November 27, 2013

Here’s 12 Text Message Sample Ideas To Help Drive Store Traffic

Click image to see details of MSC’s Text Deals Program

Idea of the Week:  
 
Here’s 12 Text Message Sample Ideas To Help Drive Store Traffic
 
Increasing Your Sales Per Customer Levels  and Your Store Traffic

In 2012, the average grocery shopper spent $104.90 a week.  The average sales per shopping trip averaged $48 which was a drop from 2011 – $57.   So, customers are spending less on each shopping trip each week.

Shoppers spend 69% of their money on their PRIMARY shopping trip which includes 1.4 trips per week. They spend a total of 2.2 trips per week total.
Needless to say,  our competitors are trying harder to make you a secondary store so they can enjoy the margins of primary shoppers on their 2.2 trips each week.  Our goal?  It’s to get one more shopping trip a week to your store by presenting offers to encourage the extra trip.
How?
With technology…… with text message promotions.
According to the US Grocery Shopper Trends 2012  Booz & Company’s shopper analysis last year, “Shoppers use technology most often to obtain lower prices, as well as to research products”.
FMI has similar research available which you can click on below:
This week’s Idea of the Week is directed at helping you increase your store traffic – and if you’re already a secondary (vs. primary) store, we want to help increase your sales per transaction size at the same time. What?  Increase both traffic and sales per customer at the same time?  How can this be?
Just one more trip per customer per week will provide enormous results.
Also, get each customer to buy more than $20 on each visit.  It used to be that you could sell impulse items near your  check stand area to raise your sales per customer levels but to make a dramaticchange in your transaction levels you need to provide a reason to buy at least $20 on each trip.
A weekly text message promotion with a $20 minimum purchase just might help you accomplish that. At the same time your text message customers are telling their friends about the deal they received (and their friends did not) and encouraging more subscribers to your weekly text message deals.

Text Message Deals Can Increase Traffic and Average Sales Per Customer Levels 
 

A text message deal costs $10 to send out to 250 customers.  Just 2 cents for each cell phone over 251.  If you have 500 customers on your Text Deals program this translates to a grand total of just $15 to send out your Text Deal.

Your Text Deal promotions are the most immediate way to stop your customers, no matter where they are at and no matter what they are doing — to give them a “call to action.”  This means you can give them an immediate reason to stop what they are doing and get to your store to take advantage of the deal you’re offering them.
The 3 Most Powerful Words in Your Text Deal Message:  “While Supplies Last”
That’s right — NO RAINCHECKS.  Get to your store now, while supplies last, and get an amazing deal that most everyone else won’t even know about.  The more you continue this, the more subscribers you’ll see join your weekly Text Deals.
IMPORTANT!  Include a PLU number and a minimum purchase on each text deal.  Make sure to enforce the minimum purchase requirement if you expect to build your average sales per transaction size.
How much to markdown for each text deal?  Start at a $2 value or discount (free offer is best) with a $20 purchase.  That’s a 10% ad markdown which is less than you’re spending today on a hot price on the front page of your print ad.  And, you’re able to drive IMMEDIATE traffic to your store.
If you begin with just 200 text deal subscribers and get 25% redemption, that’s 50 customers spending a total of $1000 or more.  With a 20% gross margin on those sales you should net a minimum of $100 on those sales.  Well worth the investment to drive some new traffic to your store.
Here’s 12 Text Deal Examples: 

12 Different Ways to Position Your Text Deal Promotions to Drive Store Traffic
To increase both your sales per customer level and increase your overall customer counts you need to recognize that there are different motivating factors to encourage customers to make an extra trip to your store and buy more food.   Here’s some examples that might help you position your Text Deals.  Try a different promotion type each week and begin noticing new customers each week.
Text a popular item at an incredible price

Bananas at 10 cents per pound for those with your text message and PLU will translate to immediate store traffic.

Word will spread quickly that friends and neighbors should opt in for your text message program.
Buy an item, get an accompanying item free

It’s easy…..buy steaks and get steak sauce free; buy strawberries get whip topping free; buy bean coffee get coffee creamer free; buy pasta sauce get pasta free; buy ice cream get a topping free; buy a Deli Pizza get a free 2 litre soda; buy a rotisserie chicken get a free side dish.
Don’t forget special days – like Friday 13th

Lots of holidays and special days to use when planning your text deals.  Friday 13th, Valentines Day, Presidents Day, Arbor Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, 4th of July…….. just send out a special value text deal to steer traffic to your store.
Discount a Signature Item from a signature department

What is your signature department?  Wine, Deli, Bakery, Service Meat, Seafood?

Pick a signature item from a signature department to promote.
Catch your customer early in the day

Early morning is a great time to connect with your customers.  They’re on their way to work, on their way to school or on their way to shopping.  Give them a reason to come to your store in the morning for an unplanned trip.
Make customers drop what they’re doing and get to your store -NOW

Remember the “While Supplies Last” promotion?   If you have two pallets of a special buy sitting in your back room, send out a text deal to draw some immediate traffic to your store.
Give a big discount on a high demand item

You know the traffic building items for your store…… ground beef, gallon milk, dozen eggs…….. need traffic this afternoon?  Send out a text deal on one of these items.
Promote a special event in your store

Text deals is a great way to get the word out on a special store event.

Having a 3 day sale?  How about an outdoor produce sale?
Give your text deal customers a special deal to draw traffic.
At 10 am get customers hungry for lunch

Why not a daily $5 lunch deal in your deli?  For customers coming to your store for a $5 lunch deal, many will pick up the extra items they need between shopping trips during their lunch hour.
Encourage trial of items not on shopping lists

A special buy that is sent as a text deal may not be on a shoppers grocery list.  If the text deal is strong enough, it may prompt an extra trip to your store.
Discount your store gift cards

If you send out a text deal offering a free gift card with a $50 or $100 purchase you’re likely to be providing gifts to shoppers who normally don’t shop your store.  Give it a try!
At 3 pm send out  your meal solution for dinner

Send out a text deal at 3pm.  Doesn’t matter if the consumer is at work, at school, at the health club, at the dentist….it doesn’t matter.  Give them a reason to stop by on their way home to do some shopping!
Do you want Text Deals? 
Don’t have text deals today?
Want to begin sending your customers text deals to drive traffic?
Cost to have us set up your text deal text messaging number, setup your database and get you started is just $100.  It’s a one time fee to get your account set up.
After that, you can text as often as you’d like for just $10 per text message event you want us to process and send out to your customers.  This $10 covers the send out to the first 250 text message receivers.  It’s just 2 cents per text message for any text messages exceeding 250.  Send out 500 text messages and the total cost is only $15.
Click on picture to see movie