SMS & Multichannel Communication: How To Make Your SMS Count

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The emergence of new communication channels gave rise to multichannel marketing campaigns. This practice refers to businesses using different communication methods to get in touch with different people or to accomplish different communication objectives with the same person simultaneously. This evolution of communication caused a shift in user expectations, where the audience expects to utilize the channels they prefer for specific purposes rather than the ones that the companies are comfortable with.

In this realm, SMS messaging stands out as a core element of a multi-channel marketing strategy, with 80% of companies using specialized text messaging software to reach their audience. Despite more than two decades of history, SMS continues to grow in popularity, offering new ways to connect with customers and drive success.

This article will help businesses new to multichannel marketing by explaining how SMS can be exploited as a cost-effective, result-driven communication channel. If you’re already taking advantage of text messaging for business, make sure to check out the practical examples, dedicated SMS automation software, and best practices below to elevate your multi-channel marketing strategy.

The Key Benefits of SMS in Multichannel Marketing
Knowing the advantages of SMS helps in understanding the role that text messaging can play in creating seamless marketing strategies. It’s crucial to compare text messaging with other channels and identify suitable applications for multi-channel communications.

High Open and Response Rates
There are several key strengths of SMS messaging, but the nearly 100% open rate is one of the most crucial. SMS gets seen more than any other marketing message because of how easy it is to see it by the recipients: SMS doesn’t require opening an inbox or any other phone app, as text messaging is an inbuilt feature for all smartphones or cell phones.

Moreover, SMS boasts a 45% response rate, indicating that text messaging is a simple yet effective solution to trigger an action from the user. The action can be simply answering the message, clicking the link, or opening an email letter. Response rate is important for measuring user engagement and can be used for A/B testing in multichannel marketing to identify various factors that impact recipients’ decisions:

Message content and tone of voice
Time of the day and day of the week
Action types required from users
Level of personalization
Frequency
Phonexa A/B testing SMS campaign

One of the following sections includes tips for increasing response rates to SMS text messaging.

Immediate Delivery and Read Times
If timing is crucial in attracting leads in your business, then an SMS marketing company should be an essential component of your multichannel communication with potential customers. Mass text messaging can be executed near-instantaneously using SMS marketing automation and setting triggering conditions, such as user sign-up action, specific time, etc.

The instant delivery is also characteristic of other channels, such as email campaigns. However, the importance of SMS marketing is that users are more likely to read the messages immediately or within the first five minutes. On the contrary, an email message or a post on a social media platform may lie for hours or days before the prospect sees it.

How quickly people check SMS

Source: SimpleTexting

Consider these multi-channel communication strategy examples that incorporate SMS messaging for its ability to deliver information quickly:

Delivering information that is only valuable when fresh, such as news headings to prompt the user to go to your news website or stock updates so the user can shop for the products before they are gone
Promoting product launches or updates that can create an immediate buzz uae phone number list trigger presales, and drive traffic to your platform
Reacting to the competitors’ actions, such as countering their promotions with your offers or responding to criticism
Following up shortly after customers leave the shopping cart, saving sales that were canceled by accident or distraction
Personalization Capabilities for Targeted Messaging
Multi-channel customer communication doesn’t have to make users feel like they are bombarded with your information regardless of their interests and preferences. To avoid creating this unpleasant feeling yet leverage multiple marketing channels, personalization is key.

Even with bulk text messaging, you can send personalized messages to your audience. Indicating the recipient’s name or automatically switching between several content versions based on past purchase history or preferences captured by the lead tracking system are simple ways to make each interaction with a person feel unique and valued.

The targeted approach offered by SMS marketing campaigns improves user experience which leads to enhanced brand reputation and increased conversion rates.

Cost-effectiveness Compared to Other Channels