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Discover the ultimate marketing battle: Email vs. SMS. Uncover which channel reigns supreme in this effective marketing showdown.
In today's digital world, marketing is crucial to the survival of every business, regardless of its industry, size, or scope. With the advent of technology, things have just improved, as you can now reach out to clients and prospects without moving a foot. There are too many channels to contact prospects and customers at marketers' expense that they are spoilt for choice on which to use.
Two such mediums, which are impressively effective for several organizations, are SMS and email marketing. For context, here is a glimpse of the SMS vs email statistics: Statista reports that in 2022, the number of emails sent/received daily stood at 333 billion, a figure set to soar to 392.5 billion per day.
SMS communication also stands highly popular even in the business realm, with an average of 5 million people sending and receiving text messages daily. Sound too much? Well, that’s simply a testament to how, when correctly tapped, text and email marketing can be a successful means of converting business sales.
So, is SMS marketing effective? Are you ensnared in the email vs text marketing debate, wondering which of the two is most effective in cold marketing? Are you a marketing expert asking yourself the above questions or interested in learning the dynamics of digital marketing?
If so, you're in the right place. In this article, our specialists will give you a detailed comparison of SMS marketing vs email marketing. We'll also outline both options' unique benefits and drawbacks, discuss how to balance them, and outline best practices for enhancing their effectiveness.
Discover the ultimate marketing battle: Email vs. SMS. Uncover which channel reigns supreme in this effective marketing showdown.
SMS marketing, also known as text message marketing, is a marketing strategy that involves sending promotional messages, offers, or information to a group of recipients via text messages (Short Message Service or SMS). It is a direct and efficient way for businesses to communicate with their customers or target audience through their mobile phones.
Here's how SMS marketing typically works:
SMS marketing is effective because text messages are often read promptly, and the engagement rates can be higher compared to other forms of marketing.
However, businesses need to strike a balance between promotional messages and not overwhelm subscribers with too many texts, as this can lead to opt-outs and a negative customer experience. Overall, SMS marketing is a valuable tool for businesses looking to reach their audience directly and efficiently through mobile devices.
We’ll look at the details of SMS marketing later in this guide, but in the meantime, let’s introduce email marketing.
It's a marketing strategy that involves reaching out to customers/prospects via email communication about a product the business is offering or a service. Email marketing is also an effective tool in lead generation and creating brand awareness. Other roles of this reach-out strategy include:
Email marketing is a highly effective method (Arguably the most successful direct marketing channel in terms of returns), generating an average of $36 for every dollar spent on it. It is also the most used communication mode by businesses for intracompany and external communications.
So, does it make a big case in the email vs SMS debate? Let’s find out below from its features and advantages.
Email marketing has been a fundamental tool in the marketer's toolkit for decades. Here are some key aspects that make email marketing an essential component of any digital marketing strategy
Businesses must be wary of spending way too much on marketing because if the cost supersedes the returns, then the campaign would be pointless. Luckily, with a good email marketing strategy, the return on investment should be the least of worries. An SME operating on a lean budget will comfortably initiate an email marketing campaign as it's way too cheap.
What about the returns? Everything is just too perfect, as you’re guaranteed to reap outrageous returns with an average profitability of $36 for every dollar you spend towards it. Such an ROI is hard to come by with other marketing strategies. It means a business that has a robust email marketing campaign will, on any day, beat the competition stuck on conventional strategies.
What's more, you don’t even have to do too much to draw the prospects’ attention and close the sale. You simply draft a great email with a good subject line and attach a call to action at the end, and that’s all. Of course, there are ways of refining the email to improve the chances of conversion, but again, the bottom line is that there isn't much to do.
Traffic is everything in marketing, and the logic behind this is simple: When you have more people visiting your blog/website, you expose them to your range of products/services and are likely to convert sales easily. But the hard part is gaining organic traffic to your site because there are just way too many factors at play in enabling it.
Nonetheless, with email marketing, you can have more people visiting your site, opening it up for better ranking and making it easy to find by people online. All you need is a link to your site where the recipient can click. For instance, when sending Newsletters, you can provide just a glimpse of what you are communicating, then invoke the reader to visit the site for more info.
Make a habit of including a link to your site in most of your emails, whether promotional or cold outreach and watch as prospects and clients flock to your site. But don’t be overly begging when asking the clients/prospects to click, as this may have your outbound email blacklisted by ESPs.
Waiting for ages to evaluate the success of any marketing campaign is akin to running in the pitch darkness all night, not knowing when you’ll hit a barrier. It is simply a risky game because you may invest a fortune and never know if it is worth the input until it's too late. But with email marketing, you get instant results, and in no time, you can decide whether to persist with the strategy or simply call it off.
