In today’s fast-paced world, people see thousands of ads daily across countless marketing touchpoints, but the easiest way to promote is through email and text messages that hit the right person at the right time.
Maintaining communication by sending reminders, exclusive offers, and personalized messages is affordable and easy – and you don’t have to worry about consent. The only thing to worry about is whether your email and SMS marketing strategies are coordinated well enough for the business objectives you pursue.
Source: GIPHY
Read on to learn more about how email and SMS marketing can help you capture the attention of potential clients and convert them into paying customers.
The Strength of SMS and Email Marketing
Having captured their attention, you might already feel like a winner, but that’s not enough. A long customer journey has just started, and you should consistently provide value to potential clients so they eventually convert, especially if you’re selling expensive products that require a substantial commitment.
Now, SMS and email marketing are two powerful channels that can create a dynamic force for reaching, engaging, and converting audiences. In some cases, an SMS open rate can reach 98% compared to email marketing.
Text marketing is not just simple and convenient but also incredibly effective, granting higher engagement, open & click-through rates, and many other benefits. For example, text marketing allows for quicker feedback from prospective customers, including easy two-way communication between the client and the brand.
Source: Statista
With the right SMS message sent at the right time, you can create an unmatched sense of urgency, among many other SMS marketing benefits. The same applies to email marketing messages: you can craft compelling narratives, share in-depth information, and educate users at every stage of the customer journey.
However, the magic of email and text marketing lies in understanding when each channel shines: SMS outreach is best for urgent, time-sensitive messages, while emails enable more in-depth communication.
The Right Time and Place for SMS Marketing
Immediate and personalized communication is crucial for your business, and SMS marketing strategies capitalize on both aspects.
Here’s when SMS marketing will be a perfect business tool:
- Flash sales and discount codes: Blast out limited-time offers or exclusive discounts to drive immediate action
- Appointment reminders: Reduce no-shows by sending reminders for appointments, reservations, or deliveries
- Unique welcome offers or birthday wishes: Provide extra offers for those who consent to your SMS outreach
- Order confirmations and updates: Keep customers informed with real-time order confirmations and delivery updates
SMS strategy versatility extends beyond these core functionalities. You can encourage two-way conversation with text messages by offering fast customer support via SMS or conducting polls and surveys to gather valuable feedback.
- Celia’s dine-in restaurant is an excellent example of getting leads for SMS marketing. They implemented a launch kit with table tents and a roll-up banner for the lobby that encouraged people to text in for a chance to win free food for a year if they joined their mobile fan club for exclusive offers and invites.
As a result, they established a database of 800 subscribers within the Antioch community who are actively receiving these offers on their mobile devices. They have experienced a redemption rate of up to 42%.
The Right Time and Place for Email Marketing
With billions of emails sent and received daily, you must calculate the right time and marketing initiative you want to enliven through email outreach. Not all campaigns are great for email marketing, but some can show incredible results.
Here are some key advantages of email marketing:
- Perfect for long-form content: Unlike short SMS, you can create long, captivating stories that resemble a fully-fledged blog post
- Perfect for media integration: You can embed images, music, video, GIFs, and various interactive content like tests and quizzes to engage your readers
- Allows for granular segmentation: You can segment your audience into target recipient groups to deliver personalized and targeted offers
- Can be fully automated: You can set trigger actions and use templates to create emails fast and send them automatically across time zones
Imagine you own a SaaS company that uses email for onboarding and monthly newsletters. Once users subscribe to your newsletter, you can introduce them to the platform, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience. Next, you can analyze user activity and provide them with targeted marketing messages.
Grammarly is an excellent example of automated weekly emails. Once a week, they send user stats for the last 7 days:
Source: Grammarly
Slightly below, they attach links to a few blog posts related to the user’s grammar issues while also promoting their services:
Source: Grammarly
Personalized emails that show users personalized content are more likely to nurture and convert than general promo. According to another Statista, 55% of marketers seek deeper personalization for their clients, while 48% will continue to automate their campaigns.
Crafting a Coherent Cross-Channel SMS and Email Marketing Strategy
A well-designed SMS and email marketing strategy helps lead users through the marketing funnel as planned.
The first step is to figure out your needs. Next, perform a SWOT and marketing analysis. Finally, ensure you conduct competitor research to determine your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
To define your goals for email and SMS marketing strategy, use the SMART technique:
- Specific
- Measurable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-bound
Create or modify your existing brand identity to suit your new goals. Develop brand guidelines defining your voice, tone, visuals, and messaging style. Ensure all marketing materials, including SMS & email marketing, adhere to these guidelines.
