Everything You Need to Know about Abandoned Cart SMS Messaging

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Unrecognizable woman shopping online using her tablet computer

Text messages are an incredibly important part of our culture, like it or not. They’re woven into the very fabric of our society, and most people state that they carry their cell phones with them every single hour that they’re awake. Many of us even sleep with our cell phones near us, and admit to feeling lost when we’re without them.

As cell phones have become an extension of ourselves, text messaging is an essential part of any business’s marketing strategy. From promoting sales to highlighting new services and products, text messaging has the ability to reach your customers at lightning speed. They also convert to sales more than any other form of marketing out there. But there is one more way that businesses can utilize the power of the text message to benefit their sales numbers – abandoned cart SMS messaging. 

What Is Abandoned Cart SMS Messaging?

Let’s start with the basics. Abandoned cart SMS messaging is, in fact, exactly what it sounds like. 

Online sales bring customers to your website for a variety of reasons. In some cases, customers are there because they know exactly what they are looking for, and they purchase within minutes of visiting. Other customers come just to look around and see what you’re offering, and leave without ever purchasing anything. 

However, there is a third type of customer that abandoned cart SMS messaging focuses on… those customers that come to your website, put items into their cart, but leave without purchasing anything. With a simple text message, an abandoned cart may be able to be converted back into a sale. Sound too good to be true?

How Does Abandoned Cart SMS Messaging Work?

So, how can those abandoned carts be converted to sales?

With professional abandoned cart SMS messaging, a team of people work behind the scenes to catch those carts as they occur. When a cart does get left, the team will be notified and will reach out and make contact with your customer. This is done by sending the customer a non-confrontational, friendly SMS (text) message. Usually these messages just ask why the customer didn’t complete their purchase.

Once they do make contact (the customer must choose to text back to continue the conversation, otherwise the contact ends with the initial text message), the behind the scenes team can find out the reason they may have left without making a purchase and offer solutions to combat those issues. Examples of things that may be offered are special discounts or free shipping, depending on the reason that the sale was lost in the first place. This will all happen after discussion with the business about what can be offered, the team will never offer anything without express consent from you.

Abandoned cart SMS messaging works by making your customers feel like they are important. It also creates additional company loyalty, as customers who feel like their concerns are being heard and addressed are the same customers likely to come back over and over again. 

Are There Other Benefits? What Should a Business Look For?

Using a professional abandoned cart SMS messaging service also comes with other benefits, in addition to the cart conversion. Much of this depends on the service that you choose to hire. 

One thing to look for in a reputable company is that they offer monthly reports, which provide advanced insights into the conversations that are being had with your customers. These insights are incredibly important to learning why carts are being abandoned in the first place. Armed with that information, you can cater your sales to what works best for the customer.

You should never have to pay any hidden fees in pricing, either. Don’t settle for a company that is hiding things from you or causing you hassle. Straightforward is always best, as is transparency. Look at it as a partnership.

That transparency should also extend into being able to view the conversations that the company is having with your customers. This is especially helpful if it can be viewed in real time, so that you can monitor exactly what is being said. The reason that this is so important is that the company you hire to perform your abandoned cart SMS messaging is functioning as an extension of your company, so the reassurance that they are representing you well can help you feel less anxious about relinquishing control. 

If you’re noticing your online sales starting to slip, hiring a company to perform abandoned cart SMS messaging may be just what you need to convert those carts into actual sales. Don’t let customers slip through your fingers. When you hire a professional company, you may be able to convert up to 21% of abandoned carts into money in your pocket, without even lifting a finger! You’ve got nothing to lose.