Keeping your customers hooked is a challenge. You can connect to your customers on a new level with an effective marketing strategy. Email marketing and SMS marketing both offer unique benefits. When it comes to SMS marketing vs. Email Marketing, it can be tricky to choose the best for your business.
Email marketing has been one of the most used and reliable channels to connect with customers for decades. But the rise of mobile phones and personalized marketing strategies has rapidly increased the popularity of SMS marketing.
Email marketing is 43 years old, while SMS marketing is only 28. Email marketing is not the same as it was ten years ago. Even a year ago, things were relatively easy, but now you have to fight to make your business noticed in the inbox. Whereas SMS marketing campaigns are short and to the point. Text messages always get delivered and opened.
With ever-changing customer preferences and tough competition among brands, it can sometimes be confusing to choose the right between SMS marketing and email marketing. Depending on the message you need to communicate, you can select one or the other for a particular campaign.
In the debate over SMS marketing vs. email marketing, many people say they prefer to use text messages to communicate rather than to receive ads. But it is also true that emails are good if people see them. People’s inboxes are always so crowded that there is no way for you to cut through the noise.
SMS Marketing vs. Email Marketing – Comparing the results
1. Open rates
Up to 98% of all the text messages get opened while emails are very statured, and their open rate hovers around 22% – 34% on average.
People usually open the emails anywhere between four and 24 hours after receiving them. Many go unread or often end up in spam folders. While all the texts sent are read in the first 5 minutes.
Take a moment and check your phone right now. How many messages in your texting app are unread now? You know the answer! Now check how many emails in your inbox are unread right now? We know you don’t have enough time to count that.
2. Click-Through rates
The click-through rate for the text message is about 36% versus only 6% for email. CTR: A hyperlink embedded in the body of a text message or email.
The Click-through rate depends on how well you craft your email and call to action. A good call-to-action should give customers the reasons to click the hyperlink.
3. Response rates
The ultimate measure of success is the response rate and conversions. Response rate is when a person clicks through and responds to the CTA. The engagement rate with SMS is six to eight times higher than the email campaigns.
SMS marketing programs frequently require the recipient’s consent; it makes getting the response much more likely.
The differentiator of SMS marketing vs. email marketing is the length of the message. Text messages are only limited to 160 char. It encourages you to focus on what is vital, and the reader spends less time going through it.
4. Deliverability rate
More than 270 billion emails are sent every day, but 50% of them end up in spam. A millennial person receives 70 messages a day, and users get text notifications right away.
With SMS, you get right in front of the customer’s eyes. You can interact with the text message right then and there. The deliverability rates are over 90%.
When using SMS marketing, there are fewer deliverability issues like bounced emails or ending up in spam folders. The internet service providers also limit the number of emails being sent.
5. Cost
When it comes to SMS marketing vs. email marketing, the cost is another factor to consider. It is way cheaper to send an email campaign than SMS.
SMS marketing is also getting cheaper day by day. Nowadays, it costs only a cent to send a text message. SMS guarantees your message will reach the customers, and they will see it. In short, SMS marketing is worth the money.
Advantages of email marketing
The benefits offered by email marketing are unmatched by any other marketing opportunity. Businesses can have more control over the campaign, personalize the message, and send directly targeted mails that lead to higher conversions.
1. People expect emails
Emails make your brand look more authentic and build a better relationship with the customers. 73% of millennials prefer communications from businesses to come via email. (Adestra, 2016). It increases brand recognition and results in higher conversion rates.
2. High return on investment
When it comes to return on investment (ROI), emails win the battle of SMS marketing vs. email marketing. According to Direct Marketing Association, email generates $40 for every $1 spent. It is 40x more effective than social media marketing.
3. Personalized mails
Gone is the day when people take email as uninteresting or cold. Email messages help you reach the right people with the right message at the right time more effectively. You can personalize the email message depending on your audience.
4. A cost-effective way to send a message
Average businesses spend only 20-25% of their budget on email marketing. It is a cost-effective strategy to reach a wider audience with maximum return on investment. Email marketing automation also helps to save money.
Challenges with email marketing
Email marketing is a cost-effective and powerful marketing tool, but it comes with its own set of challenges. Some of the major obstacles include acquiring new subscribers, improving open rates, keeping subscribers engaged, increasing click-through rates, and measuring ROI.
To tackle these challenges, it’s important to stay up-to-date with the latest technologies, digital marketing channels, and changing customer preferences.
Some specific solutions include targeting your audience with relevant content, crafting attention-grabbing subject lines, and sending emails at the best times to avoid inbox overload.
Keeping your email list clean, avoiding spam trigger words, monitoring bounce and complaint rates, and working with a reputable email service provider can also help improve deliverability and avoid spam filters.
Advantages of SMS marketing
SMS marketing is an ideal opportunity to capture the customer’s attention, but you can only send the SMS after receiving the permission. Instead of the regular phone number, companies use shortcodes to send messages.
1. Higher response rate
The greatest advantage of SMS marketing over email marketing is messages get delivered, opened, and read. It has a 200% higher open rate than other marketing channels. It guarantees your message gets in from of the customer’s eye.
2. No need for internet
Businesses use a mobile network channel to send SMS. It means customers can receive your messages without any internet connection. In short, your campaign has a higher chance reach a wider audience.
3. Higher engagement levels
The Click-through rate in SMS marketing is higher. People are more likely to click on the CTA because the message is short and to the point. When it comes to SMS marketing vs. email marketing, SMS always offers a higher engagement level. It only takes 90 seconds to reply to a text message.
Challenges with SMS marketing
SMS marketing is a powerful tool for reaching customers, but it comes with its own set of challenges.
Some of the obstacles include the limited amount of text space available in SMS messages, concerns about security, managing the process of obtaining consent from recipients, higher rates of unsubscribing, and adhering to regulations such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the US or the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the EU, which mandate requirements for consent, opt-in and opt-out options, and disclosures.
Takeaway on SMS Marketing vs. Email Marketing
SMS is not overly saturated, and it is much easier to get noticed through a text message than email, which means higher engagement, increased customer loyalty, and more profits in the long run.
Email marketing is still strong, and it will not go away anytime soon. SMS marketing can be a more effective tool for your business for campaigns, promotions, leads, or even regular communications.
They could even be tag team partners in a dynamic duo in your marketing strategy.
The valuable tip is to utilize both. The duo of email marketing and SM marketing help to widen your reach based on your audience’s communication preferences. It will ultimately result in more effective campaigns and better results.
Organizations and brands that have already combined both marketing strategies have seen a significant increase in conversions and sales. In the end, it depends on timing, the number of messages or emails you are sending, the content, and the frequency.