For instance, say that you send 1000 cold emails asking customers if they’d like to receive subsequent messages with your company’s products and services. You can know in no time if this is working by simply counting how many prospects warm up to the idea and hit the subscribe button.
Email marketing offers detailed analytics and insights that allow marketers to track the performance of their campaigns. Marketers can measure open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and more. Another metric email marketing helps you with is the email unsubscribe rate, which is highly important, especially in rating the success of a campaign.
These insights help businesses refine email marketing strategies, optimize content, and improve overall campaign effectiveness.
One of the most significant advantages of email marketing is its wide reach. As of 2021, over 4 billion people worldwide use email, which is projected to grow to nearly 4.5 billion by 2025. This wide adoption means that your marketing messages can potentially reach a vast audience.
Additionally, email is accessible on various devices, from desktops and laptops to smartphones and tablets. A wide reach is a plus for any marketing strategy, and email beats all of them in that it is also instant and can be done virtually anywhere as long there’s an internet connection.
Think of it this way: You can send a marketing email even from the beach, switch off your phone, and check out its success without stepping a foot in your thousands of miles away office!
Email marketing allows for highly targeted communication. Businesses can segment their email lists based on various criteria, such as demographics, purchase history, and engagement level. This enables marketers to send personalized content that resonates with specific audience segments.
The ability to tailor messages to the individual recipient's needs and preferences is a powerful tool for improving conversion rates and customer retention.
Email marketing is cost-effective when compared to many other marketing channels. It requires minimal investment in terms of tools and software, making it an attractive option for businesses with limited budgets.
Email campaigns are also scalable and can be tailored to the budget and resources available, which benefits small businesses and startups. So, no business, however small it is, should be afraid to initiate an email marketing campaign on the grounds of the cost as it is way too low.
Automation is a key feature of email marketing, making it pretty easy to send cold emails. Marketers can set up automated email sequences, known as drip campaigns, to nurture leads, onboard new customers, and re-engage inactive subscribers. This automation saves time and ensures consistent communication with the audience.
It is also time-saving as a marketer just needs to schedule the email sending time, and the automation tool takes over. This frees up time to focus on other income-generating operations in the business.
SMS marketing, or text message marketing, is a more direct and immediate channel for reaching customers. Here's an overview of its strengths and characteristics
Instant messaging apps have grown immensely in popularity, but this doesn't mean that SMS messages are irrelevant. SMS remains the top direct message communication avenue with clients, especially when you segment your recipients appropriately. First, create customized messages that address the prospects/clients' needs depending on aspects such as the following:
So why does the direct approach really matter? It is crucial in enhancing direct connection with the recipient, which is handy in boosting their chances of replying and closing the sale.
Moreover, SMS messages are inherently concise, typically limited to 160 characters. This brevity forces marketers to be clear and direct in their communication. It's an advantage in a world where attention spans are decreasing, as it ensures that the core message is delivered efficiently.
Finally, SMS marketing excels in real-time communication. This immediacy is especially valuable for event reminders, flash sales, and time-bound offers. Customers are more likely to take immediate action in response to an SMS message than an email.
One of the most notable advantages of SMS marketing is its incredibly high open and engagement rates. On average, SMS messages are opened and read by 98% of recipients, with 90% of messages being read within three minutes of delivery. This immediacy and high engagement level make SMS marketing a powerful tool for time-sensitive promotions and offers.
The future is also bright for SMS marketing, with global mobile users expected to soar to 7.45 billion by 2025, which means marketers will have a vast list of potential clients. And what's more, the feasibility of SMS marketing is boosted by the simplicity of how the system works. You don’t even need an internet connection to send a text message.
Therefore, you can send a promotional text to a customer in a remote part without any internet coverage and still deliver the message promptly. It is up to marketers to take advantage of this provision, as there’s a huge untapped market in SMS marketing that will get bigger and bigger in the future.
The flexibility of SMS marketing is simply out of this world because you can use it to convey virtually any message. For instance, take a business that has recently introduced a new product, is offering discounts, or wants to inform customers of a new business they’ve opened.
All such a business needs is a contact list of its customers and send these messages instantly.
How about safety and reliability? Is SMS marketing safe? If you were worried that a rival could intercept your SMS message, you need to relax, as that’s an unfounded fear. SMS applies an encryption enabled by the Cloud telephony provider, so there’s no chance of an intruder gaining access.
Moreover, to boost the success of SMS marketing, simply incorporate other methods such as email and WhatsApp.
SMS marketing requires customers to provide explicit consent to receive text messages, often through an opt-in process. This means the audience receiving SMS messages is typically more engaged and interested in the brand's offerings. The opt-in requirement helps build a more responsive and engaged audience than email marketing, where recipients may not have the same level of interest.
