SMS Marketing: Statistics, benefits, automation, and best practices

The marketing industry is constantly evolving. But some strategies are evergreen.  

So is the case with SMS marketing.

Yes, most of the marketing campaigns are carried out via emails and social media platforms. However, when you look into text messaging, it’s still an effective channel for your marketing campaigns. 

SMS marketing is emerging as a successful strategy for many businesses, and for all the right reasons!

Before we dive into the nitty-gritty of SMS marketing, let’s first take a glance at some interesting statistics of SMS marketing. 

Interesting SMS marketing statistics and facts

Some other text message marketing stats and facts:

1. Over one-third of the world’s phones are best suited for reach by text. 
2. 77% of consumers say that they are more likely to trust a company if it’s offering SMS. 
3. 67% of customers would rather use text messages than calls when receiving appointment reminders or any confirmations. 
4. 58.7% of consumers respond to their text messages within five minutes. 
5. The CTR rate for offer messages is higher by 9.18% compared to any other digital channel. 

What is SMS marketing? 

SMS marketing is a strategy of sending text messages to customers and subscribers for promotional offers and transaction updates.  

Such kind of messages usually require immediate actions and provides alerts to the customers that have agreed to receive text messages from your company. 

75% of customers are comfortable with receiving marketing SMS. So, if SMS marketing is not in your marketing strategy, I’d highly recommend it. 

What are the benefits of using SMS marketing software?

SMS marketing has numerous positive factors for businesses of all types. Whether you have B2B or B2C company, text messaging will remain effective no matter what.  

Here’s how SMS marketing works for every company: 

1. Direct and instant communication

Unlike other forms of marketing, SMS marketing provides the advantage of direct and instant communication.   

Based on the attentive mobile consumer report and other SMS marketing statistics, text messages, whether part of bulk text message marketing or individual sms campaigns are read within a few minutes of receipt.   

This rapid, two-way communication model aligns seamlessly with mobile phone usage patterns, presenting a huge opportunity for businesses to reach customers quickly and effectively.

2. High engagement rates 

The benefits of SMS marketing are underscored by impressive text message marketing statistics. Engagement rates for SMS messages far outpace marketing efforts through email marketing campaigns or even phone calls.   

SMS messages have an average click-through rate significantly higher than other marketing channels. This increased engagement is partly due to the ubiquity of mobile devices and the ease of text messaging, making it a core part of any SMS marketing strategy.

3. Cost-effectiveness 

One of the top benefits of SMS marketing, particularly bulk SMS marketing, is its cost-effectiveness.  

Compared to other marketing efforts, the low cost per SMS message means businesses can achieve more sales without overextending their marketing budget.  

The attentive mobile consumer report supports this, showcasing impressive SMS revenue returns relative to investment. 

4. Increased customer retention 

SMS marketing services, such as appointment reminders and personalized offers, are practical tools for increasing customer retention.  

According to SMS marketing stats, regular SMS messages can keep a business at the forefront of SMS subscribers’ minds more effectively than sporadic sales calls or push notifications. 

5. Personalisation and targeted marketing

SMS marketing programs offer advanced personalization and targeting features. For instance, according to marketing statistics, messages can be customized using real-time data, which leads to higher customer engagement.     

Moreover, businesses can use SMS marketing automation strategies or an SMS marketing automation platform to deliver personalized messages to potential customers based on their interaction with the company. 

6. Mobile-first strategy alignment:  

With the global population increasingly shifting towards smartphone usage, a mobile-first strategy is essential for businesses.  

SMS marketing aligns perfectly with this trend, mainly when utilized through top SMS marketing platforms.    

By implementing SMS marketing best practices , businesses can tap into the rise of text messaging to enhance their marketing strategy and gain an edge in the market. 

7 . Integrability of SMS marketing 

Integrability enhances SMS marketing’s effectiveness, allowing it to blend with other marketing methods. For instance, it can amplify social media campaigns, such as a product launch on Instagram.  

An SMS alert to customers can increase event attendance. Likewise, text message marketing can boost the reach of email marketing, reminding customers to check emails for detailed information. This synergy of SMS with other channels reinforces a comprehensive, multi-faceted marketing strategy. 

8 . Ubiquity

Considering the staggering sms marketing statistics, the fact that almost everyone owns mobile phones and uses SMS is an absolute win for businesses.  

This makes SMS marketing universally accessible since it doesn’t rely on internet access, unlike email marketing or social media.   

Text messages are received by almost all mobile devices, from the latest smartphones to basic feature phones, reaching a broader spectrum of the global population. 

9. Real-time analytics

One of the most impressive benefits of SMS marketing lies in its real-time data analytics capabilities. Not only can businesses monitor how many of their SMS marketing messages are delivered, but they can also track click-through rates.  

With a good SMS marketing automation platform or SMS marketing automation software, you can have real-time insights into your marketing efforts. For example, an attentive mobile consumer report suggests a higher average click-through rate for SMS than other marketing channels. 

10. Enhances customer experience  

By leveraging top SMS marketing platforms and sms marketing automation strategies, businesses can provide a seamless experience to their customers. This includes sending appointment reminders, order updates, and personalized offers.  

These transactional SMS messages greatly enhance customer engagement by keeping them informed and engaged. These two-way conversations via text messages can be a game-changer, turning the cold calling approach into a more warm and personalized interaction.

How can you leverage text messages in your marketing campaigns? 

83% of millennials open SMS within 90 seconds of receiving them. So, the probability of reaching them via text messaging is way higher than any other mode of communication. 

