SMS marketing or "Short Message Service", is a marketing strategy that consists of sending short messagesThe use of mobile phones to deliver advertising and transactional services to customers via mobile phones.
The mobile phone allows you to stay in touch with your customers at all timesThe SMS system is a much more efficient way of communicating. In addition, it should be taken into account that 97% of Spaniards own a telephone, so 97% of SMS are read within 3 minutes of being sent.
According to recent studies, among B2B marketers, SMS marketing increased by 197% between 2015 and 2017, with most consumers preferring to text a company to schedule or make appointments, rather than by email or phone. With this in mind, we asked ourselves. why is this tactic making a comeback in 2019?
According to Fara Rosenzweig, content director of ManyChat:
"Consumer behaviour is constantly evolving and today's mobile devices are more personal than ever", making it one of the most effective media to advertise on as customers are always "at hand".
Currently, SMS is the communication medium with the highest CTR (Click-through rate), with a 36%.
In addition, SMS marketing allows you to promote yourself on a massive scale, campaigns can be sent automatically to each of the subscribers of each business. In this way, customers will be instantly informed of any news, offers, order status, special dates, reminders or news that you want to inform them of.
Advantages of SMS Marketing:
- Universality of mobile phones: as mentioned above, 97% of Spaniards own a phone, making it easier to report any event or offer.
- Direct message: direct contact is established with the consumers of each company, which has a high chance of being read and used by the customer.
- Effective: it allows you to establish a private conversation with your consumer, improving their perception of your company, since the message they transmit is clearer, more immediate and commercially effective. The conversion rate when performing an action or purchase on the web via SMS is 70%.
- Security: by sending the message only to customers there is a greater likelihood that the campaign will generate more results, so there is greater certainty of success.
For which type of business is it advisable to carry out an SMS strategy?
- E-commerceto inform your customers about offers as well as updates and information about their orders and deliveries.
- Services requiring appointmentsConfirming an appointment with the client serves as a reminder for them and a saving for the company in case it has been forgotten.
- SMEsis useful for internal company communication, as well as being a good way to promote yourself to customers.
Email or SMS marketing - are they complementary?
Email Marketing is a customer contact tool in which you can easily send offers, promotions, discount vouchers, etc. via email. Using this type of strategy new customers can be acquired, as well as building links and loyalty with existing ones..
Email marketing has established itself as the most important means of communication. It gives added value to the company, and favours a closer relationship with the customer. This does not detract from the fact that it is a mass mailing strategy, which is evolving rapidly, becoming automated and creating mailing campaigns that need to be increasingly innovative and personalised.
However, SMS produces much higher engagement rates than emailThe press and even social media. SMS help build customer relationships.
"The SMS Advantage Report has maintained since 2014 that more than 74% of those who read an SMS from a brand have gone on to interact with it. And that, in addition, they have managed to generate a better impression of the brand itself.
Also, only 10% of the SMS that are sent are considered SPAM. This is in contrast to the high rates of SPAM received by mails.
According to Text Marketer, only 8 billion text messages are sent, compared to 74 billion e-mails. Although mailing campaigns are becoming more and more unique and different, they have been losing momentum over the years.
It is estimated that by 2020 there will be 2.85 billion people with mobile phones, a third of the world's population. This makes it a very attractive market for companiesIt allows you to be in contact with the customer at all times.
Which is more cost-effective?
Economically speaking, the amount of e-mails is lower to that of SMS. The price of an SMS campaign costs approximately €0.045 per message if 25,000 SMS are sent, and an email campaign costs approximately €125 per message if 25,000 SMS are sent. This data would depend on the country and the number of mails or SMS you would like to send.
It should be noted that:
- 98% of SMS are opened and read within 3 minutes of receipt. Compared to 20% of mails that are opened.
- 45% of SMSs are answered compared to 8% of emails.
- Users take 90 minutes to reply to an email and 90 seconds to reply to an SMS.
- The click-through rate, CTR, is approximately 36% for SMS and 6-7% for mails.
Although the SMS campaign is apparently more cost-effective, both are beneficial and very good options.. They make it possible to publicise a brand, what it offers and its product philosophy. Thanks to this type of campaign, loyal customers can be created. The right combination of strategies will allow the companies that implement them to grow and evolve in a sustained way, without spending too much.
Tips from Acción MK for your SMS marketing strategy.
- Use codes to help you monitor the success of your campaigns. This way you can monitor their impact.
- Respect the privacy of the consumer, it is better to send fewer but interesting and purposeful messages.
- Use keywords and construct a short and simple message so that the user can interact.
- Focus on your potential customers.
- Don't just use SMS to offer products, they can also be used for appointment reminders and special promotions. This will help build relationships with customers.
In conclusion, SMS marketing helps companies to attract new customers, build customer loyalty, provide a new form of customer service and maximise internal company communication. During 2019, SMS marketing has made a considerable comeback and is a strategy to consider when creating a digital marketing campaign.
