Communication is the process of sending and receiving messages between people. In the olden day communication used to happen through a bird with handwritten notes. People used to send handwritten notes to others through a bird. Later on, technology started updating and humans too started updating themselves. Communication started happening with SMS messages, then email, then social media apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook, and Twitter.
The current market Trends
In the present day, people started using email to SMS mostly. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Let us first know the meaning of SMS and email and why they are used. Short service messaging or SMS is a form of communicating with other people by sending and receiving messages from user to recipient. This has become very easy for all people and people started using text messages only. Whereas Email is also a form of communicating with people which is used for sending longer messages which include multimedia messages also. Such as images, and file attachments and can be saved for the future also. Emails can be checked later for future reference but there are deliverability issues and every individual should contain an email to communicate which some people lack.
Comparatively, SMS should be chosen over email because of its uses and benefits. Let us look into some of the factors of SMS, its uses and best practices. There is no issue to use both or using only one of them but many communication strategies can be even more effective when SMS is used in addition to email. Communication in marketing is very important and an effective way of communication leads to the growth of sales.
Let us consider an example, You want to send an appointment reminder message to the customer. You use both email and SMS to send the message but the customer views only the SMS because email requires internet and there might be a deliverability issue where the mail might not be delivered sometimes. In those cases, SMS is the only saviour as it delivers the message without any issues and the customer can view the message without any issues.
What are best practices one should consider while using SMS?
According to recent surveys, SMS messages have a higher read rate than email, which can be known that it has a place in one’s marketing efforts.SMS is the most used communication channel by every individual as it is an easily available mode of communication and can be delivered to everyone in every part of the world. Communication modes are essential for a business and they give higher results when compared to using individual promotions or advertisements.SMS marketing does have a higher success rate compared to email.
Here are some of the best practices to be considered while using SMS.
Permission:
The businesses should get permission from the customers to send messages and communicate with them. There are some legal rules to be followed to send messages to customers so that they are comfortable receiving messages. Sending creative messages and attracting them to join your communication. For example, Text YES to 35353 to subscribe to texting and get 20% off on your purchase!
Creative messages like these make more impact and also if these messages are sent using SMS there will be faster response compared to email as message deliverability is fast and people check them immediately.
Short and simple:
SMS has a word limit of up to 160 characters. If we make use of this and send structured messages within the limit people find them attractive and they start liking them as most people prefer short and sweet messages rather than lengthy or longer messages. Email is mostly used to send lengthy information as short messages can be sent through SMS rather than using email every single time. For every single reason, email cannot be used and people don’t even check them from time to time.
Deliverability:
For any message, deliverability is a common factor to be checked. If there are deliverability issues it leads to confusion, errors and irritation. When it comes to SMS or email marketing message delivery should be as fast as possible.SMS messages can be sent immediately as they don’t require any internet or any supporting software. Whereas email requires the internet, supporting mobile devices.SMS is the best option to choose in these cases as mentioned earlier for an example also. By choosing a reliable API, one can send and receive messages automatically.
Sharing updates:
The main advantage of using SMS marketing is that the recipient gets store updates, and offers notifications immediately. As SMS is very easy to send and deliver immediately without any disturbances. When an email is used to send offers or updates on products. The recipient has to wait as sometimes emails enter into spam or don’t even get delivered. With SMS they need not have to check their inboxes a few days later and discover that the sale is over. Customers should not face these types of issues so only SMS is better when it comes to offers, sales, etc. Example: MyGlamm lipstick: RESTOCK alert. A huge sale is running and shop them before you miss them.
Make it personal:
By sending messages frequently try to make personal engagement with the customers. A business should always have loyal customers and make it personal with them. Send them appointment reminders, offer updates, and stock updates frequently. Customers feel special and tend to stick to the brand rather than shift to their competitors. Through SMS marketing try to boost customer retention and customer interaction. Providing customer service, and taking customer feedback is very important for any business. As it leads to the growth of the business.
SMS and email have their benefits but SMS is the easiest form of communication and is the most used method. Communication is a personal thing which requires an immediate response, and immediate actions. SMS is the right choice and the better channel to be used to avoid any issues or disturbances in the future. SMS is a smart marketing tool and is a way to reach out to customers at every stage.
