SMS birthday marketing is an effective and personal way to interact with customers and help them to celebrate their special day. Find out how to get the most out of it here.
Whether your customers are stepping into adulthood or celebrating their fabulous 40th, wishing them a happy birthday with a personalised SMS is a great way to drive sales.
To amp up the celebration, a promo code, voucher or free gift will encourage them to visit your store or website, and hopefully make them feel special.
Birthday marketing has gained traction in recent years with big brands like Krispy Kreme giving away free doughnuts and Hotel Chocolate offering a £5 gift voucher. It’s an excellent way to generate good publicity, positive word-of-mouth referrals and compete with the big names.
Not only that, but by offering value through a birthday promo code or gift voucher, you can boost your sales. Research by Experian revealed that birthday emails have a 481% higher transaction rate compared to promotional ones, and they can generate 342% higher revenue per email.
One of the reasons SMS marketing is so popular is because of its high engagement rates – add to that personalised birthday content, and you’re onto a winning formula to drive customers into action.
Why choose SMS for birthday marketing?
With many channels to choose from, you might be wondering why SMS should be your first choice to reach customers on their birthday?
Well, what’s more personal than a customer’s mobile phone? Text messages feel more immediate and exclusive, which makes SMS the perfect choice for your birthday message, especially if you address customers by their first name and offer bespoke offers.
With SMS marketing in general, it’s possible to reach a really broad audience. With around 7.33bn smartphone users across the globe, almost everyone has the ability to send and receive texts.
And nearly everyone checks their texts on their birthday, expecting messages from friends and family.
Learn more: SMS marketing: How to unlock the power of SMS
Promotional Birthday SMS examples
As a general rule, keep your messages clear and to the point. Remember, the birthday boy or girl will probably receive a high number of messages during the day!
Your tone should be warm, excited and friendly to show you share their excitement.
People expect to be spoiled on their birthdays, so offer them something valuable in return for messaging them on their special day. This could be a discount code, a link to a limited time offer, free delivery on their next order or even a free item as a present.
Below we share a few examples of what you might want to include in your birthday marketing text messages. Copy them and use them, if you like!
Copy template: It’s your birthday, [insert name]! We at [insert company name] hope all of your birthday wishes come true. Have a magical day and celebrate in style with 20% off [link].
Copy template: Happy birthday [insert name], from [insert company name]. Today is all about you! We wish we were there to celebrate, so here’s a little birthday surprise [link].
Copy template: Did someone say birthday? From everyone at [Company], happy birthday [Name]! To celebrate the big day, we have a treat for you [Link]
Copy template: Did you think we forgot? Happy birthday [insert name], from [insert company name]! Here’s a £5 voucher to spice up your celebration. Don’t do anything we wouldn’t.
Birthdays are a once in a year celebration – but that doesn’t mean you end your SMS efforts there.
Follow up with the customer after they’ve made a purchase, or the next day to remind them of the incentive you have offered. You can even get in touch before it’s due to expire to add a sense of urgency.
How to send SMS Birthday marketing messages
For your birthday marketing to be a success, you need to collect your customers’ birthdays and manage your contacts in a compliant way. This is where a good SMS platform is essential. Bulk SMS and SMS automation services enable you to send these out at scale.
Learn more: How to collect phone numbers for SMS marketing
Segment your customers into birthday groups, either by date, week or month, so that you can tailor your message and offers. The next step is to craft the perfect personalised birthday message to and hit send. As with any promos, you can track the effectiveness of your offer by looking at SMS open rates as well as whether it was redeemed.
Start sending with Esendex’s SMS solutions and elevate your birthday marketing messaging.
Mary Henry
Mary has extensive experience in communication, PR and journalism - most recently across SaaS businesses. A keen researcher and storyteller, Mary is highly skilled in making complex concepts accessible, and in putting customers at the heart of her communication. She has supported all kinds of businesses to tell their brand, product and people stories - from global multinationals to start-ups across retail, travel/leisure, banking/finance, government and educational institutions.
