Small businesses continuously search for new and more effective ways to reach their customers. As people spend more time on their computers, email marketing has replaced direct mail marketing and with more consumers glued to their phones, text message marketing is emerging as a useful marketing campaign in addition to or replacing email.
The average American checks their phone 47 times per day, and 97% of smartphone users text regularly. It’s no wonder why small businesses have decided to capitalize on this movement by implementing text marketing campaigns.
Texting has long been a preferred form of communication, so it makes sense that businesses use this tactic to reach consumers. There are numerous benefits to text marketing; here are five reasons why small businesses are migrating from email to text marketing.
Better Open and Response Rate
Text messages have a 98% open rate, while the industry standard for email open rates hovers around 20%. Small businesses find themselves understandably frustrated that customers simply do not see a lot of their emails. Spending hours crafting email copy, A/B testing subject lines, and researching the best times to send emails is wasted if people do not open the email. However, customers almost always read texts.
Small businesses not only want their messages read, but they also want people to take action after reading. If only 20% of emails are even read, then that number keeps falling when it comes to the number of people that complete the CTA.
Texts have a 209% higher response rate. Customers actually take action after reading a text from a company. For example, Consumers redeem SMS-delivered coupons ten times more than coupons sent via other marketing channels.
Small businesses want to get in front of prospects, and text marketing provides higher open rates and more actions taken from each message.
Reach Customers in Real-Time
Most people have email notifications turned off on their phones, simply because they receive so many emails throughout the day. People see a text message much sooner because of the notification settings on mobile phones. In fact, 90% of text messages are read within three minutes.
Emails, on the other hand, have a serious problem: the spam filter. Spam makes up 45% of all emails. Text messages do not have a spam filter, so small businesses do not have to worry about their messages going to waste.
Companies that want to send real-time offers, such as a lunch discount for that day (or for a few hours), cannot rely on email. Not only do consumers not always check their email, but spam filters may cause the message to not even go through to the inbox. Texts offer a solution to that problem by getting in front of the customer quickly.
High ROI
Small businesses have to account for every dollar spent, and an unsuccessful marketing campaign could mean having to cut expenses elsewhere.
When comparing email marketing to text marketing ROI, it can be a bit tricky to calculate. Looking at the numbers, texting has distinct advantages such as higher open rate, higher response rate, better deliverability (no spam folder), and a higher click-through-rate (19% CTR for text and 3% CTR for email).
While SMBs will have to calculate ROI internally for both email and text campaigns, more customers will actually see a text message, making a higher ROI likely.
Customers More Likely to Read a Text — and from Anywhere
One study found that workers have an average of 199 unread emails. “Inbox zero” is incredibly hard to achieve. On the other hand, 74% of consumers reported having zero unread text messages (only 17% said the same for email).
Customers often try to move the conversation to text. After missing a call from a company, 58% of consumers have tried to reply with a text. Businesses that leave a message are also at a loss, as consumers are four times more likely to respond to a text than call back a voicemail.
The problem with email is that people must have Internet access to check it. Texts, on the other hand, are mobile and available without WiFi, which is another reason why SMBs are looking to this marketing tactic for a new way to reach customers.
Customers Don’t Mind a Text
Marketing campaigns are all about making customers happy — and not annoying them. Texting is an excellent option here, as 75% of people wouldn’t mind receiving an SMS text message from a brand after opt-in.
Small businesses should consider switching from email to text marketing because consumers are becoming accustomed to this type of communication with brands and they prefer it, especially compared to phone calls. Texting is seven times more likely to get a response, as compared to a phone call or voicemail.
Text as The New Marketing Tactic
As of now, texting is a relatively new approach that can give SMBs a competitive edge. Almost all Americans (96%) own a cellphone, so small businesses should consider using text marketing to interact with customers on their mobile devices.
Email marketing still has plenty of benefits, but more and more companies are shifting to text message marketing to build out lucrative marketing campaigns. This trend will likely continue, so SMBs that begin now can build a personalized, successful campaign for their customers during a time when the competition is not using text message marketing.
short url:
