Tapping Into the Power of Email + SMS
Let’s talk about email. Okay, it’s not the most exciting communications tool—but when paired with SMS and armed with the right content and timing, email can be very compelling.
Email Is Still Powerful
Statistics show that email is still the most-used and most-effective marketing channel. For every $1 spent on email marketing, the average expected return is $42! And a 1% drop in email delivery can cost $1M in revenue.
But while email marketing has been a force in driving customer engagement, personalized SMS marketing is quickly growing in strength. When email and SMS are paired correctly, the potential to engage with users and exceed ROI goals is powerful.
Messaging in a Mobile-First World
Both email and SMS are designed to succeed in a mobile-first world. Research shows that an average of 68% of emails are opened on mobile devices, and the same can be said for nearly all SMS. What’s more, the average text message is responded to within 90 seconds.
Email marketing is inexpensive whether you’re charged by the number of contacts or by delivered messages. Likewise, SMS is cost-effective, and there’s also no need to bid against other marketers for a limited amount of media/inventory in digital ad markets.
By pairing email and SMS, you can leverage different levels of engagement with the goal of maximizing reach and, eventually, sales. Brands can use email to build relationships and SMS to secure commitment.
For example, with SMS, you can send a short message that tells customers what to expect from an impending email. The idea behind that is that you can use more words than an email subject line, yet as long as there's no need to scroll, most recipients will end up reading the message. Additionally, With email marketing, you can share many details about your new product or service. But a short call-to-action might be better offered via text.
Time Sensitivity of a Message
Email and SMS marketing work together to create a powerful customer experience that plays along the spectrum of the time-sensitivity of a message.
Additionally, you can create personalized messages that leverage both tools. Using data from your email database, you can target and personalize your SMS, which establishes a strong text campaign from the first point of contact.
Level Up Your Message Game
Pairing SMS and email can also help your company improve customer and marketing outreach. For example, you can:
Target recommendations and upselling—Using data taken from the email database, your organization can start SMS campaigns that offer personalized, data-driven offers to help boost sales and returning customers
Secure customer relationships—Use email to develop customer relationships and SMS to increase follow-up and gain commitment; SMS can also be used to verify phone numbers and email addresses
Generate quicker responses—Email can be used to share information, but it can't promise a customer response; in some cases, SMS is a better way to follow up and increase your chances of a response
Send reminders that will be read—Use SMS as another secure method to share upcoming deliveries, appointments, cancellations, offers, and in-store deals
Boost performance—Use SMS and email campaigns to determine ways to improve ROI, product quality, customer satisfaction, safety, and time management by sending surveys or single questions to your customers
One thing is for certain: Combining email and SMS is more effective than relying on either one of them alone. Pairing email and SMS based on the urgency and content in your message can be used to your advantage. Test the different mediums and see what works best for you. Learn more about tapping into the power of email plus SMS at https://www.vonage.com/communications-apis/email/.
