Now that you’re aware of SMS marketing, you may be looking for reasons why you should get started. If you want proof that the tactic of running promotions to engage customers is successful, look no further. In this chapter, we’re going to give you a detailed list of the benefits of text message marketing along with some stats to back them up.
If you’re already up-to-date with the advantages of SMS marketing and want to set up your first text message marketing campaign, book a demo of Recart today.
But, if you’re still skeptical about sending text messages to your customers, read on.
9 benefits of eCommerce SMS marketing in 2022
Every communication channel comes with its own set of benefits and it's important to understand them. Let’s take a look at the advantages of using SMS in your eCommerce marketing strategy.
1. Consumers prefer business communication on SMS
About 85% of customers prefer receiving a text message from a business, instead of an email. The stated reason being the ease of keeping interest-related messages well-segmented from work and other updates they receive on different channels.
For example, imagine wanting to be updated about a product restock. But by the time you see the notification in your inbox, you’ve missed the product again. On the other hand, if you received the alert on SMS, you would have acted on it almost instantly!
2. High open rates on SMS campaigns
Messages are used to proactively communicate on personal and professional fronts as well; this makes it the most commonly used platform in a day. That’s why SMS marketing campaigns see a read rate of 97-99% within 15 minutes of delivery.
3. High click-through rates on text messages
Traditional channels like email and social media are usually used for raising customer support requests. But on SMS, your consumers engage with your campaigns when they’re interested in knowing more about a promotion, leading to an average click-through-rate close to 19%; which is much higher when compared to all other channels.
4. Greater number of conversions on SMS campaigns
Owing to the high open and click through rates, a significant 45% of SMS campaigns have generated successful ROI for eCommerce businesses. As per statistics, the ROI generated via SMS reaches over 50% when combined with other popular channels such as email and social media.
As a scaling eCommerce business, your needs from a communication channel may increase over time. From sending transactional messages to running promotions, cart recovery campaigns and more, the use cases of communication are expanding by the day, adding to the costs of running campaigns.
If you choose the right SMS marketing tool, you can keep a close eye on your SMS spend. Studies have shown that SMS turns out much cheaper than other channels, for example, the average ROI of an eCommerce SMS marketing program is 42x whereas Facebook ads are only 3-4x.
6. Opportunity to learn more about customers
Statistics have also found that when strategized well, SMS campaigns can be used to learn more about your customers. The research shows that an average of 31% of consumers will respond to a survey via SMS with an average response time of about 5 minutes.
In times when eCommerce businesses will need to navigate a cookieless future, this is one of the most important benefits of SMS marketing that will help you gather the data you need for personalization.
7. Easy opt-in and opt-out
With a number of rules and regulations in place to safeguard customer data, getting opt-ins on other channels is becoming more challenging. On the other hand, opting in and out of SMS is as easy as a one-click process.
With increasing competition, eCommerce businesses need to establish more channels of communication with customers to stay on top of their minds. Unlike other channels that work in silos, SMS can actually integrate with your email marketing and social media marketing strategies.
For example, using SMS, you can run an exclusive campaign to get more email subscribers or remind the recipient to check their inbox for updates. Similarly, you can integrate your social media and SMS efforts to drive more customer engagement on posts, or gather more information about them by taking the conversation to channels like Facebook Messenger, making conversational commerce possible.
9. SMS marketing is cost-effective
More than 3.8 billion people own smartphones, out of which almost 1.5 billion users send and receive text messages every day. This goes to show that SMS as a channel is well understood and utilized, and does not require your customer to sign up for an account, or make the ‘effort’ of logging into an app to access updates from your business.
Think about how one starts receiving updates on web push. You need to first opt-in and then change your device settings to receive the notifications. On the flip side, once you opt-in to SMS updates, you need to do nothing.
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By highlighting the advantages of SMS marketing, we aren’t implying that other channels are ineffective for eCommerce marketing. Our goal is to help you understand that your consumer’s world is moving to mobile, and that SMS is the one channel they’re already making use of.
Creating a strategy to leverage SMS can help you boost customer engagement and eventually, loyalty. But the importance of personalization as the golden rule of marketing still remains.
With Recart, you can segment your SMS list based on consumer interactions and previous purchases, automating text message marketing campaigns that are personalized to the buyer’s journey. This brings the same, or even a greater level of efficiency and effectiveness to your SMS marketing campaigns as other channels.
Want to learn more about SMS marketing before setting up a campaign for your eCommerce business? Head over to the next chapter right away: SMS marketing best practices
SMS marketing benefits FAQs
Is SMS marketing effective?
SMS marketing has proven to be one of the most effective channels for customer engagement and conversions. With a 99% open rate, it guarantees that your promotional messages or alerts are noticed in a timely manner (it was also found that messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt).
What is the success rate of SMS marketing?
SMS marketing campaigns, when strategised well, can deliver a high ROI. Some brands have seen 49X ROI from SMS campaigns in just 3 months. The average ROI you can generate will always vary based on what you sell and who you’re targeting with the campaigns.
How fast is SMS marketing growing?
SMS marketing has grown rapidly over the last few years. From being used to send transactional alerts only, the channel is now being used to run promotions, contests and much more. We’ve observed that a staggering 67% of the top 1000 Shopify stores use SMS marketing, while only 11% of the top 100k stores do. If you want to join the top stores, you know where to start!
An increasing number of consumers want to receive updates from brands they like on SMS. Like any channel, overuse or bad timing can be annoying, but done right, SMS marketing holds the key to personal and direct engagement. To navigate consumer response and ensure a positive experience, we recommend understanding their expectations and following text marketing best practices.
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