Should You Use an App or SMS Messaging? Or both?
It’s an app world out there. The average mobile owner has about 40 apps installed at any one time. But they usually use approximately 15 regularly. That’s all according to the Harvard Business Review. Personally, that’s about right. Though I would bet I’ve had many more than 40 apps before, but I get around to deleting some eventually.
And that’s the point. Most apps aren’t used and are often deleted. As a mechanism to engage your customers, an app may not be all that you think it will be. The Harvard study also showed that app usage tends to cluster around five major types:
- Social
- Entertainment
- Communications
- Navigation
- News
Shopping doesn’t make that list because only 5% of consumers spent time in shopping apps. If you’re a retailer, that has to give you pause when you think about creating an app to reach out to customers. But for the moment, let’s say you have an app and it fits into one of those categories.
You still have the issue of getting the customers to open and engage with the app. Currently, notifications are the most used way to get their attention. But is that the only way?
Do notifications work?
At first blush, notifications are awesome. You get updates right on your screen without having to open the app. But it doesn’t take too long before they become the bane of any existence. If you have the average 40 apps, you’re notification screen is probably on fire most of the time – at least it can look that way as the messages pop up over and over. That is, until you turn them off.
A study by Brand Quarterly shows that consumers turn those notifications off about 50% of the time (for me it runs closer to 80-85%. But I’m very particular). The phrase “notification spam” is rampant on the web where you’ll find all sort of articles telling you how to turn them off.
Even if your customer sees your notification among the sea of messages scrolling across the screen, another study, this one by Acengage suggests only 6% of notifications succeed in getting people to open the app mentioned in the message.
That really isn’t a great open rate. The conclusion is you may get a small percentage of your customer base that is enthused about your app to the point they use it regularly. The rest are lost to you on mobile. Unless you get smart about how you connect with them.
How SMS messaging can fit in too
If you’re determined to engage customers on mobile, and through your app, you may want to consider a multi-channel approach. First, segment your customers into one group that uses the app and responds to notifications, and another group that doesn’t do either. The second group is prime ground for SMS messaging.
Despite the growth in use, consumers still aren’t jaded about SMS messages. It’s a primary form of communication for them so they still read nearly everything that comes through. And they read it fast. Here are a few more benefits of SMS:
- Consumers already know it. There are no new apps to learn and navigate
- It doesn’t rely on a high speed internet connection which many apps can (video and images primarily)
- Recent studies show consumers want to be contacted via SMS by brands
By using SMS messaging to contact customers that don’t use the app (or haven’t for a long time), you can get them engaged again. You can drive them back to the app or try sending links to mobile websites to see if they prefer that. Or you can even interact directly using SMS (with two-way messaging).
This two channel approach means you still have the opportunity to reach all your customers on some level. If they ignore your notifications, text messages will probably get their attention. So the question isn’t notifications vs. SMS anymore. The question is: how do I use both?
Do you have an app for your business? Does your experience resemble these latest studies? We’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject in the comments.
Related Articles
6 SMS Marketing Faux Pas To Avoid
SMS marketing can be an incredibly useful tool for successful mobile marketing campaigns. However, it is not without its pitfalls. We have compiled a list of six of the worst SMS mobile marketing faux pas, so that you can avoid them and text your way to marketing success.
Building an SMS Inbound Marketing Campaign for Your Hotel Business
SMS flies under many marketers radars when it comes to building an inbound marketing strategy. But if Buzzfeed's news app is to be believed, there are days when SMS generates the greatest percentage of shares on that channel, beating out Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and email. SMS share buttons are reported to have been used 4 times more than Twitter buttons. When you consider Twitter has 317 million active users, then SMS marketing has huge potential for a hotel business.
Personalising Your SMS Marketing
Using people’s names in marketing is great. It does provide a certain level of personalisation that can get people more interested in what you’re sending them. Of course in text messaging, you don’t always have the room for a name, your message, and the required opt out information … usually there just isn’t enough room. So how can you make your marketing messages personal?
Top Five Questions You Need to Ask Before Choosing a URL Shortening Tool
If you're using social media or sending SMS marketing messages then you know all about link shortening. Or do you? Are all services the same, and are there options you didn't even know you had?Here are five questions you should ask before choose a service to shorten your links in your SMS messages.
On The Rise: 6 Changes in Marketing That SMS Can Help Exploit
While traditional advertising methods are declining, SMS marketing is increasing and it is a trend that looks likely to continue. Here are 6 recent marketing trends that open the door for you to take advantage through your next SMS marketing campaign.
Do Your Customers Trust You?
I think for much of the last decade, people used the Internet and then mobile devices, without giving too much thought about what they were doing. Or more accurately, what other people were doing with their information. But then came Edward Snowden in 2013 who revealed governments were collecting and using our personal data in ways we hadn’t imagined.
Copywriting Principles for SMS Marketing
In a recent post I covered how to create urgency in your SMS marketing messages. It didn't feel right to leave out a few other key components - the U companions. In copywriting circles they are often called the 4-Us. They are: Urgent, Useful, Unique, and Ultra-specific. So to make sure I don't leave anything out, here I'll show you how to use the others in your SMS messaging.
12 Great Quotes to Start Your 2018 SMS Marketing Campaign
SMS Opt-In: Why You Want It and How To Get It
The first thing to remember is that legally, you must give the customer the chance to both opt-in and opt-out of your SMS campaign - but the good news is people are happy to opt-in - 49% of them according to a 2014 survey. So all you need to do is stay compliant and follow some basic guidelines to grow your list.
How to Choose the Incentive for Your SMS Marketing Opt-In Campaign
You’ve decided to try out SMS marketing. But you’re stuck on that first step of choosing the offer for your initial opt in campaign. Don’t worry, if you know the story of Goldilocks then you’ll understand just what to do after reading this blog.