It’s huge news for eCommerce merchants that sell down under — Klaviyo SMS Marketing has launched in Australia!
You may have heard the hype around SMS marketing and heard stats getting thrown around like these…
- 54% of consumers would like to receive promotions via text message
- 90% of all texts are read within 3 minutes
Klaviyo has also reported — users that sent integrated email and SMS campaigns on their platform experienced a 122X ROI (on average).
So is Klaviyo SMS marketing right for your business? Well, in this blog we’re going to show you how to get started and grow your eCommerce sales with SMS marketing in Australia (using Klaviyo).
We’re going to cover:
- How to collect phone numbers and grow your list
- Tips to remain compliant with the Australian legislation
- Best practices for sending SMS campaigns and flows using Klaviyo
- How to segment your lists to create the best possible experience for your recipients
- And how to drive up your conversion rates and repeat orders using SMS
If you’re already using Klaviyo for your email marketing, adding SMS means you’ll be able to communicate with your customers faster, and on the channel that they prefer. You’ll also be able to keep it all under one roof, inside the Klaviyo platform. And if you’re not yet using Klaviyo, you’ll still definitely want to consider adding SMS to your marketing mix.
Remember — not everyone has notifications turned on for Facebook Messenger or email but almost everybody with a phone has notifications turned on for text messages!
Ready to cut through the noise and elevate your customer journey? Let’s get into it…
1. How to collect phone number for SMS marketing in Australia
Before we cover how to best incorporate SMS into your customer journey, we need to look at how to collect phone numbers and grow your list.
IMPORTANT NOTE: It’s crucial that your SMS marketing efforts remain compliant with the Australian legislation outlined in the Spam Act 2003. Pssst… we’ll cover our tips in more detail below. But *spoiler alert*…
- Be clear about what people can expect (what kind of messages and how often)
- Make sure you have express consent from your recipient to message them
- Be sure to clearly identify your brand in the message (include your brand name)
- Include a method for the recipient to unsubscribe (e.g. an opt-out link in every SMS)
This stuff is extremely important to follow! If you’d like to chat with the Andzen team and get our help rolling out your SMS marketing in Australia, be sure to get in touch for a no-obligation chat.
Now that’s covered, let’s get back to building your list. Generally your best bet is to offer people some kind of incentive (early-access to a major sale event, an exclusive discount, a gift or free sample, entry for a monthly giveaway etc.) There’s many great ways to get your SMS opt-in offer in front of people. You could:
- Use dynamic display sections in your emails to encourage opt-ins
- Use package inserts with your products to encourage opt-ins
- Use website pop-ups targeting mobile visitors
The list goes on… But we’d like to cover 3 simple ways to get started collecting numbers with Klaviyo.
Add SMS forms to your existing website pop-ups
Assuming you already have email capture on your site — the easiest first step is to simply add phone number capture to your existing signup forms. You’ll generally want to make this field optional.
You could say something like… “Want a text from us with early access to our biggest sales? Drop your details below and we’ll handle the rest!”
Try Klaviyo’s new multi-step forms to collect mobile numbers after collecting emails!
Add SMS replenishment pop-ups on order confirmation pages
When someone has just placed an order with your brand they are clearly highly engaged — so this can be a great time to prompt SMS opt-in. You could encourage to them to sign up for:
- Shipping updates on their order
- A discount for their next purchase
Or you could even ask them to sign up for helpful replenishment reminders — to check if they have run out and would like to order more.
2. Keep all messages relevant using strategic segmentation
With the great power of SMS comes great responsibility!
As marketers and brand owners we have the responsibility to only send people messages that we think they’ll be interested in. The goal is to create great experiences for your customers and the best method for doing this is strategic segmentation.
When done well — segmentation allows you to tailor your SMS copy and make the message feel more personal. It can also dramatically improve your engagement and conversion rates.
Before sending any text message you want to ask yourself 2 questions:
- What is the goal of the message?
- Who will be interested in this message?
There are many strategies for segmenting your SMS marketing list but here are 4 segments you may want to consider creating:
- Your highly engaged SMS subscribers
- Subscribers that have told you they prefer SMS to email
- A men’s and women’s segment (if this is relevant for your product line)
- Subscribers who have previously purchased a specific product
3. Grow your sales using Klaviyo SMS campaigns
SImilar to email marketing with Klaviyo — you can choose to send campaigns or flows.
- SMS campaigns are great for product launches and seasonal promotions
- SMS flows are great for any automated customer journeys
It’s important to note that SMS needs to be treated differently to email. You need to use the SMS channel sparingly and strategically.
First up, let’s look at sending SMS campaigns. These can be an extremely effective way to get deals and offers in front of your customers — fast!
In Klaviyo, you can have your SMS campaign sent immediately or at some point in the future. Here are some ideas for times you’ll want to send Klaviyo SMS campaigns to your customers:
- Letting your VIP list know about a product drop
- Letting customers know a seasonal promotion you are having
- Letting subscribers know about an important sale event (such as Black Friday)
Or delivering early access to loyalty program members…
4. Improve your customer lifetime value with Klaviyo SMS flows
Creating SMS flows is a powerful way to take your customer journey automation to the next level. Whether it’s welcoming new subscribers or increasing your abandoned cart conversion rates — SMS is a fantastic channel for increasing your customer lifetime value.
When it comes to Klaviyo SMS flows you can choose to:
- Add SMS messages to your existing flows
- Or create brand new flows solely for SMS
Either way, your goal should be to deliver relevant messages to your customers to move them down your funnel — from subscriber to customer, from customer to repeat buyer, and from repeat buyer to brand advocate!
5. Keep compliant with Australian spam laws
While SMS is an extremely powerful marketing channel, there are some important factors to be mindful of when sending to your list.
It’s illegal to send unsolicited SMS messages, so be sure to stay compliant with the Australian laws. The SMS legislation in Australia is regulated by the Spam Act 2003. This is enforced by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).
As we touched on above, there are some simple guidelines to help you stay out of hot water.
Make sure you have express consent to message your recipient
It’s important you have express consent to message your customers. Consent can be given by people sending you their number in messenger, texting a word to your number, entering their number in an online form, or by writing down their number in person.
Be sure to clearly identify your brand in the message
Sending messages that don’t let customers know it’s from you is a surefire way to get complaints and unsubscribes. Using your brand name as your sender ID will be enough to keep you out of trouble. Alternatively including your brand name in the message will ensure your recipient is aware who the text is from.
Include an option for the recipient to unsubscribe
It’s important you make it easy for customers to opt-out of your list. To ensure you remain compliant, an opt-out link should be included in every message you send.
How Andzen can help you with SMS marketing
Here at Andzen, we specialise in creating highly personalized 1-to-1 messages, at scale. We’re experts at creating email and SMS automations that give your customer amazing experiences, while also maximising the amount of buyers you convert and retain!
If you’re interested in incorporating SMS marketing into your customer journey, reach out to our team today for a no-obligation chat!