Staples recently launched their new retail SMS marketing campaign, and so far they’ve been doing an amazing job in-store promoting it to their customers. Since Staples is doing such a good job with their in-store SMS advertising, we decided to list all of the reasons as to why they’re doing such a good job, in hopes that you can learn from their success.
The best example of Staples in-store SMS advertising is the following call-to-action found on each credit card reader at their checkout locations. Below the image, we’ve detailed all of the reasons as to why this in-store SMS advertisement has been so successful for Staples.
Below are all of the reasons as to why this in-store SMS advertisement has been so successful for Staples.
Opt-In Incentive: All good SMS advertising has to have an opt-in incentive. Why? Providing customers with an opt-in incentive in your SMS advertising increases opt-ins by 520%. Staples is advertising an opt-in incentive to customers of $5 off their next purchase of $25, which is an amazing opt-in incentive. Want to see how other brands are growing their SMS subscribers by advertising opt-in incentives, download our free guide on growing SMS subscribers.
Great Placement: Did you know that you can expect in-store SMS advertising to have a 2.3 – 3.2% opt-in rate? Yep, it’s true… For more information on average SMS marketing opt-in rates, see this post. Combine those in-store SMS advertising opt-in rates, with the fact that this opt-in incentive is being advertised within inches of customers spending their hard-earned cash at the checkout, and you can imagine that Staples opt-in rates would be much higher than average.
No Bait-N-Switch: There’s always a chance that when offering an opt-in incentive the brand creates a bait-n-switch scenario, which you can learn more about in this video. Staples does a great job in their SMS advertising to not create a bait-n-switch scenario for their customers, as they make it very clear, that by texting JOIN to 555444 to get $5 off their next purchase, the customer is also going to get exclusive SMS offers from Staples sent to their phone.
CTIA Compliant: It’s critical to make sure that you’re SMS advertising is CTIA compliant. Staples has all of the needed CTIA disclosures, which include disclosures about message & data rates, quantity of messages customers can expect, term & conditions/privacy policy link, and how to text “HELP” to receive help, and “STOP” to stop messages from Staples. Want to make sure your SMS advertising is CTIA compliant, download our free guide on CTIA compliance.
Keyword Selection: When it comes to SMS keywords, it’s always a good idea to keep them simple. By selecting “JOIN” as their SMS keyword, Staples is making it extremely easy for customers to opt-in. Want to make sure you’re selecting the best SMS keyword for your SMS advertising, make sure you download our free guide on selecting SMS keywords.
Short Code Selection: Staples is using a vanity SMS short code in their SMS advertising, and just like how they selected their SMS keyword, they’re trying to make the opt-in process as easy as possible for the customer. By selecting a vanity short code such as 555444, Staples is assuring that customers won’t have a hard time recalling the short code when entering it into their mobile phone.
Hopefully, you’ve learned something from how Staples has been able to optimize their in-store SMS advertising, and you can take what you’ve learned to optimize your own in-store SMS advertising.
