SMS marketing for grocery stores & retailers
Learn how to gain a competitive edge and connect with your customers using text message marketing.
Did you know there are over 38,300 grocery retailers in the U.S.? That breaks down to a possible 766 grocery stores in each state!
At face value, grocery stores don’t feel overwhelmingly competitive. After all, they sell products that are essential to everyone. With price and quality serving as the only obvious factors separating one chain from another, one thing remains overlooked—customer loyalty.
With the average American shopping for groceries 1.6 times a week, it’s not uncommon for that customer to always return to one specific store.
That, combined with a few other niche industry needs, presents a unique set of marketing challenges for all grocery stores:
– How to gain customer loyalty
– How to convert new customers into supporters
– How to remain accessible and competitive
Here at SimpleTexting, we consider ourselves your one-stop shop for addressing all your market(ing) needs.
How can texting become a marketing tool for grocery stores?
We’ve seen stores experience remarkable growth in the way they communicate once they started with text marketing. Just a few areas of improvement include:
Better offer redemption
Between coupons, mailers, newspaper inserts, and emails— nobody works harder to provide savings opportunities than grocery stores. However, sometimes this inundation of offers results in lower redemption rates by consumers. With texting, valuable and specific offers go directly to your customers’ cellphone increasing the chances of bringing customers into the store to make a purchase drastically.
Heightened brand awareness
An increase in awareness almost always leads to higher revenue. Receiving regular, quick communications from your grocery store can increase a customer’s familiarity and friendliness with your brand. That kind of back and forth is a key ingredient in building customer loyalty.
Sets you apart from the competition
Text marketing is still relatively new to the digital marketing world. And of all the industries to adopt it, grocery stores are on the smaller side. This presents a unique opportunity to set yourself apart by being the only grocery store your customers know that they can communicate with via text message.
Focus attention on most engaged customers
A lot of money and resources can be wasted on latent audiences. While your email marketing list may have thousands, how many are actually reading and engaging with your material? Text marketing, however, requires contacts to provide express consent to receive messages. By nature, this automatically gives you your most active audience. Can anyone say ROI?
Sample text messages for grocery stores
To give you a better idea of what your messages might look like, here are some sample texts any grocery store could send.
Coupons
Gone are the days of clipping BOGO soup cans from the Penny Saver. For many, coupons have gone digital by delivering text message coupons directly to customers’ phones they carry them around with them everywhere. This type of convenience can inspire more impromptu trips to the store for an item or two (or more!)
Seasonal product announcements
Speaking of fall, many grocery stores operate on a seasonal availability schedule. Let your customers be the first to know when their favorite products are officially on the shelves.
Share recipes
Your texts don’t always have to be promotions. Another great way to drive purchases is by sending out material, such as recipes, that feature your signature products.
Weekly discounts
One of our best tips for any text marketer is to practice consistency. Your contacts will appreciate knowing and expecting when to hear from you. A great way to keep your brand top of mind is by providing weekly discounts. You can send them on notoriously slow shopping days (like midday during the week) or on your busy weekend days!
Create a loyalty program
Text message loyalty clubs are popular across many retail locations. There’s a good chance your grocery store already has one! By transitioning your rewards club to mobile there’s no need to hassle with forgotten cards or account numbers. Create ease for you and your customers by putting it all on their cell phones.
You can use opt-in keywords to join and automate marketing messages like the one below to keep customers engaged without any extra effort on your part.
Restock or product announcements
Grocery stores can be known for gathering cult followings around some of their products. The chain Trader Joes, for example, saw weeks of mayhem when their popular cauliflower gnocchi hit the shelves and sold out faster than you can say millennial. Harness that energy and enthusiasm for your most popular products by exclusively alerting your contacts about their whereabouts.
Event announcements
To many, grocery stores are more than just a space to purchase food. They can also be hubs of community activities. Texting can be a great way to keep frequent flyers in the loop about events as well as attract folks who may not know that you’re not a regular grocery store, you’re a cool grocery store.
How to get your grocery store started with text marketing
No matter the size or location of your grocery store the process looks the same. Here’s the simplest way to get your store set up with SMS.
1. Select a number
The very first thing you’ll do when you get started with text marketing is choose your number. You can opt for a new registered local number or choose and verify a toll-free number, take on a unique 6-digit short code, or work with one of our onboarding team members to text-enable your existing voice number.
2. Create keywords
Keywords are one of the easiest ways for your contacts to find you. Your keyword can simply be the name of your grocery store (EARLSGROCERY) or, if you operate out of multiple locations, a combination of your name and place (PublixTampa).
When a customer texts your keyword into the number you’ve text-enabled, it automatically adds them to your list. Your keyword confirmation, which can be an SMS or MMS message, also gives you a great opportunity to welcome new contacts right off the bat! Simple as the pie we hope you sell fresh from your bakery.
3. Advertise your new texting abilities
Arguably the most important part of text marketing is the marketing blitz around your keywords, sign-up forms, and SMS program. Every customer should be exposed, through multiple channels, to the various ways they can subscribe.
We suggest putting a sign-up form on your website, posters, and signs throughout your store, adding your number and keyword to the bottom of receipts, training all checkout employees to ask guests if they would like to sign up, advertising your information in all social media bios… just for starters.
4. Encourage contacts with a contest (optional)
Another great way to get people excited about your text marketing program is by running a text-to-win contest. Simply create a contest keyword and advertise it to all new contacts. Offer a prize, such as free groceries for a year (or any other time period).
All customers have to do is text in to win. Just be sure to make it clear that they’re subscribing to receive text messages from your store by entering the contest! The allure of a prize like that is sure to drive hundreds of people to enter!
FAQs for grocery store text marketing
The total spent on groceries for the average American household sits at around $779/month. With the median SimpleTexting plan costing you only $109 a month, we’d say it saves to spend when it comes to text marketing. If our calculations here are correct, you’ll earn your money back and then some by bringing in even one new customer!
So give it a try today, we’ll even give you your first 14 days for free!