If a brand was confident that it could achieve an open rate of nearly 100% with its customers through texting, why wouldn’t it leverage that resource? According to SMS provider Sendmode, 98% is the open rate for text messages. MailChimp reported an 18% open rate for emails. Yet, according to Internet Retailer for Open Market, 97% of brands used email to market while less than half the brands they surveyed used SMS. A more recent survey by Salesforce showed that only 20% of marketers said they planned on using SMS in 2019. Still on the fence? Here are 12 reasons to jump aboard.
More Future Opportunities
By adopting SMS, brands are also prepared for future opportunities as technology accelerates. Consumers will be prepared to recognize a brand’s other campaigns which will further increase exposure and response rates.
Higher Conversion Rates
By employing short links, brands can expect to see higher conversion rates. Another survey, this by link management platform company Rebrandly, added that branded vanity links will generate up to 39% more clicks. This has become increasingly important for security and to reassure spam-aware consumers.
The Next Channel
According to many industry leaders, RCS or Rich Communications Services is slated to become the next big mobile channel by 2021 and replace SMS. It plans to combine SMS and other apps as well as offer group chat, video, read receipts and other capabilities.
SMS Still Vital
Although RCS is coming, SMS will still be important. That’s because Verizon reports that only 35% of global consumers’ phones aren’t yet smart enough for more advanced forms of mobile marketing. So even though marketers should prepare for RCS, they still need to employ SMS in markets that haven’t yet adapted.
SMS Versus Email
What does the higher open rate for text messages mean? Some experts say it reflects the level of trust that consumers have and a better feeling of personalization. It’s also more cost effective and the gap between SMS and email is not expected to change in the future.
Response Rates
Open rates alone don’t mean much if nothing else happens afterwards. A survey by global research firm Gartner revealed a huge difference in response rates between SMS and email. It reported a 45% response rate for SMS compared to just 6% for email.
Timely Action
If this was a race to see whether SMS or emails got quicker responses, SMS would win hands down. GSMA, a global association of mobile operators, reported that on average it takes a person to respond to a text message within 90 seconds compared to as long as an hour and a half for email. It’s a no-brainer for brands seeking quick results.
Welcome
Because of the trust levels, 75% of consumers don’t mind receiving promotional offers via text after opting in according to a survey by Text Marketer, a text marketing service firm. Because customers have opted in, it’s less intrusive. Personalization also helps.
Text for Support
Texting for customer service support is favored by slightly more than half of consumers surveyed by Digital Marketing Magazine. This included such things as payment confirmation, product availability, and status of orders and shipping.
Business, Too
SMS isn’t only popular for B2C. It’s also great for B2B. eWeek reported that 80^ of those they surveyed text for business.
B2C and B2B
As seen above, SMS is powerful and popular for both B2C and B2B. A Salesforce survey revealed that the use of SMS marketing as a strategy grew nearly 200% between 2015 and 2017. It rose 92% for the same timeframe for B2C.
The 20%
As reported above, only 20% of marketers said they intended to use SMS last year. For the other reasons stated, it’s not too late for brands that weren’t part of that to get aboard. This is particularly important as more consumers turned to digital during the pandemic and are expected to rely on it in the future. Knowing the brand’s customers and employing their most favored way to reach them is important for success.