When I talk about how to combine sms and email marketing in different courses, workshops, and conferences, I am surprised by the number of people who do not believe in these tools.
However, to date, both can be an explosive combination if you put them together in the right way.
What’s more, in the blog, I spoke several times about Email Marketing issues and their benefits.
But today, it’s time to talk about a mix, a luxury cocktail, and a way to use two tools, which many are unaware of or do not believe possible.
I mean the powerful explosion between SMS Marketing and Email Marketing
Let us begin!
What are email marketing and SMS?
To begin with, a multichannel strategy allows you to have different sales and distribution channels to address your objective target.
In each channel that you use, the information must be given in a different way, and the message must be adapted to each of them.
Remember: not all your subscribers are the same, nor do they seek or want the same thing.
Email Marketing
It is one of the most effective and attractive channels for any marketing campaign. It is profitable, interactive and economical.
It allows you to reach new customers through newsletters to retain them, increase sales of your product, promote it and, above all, create a more direct relationship where subscribers participate and are part of the entire process.
SMS
Text messages are the ideal channel to have simple and fast communication with your clients and prospects. According to some studies, bulk SMS (short message service) has a read rate of about 98%, and they are read within three minutes of delivery.
The time has come to integrate these two tools.
The main differences between SMS and emails that you need to know
In order for SMS and email to effectively complement each other in your strategy, you need to be clear about how they differ. The main differences are:
• Space for content – SMS messages are limited to 160 characters. Therefore, conveying what we need in such a short space is not always easy. The message must be concise, effective, and with a clear call to action.
• Open rate – According to eztecting.com, SMS open rates are as high as 98%. That’s quite a difference compared to emails with an average open rate of 25-30%. With SMS, you have a much higher probability that the recipient will view your message.
• Speed of opening – Since we communicate over the phone essentially continuously, the main advantage of SMS is the speed with which the recipient opens it. Some sources even state that 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes of delivery!
• Target group – Currently, the younger generation accepts SMS marketing a bit better. The older generation still prefers traditional ways of reaching out, such as email. This is also due to the fact that smartphones are the domain of millennials. But this situation is gradually changing.
You could say that email is like an older brother – classic and reliable. It has already proven itself and is generally popular and positively received.
On the other hand, SMS is younger, shorter, more modern and, above all, faster. Its speed is the main advantage that will help your campaign achieve better results.
Benefits of SMS Marketing
I will start by talking first about SMS Marketing.
From the point of view of text messages (SMS), reality has changed a bit.
Many believe that SMS is dead thanks to the arrival of messaging systems such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and Signal.
But the truth is that this is not so true.
Why?
Simply because of SMS Marketing, it still has significant benefits relative to other media.
What would these benefits be?
#1 – Bulk SMS is cheap
To date, although sending text messages is not free, they are a fairly cheap resource.
The price of sending bulk SMS depends greatly on the region or country, but it is usually for cents (or even less).
#2 – SMS Marketing does not depend on the internet
In my opinion, this is a great benefit.
Unlike typical messaging systems, the sending of bulk SMS is not based on the internet but rather on the mobile data network.
In this way, we can be sure that an SMS Marketing campaign will be reaching people, even if they do not have internet coverage.
What’s more, no one can guarantee that 100% of mobile phones have internet, but they can be able to receive a text message.
#3 – SMS Marketing is a channel that is not so saturated
A third benefit that I see within SMS Marketing is that currently, with the number of digital channels that exist and messaging channels, text messages have begun to lose saturation.
What does that mean?
Less competition!!! And that makes it a highly interesting channel.
#4 – SMS Marketing is not so severe with advertising
The reality is that unlike other channels, where when doing certain advertising, we can receive a blocking of our account (Whatsapp, for example), sending text messages without reaching a level of abuse does not have big problems.
What’s more, in some countries, even the telephone companies themselves offer packages for SMS campaigns.
#5 – The possibility of putting a link
Entering a link from an unknown source can make some people wary.