Before we understand how to leverage SMS marketing campaigns, let’s take a look at some of the types:

1. Marketing campaigns
2. Customer feedback
3. Transactional messages
4. Cart abandonment alerts

Here’s how to do SMS marketing for your business:  

• Marketing campaigns: SMS marketing can work wonders for instant sales or discount offers. You can shoot texts before the offer and provide a discount coupon code. This practice would directly impact your overall revenue.  
   
• Customer feedback: One of the most common approaches for SMS marketing is to initiate a small feedback survey to your customer. In fact, text messages have a 7.5x higher response rate than email response rates. Therefore, the SMS marketing campaign is a better choice if you want to get feedback from existing customers.  
   
• Transactional messages: Whenever any online transactions take place, customers need to know whether they were successful or not. Therefore, sending text messages for declined or completed transactions will gain credibility from your users. 
   
• Cart abandonment alerts: It’s always difficult to retain someone’s attention. For example, your prospect could be browsing through your website, adding products to their cart, and in between, they receive a call. They’ll leave the website and focus on their call, resulting in cart abandonment. Here, you can use SMS to send primary texts for cart abandonment text to re-capture your prospect’s attention.     

You can also use SMS marketing campaigns for use cases like a product launch, sharing content and resources, automated responses, etc. 

SMS marketing automation: What are the best practices? 

Yes, SMS marketing is effective, but if you want to take it to the next level, you can implement marketing automation in your campaign.  

What is SMS marketing automation?

SMS marketing automation is an engine that helps you respond to customers faster with personalization and bring more business. It is super easy to execute and cost-effective. So, all kinds of businesses can include it in their marketing budget. 

Let’s check out some best SMS marketing practices that’ll take your marketing efforts to the next level.

1. Personalize your text messages

Personalization is the key to capturing the attention of your prospects/clients.  

If you send a text with just “hello,” most audiences would ignore it, assuming it’s spam or irrelevant.   

However, receiving a message with their name in the opening line will grab their attention, making them more likely to read your text.

All your customer contact information is in CRM. So, executing SMS marketing from your CRM is the most sensible choice. 

You can send personalized text messages to your customers directly from Salesmate CRM, saving you the hassle of switching between multiple platforms.    

2. Share promotional offers with bulk messaging 

You can create a promotional text message whenever you’re running a promotional offer or discount on your website.   

Using automation, you can send your text to a segmented audience from your SMS marketing software.   

Bulk marketing SMS works best when there’s a limited-time offer, or you want to share a special discount coupon code with your customers.

3. Schedule marketing SMS to connect at the right time 

Your prospects will only be checking their text messaging sometimes. In this case, you can experiment with different time slots and find out which one gains more traction.  

Based on that, you can automate your text sequences via SMS marketing software to take follow-ups or reminders. 

4. Craft appealing & reusable templates 

Your prospect must receive tons of text messages daily, so how do you make yours stand out?   

You must get creative and craft templates based on events and occurrences.   

For example, a discount offer should have a separate text template, and a feedback text message should appear differently.   

With Salesmate’s text messaging CRM, you can create and reuse various text messaging templates.

5. Analyze your SMS marketing campaign

 

You won’t know whether your campaign was successful if you don’t analyze the performance.   

Executing an SMS marketing campaign is crucial, as is analyzing the results.   

With Salesmate’s text messaging feature, you can easily analyze your SMS marketing campaigns with insightful reports. This way, you can optimize your marketing strategies and increase your response rate.

SMS marketing software to scale your SMS campaigns

Here are some of the best SMS marketing software and tools you can use to level-up your SMS marketing game.

1 . Salesmate 

The top choice for SMS marketing, Salesmate excels with its user-friendly interface and advanced automation features, making personalized campaigns effortless. Its unique Text Pilot feature boosts response rates by using local numbers, setting it apart as the best platform for engaging with customers.

2 . Omnisend

Omnisend stands out for its seamless integration of SMS with email marketing, offering prebuilt automation for major events, making it ideal for creating personalized, continuous customer experiences.

3. SlickText  

Popular among various industries, SlickText offers rich features including two-way messaging and QR code opt-ins, making it a versatile choice for engaging promotional campaigns.

4. Trumpia  

Trumpia offers a comprehensive platform with SMS and voice messaging, automated workflows, and integration capabilities, ideal for businesses seeking a multifaceted marketing solution.

5. Sakari  

Best for small businesses, Sakari provides a cloud-based service with global reach, two-way texting, and CRM integration, making it a comprehensive tool for various messaging needs.

6. TextMagic  

TextMagic is known for its ease of use, Email to SMS feature, and flexible pricing based on usage, making it suitable for businesses of all sizes seeking efficient communication.

7. EZ Texting 

With a focus on design and personalization, EZ Texting offers a template editor, Shutterstock partnership, and automation features, enhancing the quality of SMS campaigns.

8. ClickSend  

ClickSend is a robust platform for SMS, MMS, and more, offering global reach and fast delivery, ideal for businesses looking for a comprehensive messaging solution.

9. Podium 

Podium combines live chat, video chat, and SMS, offering contact management, team chat, and automated workflows, making it a versatile tool for enhancing business communication.

These top SMS marketing platforms provide businesses with the tools necessary to optimize their SMS marketing strategy, improve customer engagement, and ultimately drive more sales.  

Remember, an informed choice based on your unique business needs can yield significant marketing statistics, confirming the effectiveness of your SMS marketing program. 

Conclusion 

SMS marketing has remained prevalent over the decades and for all the right reasons!   

It’s a quick communication mode that works well for marketing campaigns and is even better when you automate your SMS marketing process.  

I’d highly recommend that you adopt an SMS marketing software like a CRM inclusive of all features. It will save you a lot of costs, and you don’t have to struggle with multiple apps. Salesmate is a perfect tool for this scenario.   

It’s easy to use, affordable and can help you automate your marketing campaigns. You can take a 15-day free trial and see for yourself!