Reaching customers through multiple channels is more important than ever during the holiday season. Black Friday (often known as White Friday in the Middle East) and Cyber Monday have cemented themselves as among the busiest shopping periods of the year, and retailers are preparing for a deluge of customers both in-store and online.
Black (or White) Friday and Cyber Monday are increasingly gaining popularity with UAE shoppers as well. According to a survey by Statista, this period saw a 40 percent increase in willing shoppers from 2019 to 2020. This should come as no surprise, given the number of promotions and discounts offered by retailers during this time.
To ensure your communications are getting through to shoppers during this crucial time of the year, it is important to know how to best utilize multichannel marketing. Otherwise, you risk getting lost in the noise amongst all your competitors.
With WhatsApp, instant messaging and SMS, you can send announcements that are targeted to individual shoppers. This means that you can send messages about specific products or services that may interest them, rather than sending out generic advertisements.
You can also use these channels to segment your audiences and send different messages to different groups. This way, you can ensure that each shopper is receiving information that is relevant to them, which is more likely to result in a sale.
It's also a good idea to set up a web chat on your website that informs shoppers of any sales or discounts that are happening. This is a great way to engage with shoppers who may be undecided about making a purchase.
With multichannel marketing, you can also send custom messages to previous customers. This is a great way to show your appreciation for their business and to build loyalty. You can use purchase history to personalize messages and offer discounts on products that they may be interested in. For example, if a shopper has previously bought a winter coat from your store, you could send them a message about a sale on winter coats.
Coupons and discounts are a great way to entice shoppers to buy from your store. You can use WhatsApp and SMS messages to send coupons and discounts to shoppers, which they can then redeem in-store or online. You can also use these channels to send reminders to shoppers about any coupons or discounts that they may have. Targeting them carefully using purchase history and website analytics helps make your offers more personal and more likely to get the desired response.
Using persuasive language in your messages, such as “Don’t miss out on these amazing discounts!” or “Limited time only!”, can also drive extra interest.
Keep your best customers happy by giving them early access to sales and discounts.
Through WhatsApp and SMS, you can send messages to invite shoppers to join your loyalty program and to give them early access to sales. This is a great way to build loyalty and keep your best customers coming back. You can also use these channels to send reminders about loyalty program benefits, such as points that can be redeemed for discounts or free products.
With a chatbot, you can automate your communications with shoppers. This is a great way to save time, as you can set up automated messages that are sent out in response to common questions or queries. For example, you could set up a chatbot to automatically send a message about your sales event to anyone who asks about it or remind them of offers when they abandon their shopping cart.
Chatbots can also be used to segment your audience and send different messages to different groups. Helping the chatbot understand your customer’s preferences is key to its success. To do this, you can use data from past interactions, such as purchase history and web browsing data. This will help the chatbot send relevant messages that are more likely to result in a sale.
Sometimes you may prefer to keep your in-store promotions separate from your online promotions. This is often the case when you have different target audiences for each channel.
Automated WhatsApp and SMS messages will allow you to inform shoppers of in-store promotions, such as sales or discounts. You can also use these channels to send reminders about online promotions, such as free shipping on online orders.
Loyalty and customer retention should be a top priority for any business, especially during the holiday season. By using multichannel marketing, you can reach your customers on the channels that they prefer and build loyalty. You can also use data from past interactions to personalize messages and send relevant offers that are more likely to result in a sale.
Above all, try not to be too sales-y in your messages. Instead, focus on providing value to your customers and building loyalty. After all, loyal customers are the ones that will keep coming back, year after year.