Text messages are popular for personal and professional communications. Yet, 65% of businesses haven’t adopted a formal strategy for messaging customers.
It’s important to map such consumer demands for companies, nonprofits, and political campaigns looking to adopt more open communication with their prospects.
If you are searching for a mobile marketing channel to engage with your customers or supporters, look no further. Here are 20 text marketing statistics that will win you over!
Is text message marketing effective?
As of 2019, 96% of Americans owned a cell phone. Phones have become almost like an extension of our bodies. So, there’s little doubt that we prefer communicating on this handy device.
In the above image, you can see that as the age increases, the smartphones take a backseat. For these age groups, email blasts or social media promotions aren’t always convenient. Thus, texting becomes a more inclusive way of reaching out.
As a company, is text message marketing effective?
Five sms statistics that say yes:
- For retailers, SMS has six to eight times higher engagement rates than emails. 32% of consumers respond to promotional text messages from retailers.
- Word of mouth advertising and referrals work 32% more with text message marketing than with emails.
- About 50% of consumers reported making direct purchases when they received a text from brands.
- SMS marketing has a 209% higher response rate as compared to email, phone, or Facebook.
- Between 30-50% of out-of-store are redeemed. These are offers or discount codes that can be availed online.
Four text message marketing statistics that show why you must invest in SMS marketing with customers:
90% of people open messages within 30 minutes of waking up. Even throughout the day, 90% of messages are opened within nearly two minutes of receiving it. These numbers show how popular text messaging is with the masses. Even when it comes to business communications, the numbers are quite encouraging-
- 54% of customers prefer SMS for promotions over other communication channels
- 80% of customers use texting for business communications
- 75% of all customers are happy to receive text messages from brands after they opt-in
- Nearly 50% of emails are marked spam Vs. only 10% of SMS marketing messages
Here’s a detailed look at the statistics.
1. 54% of customers prefer SMS for promotions over other communication channels
More than half of people would rather have customer support via text messages as compared to any other mode of communication.
What they appreciate about text message marketing is
- It’s swift
- It’s personal
- It calls for human interaction rather than bots
- Even so, it is less intrusive than a phone call.
Related Reading: How to Use SMS for Customer Service
2. 80% of customers use texting for business
That’s a massive number if you consider the various modes of communication businesses have at their disposal. No wonder then that more and more businesses have started investing in text marketing tools that:
- Can send out text broadcasts to thousands of prospects.
- Allow customers or supporters to opt-in for SMS communications.
- Engage in valuable, personalized conversations with peer-to-peer texting.
3. 75% of all customers are happy to receive text messages from brands after they opt-in
Metallica has millions of fans worldwide headbanging to their songs. And when such a wildly popular band asks you to opt-in for their text messages, you do it!
Once your fans, customers, or supporters opt-in for your SMS marketing campaign, they are happy to receive updates, offers, and promotional messages from you. When they have volunteered their numbers to you, they are least likely to mark your messages as spam. Which brings us to…
4. Nearly 50% of emails are marked spam Vs. only 10% of SMS marketing messages
89% of marketers said that their primary communication channel is email blasts. This is one reason why we get so many promotional emails almost daily. The bulk of marketing emails is one reason why they are marked as spam.
This is precisely why you must stand out from the noise and employ a text message marketing strategy to engage with your prospects. Only about 10% of marketing SMSes are marked as junk or spam. This ensures the resources you invested in building a text message marketing strategy will not go in vain.
Related Reading: Text message advertising: How to make it work for you?
Text message marketing statistics to remember while devising your strategy
Designing a well-informed blueprint for a text message marketing strategy can ensure
- Your SMS reaches prospects at the right time.
- In a suitable format and
- Is effective in getting desired results.
The following text message statistics can guide you in designing such a strategy.
- For 29% of businesses, slots between 9 am and 3 pm is most favored by customers
- Text messages have a 19% click-through rate whereas emails have 2%
- Branded short links have 39% more CTR than generic ones
- 2/3 smartphone users purchase from companies who customize information to their location
- 55% of consumers prefer SMS for reminders over emails
- 75% of consumers are disappointed if they cannot reply to texts from a business
Let’s look at each point in detail.
1. For 29% of businesses, slots between 9 am and 3 pm is most favored by customers
Timing is everything when it comes to marketing campaigns. Statistics show that time slots between 9 am and noon and 12 pm to 3 pm are highly effective for businesses that use text advertising.
That’s not to say that one size fits all. For instance, if you are a spa, perhaps a time slot like 5-8 pm will be more beneficial when potential customers are the most tired after the workday. If you are a food business, targeting customers right before meal times will be more fruitful than sending a text blast after.
Study the behavior of your customers or supporters in the initial stages of your marketing campaign. You can build your strategy depending on your findings for the best results.
2. Text messages have a 19% click-through rate whereas emails have 2%
Fundraisers, event invites, or newly launched products are often introduced to prospects with text messages or emails. These communication channels are your foot in the door before talking about your cause, campaign, or product. So it is crucial to opt for a historically effective channel.