But if it’s from a well-known source, something they expect, and it’s attractive in value, then you’re sure to get in.
And the good thing is that today’s text messages allow you to insert links or shorten links.
Benefits of Email Marketing
Now, to complement the subject of SMS Marketing a bit, I am going to mention five benefits that you get from including an email strategy for Email Marketing within your planning.
Later in the article, I’ll show you how to combine channels to create that explosive mix.
#1 – They allow you to segment the public well
Something that you must understand, and what I already talked about in the blog, is that doing Email Marketing is not the same as doing spam.
You may want to read our guide on “How to prevent your email from going to spam.”
When you do Email Marketing for real, you can take advantage of your databases to segment your customers.
And this is wonderful because marketing that is well-segmented has many benefits.
#2 – Metrics at your fingertips
It goes without saying that one of the great benefits of doing Email Marketing is being able to count on key statistics for analysis.
Most of the tools on the market, whether you do email marketing in Spain, China or Argentina, usually have reported on the status of your campaigns.
And that is good for adjusting the strategy.
#3 – It is very cheap
The reality of Email Marketing is that it is very cheap (something that it has in common with SMS Marketing), and in this way, it adapts to all types of budgets and businesses.
I am sure that inside and outside your country, there are many Email Marketing tools that adapt without problem to your budget.
#4 – It is easy to use
Most of the Email Marketing tools on the market are really easy to use. Furthermore, I could summarize the entire process in the following steps:
• Create an account
• Upload a database
• Select or create a template
• Configure the subject, recipients and other details
• Hit the send button
It is easy to start using these types of digital tools.
And it gets easier and easier.
#5 – Almost everyone receives emails on their smartphone
Finally, one last benefit of Email Marketing is that thanks to the growth of smartphones and internet connections, almost everyone reads emails from a mobile device today.
It is no longer like before when people only checked their mail at work or home and from a computer.
This makes it a mobile and instantly accessible medium.
Benefits of combining SMS Marketing and Email Marketing
Well, finally, we come to the interesting part of the article.
After seeing the benefits of both channels, it is time to discover how they could be integrated into a strategy.
So let’s get started.
Why should you combine both?
For the following reasons.
First, because in both cases, you reach your target audience on their mobile devices. Not perhaps in 100% of people, but a great majority.
This means both are channels the customer has with them all the time (or as long as they have a smartphone).
Second, you could take advantage of SMS Marketing to convert customers for your Email Marketing campaigns. This is thanks to being able to put a link and invite them to do so. An excellent combination.
Third, because you are doing multichannel marketing this way, reach your client from the medium or channel they have access to. And this is a great marketing advantage.
How to combine SMS Marketing and Email Marketing?
And we come to the critical moment to learn how to combine SMS Marketing with emails.
Although it all depends on your marketing strategy, the planning you have done and different situations, combining both channels can have excellent results.
Here are some ideas that you could take advantage of.
#1 – Use SMS Marketing to grow subscribers
As I previously said, you may use text messages to encourage your existing clients—about whom you already have data—to join your email marketing database.
You can even invite your non-customers. Why do not do it?
You lose nothing by trying.
#2 – Use SMS Marketing for subscribers who don’t open the email
If you sent an email to all your customers, you reviewed your campaign metrics and noticed that only 80% opened your email.
Why not do SMS Marketing and send a message to the remaining 20%?
In this way, you are combining these channels to try to reach the largest number of customers, including those who perhaps never open emails.
#3 – Use SMS Marketing to reinforce a message.
Another interesting option to combine both channels is to send a text message to all customers who received an email, thus increasing the frequency of the message without saturating a medium.
Never forget a message needs a certain frequency (to be seen or received a certain number of times) in order for it to stick in the consumer’s mind.
#4 – Use SMS Marketing to encourage email opening
Pay attention to this combination.
You could take advantage of SMS Marketing to alert your customers to go and check their mail.
For example, if it is a special date (Mother’s Day), you could send a massive SMS, alerting your customers that you know mothers to check their mail because they have a surprise from your company or business.
