How to Win Customers Back with SMS Automations?
You haven’t heard from your customers in a while? You can use Yotpo SMSBump to create an Automation that sends your customers a text message after a certain period of inactivity.
This article will help you set the Customer Winback function in the Yotpo SMSBump Automation tool.
How does Customer Winback work?
Use the Customer Winback Automation to set up periodic triggers for your inactive customers. It will send them text messages with time-sensitive incentives such as discounts or free shipping to come back and shop again.
How to set Customer Winback SMS Notifications?
Choose the Automations tab in the sidebar and then click on Create new automation.
Alternatively, you can use the preset automation Customer winback .
Create a new winback event
Use the SMS Automation Name field to give your automation a name. Preferably, add the time of the reminder so you can compare between the different periods and their effectiveness.
To select Customer Winback in the Automation Type, navigate to the Retention (Boost Store ROI) category and you will find it there.
In the Recipient section select Customer, so that the messages go out to your clients instead of you.
Select the Timing
Choose when the notification should be triggered in the Last Order X Days ago section. This number indicates how many days have passed since the customer last purchased something from your store.
We generally recommend the usage of 30 and 60 days but tailor the timing to the frequency of purchase to your particular business.
You should also select the most optimal hour of the day for these messages to be sent.
Important: This trigger is based on your time zone in the Settings menu of Yotpo SMSBump. If you have international customers, it would be better if you fit this to their time zone.
Grab the attention with a visual
Add visuals to your Automation message to make it more attractive. You can upload your own image or use GIPHY and PEXELS.
To add your picture, use the Browse button or the drag and drop option in the box.
Alternatively, you can upload GIFs from GIPHY or choose stock images from PEXELS. Note that it can include up to 9 images.
Important: This feature only works for U.S. customers. By adding visuals to your automation message, you turn your text into an MMS, thus the prices for an MMS will apply.
Tailor your message
Every automation comes with a pre-written text to guide you, but feel free to modify it or change it altogether. It is important that the message fits your brand voice.
The length of a standard text is 160 characters and it decreases to 70 in case you use emojis or any special characters. Messages with visuals (MMS) allow up to 1600 characters.
If you exceed these numbers, your message will be counted as 2 separate texts. To help you with that, we put an SMS counter to keep track of the number of characters and texts you will be sending.
Set up a discount code
The template is set to offer a 5% discount, but it is not automatically applied. Use the Add discount section to create one.
In the Discounts menu, you can select between personal and universal discount codes. We recommend you to always use personal ones to avoid code misuse. If you do choose to use a universal discount code, make sure you set up different ones across the different channels you use (email, SMS, social media posting etc.) so you can track the performance of each individual channel more accurately.
Next, you need to set up the Discount type. You can choose between Fixed amount, Percentage or Free Shipping and select the amount you want to have in the discount.
You can also embed the discount code in a link, so it is automatically applied when the customer clicks on it. To do so, select the page where the discount is applicable. In case you leave the box blank, the customer will be redirected to your home page.
Once the discount code is generated, add it to your message. Just tailor the copy of the text, select where you want to add the code and click on the {DiscountCode} short button. If you chose to embed the discount in a link, replace it with the short code {SiteURL}. After all, you don’t want to have 2 links leading to the same place, right?
More information about discount codes and how to apply them is available in our Knowledge base.
Select the right short codes
The short codes are used to fetch your customer information directly from your Shopify account.
They are displayed to you above the text box are the ones applicable for the selected automation. Please do not use codes from other automations, as those will not work.
The most important short codes for Customer Winback Automation are:
- {SiteName} - Remember that in some countries the messages are sent from carrier approved short codes. Let your customer know who is texting them by using this code.
- {FirstName} and {LastName} – Use the name of your customers to make the message more personal.
- {CustomerCreated} – This one displays the date when your customer has created an account.
- {SiteUrl} – This is the link to the site. Replace it with the {DiscountCodeUrl} in case you use the embedded discount link.
- {DiscountCode} – This is the discount code your customers will use. It is recommended to always place this code in your text because some people might prefer to make a purchase on another device.
- {DiscountCodeUrl} – The link to the website where the discount code is automatically applied.
Don’t Forget the Opt-Out Option
Keep your Spofity store compliant with the regulations by adding the Opt-Out option:
Did you notice how the green bar filled up? This is our Strength Meter. It helps you build better messages for your campaigns. If you are interested to learn more about it, check out this article.
Review your Message
Use the Text Event Message button to review your message. Select your admin phone number and click OK.
Important: Test messages show the raw short codes, as opposed to the dynamic data customers will receive. Those messages are not free and you will be charged for it.