You are likely to add links to your website in marketing blasts. With nearly ten times more CTR than emails, text messages have a distinct advantage here.
3. Branded short links have 39% more CTR than generic ones
Your URL will grow longer when you want to direct people to a particular page like a fundraiser, event landing page, or registration page. But since an SMS has a 160 character limit, the shorter your link, the better. URL shorteners thus come handy. Instead of going for generic short links that speak nothing of your brand, go for branded vanity links.
These links are creative, quirky, and, more importantly, have a 39% higher click-through rate than generic ones.
Perfectly branded vanity links (like Pepsi’s) are not always possible due to restrictions in domain names or their availability. But get creative with your spellings (like Spotify did) or what you stand for (like Netflix) and create links that generate intrigue.
Related Reading: Short Code Texting – How to Get Started
4. 2/3 smartphone users purchase from companies who customize information to their location
With the advancement in technology, people love products and services tailored to their preferences. Location included.
For instance, they are more likely to search for “beauty salon near me” or use their zip code for such information. When you use a text message marketing strategy tailored to the location of prospects, they are more likely to respond.
Categorize your target customers or supporters by region and send texts from local long codes. This can increase your chances of getting responses.
5. 55% of consumers prefer SMS for reminders over emails
- Texts have a shorter open time (90 seconds) as compared to emails (90 minutes)
- Texts are opened 98% times
When it comes to time-sensitive messages, like doctor’s appointment reminders or Get-Out-The-Vote (GOTV) efforts, this short open time, coupled with a near-perfect open rate, makes texts the ideal communication mode.
No wonder then that 55% of consumers prefer texts over emails for reminders from brands.
6. 75% of consumers are disappointed if they cannot reply to texts from a business
There are two main categories of text message marketing:
- You want to drive attention to your website, offer or a launch
- You want to collect data
In both these types, a communicative approach is crucial. One part of which is making the text content human, with a casual tone and text abbreviations. The other part is to invoke action. In the first instance, asking people to click on a link can make texts interactive.
In the latter, allowing prospects to respond to texts is helpful. Even consumers tend to get frustrated if they cannot reply to messages by a business.
Investing in a mass texting software that allows two-way communication, with peer-to-peer texting, can help you converse with your customers or supporters.
CallHub’s P2P texting solution
- Lets you have personalized conversations with your customers and supporters
- Does this at scale
- And it follows a pay-as-you-go model.
What industry players say about text message marketing:
Although text message marketing is yet to become the mainstream communication mode in various industries, it’s a growing trend. Brands are listening to consumer demands and opening their channels to incorporate SMS marketing. Here are five text message marketing statistics from key industry players:
1. The use of SMS marketing grew by almost 200% in 2017
Although SMS is an older communication channel as compared to emails, it has only recently started gaining popularity among business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketers. Such companies are now seeing the potential of text messages as a means to communicate with customers and developing strategies to suit their needs.
Text message marketing saw a 197% growth in B2B and B2C marketing in 2017 as compared to 2015.
2. Only 39% of marketers use SMS for business
Studies have shown that texting is often the preferred method of communication for customers. And yet, businesses haven’t mobilized it.
Although text message marketing grew by 197% in B2B and B2C sectors in 2017, it still accounts for just 39% of all marketing communications.
You could be the leader in your niche who listens to where your customers want to speak by adopting a formal SMS marketing strategy.
3. Real estate leads with 73% marketers using text advertising for business
Among the industries that have seen the potential of text message marketing and have adopted a formal strategy are small and medium businesses, mid-market companies, and enterprises.
- Real estate leads in this chart, with 73% of marketers using an SMS marketing strategy.
- They are followed by agriculture (65%) and entertainment (63%)
- Least to use texting with customers (but still in the top 10) are education at 47% and automotive at 48%.
4. 24% of companies that use texts use them for marketing
30% use them for sales.
Currently, the most widely used function of texts for companies is
- scheduling (56%) followed by
- sending reminders (43%).
More than 76% of companies who use texting are currently missing out on the opportunity to use it as a marketing tool. As we can see, there’s a huge potential for marketers to explore SMS marketing with customers, supporters, and other prospects.
Source
5. 57% of companies use personal cell phones to text their customers
Only 16% use texting software with a shortcode and a phone number.
A personal cell phone is handy to use, no doubt. But it seldom gives you the benefits of a texting software that can
- Rent you local numbers or shortcodes
- Provide a script for all staff members to follow
- Filter out bad numbers (through phone number verification)
- Track responses
The texting software by CallHub also gives you the option of using your own number if you so prefer. It integrates with CRMs and gets all your contacts in one place.
This way, you can choose to text at scale from your phone or computer, and undertake personalized texting at scale.
In Conclusion:
Text messaging is a super popular communication tool for mobile users. It is easy, personalized, and swift. These are the primary reasons consumers are increasingly preferring texts over other communication modes with businesses.
We hope these text message marketing statistics equip you with the information to craft an efficient strategy. Do let us know in the comments which of the numbers surprised you the most!
Feature Image Source: Chris Liverani/Unsplash
