Fifty years ago, before the dawn of the digital era, people were only exposed to a few hundred marketing messages per day. Today, that estimate has ballooned into the thousands. Factor in the incessant stream of communications from friends and colleagues, non-stop breaking news alerts, and infinite scroll social media platforms, and it’s no surprise marketers are struggling to reach their audiences.
But even as organic social reach, email conversions, and search engine traffic have all slipped, SMS marketing remains one of the fastest-growing and highest-converting marketing channels across nearly every industry.
The benefits of SMS marketing are undeniable, and today we’re delving into what makes this channel so powerful — plus how you can leverage it to achieve your marketing goals.
What Is SMS Marketing and Why Does It Matter?
Short message service (SMS) marketing is a type of digital marketing that uses text messages to deliver promotions, share information, gather feedback, or provide support. By connecting directly with recipients on their mobile devices via short, consumable messages, marketers can drive engagement, build meaningful customer relationships, and increase conversions.
While it may sound hyperbolic, it’s impossible to overstate the importance of SMS marketing in any modern marketing program. Over the past decade, many other channels have become overly saturated, ultra-competitive, and notoriously hard to predict — yet SMS has remained reliable and effective. It’s one of the few ways organizations can directly reach audiences one-on-one, which means it offers incredible potential for your brand.
Top SMS Marketing Benefits You Should Know
The benefits of SMS marketing aren’t always obvious at first glance — especially if you’ve never leveraged texting as a core piece of your marketing communications plan.
If you’re unsure whether SMS is worth the resources (or looking for key points to help you earn buy-in from senior decision-makers), here are a few advantages:
Delivers High Engagement and Open Rates
One of the best SMS benefits is the channel’s 98% open rate. Compare this to email open rates — which now top out around 42%, according to MailerLite — and you can see why marketing SMS usage is on the rise.
Moreover, people don’t just open text messages from brands; they also engage and convert. According to Martech, a whopping 75% of consumers report making a purchase from a brand after receiving an SMS.
We’re betting that a lot of this has to do with the fact that SMS is a permission-based channel, and as long as brands follow industry regulations, it’s also easy to opt out. In other words, the vast majority of people who receive your text communications actually want to see them and are likely eager to engage.
Supports Real-Time Communication
As long as you’re using a business SMS service with high throughput and unparalleled delivery, like TrueDialog, your texts will be delivered within seconds — which makes this channel ideal for time-sensitive alerts and promotions.
For example, if a sports team is offering a flash sale on merch or a university needs to inform students about last-minute class cancellations, they can turn to SMS for reliably fast message delivery. (And given how often people engage with their mobile devices, it’s unlikely your audience will miss these notifications.)
Offers a Cost-Effective and Scalable Way to Reach Audiences
No matter the size of your business or how many people you need to reach, text marketing is extremely budget-friendly (particularly for brands using text marketing platforms like TrueDialog that don’t mark up carrier pass-through fees or charge for additional users). This comes in handy for organizations looking to scale their outreach and contact thousands or even millions of recipients simultaneously.
Simplifies Communication Workflows
SMS marketing can alleviate many of your communication headaches — especially when you can schedule sends or automate them based on trigger behaviors (for example, automatically sending a confirmation when someone books an appointment or a shipping notification when your logistics software confirms a purchase is on its way).
Of course, like many other benefits of bulk sms marketing, workflow automation depends on the SMS provider you choose. While TrueDialog connects natively with leading CRMs (such as HubSpot and Salesforce) and includes a powerful SMS API for more specialized use cases, not all platforms offer the same functionality.
Boosts Customer Loyalty
SMS gives you the power to send one-on-one messages directly to your audience, which often feels more authentic than a social ad or generalized mass email. That said, text message advertising is most likely to be successful when the ads are personalized to each recipient. A McKinsey report found that 71% of consumers expect personalization, and more than three-fourths are frustrated when experiences aren’t tailored to them.
Customizing sends based on user data is vital to driving loyalty and can help make sure your messages stand out from the numerous other marketing messages your recipients encounter each day. And because TrueDialog natively integrates with leading CRMs and marketing automation platforms, it’s easy to personalize with personalization tokens in the body of your text message. Our software will automatically retrieve customer data (like first names) from these platforms so you can personalize at scale.
Works Well Across Every Industry
Another one of the best advantages of SMS marketing is that it’s incredibly versatile and can be applied to dozens of use cases across nearly any industry. So, whether you work for a B2B software company that wants to share new product announcements or invite users to an upcoming webinar, or you’re in banking and lending and want to automate payment reminders or gather customer feedback, SMS can support your initiatives.
How to Maximize SMS Marketing Results
Here are a few tips to help you get the most from your marketing SMS efforts and generate a healthy ROI:
Segment Your Audience
In addition to using personalization tokens, it’s always a good idea to divide your lists by demographics, behaviors, preferences, stages in the buyer’s journey, or other relevant criteria and tailor messaging content to each segment. For example, when promoting season passes, a sporting venue might send different messaging to previous season ticket holders than to fans who have only purchased tickets on a game-by-game basis.
Send Texts at the Right Time
The ability to schedule and automate sends is one of the best SMS marketing benefits for busy marketing teams. We recommend using this to your advantage by timing sends for those moments when a text is most relevant or likely to drive engagement.
This may include:
- Sending a reminder 24 hours before an appointment
- Promoting a flash sale during a slow season
- Sending text-by-vote or polls leading up to an event
- Requesting feedback after a purchase
- Sending a survey after a customer support interaction
Adhere to Regulations
It’s absolutely essential that you follow the regulations mandated by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) or the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA). Like, for example, protecting audience data, obtaining explicit consent before texting, making it easy to opt out of messaging, documenting opt-outs, and clearly identifying your business or brand.
Failure to comply with these rules can result in legal trouble, substantial fines, and damage to your brand’s reputation. However, working with a provider that prioritizes security and compliance, like TrueDialog, can help you meet these requirements.
Why Choose TrueDialog for SMS Marketing
Having a firm grasp on the benefits of text message marketing and knowing how to use its strengths to your advantage will help make your organization’s SMS program a resounding success. By capitalizing on these perks, you can cut through the ever-growing noise and reach your audience with relevant and timely messages that drive loyalty and conversions.
Ready to see the benefits of SMS marketing in action? Schedule a demo today.
