptional closure

[SenderID]

Dear member, due to water damage, we are obliged to close your fitness club from July 4 to 6. We apologize for this inconvenience. The [gym] team

215 characters

Events

[SenderID]

Happy birthday [First name] ! To celebrate, we're offering you a free coaching session with your favorite trainer. Join us at reception to reserve your time.

[SenderID]

Open house at your favourite club, July 5-10: Free trials for non-members, free registration fees

- I'll make a reservation.

183 characters

142 characters

Commercial offers/new member recruitment

[SenderID]

Refer your friends and family and win 1 month's free subscription, and for your godchild, the registration fee is free!

[SenderID]

[First name] your membership in our fitness club ends next month, it would be a shame to abandon the efforts you've made so far.

- I subscribe again.

121 characters

167 characters

GOING FURTHER

See all our SMS examples (over 120)

Conclusion

The use of mobile messaging by sports clubs represents a modern and effective marketing strategy that meets the needs of companies and their customers. With its speed, affordability and more than satisfactory KPIsSMS is an indispensable tool for strengthening member commitment and loyalty. It enables gym management to transmit information in real time, personalize interactions and maintain constant contact with their members, thus promoting an optimal customer experience.

What's more, the reduced environmental impact of SMS makes it a more sustainable and responsible option. By adopting this method, fitness clubs can not only improve their operational efficiency, but also contribute to preserving the environment.

As the fitness sector continues to evolve and digitize, integrating SMS into communication strategies is proving to be a major asset.

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Boosting local trade with campaigns SMS

Moneder collaborates with local entities and governments in Spain for the sustainability of businesses that dynamise municipalities, providing innovative digital solutions to face online commerce and large commercial brands.

An initiative dedicated to strengthening and supporting local shopping in the mobile era.

3 227

SHOPS

309 037

CUSTOMERS

1 800 000

TRANSACTIONS

ABOUT

Moneder is a Catalan platform that offers different solutions for both web and app of: MarketPlace, Ecommerce, Payment, Integration, Support, Booking, Information, Ticketing and much more. Working primarily with local authorities, Moneder offers local businesses an innovative digital solution to compete with online retailers and big brands.

SECTOR OF ACTIVITY

Software publisher

COMPANY SIZE

5 employees

CREATION DATE

2018

LOCATION Spain

CHANNELS

- SMS

INTEGRATION - API

USE CASES - notification (password regeneration, balance consumed, movements made, etc.)
- loyalty campaigns

Download the Moneder success story

You may also, for legitimate reasons, object to the processing of your personal data. If you wish to exercise these rights, please send an e-mail to dpo(at)smsmode.com.

Reach out to your customers with an SMS

Challenge

Moneder was looking for a simple, comprehensive and intuitive SMS routing solution to integrate SMS notifications into their mobile application.

They wanted to provide small affiliated merchants with the ability to run loyalty campaigns and notify their customers of key actions on the Moneder platform, such as purchase confirmations, regular balance updates, point expiry alerts and secure password regeneration. This new channel was essential as an alternative means of communication to email, where the readability of the information was not sufficiently high

Solution

The Moneder team integrated SMS sending by implementing the functions of the smsmode^© API. The main advantage of this API was its ease of integration. The Moneder teams particularly appreciated the detailed and high-quality documentation of the various requests. The integration was therefore carried out as quickly as possible and under the best possible conditions.

Benefits

Since the incorporation of this channel, the delivery and readability of information has been improved thanks to the high read rate of SMS messages. This new turnkey functionality for local businesses gives them greater visibility, proximity and trust. All these advantages strengthen physical retail outlets, preparing them to compete with large brands, shopping centres and e-commerce, with their well-developed digital channels.

I would like to thank the smsmode^© team for their support.
Our contact was able to respond to our questions, problems and needs at every stage of our project. Their availability and responsiveness were essential to the success of the SMS implementation.

Jan Bover, Managing Director of Moneder

Optimize the delivery experience with notifications SMS

FoodChéri and Seazon offer high-quality meals
delivered to companies (in Paris, Lyon, Bordeaux,
etc.) or to clients throughout France. It’s also a
challenge to innovate in the food sector by refining the customer experience. Mobile messaging helps them to meet this challenge.

