Email marketing has always taken center stage when it comes to acquiring new customers and generating business leads. However, with the rise in the use of mobile phones, SMS marketing has also shown its importance. According to research data, on average, a person spends around 4 hours/day using his/her mobile phone. With this data, one can assess how important sending marketing SMSs can be for businesses.
Now, if you are thinking about whether you should prefer SMS or email marketing for your business in 2025, this blog may clear your doubts. Let us see which of these marketing methods will work best for your business.
Email or SMS – Which Channel is Right for You?
Both email and SMS marketing are important on their part however, the channel you should prioritize or use more depends on your goals and business niche. Here are some of the key questions you must ask yourself to get a better analysis of which marketing channel could be the best:
- How urgent your message is?
- Does two-way communication is required to convey the message?
- Is the message long?
- Does the message contain media?
If you have the right answers to these questions, it may be easier for you to decide whether SMS would be better or email. Let us now compare both marketing channels for better understanding.
Comparison Between SMS and Email Marketing
Open Rates
SMS – When compared to emails, SMSs are quick to open and hence, they tend to have a very high open rate. SMS messages have a global open rate of around 98%. Another reason for a very high SMS open rate is lesser numbers of SMSs received by people.
Emails – Because of the rise in spam and phishing attacks, users are a bit selective in opening emails. In that process, they sometimes miss important emails. According to a survey, a global email open rate is around 21.5%. People receive hundreds of marketing emails daily and this may be the reason why email open rate is on the lower side.
Click-Through Rates
SMS – Some reports have analyzed that the average CTR of SMS marketing is around 19% to 36%. It can go as high as 46% depending on the message and offer.
Emails – The average CTR of email marketing is around 2.6%. However, depending on the industry, it may range from 1% to 5%.
Deliverability
SMS – SMSs tend to have a very high deliverability rate of around 97%.
Emails – On the other hand, the average deliverability rate of email marketing is 84%.
Aesthetics
SMS – When it comes to designing an SMS, you cannot do much. The colors and design elements are very limited. You may use emojis but their compatibility also depends on the recipient’s mobile phone. Another part to be noticed here is that in SMSs, it is difficult to highlight CTAs or important sections of your message.
Emails– Emails give you more liberty with the design elements of your messages. There are countless of options in terms of color combination, font styles, alignments, images and more. Additionally, highlighting important sections and CTAs is easier and effective.
Cost-Effectiveness and ROI
SMS – SMSs are cheaper to send. According to some reports, average cost of sending one SMS may range from $0.1 to $0.5. If we talk about ROI, for every dollar spent, businesses can earn around $5 to $8 depending on their niche and effectiveness of the message.
Emails – When compared to SMS, emails are a bit costlier to send but, a huge difference can also be seen in the ROI delivered. It may cost around 10 cents to 30 cents to send an email for small businesses. However, the ROI of email marketing can range from 3600% to 4200%. Much higher than SMS marketing. The reason behind this is people tend to share their emails more easily than phone numbers. Even businesses prefer emails over phone numbers for communication. Hence, you generate more email leads leading to high ROI.
What to do? Email Marketing or SMS Marketing? The Conclusion.
Both email marketing and SMS marketing hold significant importance on their parts. Your preference depends on your goals and the type of business you are doing. In most cases, businesses tend to spend their budget in both forms of marketing accordingly.
For example, if you are looking to engage with your audience or want to spread a word about your brand, SMS marketing could be a great option because of its high open rate of around 97-98%. On the other hand, if you want to explain USPs of your product/service or introduce a new launch, email can be a more viable option because of its design controls.
Another important point that requires your attention is the niche of your business. If you sell expensive products/services like automobiles or real estate, email marketing can build better trust among people than SMSs.
Overall, both marketing channels are required by businesses. Only the difference lies in the budget. Some businesses will spend more of SMS marketing whereas some on email marketing based on their message type, its important, and end goals.
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