No one doubts that email still works. Marketers around the globe are using it every day to promote brand messages and rack up sales.
So while both are critical components of the modern marketing mix, there are things to consider.
Most people know how email works. Anyone with an email address can receive missives from both friends and businesses. Short Message Service (SMS) is a text messaging service component of phone, Web, or mobile communication systems. It uses standardized communications protocols to allow fixed line or mobile phone devices to exchange short text messages.
Interestingly, today there may be more mobile phone users than email aficionados. Right now there are nearly 7 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide — about 95.5 percent of the world’s population.
“That’s a lot of people with the capability to receive an SMS text message,” writes Aine Doherty at Business2Community.
Radicati Group projects there are currently just 2.5 billion email users worldwide.
“The popularity of email marketing meant that it very quickly became over populated with spam, thus reducing the chance that your email will be interpreted as a legitimate one and actually opened and read,” Doherty says. “SMS Marketing alternatively is 99 percent legitimate, with only 1 percent spam text messaging (and) this communication tool is still highly regarding by mobile phone users.”
But here’s what rings Doherty’s bell: SMS text messages have an off-the-charts open rate of 98 percent.
“No other marketing tool can offer a similar rate, making SMS Marketing one of the most effective ways to get your message to your customer,” Doherty argues. “In contrast email marketing reports a 22 percent open rate, which significantly reduces your chance of success.”
Read more here.