In 2017 it was reported that the number of texts sent by businesses to customers was 1.67 trillion. This number is expected to rise to a staggering 2.80 trillion by 2022 (source) – not bad for a platform that was conceived in the 80s!
SMS has been around for a long time now, but that doesn’t mean that the relevance of the channel should be underestimated.
In 2017 it was reported that the number of texts sent by businesses to customers was 1.67 trillion. This number is expected to rise to a staggering 2.80 trillion by 2022 (source) – not bad for a platform that was conceived in the 80s!
What makes SMS so great?![]()
High read rates
When compared to other channels SMS has an exceptionally high read rate. In a recent study it was found that 95% of text messages are read (source). Compare this to a less impressive number of around 20% for email (source).
They’re (pretty much) instantaneous
90% of SMS are read within three minutes of being received (source). When you couple this with Esendex’s commitment to process 90% of your messages within 5 seconds, and 95% within 20 seconds, there’s very little delay between sending the message and the recipient reading it. This is great for important subjects like alerts, warnings and other time sensitive messages.
High engagement rates
Not only will more of your audience read your messages, more of them will actively respond to them as well. Conversions (measured as someone taking the desired action: a sale, coupon use, form completion etc.) average 3.26% for email (source), and 32% for SMS (source).
They’ll reduce costs
Sending 1,000 letters will cost around £500 compared with around £38 for SMS. That’s a big saving of £462 (source).
Customers love them!
SMS hasn’t been adopted by spammers in the same way that platforms like email have, and that means that audiences are much more receptive when they do receive them. For example for the purpose of customer service, 44% of people said they’d prefer to engage via text rather than wait on hold (source), and a further 44% would rather receive product information through SMS than any other channel (source).
So what are the other ways that your business could be using SMS?
SMS is an extremely powerful tool, which can be used for an extremely wide variety of applications. But here are just some of the main ways that our customers have been using the channel to enjoy better conversations with their customers.
Appointment reminders
Missed appointments are an expensive nuisance. Help reduce their probability by sending a scheduled SMS reminder, which can be done from within your existing CRM system.
Network outage alerts
If your network encounters an issue which could affect its performance, SMS functionality can be deployed which will automatically send a warning message to selected staff. This means that the problem will be fixed more quickly, and reduce your downtime.
Shift scheduling
SMS doesn’t just have to be a way to connect with customers – it’s a great way to speak with your staff too. Use SMS to let staff know when they’re expected for work, or engage a two-way conversation to allow them to rearrange when required.
Delivery notifications
Getting an email which lets you know the whereabouts of your parcel is great, but emails are easy to miss or ignore. SMS negates this problem by delivering a message straight to your customers’ native messaging application and in turn, delivers a much better customer experience.
Marketing and promotions
SMS messages are one of the best ways to keep customers up to date with the latest offers and promotions, new products, exclusive deals, and much more. Anything from fast-food to property can be shouted about in a more effective way by using SMS. Our PDF guide to SMS marketing has lots of advice for getting the best results.
Learn more about SMS Marketing with our Guide to SMS Marketing Campaigns.
Want to learn more about SMS?
If you’re interested to know more about how SMS can help your business, please get in contact with our team today on 0345 356 5758 or email us at [email protected].