Actually, I can think of several ideas for this combination. And you?
#5 – Use SMS Marketing as a reminder of an event or webinar
Another clear example of how to combine both channels could be in the case of people who, for example, registered for an event or webinar.
These people first receive an email, but you could still make sure they participate by also sending a bulk SMS.
#6 – Use SMS Marketing to increase your online sales
Many times when one adds products to an online store and does not finish the purchase process, they receive an email reminding them of this.
Now, what happens if that user does not see that email?
This is where your SMS Marketing strategy comes in to remind them that way as well.
And what happens if you still don’t buy it?
Well, when that product drops in price (if it happens), you can repeat the process. Resend an email plus a message, or just a message.
Perhaps the third time will prove to be the charm.
#7 – Use SMS Marketing to generate expectation
Another thought that comes to mind for combining the two channels is to utilize SMS marketing to alert your clients that an email will be arriving in the next few days.
In this way, you will generate some curiosity and expectation.
This can come in handy when launching a promotion, a campaign or even a new product.
In which communications will it be best for SMS to replace emails?
Based on the advantages we described above, SMS is most often used to send:
• Reminders – for example, a reminder of a departure or a visit to a beauty salon,
• Confirmation – most often confirmation of an online order,
• Warning notifications – for example, when you change your password or try to log in to an account from a foreign country,
• Notifications – for communication of news: for example, information about picking up a prepared order or changes to opening hours
• And, of course, marketing messages – we will look at them in more detail below.
It is important that the information sent in an SMS is not the same as in an email but complements and creates a complete communication.
How to communicate effectively in emails and SMS at the same time
In order for SMS messages to take your emailing a step further, it is necessary to link them appropriately with emails. Here are some concrete examples of how to effectively use emailing and SMS together in one campaign.
1. Sales marketing campaign
Email: Announce an upcoming discount.
SMS: Remind that the discount ends soon, or provide an additional last-minute discount.
2. Promotion of the event
Email: Promote the event to generate initial interest and remind you to register.
SMS: Remind the event the day before the actual event. On the day of the event, send useful information about parking and current weather information during the event.
3. Organization of the competition
Email: Entice the competition, and inform them about the winnings and competition rules.
SMS: The day before the contest closes, remind the recipients to participate, and after the contest ends, send information about the winners.
4. Communication of internal news
Email: Send non-urgent information such as newsletters or information about news.
SMS: Send urgent information such as change of opening hours, system shutdown, etc.
What to watch out for in SMS marketing?
You already know what to send in SMS and how to connect it with emailing effectively. Now let’s take a look at the mistakes that could ruin your entire effort in an instant. When sending an SMS, pay attention to the following:
• Bad timing – your messages need to be timed correctly to be among the lucky ones that are opened within 3 minutes of delivery. We wrote about the timing of sending emails, which you can easily apply to SMS.
• Excessive amount of SMS – communication by phone is still perceived as more personal and, therefore, not appropriate to overwhelm customers with commercial messages. We recommend sending an SMS no more than once a week, preferably only once every two weeks. It very much depends on the sector of your business and the urgency of the communicated information.
• Distinguishing content from email – as we have already mentioned, information in emails and SMS should not be duplicated but complement each other.
• Text too long – keep in mind the 160-character limit — Ideally, your message should fit within this range. Otherwise, it may be split into multiple SMS messages. Well, three notifications of a new message are not pleasant in themselves.
• Ineffective call to action – the call to action must be clear, concise and effective. Include a link to the website where the recipient should perform the action in the SMS.
To make your SMS strategy as effective as possible, it is very important to segment your contacts, just like with emails. Then, based on segments, send recipients only messages that interest them. Then you can start planning your new strategy!
Conclusion
In summary, SMS Marketing is not dead, and Email Marketing is still an excellent channel to use, but combining both can be a powerful mix.
It all depends on your creativity, that you really offer value to your clients and that the combination is the ideal one for that situation.
