If you’re choosing between the two in a debate of SMS marketing vs email marketing, you’ve already won. These are the most effective of all correspondence-based marketing campaigns.
Both use snappy and engaging communication to lure in customer engagement. Both are relatively low-cost and easy to manage with some training (we’ll give you all the top tips). So, how on Earth do you pit them against each other? It’s a valid question; comparing SMS with email marketing is a fine art.
In this guide, we’ll take you through the intricacies of their similarities and differences. Ultimately, we’ll provide you with an answer about which is best for you. You’ll also learn about their open rates, cost-effectiveness, budget requirements, and conversion stats.
Get ready to be an expert in as little as five minutes!
What Is Email Marketing?
It is simply the process of sending emails to market a business. Coffee shops might send promotional emails, and retail stores might send newsletters.
Email is one of the most popular marketing channels to use, and businesses often bulk-send messages to save time. Creating email lists allows you to send a single message to thousands of recipients with just a click. But before we get deeper into the strategies, let’s look at the type of emails you could send.
These are the categories that email marketing beginners should know:
- Newsletters
- Transactional emails (e.g., confirmations and notifications of received payments)
- Promotional emails
- Retention emails (e.g., luring back inactive customers)
With this marketing, you’ve also got three main things to consider. That is:
- How will you source your email addresses?
- What is a snappy subject line?
- What will you include in your content, and which category will it be?
Every message you send will have an address, subject line, and engagingly crafted content. You get many more words using this type of marketing, and you can use illustrations and GIFs. It offers lots of room for creativity — something to keep in mind for your SMS vs email marketing debate.
What Is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing involves sending texts on behalf of a business for marketing purposes. What you include in your texts is up to you and your marketing goals. However, it pays to know that SMS messages have the best open rates. They have a 98% chance of recipients reading them, a huge flex for industry standards, which often fall under 30%.
For example, with an email marketing campaign, you can send certain categories of texts via SMS. Here are the most popular:
- Welcome and opt-in/opt-out messages
- Requesting feedback
- Notifying of stock changes (e.g., back in stock)
- Flash sales
- Competition or giveaway alerts
One thing to know is that messages have a 160-word character limit. This means that your content has got to be seriously snappy. Having a restriction on message length is one of the few cons of SMS marketing.
Otherwise, writing an SMS message is much easier than an email. Because you have fewer words, you must concentrate on tight phrases and maximum impact. It’s great for things like growing a restaurant business, where owners are short on time but desire a huge impact.
Open Rates of SMS vs Email Marketing
Now you’ve got a solid definition of both, let’s start throwing some punches. One of the main areas you notice a difference between the two is engagement rates, specifically in open rates. Here’s a rundown of the open rates of SMS vs email marketing.
SMS marketing has a spectacular opening rate of 98%, while email marketing has an average of 17-28%, which is industry-dependent. You don’t need us to tell you that’s one hell of a difference. It has lots to do with spam filters on email channels, but people also respond automatically to SMS pings.
Of course, open rates don’t necessarily translate to conversion rates, which we’ll cover in a second. But as a general rule, the more people your content gets in front of, the better your results. SMS takes the cookie in this category.
Cost Effectiveness: SMS vs Email Marketing
When it comes to cost-effectiveness, SMS vs email marketing sits on a fairly level playing field. There’s not much difference between the two.
However, it’s worth considering the amount of time different word counts take to construct. If an email is longer than 160 characters, which is likely, it will take longer, inevitably draining more resources.
On the flipside, there’s more cheap yet effective email marketing software out there than for other marketing strategies. If you factor in software costs for either option, you may find emails cheaper. We’d say this one is a draw.
Conversion Rates: SMS vs Email Marketing
When it comes to conversion rates, SMS vs email marketing strategies are much closer in results. The line is thin; on average, SMS has a conversion of 36%, while emails have 33%.
Considering the huge difference in opening rates, email marketing does a great job of closing the gap here. But, still, SMS narrowly wins. If you want to hedge a safe bet on results, SMS is the better of the two. That sky-high number of people reading text messages does wonders for boosting the chance of conversions.
A Technical Comparison of SMS vs Email Marketing
Which is harder? A technical comparison of SMS vs email marketing is an excellent idea, especially for those tackling their own marketing.
Emails generally require more text and are fantastic for those who love adding artistic details and tweaking formats. Texts are better for those who want to write punchy content without worrying about “arty” extras.
Both have their pros and cons. For instance, SMS might be quicker and easier when advertising product launches, but email lets you show pictures and themes. We’d rate this section as a draw instead of making a decision based on your strengths.
Your Final Choice: SMS Marketing vs Email Marketing
By now, you understand how the two strategies differ and know the ways they’re similar. You also have a solid definition of email vs SMS marketing, so it’s time to make a decision.
In an ideal world, you could use both — even better if they’re synced off the same software. But, understandably, you want to focus on one. If one hasn’t jumped out at you yet, this section will make that call easier for you.
We’ll discuss the main points that should sway you in either direction when debating SMS marketing vs. email marketing.
1. If You Want Brand Awareness…
SMS marketing has better opening rates if you are more keen to build brand awareness. This reality is that with more openness, more people see your content. Even though SMS messages only narrowly beat emails for conversions, recipients will still remember that opened message.
That’s a powerful difference and definitely something that could sway you toward choosing SMS marketing.
2. If You Want To Incorporate Loyalty Programs…
You can run loyalty programs with SMS or emails. However, one thing to consider is whether you want to send newsletters as part of them. If so, this will be nearly impossible via text.
Instead, opt for email marketing, which allows much more characters. You’ll also be able to personalize the format more and create more visually engaging marketing material.
3. If Time Is Limited…
This is tricky, as while SMS messages are quicker upfront, emails can be faster when you use automation software. You can also utilize bulk-sending services alongside both options.
Generally, text messages are the most convenient and efficient time-wise since they’re shorter. However, if you are willing to invest time into software shopping, you may find that gap closes when sending emails. Templates and AI prompts work a treat.
In short, pick SMS marketing if you want an instantly fast process. Then, consider email marketing if you’ve got ample set-up time but want a snappy strategy moving forward.
Beambox: Don’t Forget WiFi
Whichever strategy you pick, don’t forget WiFi. This is the best way to ensure that your SMS or email marketing abides by laws and gets results. You can collect marketing contacts with consent by using your WiFi. All it takes is a captive portal system.
A captive portal is a system that customers trigger when they click to join your WiFi. Instead of immediately gaining access, they must first fill in a form. This form includes questions of your creation, including email addresses and phone numbers. Once guests comply, they get full internet access, and you get marketing details. Result!
At Beambox, this is what we do. Our all-in-one WiFi marketing software includes a customizable portal that you can use to collect contact details.
Start your Beambox free trial today. It doesn’t matter if you choose SMS marketing vs email marketing or vice versa. Let’s concentrate on collecting your contacts!
