Both email and SMS are popular when e-commerce businesses choose how to spend their marketing budget. But how do they differ? Does it make sense to use both, or is one sufficient? Today, we will go over the differences and benefits of SMS and email so you can see what suits you and your business best.
Benefits of SMS marketing
If you want a marketing channel where 97% of all campaigns are read, only SMS can meet your expectations. Most customers appreciate SMS offers, and it’s easy to unsubscribe from future campaigns for those who don’t. The conversion rate with SMS is also more than twice as high as that of emails, making it a very effective channel for sales.
Swedes’ screen time on the phone averages between 3-4 hours a day and is constantly increasing, which is why they rarely miss an SMS. But getting your SMS to convert your potential customers is up to you. Unlike emails, one SMS only contains 160 characters and requires no more elements or design.
SMS marketing works best with:
- Short-form content
- Time-limited campaigns
- Reactivation of unengaged customers
- Notifications and account updates
- Important information
- Offers and Product Launches
- Information for customers who do not visit websites or apps
How to use SMS marketing well?
If you segment your campaigns so that the right person receives the message, you will see a significant boost in your results. With Bogio, you can make your SMS more relevant with advanced segmentation. You can easily choose so that, e.g. offers for women’s clothing are sent to women and vice versa.
For those who sell internationally, you can also segment by language to make sure that your potential customers understand your message. Only your imagination limits how much you can/want to segment; the more relevant the message, the better results you will get.
Benefits of email marketing
Email is one of the oldest channels of digital marketing. Emails are highly customizable, but unlike SMS, emails have a much lower opening rate of 20-30%, while the click-through rate (CTR) ends at around 2.5%. In comparison, SMS has a 97% open rate and up to 10-29% CTR, depending on the campaign, making it one of the best marketing channels! So why use emails if SMS works so well?
With emails, you have more freedom to describe what your offer and your brand are about. You have the option to customize text and images and design exactly how you want to get readers to convert. You can make more informative messages with emails and send them more often than you can with SMS.
E-mail marketing works best with:
- Offers and product launches
- Detailed content for building customer relationships
- Capture feedback
- Content & information
- Collect social proof
How is SMS different from e-mail?
An SMS is almost impossible for the customer to miss, while emails can easily slip between the cracks. Apart from the pros and cons, SMS and Email work best when used together. They cover each other’s weaknesses and improve their strengths. You can easily capture what doesn’t convert via email with SMS and intelligent segmentation.
A report from Smartinsights showed that a follow-up SMS to those who have not opened your email can increase the open rate by as much as 30%. Emails can strengthen your brand with image, copy and design, while SMS can highlight time-limited and exclusive offers in a concise format.
Which one should you choose?
For the best results, you should reach your customer base with relevant messages using both SMS and emails. SMS is an established way to increase sales, and its popularity is growing rapidly. The conversion rate and customer engagement are better with SMS, but email is cheaper. SMS and email benefit each other, and it would do neither any justice to make a black & white comparison. The best way to communicate with your customer base is through SMS and email. Do it right, and you will see a noticeable increase in your customers’ engagement and your sales.
To summarize, SMS and email benefit each other, and together, they are one of the best ways to communicate with your customer base. Use their synergy effects, and you will see a noticeable increase in your customers’ commitment and sales.
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