Home » Why Brands Should Be Using SMS to Future-Proof Their Business

Why Brands Should Be Using SMS to Future-Proof Their Business

When it comes to reaching and making an impression on consumers, two key marketing channels are essential to effectively communicate your message and encourage a reaction from readers: email and SMS. Email and SMS are the top two preferred channels for receiving brand updates, and there’s never been a better time to create a multichannel marketing strategy, using SMS along with email, to reach customers at any level, wherever they are. In fact, 91% of customers are interested in signing up to receive SMS from a brand (According to Attentive’s 2021 SMS Marketing Consumer Trends Report). And, not only do consumers want to receive SMS, but they’re also more likely to engage with SMS, compared to other marketing channels.

Now is the time to build relationships with consumers

The marketing landscape has transformed in recent years, and consumers have increased their expectations in regard to what they receive from marketers — and, in effect, now what elicits engagement from consumers has changed as well. Consumers are much more savvy about how marketers use their data, while governmental legislation around this collected data also continues to evolve. With all things considered, there’s never been a more important time to listen to your customers, deliver on their expectations, and build relationships with them that last.

What’s the best way to build relationships? Leverage owned channels like email and SMS to better know your customers — who they are, what they’re interested in, and how they like to engage with you. Plus, if you own your data, you can build a much deeper connection with your audience, while also reducing the impact of external factors on your marketing strategy and business, like industry changes such as GDPR and Apple Mail Privacy Protection, which have both impacted how brands communicate with their audiences. Utilizing an owned channel to reach your customers also reduces the impact of external factors, like the deprecation of third-party cookie tracking, on your marketing strategy.

The compelling evidence behind SMS marketing

Considering the effectiveness of SMS as a measurably more compelling channel of communication, industry statistics which illustrate the benefits of SMS to both brands and their audience, reveal the channel to be both powerful and persuasive. As individual consumers, our sentiment around receiving text messages from brands has evolved over recent years — and we’re now a lot more interested in receiving SMS marketing. According to research conducted by Tech Jury, click-through rates on SMS messages containing offers were 9% higher than on any other digital channel, while 95% of SMS are opened and responded to within three minutes of receiving them (according to SMS Comparison USA).

With 78% of buyers confirming that checking, sending and answering texts comprise the primary ways they use their phones, and 61% of people admitting to spending more time texting daily since 2020 — using SMS to market your brand and build relationships with consumers stands to be a worthwhile investment opportunity to keep your business’s growth trending upward.

Grow your brand by investing in SMS

SMS, like email, is permission-based and offers the power of personalization as well as the possibility of a high ROI. It’s perfect for sending short-form content and is an ideal channel to drive urgency. You’ll amplify your marketing message by cutting through the noise of congested inboxes and relentless advertisements, reaching consumers directly, and you’ll increase the speed of return on your marketing investment because consumers are more likely to respond to SMS and take action. Adding SMS to your marketing efforts will ultimately future-proof your business while allowing you to build deeper and more meaningful relationships with your customers. Download our guide on the 6 SMS Best Practices Every Savvy Marketer Should Know to learn the must-know advice for achieving the gold standard of SMS marketing.