5 Holiday Text Messaging Campaigns That Keep Giving Back Into The New Year
The holiday stretch has arrived, and consumers have greeted it in full force. This year’s holiday spending forecast is looking merry and bright, with an increase of 6-8% over 2021’s spending despite rumblings of a recession.¹ If it is anything like last year, where 36% of consumers incurred debt over the holidays² and spending $1,249 on average, financial institutions have a big job ahead of them.
With consumers in full swing preparing for their festivities, it is perfect timing for financial service providers to implement a text messaging strategy that helps clients achieve their seasonal goals.
We’ve compiled a list of five ways to use text messaging this holiday season to keep your clients happy and your business rolling:
1. Share your holiday hours
Text messaging’s instant deliverability and reliability make it the perfect channel for communicating important information instantly. From holiday closures to extended hours, it’s a good idea for lenders to share any changes to their operations schedule so that clients aren’t left in a bind when they need help. Use this text messaging opportunity to express gratitude for their trust in your services and to remind them of any closures, hour changes, or service delays they may experience.
2. Remove loan payment stress and increase on-time payments with text pay
Your clients have a lot on their plates as the year closes out, and loan payments might not be at the forefront of their minds. Give your clients the gift of time and peace of mind by using text messages to help them self-serve their payments. Simplifying the payment process through technology has been a game changer. Giving borrowers a convenient way to check balances, view statements, and make payments is key to receiving on-time payments. Scheduled text messages consistently allow lenders to deliver notifications, reminders, and delinquent payment follow-ups. Consumers can make payments anytime, anywhere, right from their phones.
3. Elevate the customer experience with two-way text messaging
Nothing says bah humbug like a bad customer service experience during the holidays. Consumers have little patience for bad customer service experiences as found in this study where 40% of consumers completely severed the business relationship over a negative interaction.³ Two-way texting quickly solves your customer service woes and keeps clients happy. Lenders can start a two-way text message conversation customized to meet their customer’s financial needs this holiday season. Send a text message offer with products and promotions tailored to your customer’s previous actions and ask how you can help. Teams equipped with a library of templates and resources can assist multiple clients and even automate some of the cases. Your business will see benefits long into the new year by going the extra mile to present a unique and customized customer experience with text messaging.
4. Share text message-only personalized offers
Treat your loyal followers by creating holiday-specific offerings exclusively available to your text messaging list. Drive up the holiday excitement and show your fun side with themed keywords, Gifs, and Emojis by Text™. Use your text message-only offers to solve a holiday-related problem your client is facing and build a bank of trust for the future.
5. Add keywords to increase results and invite customers to opt in
With the highest open rates of any communication channel, text messaging can tie your campaigns together into a neat holiday bow. Increase lagging email open rates by sharing your message in a text. Give a second life to the social media posts buried by algorithms by delivering them right into the hands of your clients with a simple text message. Did your print campaign make it into the hands of your clients? Send out a digital version through a text message as a follow-up. Cross-platform marketing is an effective way to get the content into the hands of your audience while simultaneously building up your audiences on each channel. Remember to add your short code and keywords to your non-text messaging efforts to increase traffic and results.
There are quite a few ways to create a holiday text messaging strategy, but it’s essential to keep a few things in mind before you start spreading the cheer.
Best Practices for Holiday Text Messaging:
1. Introduce yourself
Not all consumers keep a backlog of your previous messages, so it’s essential to introduce yourself at the beginning of your messaging campaign. Whether you are sending marketing or account-related text messages, get off on the right foot by introducing your brand. Your introduction can be as simple as including your institution’s name at the beginning or end of the first text.
2. Have a purpose
Text messages are a direct line to your customer and can add or take away from the relationship. Each message should be clear, have a reason for sending, and state a prominent call to action. Try including a SmartURL™ for more details if you are short on space.
3. Know your holidays
November and December are rich with holidays celebrated all around the world. Knowing the holiday calendar is vital to avoid any awkward mishaps with your content schedule. By learning which holidays your clients celebrate, you can join in on their celebrations and add an unexpected level of personalization to the communication.
4. Schedule text messages in advance
Reduce the stress of your already burdened teams and increase your holiday text messaging campaign’s performance by scheduling your messages in advance. Scheduling text messages allows you to optimize delivery times, automate workflows, and create a seamless strategy across all platforms.
5. Be prepared for the response
Make sure that agents are aware of campaigns and prepared to answer questions and provide personalized solutions to customers.
Touted as the happiest time of year, the holidays can have the opposite effect on many. It can be the most draining time of year with overbooked calendars, complicated family dynamics, and the pressure of gifts. Not to mention the financial burden that comes with the season. Financial service providers have a unique opportunity to step in and help consumers navigate the season.
Using these text messaging strategies can make this holiday season a joyous time. Connect with your clients and offer help as the year ends. Give your clients an open line of communication through text messaging to build a stronger relationship that continues well past the new year. When they need you the most, they will know they have a direct line to help.
References
1. https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/nrf-predicts-healthy-holiday-sales-consumers-navigate-economic
2. https://www.lendingtree.com/personal/holiday-debt-survey/#keyfindings
3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/815568/customers-who-stopped-doing-business-due-to-poor-customer-service-us/
