Communicating with your customers is a crucial step in ensuring customer retention and driving sales. And while email marketing is a tried-and-tested method of reaching out to customers, trends show that SMS marketing can offer far more benefits for most businesses.
Here are some of the most important reasons why text message marketing is better than email.
1. Higher open rates
Emails simply can’t compete with the open rates of SMS. While 20 or 30 percent may be considered a good open rate for emails, SMS messages have an open rate of 98%. And, even better, 90% of text messages sent are read within 3 minutes of receipt. You don’t have to worry about text messages from your business being left unread like many marketing emails sitting in customers’ spam folders.
2. Higher engagement and response rates
One study of over 1,000 campaigns sent by national retailers found that engagement rates for SMS are six to eight times higher than the engagement retailers receive via traditional email marketing. Other surveys support this claim, with one report saying that the average response rate for a blast SMS campaign is 32%, which is significantly higher than the response rate generated by other marketing channels.
With SMS, you have a much higher chance of getting the response you need from your customers whether it’s feedback on your services or answers for your surveys.
3. Higher click-through rates
SMS also has email beat in terms of click-through rates. According to one report, the average click-through rate for a URL included in a text message is 19%. Email, on the other hand, has a click-through rate of 3.2%. People usually find it easier to read a short text message and click the link rather than scanning an entire email.
4. Unparalleled availability and ease of use
These days, text-enabled cell phones are everywhere and most cell phone owners know how to open a text message and respond to it. A text message is simpler to deal with than an email, which requires an email client and an Internet connection. With the widespread use of text-receivable cell phones, you can rest assured that your message will reach the opt-in subscribers on your list.
6. Targeted marketing
SMS marketing makes it easier for business owners to create targeted campaigns for groups in their opt-in subscriber list. This kind of personalized marketing can help cultivate customer loyalty, as customers tend to respond better to personalized text messages compared to generic emails. This is particularly useful for businesses with more than one location.
7. Less work involved
A text message is much easier and faster to create than an email. There are no images and lead-ins involved; all you need is a short, clear message and a link. You can even use pre-made templates for your SMS campaigns. Emails typically require more work, as these may need more creativity and technical know-how… all for a lower response.
For instance, an email must be viewable and functional across all mail clients for the campaign to be successful. Text messages, on the other hand, are compatible with majority of the phones used in the world today.