Is SMS marketing worth the hype?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, you’ve likely heard about SMS marketing. It’s been a buzzword for industries across the board and many companies have already jumped on the SMS messaging bandwagon.

But are you still not quite sure if you buy into the hype? You might be thinking: why should I add another marketing tactic to my already busy schedule?

Well, in this article, we’ll break down why SMS messages have such a hype buildup around them. From the impressive campaign metrics you’ll expect to see to the ability to reach customers at the right time and place — SMS marketing is worth the investment.

Can’t wait to find out more? Here’s a quick look at what we’ll discuss about SMS marketing:

Some of the metrics you can expect to see with SMS messages
How using SMS messages can increase your customer reach
Ways you can use SMS messages to create a comprehensive cross-channel marketing strategy
How SMS messages let you know what customers actually want to hear from you

4 Reasons to Invest in SMS Marketing

If you’re on the fence about whether or not you should make the investment into SMS marketing, you’ll want to keep reading on. While these are only four benefits to using this marketing platform, they’re enough to get you ready to reserve your spot on that SMS messaging bandwagon.

In this section, we’ll take a look at four different reasons why investing in SMS marketing is worth your time.

1. You’ll See Impressive Metrics

You’ve probably heard this before, but we’re here to tell you that SMS marketing will, in fact, provide you with some impressive metrics.

When compared to other marketing tactics, such as email or print, SMS messages blow the competition out of the water across the board. This is one of the main reasons many companies choose to use SMS marketing and once you see the numbers, you’ll understand why.

You can’t go wrong with SMS marketing. When you look at the statistics, they outperform the other marketing tools out there across the board. From high read rates to effectiveness, SMS messages are bound to improve your marketing. Image courtesy of Business2Community.

Here are two metrics you can expect to see when using SMS marketing: Conversion rates: many companies using SMS messaging see conversion rates around 45%. This is much higher than the conversion rates of email marketing, which often don’t even make it into the double digits.

Open rates: this is the most impressive stat of all, SMS messages have a 98% open rate. You won’t find open rates that high on any other marketing channel you have, meaning SMS marketing is the best way to get your content seen by your customers.
Read rates: 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes. That means that not only are customers opening your emails, but they’re also opening and reading them very quickly. Emails can sit in someone’s inbox for days before they see them, and that’s if they don’t just hit delete right away.

It’s easy to understand why SMS marketing works so well — we’re a population of consumers who are glued to our phones. Not having our mobile devices on us at all times is quickly becoming one of our top fears, and this presents companies with a unique opportunity to better reach customers.

2. You’ll Increase Your Customer Reach

Your customers have their phones with them almost all the time. This means that by communicating with them via their mobile device, you have the ability to increase your customer reach. Not only does this mean your message has a better chance of being seen, but it also means you can use that reach to your advantage.

People spend the majority of the time spent on their phones sending or receiving text messages. By sending SMS messages, you’re reaching customers where they are already at — and where they are more likely to see the messages. Image courtesy of Pew Research.

For example, you can use in-store signage to promote your SMS program. This will encourage customers to opt-in to your SMS list to receive special offers and discounts. They can do that from right there in the store and get the coupon to use during that shopping trip. Not only will you have a new subscriber, but they’ll benefit by getting a coupon to use.

Another way to do this is by using location-based technology to know when customers are near your store. You can then send them a message letting them know of a sale happening or provide them with a coupon to encourage them to stop into your store.

Customers are willing to share their information with you via a mobile device as long as you make it worth their while. If you want them to share their location to send geotargeted texts, sending them a discount offer will most likely get them into the store. Image courtesy of Marketing Land.

3. You’ll Have Cross-Channel Marketing Opportunities

Those examples we just mentioned are a great segway into the next reason why SMS messaging is worth the hype. It provides you with another avenue to improve your cross-channel marketing opportunities.

Cross-channel marketing will let you reach your customers at multiple different touchpoints in their purchasing journey. Using multiple channels will increase your opportunities for making a sale and will result in a customer higher lifetime value. Image courtesy of Listrak.

These cross-channel marketing opportunities include in-store scenarios, like the one we just mentioned, but can also incorporate your other digital marketing tactics.

Let’s look at a few different ways that SMS messages can improve your cross-channel interactions:

Drive sales through both email and mobile subscribers
Engage cross-channel subscriptions and improve customer data management
Enhance email and social campaigns with mobile messaging by creating urgency and driving conversions
Use purchasing or browsing behavior to further segment and improve marketing across all platforms

Using cross-channel marketing will help you provide your customers with a more comprehensive experience. You’ll collect data along the way and can continuously improve their customer experience while getting the most out of every channel you interact with them on.

Why use just one outlet when you can seamlessly use them all? Cross-channel marketing is a great way to increase your customer interactions and experiment with advanced personalization.

4. You’ll Know Exactly What Customers Want to Hear From You

SMS messages require your customers to opt-in to receive marketing content from your company. That means that anyone who receives SMS messages from you has explicitly said they want to receive this content. It’s a great way to start a two-way conversation with your customers and learn more about what content they want from your company.

Customers have to opt-in and provide consent before you can begin to start sending SMS messages. This is an example of one opt-in example. The user would have sent a shortcode to trigger the initial text message and they then confirmed that they want to receive these marketing messages. Image courtesy of Neil Patel.

Why does this matter? Because it tells you that this list of subscribers has chosen to join your list and are looking for you to send them messages. In fact, 75% of customers want to receive SMS messages from companies once they’ve opted-in.

This also means you need to make sure you’re following all regulations when it comes to SMS marketing. If you don’t follow the proper opt-in and out procedures, you could find yourself with a hefty fine on your hands.

When done right, SMS messages provide you with a captivated audience, all of which have chosen to be there. This might be one of the many reasons that SMS marketing provides such impressive metrics. No matter the case, you’ll have a solid list of customers waiting to receive their next message from you.

Is SMS marketing right for your company?

If you aren’t looking to increase customer engagement, improve your cross-marketing opportunities, or grow your sales — then no, SMS messages aren’t the way to go. But, if you’re looking for a new way to take your marketing to the next level, it’s a great opportunity to increase your customer experience.

SMS marketing can make a big impact on your sales at a low cost. It’s a win-win in our book — but find out for yourself!