Back in time, SMS was a luxury, but in today’s digital world, SMS marketing is the future. Earlier, phone plans used to charge on every SMS that too with limited characters. Now, every phone plan comes with an unlimited number of messages. With the advancement in technology and consumer behavior, businesses are observing SMS marketing take the main stage.
SMS marketing has completely changed its game, which is why it is the future. Businesses do not need to send messages to each customer manually; reliable third-party apps and plugins have made everything easier. Consumers are on their phones all day; on average, a person spends over five hours a day on their phone, and 90% of the messages are read within a span of 2-3 minutes.
Importance of SMS Marketing:SMS Marketing is one of the simplest, most effective, and efficient ways to reach the customer directly. No need for the internet or to log in to view the content—the easiest way to turn the initial interaction into additional sales.
SMS have the highest open rates of all traditional channels, reaching up to 98%, as per research studies. This insinuates that your message enjoys a distinctive viewership that is interested in what you have to offer universally.
The room of the SMS messages guarantees the mobile devices of the recipients that allow this communication as direct as possible. Besides, people habitually bear with their mobile devices in the places of their hands, generating swifter feedback.
SMS messages appear to have way higher involvement rates than are recorded in the case of other marketing communication methods. Text messages usually are fast and easy to respond to; for example, clicking on a link, replying, or taking an action a receiver is meant to take time.
SMS marketing offers opportunities through customization. This technique lets you dial down messages which are targeted towards particular people or groups. Your message reaches your audience on a more personal basis, which has been proven to increase its effectiveness.
SMS marketing can be one of the cheapest marketing channels due to the fact that its costs are relatively low when we compare this method with other marketing channels, with their high engagement rates and economical return.
Unlike email and social media posts that are not rushed for assurances of quick response, SMS is effectively received and read almost instantly, making them an exceptional platform for urgent promotions or announcements.
But what about the Response Rate?Generally, someone would respond within 90 seconds, but it is all depending on the person. That’s another impressive thing compared to the average of 90 minutes that email requests usually take. Abandoned shopping carts, customer support inquiries from shoppers, and the promotion of new product releases and seasonal offers and deals were some of the areas where SMS has proven its effectiveness. It is a cost-saving method that allows the system to remanufacture money after it has changed hands. The promissory content at the onset indicated that the road conducted well holds hopes of accomplishing the same.
Consumers have always hated the monotony and inefficiency of their consumer experience. It is even harder for them to submit their credit card info again and again during checkout. Empowering the ease of checkout is crucial because if the process becomes too complicated, almost 97% of the customers could decide not to execute the operation. A system where all purchase processes via SMS, even with saved credit card details, will soon be offered to consumers as a distribution channel, developing in a short time, which is one of the reasons why we claim that SMS marketing is the future.
Trends of SMS Marketing:SMS marketing continues to evolve with the advancement in technology, and having information about these trends can help you drive traffic.
RCS supports numerous multimedia messaging formats like pictures, videos, and sounds, not only making it more fun for the conversation exchange but also cost-cutting for the senders because they get to avoid some charges that are paid when using MMS.
RCS offers a range of interactivity tools to use within messages, such as suggested replies, buttons, and carousels, making communication with clients more engaging and communicative. RCS technology features a function that enables corporate entities to have a unique message appearance, which allows corporate brand elements such as logos and colours to enhance the overall look and brand experience.
Thanks to its progressed delivery and read receipts feature, RCS generates much better delivery and engagement metrics data in comparison to traditional SMS, enabling businesses to be more aware of the messages delivered and read.
Conversational messaging is all about creating a setting for building two-way relations between businesses and customers by telling a story that can be followed in real-time and diversified according to each follower’s situation.
Businesses are at the forefront of using chatbots and AI as a means of communication and a source of instant replies to customers, thus improving the effectiveness and scalability of various conversational messaging campaigns.
Moreover, conversational messaging facilitates businesses to send messages that are personalized through the use of historical preferences and behavior, whereby they can provide their customers with precisely what they need, which creates a contextual and relevant user experience.
Through conversational messaging, branded stores are also running transmission, customer support, and order updates for customers, like appointment reminders and service-related communication.
These traits signify an evolution to the contacts for a more touch-and-feel, customer-oriented and interesting experience, such as advancements in technology and growing clients’ needs. Companies that lean on RCS and conversational messaging stand to distinctly separate themselves from the clutter of messaging apps that are widely used by customers while also improving audience loyalty.
Apart from RCS and conversational messaging, we have noticed other trends as well which have shaped the future of SMS marketing:
Consumers nowadays are oriented to how the brands are communicating with them. Thus, SMS marketers use data analytics and automation tools to personalize messages according to user behavior, preferences, and demographics. SMS personalized messages have a higher effect on the volume of engagement and the number of converts.
Using chatbots and AI with SMS Marketing makes it possible to engage with customers directly through automated speech-sending techniques. Chatbots can deal with customers’ questions, supply help, and even make transactions with SMS, so as these kinds of services grow and the consumer’s enjoyment develops,
Marketers are currently segmenting their text message customer lists according to their demographics, previous purchases, engagement, and fluctuation in location. Through such pitches that are sent to designated population groups, marketers manage to be more specific and thus prevail on the engagement of customers with the corresponding content and promotional material, hence achieving better conversion rates.
Today, the influencing factors that are more severe than before, like GDPR and CCPA, are making the SMS marketing industry take notice of opt-in management and necessary guidelines. Consent seeking from subscribers and displaying a transparent and obvious “opt-out” button. Consent seeking from subscribers, along with displaying a transparent visible button, is an absolute need.
Omnichannel marketing techniques are showing up, as SMS marketing is integrated with other digital marketing techniques such as email, social media, and mobile apps. Messaging coherence leads to effective messaging distribution across multiple communication channels; this guarantees a stronger reach and higher engagement.
To flourish in the competitive business environment, the businesses need to learn about the new trends. It is time for companies to begin experimenting with real-time, one-on-one texting before it becomes the standard practice. SMS marketing is becoming more and more advanced, and it offers a higher level of connection between the business and its customers. It is the right time to connect with SMS marketing services to learn more about how you can upscale your sales with the right approach.
