BY Kathy Crosett
In theory, SMS marketing should be a great way for your accounts to build engagement with their customers. But how well does SMS marketing work? The analysts at SimpleTexting.com surveyed 1,000 consumers and hundreds of business owners to understand the nuances of using this tool. And they’ve come up with the SMS marketing best practices. Let’s take a look.
How Consumers Use Mobile Devices on a Daily Basis
Consumers spend plenty of time on their phones every day – between four to five hours a day. That’s plenty of time for marketers to connect through SMS messaging. Here’s what people are doing on their phones.
- Texting 83%
- Social media 75%
- Email 66%
- Music/podcasts 56%
- Watching videos 54%
How Many Consumers Want to Receive Vendor SMS Marketing Messages?
There’s little question that consumers are hyperalert to what’s happening on their phone. Yes, they’re constantly scanning for messages from friends and loved ones. But they’re also open to getting messages from their favorite businesses.
Over 80% of consumers have opted in to receiving vendor messages. This is a big jump from the 62% who had done so in 2021.
The businesses consumers are most interested in hearing from include retailers and health care providers. The top reasons for consumers to give up their phone numbers is because they want appointment reminders. But they also want the details about promotions. Sharing a promotion is an example of SMS marketing best practices.
Here’s a breakout of what consumers like to see in the SMS messages they receive.
- Appointment/reservation reminders 76%
- Shipment tracking 68%
- Discounts, promotions 58%
- Customer service/support 45%
The Value of Promotions
SMS marketing best practices include offering something of value. Consumers are quick to check their text messages. In fact, over 82% review them within five minutes of receipt. This fear-of-missing-out behavior is perfect for local eateries that want to announce a same-day lunch or dinner special. The bottom line is – promotions rule.
But consumers use SMS messaging for other purposes. And your accounts can win them over by expanding their outreach.
Customer Service
Consumers are generally fed up with calling a traditional customer service line. They also aren’t keen on sending an email. They might suspect their email queries won’t be answered.
But they will send a text message. Over 70% want their customer service texts to be a two-way communication system. Using SMS messages for customer service issues is another way to delight people.
Text Frequency
The volume of text messages from businesses could quickly overwhelm a consumer. Around half of consumers say they regularly receive texts from four different businesses.
However, around half of consumers also say they only want to hear from a business via text every other week. If a business abuses this relationship, they should know that around half of SMS subscribers will opt out of future messages. Advise your accounts that SMS marketing best practices means not bombarding consumers.
The Business Perspective
The SimpleTexting survey also reported its survey findings on the benefits of texting for businesses. When businesses embark on a text messaging marketing program, they often sign up to use an SMS marketing platform.
The practice is more popular in some verticals than in others. For example, about 83% of health care services use these platforms. And around 62% of education services said the same.
What matters most to your accounts is whether the activity generates business. Simpletexting analysts report, “Businesses that text customers are 5.89 times more likely to report digital marketing success than those that don’t.”
A Measure of Success
One measure of success is the click-through rate. 36% of surveyed businesses experience a 21–35% CTR. These rates rival what marketers can achieve through email campaigns. The finance sector is one of the most successful verticals in terms of SMS text messaging marketing results.
Conversion rates are another well-established way to measure success. In the SimpleTexting survey, over 32% of businesses said their conversion rates were “between 21% and 30%.” “Hospitality, finance and consumer services businesses” had strong conversion rates.
Summary
Survey respondents indicate their intent to increase the budget spent on text message marketing in 2025. To stay on top of SMS marketing best practices, businesses plan to use AI to help them reduce costs and improve effectiveness. If you are selling SMS text messaging marketing services, remind your accounts of the AudienceSCAN data from AdMall. This survey reveals that 35% of consumers are influenced by this type of marketing. In addition, nearly 47% have visited an advertiser’s website as a result of advertising of information they’ve seen about a product or service.
