For almost two decades, text message marketing has ruled the marketing industry incontestably with high success rates. SMS marketing statistics and facts demonstrate why that has been the case.
Did you know that 15.2 million text messages are sent per minute? What is more, 91% of all U.S. citizens have their mobile device within reach 24 hours a day and 67% of cell owners find themselves checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls — even when they don’t notice their phone ringing or vibrating.
Interestingly, more than 70% feel using a text message is a good way for an organization to get their attention. With the number of consumers that trust SMS marketing rapidly expanding, it stands to reason, therefore, that companies should likewise take advantage of this opportunity to engage their customers.
Despite the compelling benefits, SMS marketing has also fallen prey to various myths, leading some marketers and business owners to be reluctant to engage their customers using this channel. Are you one of them?
If your answer is yes, then we invite you to examine the facts. To that end, we’ll unmask five common myths about SMS marketing for you, while laying bare the facts.
Let’s begin.
Myth 1: SMS Marketing is intrusive and interruptive
This is a common misconception that leads many marketers to hesitate to embrace SMS marketing. Could it be the reason why businesses are only operating the SMS channel at 38% capacity? However, this fallacy is a result of a complete misunderstanding of a fundamental concept of SMS marketing. Why do we say so?
Text message marketing is an opt-in service. And the facts indicate that 37.1 million people in America have opted into receiving branded SMS! Additionally, 79% of smartphone users rely on an SMS opt-in service to assist them in making purchasing decisions while shopping. And 90% of them said they benefited from those messages.
Moreover, text message marketing has a high approval rating among customers with about 70% regarding communicating via SMS in a positive light. In that case, customers will take your message seriously because you are engaging with them directly, conveniently and on a personal level.
Fact 1: SMS marketing has a high approval rating among customers.
Myth 2: SMS Marketing is one-way communication with customers
Nothing could be further from the truth. For a fact, most businesses use text marketing to send offers, coupons, special promotions, flash sales, event reminders, and behavior triggers, but it doesn’t have to be limited to that.
Technology has availed online text message solutions that allow businesses to use SMS as a two-way communication channel that will allow your customers to send you feedback and to provide better customer service. Opinion polls via SMS are one way to give your customers an opportunity to feel part of the decision-making process of your business and provide you with valuable insights of how you can improve.
Amazingly, online message solutions can enable you to send trackable SMS that will gather analytics such as messages delivered, read, links clicked on, etc. For instance, statistics show that 29% of recipients click on links in texts and 47% of those make a purchase.
Fact 2: Texts can be conversations with your customers.
Myth 3: SMS Marketing is old-fashioned and outdated in this smartphone era, and it doesn’t work
Many have been led to believe that the prevalence of smartphones and tablets has triggered numerous neo-marketing channels, relegating SMS marketing to the dogs. They are badly mistaken! Before believing this myth, consider the statistics.
Research shows that text messages have an open rate of roughly 98%, much higher than the 20% open rate for emails. More than 6.3 billion business SMS are read within the first 3 minutes of receipt. And approximately 50% of consumers in America make direct purchases after receiving an SMS branded text or discount coupon. Significantly too, 76% report that they are more likely to read a message sooner if it’s an SMS than if it’s an email.
SMS marketing also has a higher conversion rate than other marketing tactics. What’s the bottom line? If you want your customer’s rapt attention, you need to be texting them.
Fact 3: SMS marketing is king and not about to resign anytime soon!
Myth 4: SMS Marketing is irrationally expensive, and only big Corporations stand to benefit from it
‘Text message marketing is not for small businesses’ is a common deception that denies small and medium scale businesses the opportunity to harness the power of SMS marketing initiatives. However, the reverse is true.
SMS marketing is cost-effective and gives smaller companies the opportunity to compete with larger businesses. How? For one, you do not necessarily have to incorporate beautiful graphics that would cost thousands of dollars to produce, as you might have to with other marketing channels. Instead, as most big companies do, you simply need to use text-based SMS messages. These text-based messages don’t need a big budget to be successful; they only need to be crafted creatively.
Fact 4: SMS marketing is affordable and cost-effective, appropriate for even the smallest of businesses.
Myth 5: Text Message marketing messages are limiting and cannot be personalized
True, many businesses send general, impersonalized messages to their customers. But that is not because it is impossible to customize text messages. Others have been made to believe that they cannot share much information in text messages as in other marketing channels. But let’s set the record straight.
You can derive useful information from behavioral and demographic data to create highly targeted messages. For example, how long does it generally take your customer to repurchase a particular commodity or service? Send them a text promotion when it’s time for their next order. Keep in mind, the more personalized a text message, the better the outcome.
Another fact is that text messages need not be as lengthy as emails, outlining every detail about the product. No! In this fast-paced world, customers would prefer a short, summarized but sweet message. SMS marketing allows businesses to get to the point quicker yet holding the interest of the reader for longer.
Nevertheless, SMS marketing isn’t limited to 160 characters! Expanded multi-media messaging allows up to 306 characters. Recognizing this would allow you to be more informative while exercising brevity.
Fact 5: SMS Marketing is flexible, adaptable allowing for targeted and personalized messages.
Don’t Fall Prey to the Myths!
From the preceding, it is evident that it’s not SMS marketing that could fail you. Instead, it’s the way in which SMS marketing is deployed that could present challenges that could make these myths appear real.
You can be sure that SMS is one of the fastest-growing marketing channels in today’s world. The facts speak for themselves; the statistics cannot be ignored. SMS marketing is powerful, easy and effective. Thus, if you are a marketing executive or a business owner, you can no longer afford to bury your head in the sand. So the next time you hear a text message marketing myth, question it, ask for the proof, and ask out loud!
