How to create a popup to collect mobile numbers

When you want to use SMS with Recapture, the first thing you need to communicate with your customers is their SMS number.

If you've setup your store to automatically gather than information, great!  But most folks who start using SMS have not done that yet so this article will help you collect those phone numbers so you can use your SMS campaigns.

Without mobile numbers, you won't be able to use Recapture's SMS campaigns so whether you're just getting started, or you want to expand your existing list, here's how we suggest you get more mobile numbers from your customers.

How to collect Mobile Phone Numbers

There are a few ways to do this:

  • Setup a mobile phone number field on your checkout that is required
  • Create a popup on your site that asks for their mobile number
  • Send an email asking your customers for their mobile number via a link and a form

Each of these has some pluses and minuses associated with it.

Collecting Mobile Number on Checkout

This option is one you can setup through your store directly.  Here are some vendor-specific solutions to try:

Beyond these, the vendors don't have clear instructions on how to set that up directly so check with your platform's support on how to do that.
The advantages of checkout-based collection include:
  • It adds just one more field for the customer to fill out, making it fairly easy
  • It's placed at a time where the customer expects to fill things out
The drawbacks of checkout-based collection include:
  • Inability to customize the language or add a note like "We collect this data because we'd like to keep in touch about your order via SMS"
  • Requires that the customer fill out the checkout form and possibly submit it to capture the data, which may be too late in the process for abandoned cart recovery

The popup method is more reliable because it's earlier in the process.

Collecting Mobile Number from a Site Popup

Putting a popup on your site at a time when the customer is clearly engaged allows you a good opportunity to get their mobile number at the best possible time.  A solid best practice for popups with mobile numbers includes offering a discount in exchange for signing up for your SMS text list.

To do this in Recapture, you'll want to start by reading this guide on How to Configure Email and Mobile Phone Collectors, which is a good overview on the process.

Once you've done that, you'll want to setup a popup as follows:

  1. Create a new popup that will trigger after the customer has viewed a few pages (we like 3) or has browsed a few products (maybe 2-3).  
  2. Trigger the popup on pages that are NOT your cart, checkout or home page.  These are annoying places for the customer to see a popup (Recapture does that by default)
  3. Set the popup to collect ONLY mobile numbers
  4. Change the language on the popup to tell the customer clearly what you want:
    1. Example:  "Signup for STORE's text list and get DISCOUNT as a thank you!  We will never spam you and will only send messages occasionally about promotions, product launches or flash sales"
    2. (change to your store's own policies and practices of course)
  5. Create a Global Coupon that you can use in Recapture.  The instructions for doing that vary by store, Here are some platform-specific instructions:
    1. Shopify instructions
    2. BigCommerce Instructions
    3. Easy Digital Downloads Instructions
    4. WooCommerce Instructions
    5. Magento 2 instructions
    6. Magento 1 instructions
    7. IMPORTANT:  The coupon code must be a Global Coupon (not a unique one) because the code is the same for each user.
  6. Once you have the code, next, you'll want to set the Action for the popup.
  7. Change the "After submit" action to "Reveal Coupon" and use the code you've configured in your store. 
  8. Save your changes

This will allow your customers to submit numbers that Recapture can use in your campaigns.

Send an Email Requesting their Mobile Number

Similar to the popup strategy, you can send a Broadcast Email to your customer list and ask them to sign up for text messages.  Just like the popup, a solid best practice for popups with mobile numbers includes offering a discount in exchange for signing up for your SMS text list.

In that broadcast email, you can provide a link to a page on your store with a form asking for their number. 

There are many options for creating your signup form, including:

  • A standard lead form
  • A callback form (for customers that want a return call)
  • A toaster widget or sidebar column form
The methods for these will depend on your store, but typically you want a submit button and a mobile number field at a bare minimum.  Always tell your customers WHY you want the number and WHAT you plan to do with it.  They won't trust you otherwise.

The most important thing to remember: Make sure you include coompliance opt-in language as part of this form.

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