Businesses nowadays are competing for the attention of their audience more than ever. They need to constantly seek the most effective ways to connect with their audience to boost their clientele. For a long time, email marketing has been a primary method for businesses to engage with their customers, but a powerful alternative has emerged: SMS marketing. Businesses can pay for texting services to ensure constant audience engagement. But just how much more effective is text marketing than email marketing? We explain below.
How Much More Effective Is Text Marketing than Email Marketing?
1. Open Rates and Engagement
One of the most significant advantages of text marketing is its incredibly high open rate. According to research, SMS messages have a 98% open rate. In comparison, email marketing averages only around 20%-30%. This means that almost every text message businesses sent is read while emails often go unnoticed, especially with so many other emails sitting in the inbox.
In addition, 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of being received. In contrast, it may take hours or even days before an email recipient checks their inboxes. This makes text messaging a powerful tool for time-sensitive promotions, reminders, and urgent notifications.
2. Click-Through and Response Rates
SMS marketing has an average click-through rate of 19% whereas emails normally have a click-through rate of 2%-3%. Clearly, customers are more likely to click on a link in a text message rather than in an email. In addition, text messages have a response rate of 45% compared to the 6% response rate for emails. It does not matter if it is to confirm an appointment, take a survey, or redeem a special offer; your audience is more likely to interact with an SMS than with an email.
3. Deliverability and Spam Filters
One of the biggest challenges of email marketing is deliverability. Promotional emails usually end up in spam folders, never to be read or seen by their intended recipients. Even when an email does not end up in the spam folder, it can get lost among the dozens of other email messages.
On the contrary, SMS messages do not run the risk of being filtered into spam, so they go directly to the recipient’s phone. Their delivery rate is almost at 100%. This allows the message to reach the intended recipient almost instantly.
4. Customer Preference and Trust
A lot of customers nowadays are overwhelmed with marketing emails. On the other hand, SMS marketing feels more direct and personal, which leads to higher levels of trust and engagement. According to a recent study, most customers prefer to receive promotions via SMS over email. Aside from that, they are also more likely to unsubscribe from emails than from SMS campaigns.
5. Cost-Effectiveness and ROI
Compared to traditional marketing methods, email marketing and SMS marketing are both cost-effective. However, email marketing is generally more affordable because businesses can send bulk emails at low cost. For businesses that want to reach large audiences without spending a lot, they see email marketing as the more affordable option.
However, when one looks at it from another angle, SMS marketing can deliver higher ROI because of its superior engagement and conversion rates.
Level Up Your Business Through SMS Marketing
Although email marketing remains to be an essential tool in building your brand, the benefits of SMS marketing cannot be denied. It not only captures the audience’s attention but also keeps customers engaged and drives purchases. SMS messages are not filtered and labeled as spam. They do not usually get buried under tons of other messages either because phone users usually check their phone messages as soon as their phone beeps or vibrates. These are the reasons it is so powerful.
If you are a business owner who is looking for a way to keep your audience engaged and drive sales, SMS marketing might be the solution your business has been looking for. Your competitors are already doing it, so do not let your business be the last one to make use of this marketing tool. Talk to us today so we can discuss how we can help you get the results you want.
