Use this holiday shipping message strategy to keep your customers in the loop and happy over the busy holiday season.
Shopping during the holidays is either the best part of the season…or the worst. It all depends on one thing: whether or not you get your orders on time. Nothing frustrates customers more than getting an order late or, worse, not knowing if it’s going to show up at all.
In 2024, a very late Thanksgiving means the holiday shopping and shipping window is a little shorter than usual. If you run a small business that’s shipping out holiday orders, it pays to communicate clearly and honestlyーeven if you’ve got bad news to share. Failing to do so can drive customers away and damage your reputation.
Accurate shipping deadlines are the backbone of great customer communication during the holidays. Let your customers know exactly when to expect their orders and give consistent updates if something changes. Let’s take a closer look at how you can use transactional SMS to improve customer communications over the holidays.
If your small business runs on quality customer service, setting expectationsーand meeting themー is essential. The challenge is, thanks to two-day shipping from big companies like Amazon, many consumers expectations for order fulfillment are high. You may not be able to produce, pack, ship, and deliver as fast as the biggest companies in the world. However, you offer something people want. And if it’s worth waiting for, clear communication about holiday shipping will go a long way.
68% of consumers say they would pay more for products or services from a brand with great customer service. No one wants to deal with a bunch of angry “Where’s my order?” messages during the most hectic season of the year.
All this to say, you’ll need to keep the deadlines on your website and holiday marketing channels up to date.
Setting clear expectations for your holiday shipping is simple. All it takes is three easy steps over the whole holiday season. Let’s dive in:
While transactional SMS messages are an effective way to remind customers about your holiday shipping deadlines, it’s also wise to let people know before they make a purchase from you. If you run an online store, the best place to do that is right on your ecommerce website.
Look at where you mention your shipping methods and deadlines on your website. Make sure you update those spots to reflect the upcoming busy season. Most ecommerce sites feature their shipping options (including both types and timelines) on product pages or on the shipping section of their checkout process.
You can use a simple table like this one:
This little graph gives clear deadlines for those who want to receive their order by Christmas Eve. It also helps customers choose the best shipping option for their schedule. Best practice here is to note ahead of time that the new deadlines are specifically for the holiday season. This will keep customers from confusing your holiday shipping times with regular shipping times.
You can also communicate holiday shipping deadlines with in-app notifications or during in a visible location of the shopping cart. That’s especially important if you offer various types of shipping options with different delivery times.
Another helpful idea for using website would be to add a homepage banner or a pop-up that notifies visitors how long they have if they want to be sure orders arrive in time for the holidays.
Here’s how Target did it on a holiday graphic that’s a bit busy if you ask us. If you’re not paying attention, you might miss the ornament with dates defining shipping deadlines amongst all the products, discounts, and promotional copy. How could your small business website make a message like this harder to miss?
Deadlines for holiday shipping are important enough to warrant their own dedicated message to your customers. Consider sending a text to your customers to let them know exactly when the cutoff is for getting orders delivered in time. You can also provide other options such as expedited shipping or the chance to pick up a package in person.
Because shipping deadlines can also create a fear of missing out (FOMO) they’re also worth including in SMS marketing campaigns over the holidays. They’re helpful, and they could help boost holiday sales. Pair up the deadline with discount codes you deliver to your SMS subscribers.
Order confirmation texts are one of the most common types of transactional SMS communications. New research from Sinch found that more than 94% of consumers view transactional messages like order confirmations as important to their customer experience during the holidays. Plus, more than 75% if consumers expect to receive those confirmations in less than five minutes. The speed and reliability of SMS makes texting the perfect way to deliver those messages.
Your order confirmation or thank you message could also confirm whether delivery can be expected in time for whatever holiday the customer is celebrating. In addition to order confirmations, shipping update messages can bring peace of mind to stressed out holiday shoppers. Let them know when their order has shipped and when it’s out for delivery. If possible. you can even text customers when it arrives on their doorstep.
There are also local businesses that use SMS communications for more personal one-to-one communications with their customers. While automation is awesome, you can use the SimpleTexting platform to manually send specific updates directly to customers about their orders or any delays they can expect. What better way to add a human touch this holiday season?
Customers keep coming back to brands they trust. Trust is built through accurate, constant communication.
If you do your best to be clear about shipping deadlinesーespecially during a busy season like the holidaysーyou’ll stand out among other brands that fall short on that point.
Need an easy way to communicate holiday shipping messages to your customers? Try SimpleTexting totally free for 14 days.
Lily is a content marketing specialist at SimpleTexting. She specializes in making helpful, entertaining video content and writing blogs that help businesses take advantage of all that texting has to offer. When she’s not writing or making TikToks, you can find Lily at roller derby practice or in a yoga studio in the Seattle area.
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