The days are getting longer and warmer, which can only mean one thing: summer is on it’s way.
It feels like we’ve just had the longest winter ever, but as we slowly emerge into much-needed sunshine and a new sense of normality, it’s important to think about how you’re going to reach customers over the next few months.
Less people will be stuck indoors staring aimlessly at their computers.
Instead, they’ll be out making the most of the weather and the loser Covid-19 restrictions. Rather than trying to catch their attention in their social feeds or through well-placed ads, consider communicating with them directly in their Messenger inboxes.
Why Messenger is Your Best Bet for Customer Communication in the Summer
Research shows that shopping habits change in the summer.
Nice weather encourages shoppers to spend more time outdoors, which means merchants must increase their mobile campaigns if they want to continue reaching new customers.
On top of that, the optimism of summer pushes shoppers to make impulse purchases (and who can blame them when the sun is shining and the cold drinks are flowing?).
Messenger’s powerful capabilities of reaching customers where they’re already hanging out and creating personalized shopping journeys make it the perfect solution to your summer campaigns.
The Differences Between Email, SMS, and Messenger Campaigns
- Messenger is more conversational than email and generates better open and click-through rates (90% vs. email’s 15%) 🎯
- Messenger doesn’t have sending limits and is free compared to SMS marketing – in fact, 90% of messages are completely free 🆓
- Messenger encourages seamless, two-way conversations and creates experiences similar to in-store 🏬
Bear in mind that, despite the uptick in impulse buys during hazy summer days, not everyone is ready to make a purchase right away. Some want to ask questions, some need to be nurtured until they trust you, and some simply don’t understand your unique selling point.
“In fact, for me, Klaviyo is just an email capture. Having this kind of ability to talk to your customers instead of an email circle is one of the biggest advantages. When people sign-up, you hit them with this sign-up message, and even if they know how much the percentage is or who you are, they always have additional questions they want to know: “Do you have this product? Is there a better discount? I’m having issues with this”. Klaviyo just popups like “Join the VIP and Get 10% OFF. Give us your email”. That’s nice, but what if they had additional questions? 20 years ago, if you had these questions, you called the company. In today’s world people say “oh look there’s a little text here that I can shoot them to ask my question.” With technology nowadays, people expect to get answers quickly. Recart gives you that ability to have real-time conversations with these consumers instead of simply collecting contact information from them”
— James Denlinger, Digital Marketing Strategist. Read their story here.
Recart’s powerful Conversational Flows let you tackle all of these issues head-on.
Take Peejamas, for example. They offer diaper alternatives but found that their customers often got confused about what the product could actually do.
In response, the brand created a Conversational Flow (learn more about their strategy from 17.00 mins) that directed shoppers to a video where they could learn more. They then invited customers to provide more information about their child and served personalized content based on that:
By creating an instant conversation with potential buyers, Peejamas was able to catch shopper attention at their most engaged point and keep the momentum going.
Don’t forget:
It’s important to note that email and SMS still have their own set of benefits – don’t just drop them outright in favor of Messenger.
Instead, Recart works to enhance your marketing campaigns on pre-existing channels by collecting email addresses and phone numbers through Messenger so you can continue to nurture shoppers.
Even better, it makes it super easy for customers to subscribe with one tap (no more filling out endless personal information on contact forms).
Use Recart’s Welcome Popup to encourage customers to share their phone number or email address within the Conversational Flow.
Incorporating SMS and email subscribe options into a Messenger Conversational Flow works wonders for your numbers.
Where a traditional popup has a 5% capture rate and costs around $50 per subscriber, a Recart Messenger Flow with in-built contact catcher option has a 95% capture rate and costs just $0.95 per subscriber.
3 Ways to Integrate Messenger Marketing Into Your Existing Summer Strategy
1. Grow Your Lists and Audience
Obviously, you need a list to be able to market your products to new and existing customers. Collecting contact information before summer kicks off is crucial if you want to make the most of those impulse buys and mobile purchases.
Shoppers during the summer are more likely to buy online (because who wants to go to the shops when the sun is shining?). Therefore, it’s critical that you provide a seamless experience – otherwise they’ll go elsewhere.
It’s also important to establish a relationship with customers quickly if you want to keep their attention and avoid losing out to a competitor. For this reason, rapidly growing your list of subscribers is a must-do.
Here’s how you can do this.
Implement a Two-Tap Popup
Make it as easy as possible for shoppers to subscribe by taking out all the extra hoops and obstacles that traditional sign-up forms bring. Instead, use Recart’s Two-Tap Popup option that lets people sign-up in – you guessed it – two simple taps.
Two-tap popups tackle a number of issues merchants face:
- They have high conversion rates on mobile
- They are mobile-optimized to capture valuable mobile traffic
- They are highly customizable for brand-led designs
- They provide a seamless customer experience
Blush & Bar were keen to reach a bigger audience while still providing an exceptional customer experience. By implementing two-tap popups they managed to capture a large chunk of mobile traffic visiting their site and made $39,000 in just 30 days.
Mystery Giveaways and Contests
Everyone likes to win something. Running a giveaway or a contest can encourage on-the-fence shoppers to hand over their contact details.
