SMS Marketing for Local Butcheries

With the arrival of large chain stores that offer everything under one roof, there has been a decline in the number of specialised local shops like the local butcher or the local greengrocer. It has become more difficult for these smaller businesses to compete with the one-stop supermarkets.

On the other hand, nothing beats the sense of satisfaction you get when you put a steak on the braai that has been handpicked for you and sliced to exactly the thickness you want. Every local butchery can harness that feeling of satisfaction to their advantage, by often reminding their client base of their experience. A bulk SMS system can help you do just that.

How to build you SMS subscriber list

If you have not yet collected the telephone numbers of your clients, then you will need to find a way to get them to give you their numbers. While a competition could work, where they need to put their till slip with their details on the back into a box, it might be a little cliched.

Imagine driving down the street on a Saturday morning and smelling that fantastic smell of meat on the braai. This is a sure fire way of getting any South African’s attention. By hosting a braai in front of your shop, showcasing some of your speciality products, you will not only attract potential new clients, but you also create a sense of community.

As people arrive and taste your goods, invite them to give you their number so that you can invite them to the next social event and so that you can send them a promo code that they can use the next weekend. This way you increase the chances of them returning to your shop the following weekend.

The follow up social events could be anything from a 4×4 day where you make up a package where they can book their 4×4 ride and get a braai pack at a discounted rate, or a fishing day at the local dam, or even a charity event where you revamp a room at a local charity, and you put a few ‘tjops’ on the fire. The possibilities are endless, and with each event, you connect with existing clients and attract potential new clients.

How to keep your subscribers

If you are going to bombard your clients with your latest specials, some might be inclined to unsubscribe after a while. But when you add value to your SMS messages, they will not mind getting the odd special thrown into the mix.

It is all about relationship. You can send them interesting links to articles pertaining to areas of their interests. What about a knife sharpening tutorial for the men or a yummy new recipe for the ladies to try out. If there is a health concern in the meat industry, you could be one of the first to alert your clients with ACCURATE and VERIFIED information, making you a trusted source of information.

You can allow clients to place recurring or once off orders via SMS and once the order has been processed send them a link to an invoice so that they can pay before the time and just collect their order. With a bulk SMS system, all these orders will appear in one place in your dashboard so they will be easy to manage.

You can even reward loyal customers by sending them reminders when they are one purchase away from earning a loyalty reward. This will encourage them to make that visit to your shop a lot sooner than what they might have planned to.

To stay ahead you need to evolve

In a world that is ever-changing, local businesses need to stay up to date with what is available to them, to retain their existing client base and to add new clients. While SMS technology s not new, the way we apply it to grow businesses changes often. It has become more affordable for small businesses to make use of this technology to grow and prosper.

How to get started?

The first step would be to register for a FREE ClickSMS account and to have your account verified.  As an added bonus we will double your credits on your first purchase, so please ask our sales team about that offer.

ClickSMS offers a free SMS marketing course. You can sign up here for this course and get started on undersanding SMS Marketing better