60 000

MEALS DELIVERED
PER WEEK

20 min

MAXIMUM TIME BETWEEN ORDER AND DELIVERY

ABOUT

FoodChéri’s mission is to be a virtuous and committed player in food delivery, offering meals that are better for your health and for the planet.
This mission is achieved through 2 brands:

Foodchéri, which delivers fresh, home-cooked lunches in Paris & Ile-de-France, Lyon, Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes, Strasbourg and Toulouse,
Seazon, which offers weekly subscription boxes of home-cooked ready meals made with fresh products and healthy ingredients throughout France.

SECTOR OF ACTIVITY

Food delivery

COMPANY SIZE

230 employees

CREATION DATE

2015

LOCATION

France

CHANNELS

- SMS
- SMS voice

INTEGRATION

- API

USE CASES

- order tracking
- delivery notification
- onboarding

Download the Foodchéri & Seazon success story

You may also, for legitimate reasons, object to the processing of your personal data. If you wish to exercise these rights, please send an e-mail to dpo(at)smsmode.com.

instant notification order taking and tracking

SMS, an essential channel for improving customer relations

As soon as the delivery business was launched, SMS was set up to confirm orders, alert on impending deliveries and transmit customer service information.

SMS messages are sent to:

notify about the arrival of an order (if placed on the same day),
track delivery with a link to the site,
notify about an anomaly (e.g. unavailable product, failed payment),
carry out proactive customer service actions (to ensure, for example, that information sent by email has been taken into account),
reactivate opt-in customers with promotional and awareness offers.

It's a channel that's quite effective and naturally used by people, regardless of their age.

Laurent Partouche, Chief Product Officer & Chief Customer Officer FoodChéri & Seazon

The main challenge for FoodChéri and Seazon is to keep customers informed in real-time, via SMS, at every stage of their orders.

What is the aim of the 2 brands? To meet the logistical challenge of these lunch and dinner orders, to ensure and secure the correct delivery — to the home or office — of these fresh products on a date and at a time agreed in advance with the customer.

HIGHLIGHTS OF SMS

the perception of SMS (judged as non-intrusive and “facilitating” life)
the attention paid to the SMS by the customer
very good delivery rate

WEAKNESSES OF SMS

restrictions on the size (in terms of number of characters) and format of content that can be circumvented by using the RCS

opt for SMS, a zero friction solution for express delivery

Optimise digital food delivery processes using SMS text messaging

For FoodChéri, SMS was the obvious choice back in 2015/2016, when digital journeys were in their infancy - particularly during delivery, a key moment and a major friction point in this journey. The need for delivery tracking and notification of the courier's arrival at the bottom of the building was quite new and innovative at the time; and there were no other notification channels!

SMS has the advantage of being more direct than email, especially for people who are in the office at lunchtime. So it was quite natural to choose SMS.

Laurent Partouche, Chief Product Officer & Chief Customer Officer FoodChéri & Seazon

The future has confirmed that SMS is a precious and indispensable ally for those involved in last-mile delivery. The result is a high level of visibility for the customer, in real time, on the progress of his express delivery and on the restricted time slot allocated, anticipation of his presence at the point of delivery and... an increase in customer satisfaction.

This integration of the SMS channel has also been extended to other points of contact: customer service and marketing. Integrated into the FoodChéri and Seazon applications, it creates a unified, attractive digital customer experience.
Technically, this involves integration into the application layer via API; a back-end integration that was quick and easy to achieve. Coupled with the management of differentiated "marketing", "notification automation" & "customer service notification" channels, they benefit from all the power and efficiency of the SMS channel for their processes.

stand out from the crowd by making the onboarding experience interactive and memorable

When SMS comes to lunch

The use of SMS is part of a mix of channels including email, call, chat, onsite or push notifications. Channels that are activated according to the type of contact and communication point, the effectiveness of that channel, and so on. The aim is always to choose the perfect channel for each communication situation, and create the best customer journey to make FoodChéri and Seazon simple and innovative digital catering services.

Another innovative and original mobile messaging initiative implemented by FoodChéri and Seazon is the sending of a welcome voice message. This welcome message for the week's new customers, sent directly to their voicemail, replaces a one-to-one call made by the FoodChéri and Seazon teams. This personalized onboarding is rarely used by brands, and has proved highly successful.

Conversational and voice formats are part of trend where brands want to be able to establish a discussion with their customers very easily.

Fabien Andraud, head of sales smsmode^©

Beyond originality and performance, this use of voice in brand/customer interaction aims to humanize the brand, to establish a personalized, friendly and memorable digital experience. This use of voice marketing ultimately enables FoodChéri and Seazon to build engaged communities and surf the age of conversation!