Driving Black Friday and CX success through personalized SMS campaigns

For over 17 years, Parfym.se has been a pioneer in the online beauty retail industry in the Nordics. With a commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and unforgettable experiences, Parfym.se has become a trusted name among beauty enthusiasts.  

As their business and industry evolved, Parfym.se recognized the need for innovative, two-way communication with customers beyond traditional SMS.  

Challenge: Reaching shoppers quickly, and with precision 

Parfym.se has been using traditional SMS to communicate with customers for a very long time. However, it wasn’t until they met with Sinch that they truly began to understand the potential of SMS as a channel. 

“SMS itself is not a problem,” said Ehsan Ghaffari, COO and CTO at Parfym.se. “But once we met [with Sinch], we realized that there was so much more to SMS that could be done that we didn’t know about.”  

Driven by their unwavering dedication to innovation, Parfym.se set out on a mission to unlock the potential of SMS and Rich SMS campaigns. To achieve this, Parfym.se aimed to bridge the gap between their website and marketing initiatives, creating a dynamic middle layer that would empower them to offer a seamless and highly customized experience to their customers.  

“At the time we met with Sinch, we were implementing a new CRM system and platform for which we could extract data that we could push into Sinch,” said Ehsan. “It was an eyeopener to see that sending Rich SMS would enable us to be more creative, faster to market, and be able to personalize on a different level.” 

Solution: Using Rich SMS for segmented, personalized campaigns 

Parfym.se found an ideal partner in Sinch for their SMS and rich messaging campaigns. And for a busy retailer planning for Black Friday campaigns, the Parfym.se team found the platform itself easy to use to get campaigns off the ground. 

“The thing with Sinch campaigns and Rich SMS is that it’s the middle layer where we can create a landing page that we can design,” said Ehsan. “It’s really user-friendly. A lot of functions we don’t have on our own website we can use within that Rich SMS platform.”  

With Sinch, Parfym.se found a new ability to create captivating and personalized SMS messages that resonated deeply with their customers. With Sinch, Parfym.se could design visually appealing landing pages and compelling content in ways they couldn’t imagine before. This dynamic integration of visuals, interactivity, and tailored messaging transformed ordinary SMS campaigns into immersive experiences that delighted and engaged customers on a whole new level. 

Results: Amplified engagement and remarkable ROI  

Armed with Rich SMS at their disposal, the Parfym.se team now uses this channel to cut through the noise of promotions, captivating customers with relevant and personalized offers. While emails often get overlooked in the daily hustle and bustle, SMS alerts are timely, immediate, and have higher open rates. 

“When [a customer] receives an SMS, the open rate is 90% or above. And this can be immediate, or within 15 minutes,” said Ehsan. 

They’ve found even more success with Rich SMS being a part of their Black Friday campaign strategy, which necessitates a significant level of planning and preparation in the retail industry. 

“This is a great tool to have going into periods like Black Friday, but of course you have to plan for it,” he said. “As you learn to utilize the Sinch platform, you can get better ROI, [but you need to] make sure the content is relevant, personalized, and segmented. It’s important going into Black Friday that your staff are trained on the platform.” 

SMS has also complemented their email strategy for time-sensitive campaigns like flash sales or promotions with a limited timeframe.  

"If you have campaigns that are time critical, like for a flash sale, SMS is great,” he said. “A lot of people read [emails] in the morning, and some people read it during lunch and in the evening. But for time-critical campaigns, I think [SMS] is a great tool." 

The best part? Parfym.se’s strategic approach to SMS campaigns has resulted in new sales, heightened customer satisfaction, and an undeniable sense of loyalty towards the brand.