Maintain a central repository for customer data to ensure consistent segmentation and personalization across channels. You can use your CRM for this task, as you can integrate almost any tool here. It can be a custom-made CRM with email and SMS or some off-the-shelf option that supports the integration of your favorite tools.
Source: GIPHY
Segment the audience based on demographics, interests, and past interactions to make your email and SMS marketing even more effective. Deliver targeted content relevant to each segment for maximum impact. Maintain a constant brand voice and visual identity across all channels, including email and SMS, to foster brand recognition.
Be aware of the specifics of each channel’s target customer. Perform A/B tests regularly to find the best strategies for your e-commerce marketing. Use automation tools to track changes, streamline workflows, and ensure consistent communication.
How To Combine SMS and Email Marketing
Unleashing the true potential of SMS and email marketing lies in their synergy.
Here are the most effective practical ways to combine SMS and email promotion:
| Cross-Channel Opt-Ins and Signups | Provide multiple signup options and ensure users can subscribe to and unsubscribe from your channels. Let them choose what they want: text or email. There can be situations when they want to take a break from messaging, but they want to be aware of potential discounts by email. Gently leverage one channel to promote the other in your text marketing strategies. Inspire email subscribers to sign up for SMS updates via a dedicated call to action, doing the same for SMS subscribers. |
| Synchronized Messaging and Consistent Branding | Ensure you have a unified brand voice across channels. Your messaging should reflect the same brand personality, tone, and style. Create your unique identity and use it in this communication. Use the same logos, color schemes, and imagery in all marketing materials. Utilize an email and text marketing platform to pre-download the brand identification content so you can use it in your communication in one click. |
| SMS Teasers Leading to Email Content | Spark curiosity with SMS. Don’t spam with daily messages. Use it only for confirmations and short, attention-grabbing teasers. People like this content for its conciseness, one of the major SMS benefits for end-users. Include a clear call to action, directing subscribers to a dedicated landing page. |
| Email Follow-Ups to SMS Interactions | Nurture potential clients by transforming one-time interactions into lasting relationships. Send them personalized emails only if they consent. |
| Integrated Customer Support and Feedback Loops | Gather feedback via both channels by using email and SMS marketing services. Include feedback surveys or polls in your campaigns to gain valuable customer insights. Make it easy for customers to reach customer support directly through SMS and email. |
| Unified Analytics and Performance Tracking | Use marketing automation tools to track performance across channels and refine your messaging and content strategy based on the insights you’ve got. |
Case Study: How AliExpress Combined Email and Text Messages
Aliexpress customers receive real-time SMS notifications (or in their messenger) about order confirmation, shipment tracking, and delivery alerts. Following an order, AliExpress sends a detailed email receipt with product information and care instructions.
Likewise, they personalize emails with product recommendations based on the customer’s purchase history, driving further engagement.
Source: AliExpress
SMS Marketing VS Email Marketing: Finding the Right Balance
Striking the balance between SMS and email marketing will depend on dozens of factors, but you can apply the Pareto principle as a starting point. Focus 80% of your effort on educational and useful content and the rest 20% on promotion.
It is no less important to follow all relevant regulations around email and text message marketing, such as the California Privacy Rights Act, the US Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), or the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Obtain clear and explicit consent before adding clients to your lists. Send them messages only after they approve this communication. Be honest with your potential and current clients in your cross-channel marketing: People don’t like brands that furtively subscribe to their social media and mailing lists.
Elevate Your Email Marketing Knowledge at MailCon
MailCon is making a comeback with an outstanding email performance and deliverability conference on July 28th in New York City.
On the eve of Affiliate Summit East, you will get:
- Productive email marketing sessions reinforced with panels and workshops
- Speaking and exhibition opportunities
- The ability to connect with fellow email marketing professionals and experts
Get your tickets now at a bargain price!
For those new, here’s more about MailCon:
Frequently Asked Questions
Does SMS marketing work?
SMS marketing does work for sending short promotional messages to subscribers. Compared to email marketing, SMS open rates can reach 90%.
Why use SMS marketing?
SMS messages cut through the digital clutter, landing directly in the customer’s pocket. Unlike emails that might languish unread for hours, SMS messages are seen promptly, making them ideal for time-sensitive promotions.
Why use email marketing?
Email provides a platform for in-depth content and captivating storytelling. Email marketing is perfect for nurturing leads throughout the customer journey and even triggering in-email purchases with technologies like AMP.
