For many businesses, summer can be a quieter time as regular patrons take vacations and enjoy the season. Yet, with the right marketing strategies, you can boost customer engagement during this typically slower period.

One effective approach is SMS marketing. Text message marketing provides a direct line to your customers' phones, ensuring they stay informed about your latest sales and offers.

Here’s why SMS marketing is so successful in keeping customers interested and how to design campaigns that truly resonate.

What is SMS Marketing?

SMS marketing involves using text messages to reach out to both potential and current customers. These brief messages can be utilized to inform customers about upcoming deals and events directly.

You can also tailor SMS messages for a more personalized touch. For instance, you can send customized coupons based on previous purchase history.

An extension of SMS marketing is MMS marketing, which includes sending messages with images, videos, and other multimedia. Adding multimedia to your marketing efforts can further enhance engagement.

To launch an SMS marketing campaign, you'll need to gather phone numbers from interested customers and use a text marketing platform to create and distribute your messages. Many platforms offer automation features to help you schedule your messages in advance.

SMS marketing has proven to be highly effective across various industries, with an impressive 98% open rate. This significantly surpasses other marketing channels, such as email marketing, which has an average open rate of around 40%.

Email Marketing vs. SMS Marketing: Which is Better?

Both email marketing and SMS marketing are popular methods for directly engaging with customers, each with its own strengths. Choosing between the two depends on your overall business objectives.

Typically, SMS marketing boasts higher open rates compared to email marketing. You can also reach your customers more quickly, as most people check their text messages more often than their email. Over half of people check their text messages 11 times or more daily.

However, email marketing might be better suited for more elaborate campaigns. The extended format of an email is sometimes necessary for delivering a substantial amount of information.

In general, SMS campaigns often yield quicker results compared to email campaigns. Nevertheless, both methods can be integral to your comprehensive digital marketing strategy and can complement each other. Coordinating your SMS and email marketing efforts can enhance your reach and connect with a broader audience.