Email, SMS, and WhatsApp: Which is the best conversational channel for marketing?

Email, SMS, and WhatsApp: Which is the best conversational channel for marketing?

Marketing these days is varied. Marketers and advertisers are using online methods for marketing and advertising. Social media plays avital role in selling these days. Keeping your clients or customers updated on time is the golden rule of marketing. 

Many consumers get brand updates from informal channels such as Mail, WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, and similar applications. These channels are primarily valuable because they are a direct form of link that is established between customers and the brand. Therefore, the brands through these channels get a fantastic chance to capture their potential customers through personalized and direct techniques. Brands and businesses can easily segregate their audience based on geography, purchasing power, lifestyle, etc.

It's a boon for the consumers, too, as they can easily keep track of their favorite brands. In addition, communication is pretty simple and thus loved by all. 

‍SMS Marketing 

Since the advent of mobile devices, short message service marketing has always been a part of the marketing world. SMS is undoubtedly the unique method for directly interacting with users and potential customers to obtain a response. As a result, SMS marketing is considered traditional marketing. However, new marketing strategies, innovations, and technologies are reshaping the industry today. As a result, the Internet and easy accessibility are slowly reducing SMS Marketing's dominance in the marketing world.

Statistics- SMS Marketing 

• A Research conducted in 2020, 43 per cent of customers will text businesses in advance when they have questions, order products, or need services. However, only one in three customers receives a response. This proves that companies tend to lose customers.
• 68 per cent of businesses use some form of texting; this percentage does not even include a well-organized and effective SMS marketing campaign created by an experienced company.
• As per a report conducted in 2018 marked that customers track their orders via SMS
• Another research done in 2019 stated a 39 per cent boost when brand links are sent through SMS Marketing to customers. 
• The Report in 2018 stated that missed appointments by customers could be lessened by around 26 per cent by simple SMS. A business can use simple marketing software for SMS Marketing and send reminders to the customers.

Pros of SMS Marketing 

• No Use of Internet 
  SMS Marketing requires no usage of the Internet. With the help of SMS Marketing, a brand can reach places even the Internet hasn't comet o. Customers often lose connection due to bad weather or interior geographic location; however, with SMS Marketing, one can remain stress-free.
• A cost-effective method
  Instead of email marketing, you can use SMS marketing if your business is small to medium-sized. This is a cost-effective method as it uses cheap technology and is less technical than mail. 
• Secure and Personalized
  The sender sends an SMS to the recipient; this method is secure and involves no third-party security breach. 
• Fast responses
  With SMS Marketing, communication is quicker. Customers can quickly get quick business responses; thus, this method is hassle-free.

Email Marketing 

Using Email to promote your company's products or services is a vital marketing channel that combines digital and direct marketing smoothly. You need marketing emails to generate leads, brand recognition, relationships, and customer engagement between purchases in your marketing strategy.

Statistics -Email Marketing

• A report by Statistic a in 2021 stated that around 332.2billion emails would be sent in 2022. 
• DMA, 2019, marked that with every one-dollar investment in email marketing, one can expect a 42-dollar return quickly. 
• A 2020 report by Content Marketing Institute said that87 per cent of marketers use Email as a marketing technique for disseminating content. 
• Open rates are 50% higher in emails with personalized subject lines.
• Compared to sending just one Email, three emails about abandoned carts lead to 69% more orders.
• 49 percent of consumers want promotional emails from their loved brands.

Pros of Email Marketing

• Helps build a steady relationship with the customers and drives traffic to the brand blogs, web pages, and many more. 
• Easy to target audience through Email Marketing. 
• A email software marketing tool can be used to send emails; a marketer can run A/B tests of a subject message or CTA to determine which message the marketer wants to promote

WhatsApp Marketing 

Everybody knows that WhatsApp is the most loved platform for communication these days. In the year 2020, there are around more than 2billion active users. More than half of WhatsApp users check the app daily to stay in touch with their customers through WhatsApp marketing.

The final point is that your clients adore this method of communication. They trust brands more when using chat apps; 53% of people say they would buy from companies they could talk to through chat.

Statistics -WhatsApp Marketing

• WhatsApp is used by over 2 billion people worldwide
• On average, users spend 18.6 hours per month on WhatsApp.
• 66% of customers shop more confidently when actively conducting business on Messenger.
• WhatsApp has helped businesses increase conversions by up to 112% (7x) compared to other platforms

Pros of WhatsApp Marketing

WhatsApp has many features other social media platforms don't have that can help your business and improve your marketing efforts.

• Approximately 70% of messages on the website are read. Compared to nearly every email marketing platform, those numbers are significantly better!
• Also, unlike other social media platforms, you won't have to pay to increase your followers' visibility or promote your posts.

Which conversational channel is perfect for your business's marketing? SMS VS Email VS WhatsApp 

There is no correct answer to this question. Each informal channel serves a purpose accordingly. Each option comes with pros and cons. Choosing the perfect marketing method depends on a lot of factors, and they are: 

• The size of the business
  Small to Medium businesses can be done over SMS Marketing. At the same time, a large one might require Email Marketing and WhatsApp Marketing. 
• Preferences of the target customers
  The brand owners need to select the tool based on customer preferences.
• Choose a way that would help your brand
  It is necessary to choose a platform suitable to fulfil your business goals. For example, if you want to reach a global audience, you should use WhatsApp.
  The intelligent way out would be using all three informal channels to serve different purposes. For instance, some updates can be sent through texts, subscription news, newsletters through Email and customer interaction, and promotional texts through WhatsApp. Using this method, one can benefit from the advantages of each channel and grow their business.