The benefits of SMS marketing

With so many channels to choose from as a marketer, it can be difficult to figure out which to choose. Splitting your budgets across a variety of channels and testing each over a period of time is a good way to go, but if you’re looking for the channel with the best chance of reaching your audience, we have a striking fact for you:

SMS has a staggering open rate of 98%, and most messages are read within 5 minutes.

It starts with mobile

South African consumers have never been more attached to their mobiles, literally. South Africans spend over 8 hours a day online – and a third of that time is spent on social media. Mobile plays an ever-increasing part in people’s lives and will no doubt increase further.

With all that attention being lavished on the rectangle in your pocket, it’s no surprise that competition for mobile eyeballs is fierce. But when it comes to mobile engagement, not all channels are equal.

Email is renowned for being an effective channel in terms of ROI, but email open rates average out at around 22%, considerably less than SMS. Push Messaging is extremely effective, but your customer has to have your app installed, and they need a mobile internet connection.

If your intended recipient doesn’t have internet connectivity when you send a message, it’ll be delayed, or may not arrive at all.

SMS, however, isn’t internet-reliant, which is why it’s such an effective solution for large-scale, widely distributed communications, reaching anyone with a mobile phone, regardless of internet connectivity.

You can use our tools to create a personalised SMS marketing campaign and deliver it instantly to your customer’s phone. Reaching your audience has never been so easy.

Features of SMS

SMS may have been around since the 1990s, but it’s far from outdated. SMS has continued to evolve over the years, adding more features that you may not be aware of:

• Personalisation via merge tags

• Target groups and individuals

• Schedule for perfect timing

• Add mobile landing pages

• Cost-effective and reliable

• Rich analytics for conversion optimisation

• Available via API, WebApp or via your mail client

• Easy to combine with other marketing channels via one platform

Discover the power of SMS – it’s free!

Want to know more about how SMS can help you reach your customers more effectively? Request a demo of the Mobile Marketing Cloud to see how SMS marketing can deliver great ROI for you.