According to research, some of the most lucrative contests run by merchants have boosted their subscriber lists by 700%. Collecting email addresses and phone numbers as part of the contest captures low-hanging fruit and helps merchants supercharge their lists.
Here are some summer giveaway ideas you can take inspiration from:
- Share-to-enter: where shoppers have to share the contest (and hand over their email address or mobile number) to enter
- Coupon for entering: provide shoppers with a discount code or coupon for taking part
- Partnered giveaway: partner up with a like-minded brand to double up on your promotion efforts
- Influencer giveaway: join forces with a relevant industry influencer to spread the word about your contest or giveaway
If you’re stuck on what to offer as a prize, what about one of your products, a gift card, or a shopping spree at your online store? Make the most of the summer season by running giveaways around seasonal events – use Recart’s event calendar to track important dates
Exclusive Incentives
Just like everyone likes to win, people also like to feel like they’re getting a good deal. Offer shoppers a discount code or another incentive like a free gift for providing their contact details.
You might decide to offer:
- A % discount on the next order
- A $ value gift card to spend while in-store
- A mystery gift
- A freebie add-on to their existing order
Gray Label offered visitors the chance to unlock up to 50% off if they gave their email address and mobile number over Messenger. This grew the brand’s list by 24,700 subscribers and generated $360,000 in net new revenue.
2. Send Triggered and Transactional Messages
Approach Messenger marketing the same way you do email and SMS marketing – through automation. Create triggered messages centered around your campaigns and during promos to build a slick customer journey that happens on autopilot.
Ryderwear directs shoppers from their Facebook ad for their giveaway to an automated Messenger sequence that encourages them to join a VIP group and unlock exclusive content. They used one of Recart’s giveaway templates to optimize their triggered sequence.
As well as sending triggered messages during a promotion, you can also send automated transactional messages to keep customers in the loop.
Abandoned Cart Messages
Retarget shoppers with unpurchased items left in their cart to bring them back to your store. Wholesome Culture does this via Messenger as a gentle reminder to customers.
Similarly, BlendJet uses Recart’s cart abandonment flow to re-engage shoppers. Doing this has generated an extra $520,000 in revenue for the brand.
Receipt Automation
Slide into customer DMs to confirm their order and nurture the relationship further by offering a discount on their next purchase.
Shipping Notifications
Research shows that 75% of customers want proactive communication about shipping updates from the brands they buy from.
They want to receive receipts, shipping notifications, and updates on where their order is at in the dispatch process. Recart’s shipping notifications let you include links for customers to continue shopping to re-engage shoppers without being pushy.
3. Sponsored Messages and Product Review Requests
Sponsored Messages that promote your latest product launch, share flash sales, celebrate a shopper’s birthday, request a product review, or provide educational information about your products are a great way to nurture the relationship you have with customers.
Messages like this can be either promotional or non-promotional, but they both provide personalized communication directly with customers straight in their Messenger inboxes.
These types of communication take place after your summer promo (like your giveaway, contest, or other list building activity) and allow you to forge deeper connections with your new subscribers.
Promotional Sponsored Messages:
- Flash sales: share your latest flash sale with new subscribers so they can claim a hefty discount
- Discounts: offer discounts to new subscribers to increase their average order value
- Birthday celebration: give customers a treat on their birthday, like a free gift or a discount code to use
Back-in-stock: remind interested customers that their favorite items are back in stock to give them a nudge in the right direction
Non-Promotional Sponsored Messages:
- Community building: encourage customers to join a VIP group where they can learn more about your brand
- Blog post promotion: share your latest blog post or piece of content that you think new subscribers will enjoy
- Customer feedback: request a review or feedback from recent customers to fuel product development
- Product launches: showcase your latest product line to customers that might be interested
- Tips and tricks: show customers how to use the product they purchased to build trust and establish expertise
BlendJet engages with its subscribers by sharing blog posts they think will be of interest:
The brand also sends out review requests Sponsored Messages to recent customers. Doing this has got them 6,000 more reviews since starting the campaign.
Elsewhere, Create Room offers customers a $100 voucher on their birthday so they can treat themselves:
Your Superfoods, Kizik, and Yes We Vibe all send out their latest product launches to subscribers via Messenger:
Key Takeaways for Your Summer Marketing Campaigns
- Shoppers will be spending more time on mobile devices – tap into this by sending mobile-friendly messages via Messenger 📲
- Combine your Messenger, email, and SMS campaigns to grow your list quickly before summer begins 📈
- Make it as easy as possible for shoppers to sign-up with Recart’s Two-Tap Popup 📝
- Run giveaways, contests, and offer incentives to shoppers to grow your lists 👪
- Send transactional emails to customers confirming their order and shipping details to build trust and keep the engagement going ✨
- Send promotional and non-promotional Sponsored Messages to build community and continue to nurture new subscribers 🧠
Still have questions?
It’s normal to be curious or even unsure about how to use messenger marketing in your campaigns. Book a live consultation with us and we’ll walk you through the ins and outs of messenger automation in a live demo.
Book a personalized, live demo with Recart today
