Email and SMS: How can you make the most of them together?

Are you someone who is struggling with which type of marketing is the best: Email Marketing or SMS Marketing? Some of us are put in a situation where we focus more on one type of marketing rather than choosing Omnichannel marketing (that is, marketing via different channels).

Have you ever thought of merging SMS marketing with your Email marketing? Are you wondering whether it’s useful or how it can add value to your business?

Here’s a blog that talks about Email and SMS Marketing and how they can be combined for better engagement and brand awareness. You’ll get to read how these two channels (Email and SMS) work, the difference between both, and the benefits of combining SMS with Email Marketing for your business.

What is Email Marketing?

Email marketing is a marketing channel that involves using email to promote products, services, and different types of content to a group of target audiences. This involves creating a list of subscribers and sending them relevant content to increase brand awareness, customer loyalty and generate sales.

How many people use Email? Let’s see what different surveys talk about!

• Nearly 4.26 billion people use email worldwide. (Radicati)
• In 2020, the number of global e-mail users amounted to four billion and is set to grow to 4.6 billion users in 2025. (Statistica)

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS (Short Message Service) marketing is a form of digital marketing that uses text messages to promote products or services. These messages are typically sent to a mobile phone or other device and can include promotional offers, product updates, and more. 

SMS marketing aims to increase sales, brand awareness, and customer engagement.

How many people use Email?

An estimated 5 billion people send and receive SMS messages daily, and over 6 billion have phone access. (Adobe)

What’s the commonality between Email Marketing and SMS Marketing?

Email and SMS marketing are pretty much the same and have the same functionality. When we look into the commonality between these two, most aspects are similar, and let’s see how compatible they are.

• Send out marketing messages to a large group of people to promote products or services. 
• Target potential customers with personalized messages that are tailored to their interests.
• Track open rates, click rates, and people who respond to the messages
• Both are direct marketing channels used to reach potential customers 
• Both are sent only after the consent of the customers (opt-in)
• Both are one-to-one conversation-type marketing channels
• You can automate both Email and SMS messages for better engagement.

How is Email Marketing different from SMS marketing?

• Emails- more detailed, long-format messages than SMS
• SMSes are short messages used to send reminders and alerts to customers (which means they can only have 160 characters)
• Limited customization options or personalized tags in SMS than emails
• SMSes are constrained to mobile users, whereas Email can be read from any device
• Emails have more creative elements than SMS.

6 Ways to Blend Your Email Marketing with SMS Marketing to Work Efficiently

1. Combine customer data and segment them for better reach and personalization

For example, a company can get opt-ins to SMSes via Email campaigns. But the great advantage lies in merging both the sender’s list (SMS and Email) and segmenting them. Companies can then use these segments to personalize their content, target customers with relevant content, and offer content tailored to their needs. 

This can help reach out to customers through different channels with highly personalized messages that can engage your audience better.  If they miss out on reading your announcement email, you can remind them again via SMS so that your business doesn’t miss out on driving customers to your store.

Additionally, segmenting customers based on two different channels helps companies better understand their customers and develop more effective strategies for marketing and generating sales.

2. Increase opt-in opportunities for customers

Customers can then submit their phone numbers and opt-in to receive SMS messages. This allows businesses to reach customers through both email and SMS, giving them more options to engage with customers and increase their opt-in rate.

Make sure subscribers can opt-in to your email and SMS lists when signing up for your services. This allows you to reach out to them through both channels

3. Cross-channel promotions can be more effective

Moreover, when you do cross-channel promotions for our products or services in two different channels, the probability of reaching and staying in customers’ minds is higher when compared to promoting it one channel at a time. You can also expect to have increased sales and organic website traffic.

4. Quick responses and conversions by automating messages on two different channels

In addition, automated emails and SMS messages can help customers with discounts, offers, cart abandonment reminders, order confirmation, and details of other incentives that can be used to increase the likelihood of users purchasing on your website. 

For example, when a person abandons his cart, we can trigger an email with the images of their favorite products and remind them about it, along with a link to their favorite product page via SMS. Now the chances are higher for a customer to notice the same thing in two different channels, which can help increase the customer’s interest in buying from you.

Finally, automated emails and SMS messages can reduce the time and effort needed to manage customer relations. By automating messages, businesses can save time and resources that can be used to focus on other aspects of their business.

5. Include a CTA in Your Email to Opt-In to Your SMS Program

While sending your emails, add a line and a CTA discussing the SMS opt-in process. And set up an easy, less time-consuming way for customers to opt-in to SMS. Once the customer opts in for the SMS platform, we can send back-to-back messages and notifications to customers so that they don’t miss out on anything related to the brand.

Here are some examples to help you ask your customers to opt-in to the SMS Program.

1. Text “OPTIN” to {{number}} to join our SMS program and receive exclusive offers and discounts!
2. Click here to join our SMS program and never miss a beat on updates and offers!
3. Sign up for our SMS program and receive timely notifications about updates and promotions!
4. Text “YES” to {{number}} to join our SMS program and get the latest news on our products and services!
5. Join our SMS program and be the first to know about exclusive offers and discounts!

6. Two-step authentication or verification 

You can also use Email and SMS platforms to send OTPs and other confidential messages to confirm the user’s authenticity. This can be used during signing up for websites and paying bills online.

Benefits of Combining SMS with Email Marketing

1. Increased reach: Combining SMS with email marketing allows businesses to reach customers on both channels, increasing their reach and potential for engagement.
2. Improved segmentation: With SMS, businesses can better segment their audiences and tailor messaging to specific customer segments.
3. Enhanced personalization: Through the combination of SMS and email marketing, businesses can deliver highly personalized messages to their customers, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
4. Increased visibility: By using SMS and email together, businesses are able to increase their visibility and presence, creating more opportunities for customers to engage with the brand.
5. Lower costs: Combining SMS and email marketing allows businesses to reduce their marketing costs by leveraging both channels rather than investing in each one individually.
6. Lead Generation: By blending SMS with email marketing, you can generate more leads for your business via these two platforms. With personalized messages, you can convert these leads into potential customers.
7. Keep your audience intact with the brand: Share valuable information and content with your readers through Email and SMS to keep your customers intact with the brand and its products.
8. Improve brand awareness: Small businesses can also combine Email and SMS to improve brand awareness and authenticity. 
9. Instant notifications and promotions: Improve sales by sharing instant notifications and promotional messages through Email and SMS. Timely notifications and messages can help with conversion.

Get started with blending SMS Marketing with Email Marketing today!

By blending SMS Marketing with Email Marketing, businesses can create an effective and powerful marketing strategy that will help them reach more of their target audience and drive truly measurable results.

Take advantage of the unique capabilities of both SMS and email marketing so that businesses can take their marketing efforts to the next level and start seeing the benefits of their efforts. Start blending SMS Marketing with Email Marketing today, and cheers to reaping the rewards!