ECONOMY AND MARKETS

How a 97% Read Rate is Shaping the Future of Marketing

By: James Flippin · July 17, 2023 · Reading Time: 2 minutes

The SMS Shift

As brands continually seek effective ways to connect with their customers, text message marketing has emerged as a prominent strategy. This transition is being driven by one simple fact: it works.

Rather than being one of many in an endlessly-growing email inbox, brands have the opportunity to engage customers on a platform they frequently use. SMS marketing, with its direct approach and high visibility, is proving to be a practical solution for reaching consumers in the fast-paced digital world.

Open Sesame

SMS boasts an impressive 97% read rate after just 15 minutes. Compared to the modest 20% open rate for emails, SMS is clearly in a league of its own. But the efficacy doesn’t end there.

Text messages are concise, immediate, and personal — attributes that help it outshine traditional email marketing. This immediacy and intimacy foster higher engagement, with consumers more likely to click through the links, providing brands with a significant advantage.

Given these statistics, it’s easy to understand why brands are increasingly favoring SMS for their marketing campaigns.

Message Received

While marketing texts are consistently opened and read, the message is not always received.

A significant proportion of consumers reported feeling overwhelmed by the influx of marketing texts. And a near-unanimous 96% reported feeling annoyed. There’s also the underlying concern of data security, with 70% of consumers worried about potential risks involved in receiving texts from brands.

On the flip side, when utilized properly, SMS marketing can provide an engaging, personalized consumer experience. It can be used to offer exclusive deals to loyal customers, educational content, or alerts for product availability. The true test for brands is finding the right balance — the sweet spot between persistence and annoyance.

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