Five Reasons SMS Marketing Performs Better Than Email
1. SMS is Faster and More Immediate
Text Marketing, like no other channel, delivers on consumer expectations of immediacy. With billions of smartphones in use, marketers can now message nearly anyone in the world, instantly. So when your marketing calls for an immediate connection with customers — perhaps a time-sensitive offer or urgent business matter — SMS is the way to go. Email, on the other hand, is perfectly reliable for communicating information that is more detailed, doesn’t demand a swift response, and should be saved as future point of reference.
2. Texting is Simple and to the Point
By the very nature of a text, your message has to be short and sweet. You’re only allotted a few words to make a brand connection — just 160 characters for each message sent. So be creative and relevant. An incentive contest, special promotion, or time-based offer that is designed exclusively for your customer can inspire an enthusiastic response. Conversely, email gives you the chance to tell a fuller story and is especially effective if you have very detailed information to share or if your message is not time-sensitive
3. SMS Marketing Receives Better Response Rates
SMS Marketing yields impressive results with open rates around 92%. Studies show that text messages that include a URL achieve click through rates of 56% on average. Do the math and you’ll see that makes for a petty exceptional ROI. In contrast, email open rates hover between 20-30%, with an average CTR of 2%. Our SMS Best Practice Guide shares these stats and more. You can also use mass texting to improve your ROI: similar to bulk email, you can send the same text to thousands of customers at once to engage them with a special offer or coupon.
4. Mobile Phones Don’t Have Spam Filters
Consumers are often inundated with hundreds of emails every day, making it an extremely noisy channel. That's why email applications have spam filters and a 'junk folder' where, unfortunately, the better part of well-intentioned marketing emails end up. Because of how email works, spam is almost impossible to stamp out entirely, in spite of regulations around permissions and consent. SMS, on the other hand, has strict regulations enforced by the TCPA. Consumers who have explicitly opted-in to receiving text messages from a business should be able to opt-out at any point. This makes SMS a higher quality channel and the perfect complement to email. A marketing strategy that uses SMS for time-sensitive messages that require immediate engagement and e-mail for longer and more descriptive content can thus be quite effective.
5. Both Work Well Together
You’ll find there is no magic bullet when it comes to integrated digital and mobile marketing communications. But many marketing strategies can be even more effective when SMS Marketing is used in conjunction with email. For example: adding your phone number or short-code to an email campaign is a proven way to entice a consumer to interact with you. Likewise, you can send a brief mass text message encouraging your customers to sign up for an email newsletter tied to their specific interests. Creative tactics like these provide marketers with more opportunities to begin or continue rewarding conversations with their customers