BFCM SMS Readiness Checklist

Here we go! While you are still soaking up the last bit of summer, your SMS strategic planning needs to look to the winter. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are less than 100 days away which means brands should start preparing now to guarantee BFCM success and avoid any last-minute scramble. We’ve put together a BFCM SMS Readiness Checklist so you have all the to-dos in one place. 

‍

Make Your Holiday Readiness List and Check it Twice

With so many SMS trends to consider as you prep for the eCommerce holiday season, we’ve created a critical SMS must-haves checklist to ensure your Black Friday and Cyber Monday are a complete success.

‍

Review Your Black Friday Cyber Monday SMS Compliance Checklist

✅ Follow explicit opt-in best practices in your new and existing acquisition flows

Start with getting express written consent. No consumer should be confused about a message they receive from a brand or company. They should have explicitly opted into SMS marketing alerts with their written consent. 

✅ With surges in new subscribers, be crystal clear with your opt-in messages and set expectations for frequency of messages, types of content, and data rates

Per the CTIA, companies planning recurring SMS eCommerce campaigns should, “provide Consumers with a confirmation message that clearly informs the Consumer they are enrolled in the recurring message campaign and provides a clear and conspicuous description of how to opt-out.”

This confirmation should provide information on the product or service, the frequency of messaging, information on associated fees and charges, and contact information for customer care.

✅ Make opt-out frictionless – holiday is not the time to get unexpected complaints

CTIA guidelines mandate that consumers must be able to opt out of messages at any time, and have multiple mechanisms for doing so (calling a service line, texting “STOP”, etc). A confirmation message of a successful opt-out is also required.

✅ Strictly follow quiet hours and remember your subscribers are dealing with a high volume of messages throughout the season, send something that delights them 

The TCPA mandates that SMS texts are limited to regular business hours, which are defined as 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

‍

💡 Read more about BFCM SMS compliance here

‍

Settle on Your Top Segments And Plan for Possible New Ones

✅ Identify your critical customer data points and set up segment filters in advance

SMS segmentation gives you the opportunity to send personalized and delightful messages to your customers and allows you to target the most valuable customers first. 

✅ Make sure system integrations are running smoothly well in advance of the holiday so no unexpected data drops occur

✅ Map out possible on-the-fly segment needs that might come up based on campaign plans and inventory during the height of the holiday so your team is at the ready

Some segments to consider: 

• Abandoned Cart - has added to cart but did not place order
• Checkout Abandoned - has started checkout but did not order
• Inactive - date subscribed is greater than 90 days ago but has not placed an order
• High Intent - viewed product in the past three days
• VIP Customers - high lifetime order value
• Recent Customers - has placed an order in the past 30 days
• Repeat Buyers - lifetime orders are greater than or equal to two

‍

Get Testing NOW So You Have The Best Results DURING Holiday

✅ Perform A/B Tests ahead of Black Friday and Cyber Monday to determine which campaigns are more effective and drive more engagement

A/B testing is the process of comparing two versions of an SMS campaign to figure out which performs better. Every brand has its own personality, nuances, and target markets, which is why it’s vital to test what works for you. Here are a few SMS variables to test: 

• SMS Sending Times 
• Variations of Images and GIFs 
• Discounts or Offers 
• Emoji usage 
• Message copy 
• Message length 
• Discount expiration length 
• Offering buy now, pay later payments

✅ Test as much as possible: Modals, Welcome Flows, Campaigns — image types, discounts, phrasing, etc.

Here’s to a successful and (fairly) stress-free Black Friday and Cyber Monday! 🍻

Looking for more BFCM trends and tips? We’ve compiled a complete BFCM + SMS Holiday Readiness Guide, with the top trends and steps to help your brand have the best 2022 holiday season.

‍

Prepare your BFCM SMS strategy and download the guide right here!

‍