And if they don’t want to talk to you, there’s also a way out: The Opt-Out Consent.
While email inboxes are often crowded with promotional messages and spam, the SMS inbox tends to be less cluttered. This gives SMS marketing a distinct advantage in standing out and capturing the recipient's attention.
Clients/Prospect can pick out your SMS message from a list of many and respond to it outright as it is concise.
To determine which marketing channel is more effective for your business, compare email and SMS marketing across various dimensions.
Email marketing has a broader reach due to the sheer number of email users worldwide. However, the effectiveness of this reach depends on the quality of your email list and how well it's segmented.
SMS marketing has a more limited reach since it requires explicit consent. However, it often leads to a more engaged and responsive audience.
Email open rates vary widely, with an average open rate of around 20%. Engagement rates can be lower due to the cluttered nature of email inboxes.
SMS messages enjoy close to 100% open rates and high engagement levels. Recipients are more likely to take immediate action in response to an SMS.
Email marketing allows for advanced personalization with dynamic content and tailored messages. It's ideal for nurturing leads and building long-term customer relationships.
SMS messages are limited in terms of personalization due to their brevity. They are best suited for straightforward, time-sensitive communications.
Email marketing is cost-effective, with minimal upfront expenses. Costs mainly revolve around email marketing software and list management.
SMS marketing can be more expensive, with charges for each message sent. However, the high engagement rates can lead to a strong return on investment (ROI) for well-targeted campaigns.
Email marketing is subject to strict regulations, such as the CAN-SPAM Act in the United States and the GDPR in the European Union. Violating these regulations can result in significant fines.
SMS marketing is subject to regulations like the TCPA in the United States. Compliance is essential, and businesses must obtain explicit consent from recipients before sending SMS messages.
Emails allow for longer, more detailed content, making them suitable for conveying complex information, storytelling, and showcasing a variety of products or services.
SMS messages are limited to 160 characters, making them ideal for quick, concise messages, promotions, and alerts.
Email marketing excels in automation, allowing for sophisticated drip campaigns that nurture leads, onboard new customers, and re-engage inactive subscribers.
SMS marketing can also utilize automation for drip campaigns, but the content must be more concise and action-oriented.
Email marketing has lower conversion rates on average, but it is excellent in building long-term customer relationships and driving sales over time.
SMS marketing boasts higher immediate conversion rates due to its immediacy and high open rates. It's highly effective for driving short-term sales and immediate actions.
Email marketing is versatile and can be used for a wide range of purposes, including newsletters, product announcements, educational content, and ongoing customer communication.
SMS marketing is best suited for time-sensitive promotions, flash sales, appointment reminders, event notifications, and immediate call-to-action messages.
Rather than choosing between email and SMS marketing, many businesses find success by combining both channels. Here's how you can leverage the strengths of each channel for a comprehensive marketing strategy:
Promote your email content in SMS messages and vice versa. This cross-promotion can help maximize the reach and engagement of both channels.
The choice between email and SMS marketing ultimately depends on your business's goals, target audience, and the nature of your products or services. Email marketing excels in long-term relationship building, content delivery, and audience segmentation, while SMS marketing is unparalleled in terms of immediacy, engagement, and conversion rates.
In many cases, the most effective strategy is combining email and SMS marketing, harnessing the strengths of each channel. By doing so, you can create a holistic and dynamic marketing approach that engages your audience on multiple fronts and maximizes your marketing ROI.
Remember that compliance with regulations and respect for your audience's preferences are crucial for success in both email and SMS marketing. Other handy strategies include the following:
Any avid marketer who understands the effectiveness of cold email marketing would definitely warm up to the idea of sending cold SMS. But is cold texting legal, and can you apply it to complement cold email marketing? Let us find out below. But before we delve into the details, here’s a snip at the legality of cold SMS marketing.
Cold Texting is illegal as it is considered intrusive by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which requires any marketer to primarily get opt-in consent from customers. Hence, businesses that text customers without permission are liable to prosecution and fines.
But what exactly constitutes cold texting? Sending unsolicited SMS messages to customers without prior consent is cold texting. However, it is not just limited to this. There are other variations, such as the following:
Don't send cold texts to customers, as it's illegal. Instead, implement the following strategies:
Now you have it all on Email vs Text Marketing and how to implement both to reach out to potential customers and clients. As we have highlighted above, each method has its fair share of upsides and downsides. Hence, most importantly, you must know when to use each one of the avenues.
Also, irrespective of the method you choose, you must always keep track of the success of your marketing campaign. Are you getting enough conversions commensurate to what you’re investing in the marketing technique? If not, then something is amiss with your strategy, and you need to change it.
That’s all for now, and hopefully, we’ve covered all the queries you’ve had on SMS marketing vs email marketing. Adios, and see you in our next guide.
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