5 Amazing SMS Statistics from Salesforce
Every year Salesforce releases its State of Marketing report. It offers insight into how marketers use and see the various tools and channels available today.
In the 2016 report, much of the content focused on social and email, but also included a good deal of information on mobile marketing too. I’ve pulled out some interesting statistics regarding SMS which are pretty amazing. But first I wanted to say that the report includes input from marketers around the globe. Just over 30% were from the US, but the rest were from many different geographical locations. For example, the UK, Japan, Brazil, and Australia are a few other countries that are included (not an all-inclusive list).
2016 saw a 111% growth in SMS usage to engage customers. That’s a huge increase, especially with the fact that messaging apps have caused a decreased SMS usage in general. But not for marketing. As many discover, SMS can reach anyone with a mobile phone. No app needed, which is why it is a growing marketing channel.
Only 51% of the respondents were currently using SMS. Another 19% were planning to use it in the next 12 months. What’s amazing about this is that it is still so low. Marketers have many options when it comes to mobile and not everyone chooses SMS (they go for apps or ads). This is great news for those that do because it means that people’s SMS inboxes aren’t becoming saturated – yet.
79% of marketers say that mobile marketing is core to their business. This percentage includes SMS as a channel in mobile marketing. As the statistic above shows, not everyone in that 79% is using SMS. But given their strong belief in mobile, they’ll likely be looking to expand to it in the coming years.
50% say mobile is directly linked to business primary revenue. And 77% say it generates ROI which is an 147% increase over last year’s data. My take on this is that companies are really figuring out how to do mobile. “The year of mobile” has already come and gone for the ones who have taken the time to work it out. They’re reaping the benefits while others are still getting their feet wet.
80% say exclusive deals were the most effective offers. In second place was loyalty offers at 78%. This is a small shift from last year where loyalty was the number one most effective offer. However, these were not the most popular types of offers. MMS and app-based mobile ads were the most popular types of offers, but they had an effectiveness rating of 59% and 61% respectively. Note, MMS isn’t the same as SMS.
All of these statistics have something amazing or surprising about them. But there’s a few more statistics (bonus!) that I’ll share from the 2015 report as they weren’t presented in this year’s version.
Effectiveness of SMS in companies that have integrated mobile into their overall strategy is 73%. For those companies that haven’t adopted an integrated approach the effectiveness is only 50%. Overall, only 40% said they had an integrated approach at all. What an amazing fact: you dramatically increase your effectiveness when you integrate SMS with your overall strategy.
I think these statistics show that SMS is one of the best channels for mobile marketing. The numbers also show there’s an opportunity here for companies that haven’t started using it yet. But how long will it last? Before long SMS may become as popular a channel as email and the return may not be as good as it is now.
What do you think? Will SMS ever become a saturated channel or is it by nature self-limiting?
Related Articles
3 Tips to Help You Time Your SMS Marketing Campaign
Timing is everything. While it’s an axiom everyone can understand and agree on, it’s doubly true when it comes to SMS marketing. If you send your messages at the wrong time, you’ll see your opt out rates jump and your ROI plummet. So when should you send your text marketing messages? Here are three key guidelines to help you schedule your next campaign.
Why Using SMS for Customer Service is a Good Thing
Customer service is arguably one of the most important parts of any organisation. Happy, loyal customers spend more and ultimately bring you more business through positive comments and referrals. Here's why SMS is crucial to maintaining high levels of support now and for the future.
Do Your Customers Want Emoji in their SMS Messages?
Emoji are showing up everywhere. Should you be using these cute, fun, and illustrative icons in your SMS marketing? Your customers probably want you to. Around 72% of people have positive feelings about brands who use emoji. But before you get started, you’ll want to find out the details in this blog.
SMS Messaging Still Seen As A Differentiator In Retail – For Now
How many retailers use SMS messaging? According to a recent survey, not that many. And that isn’t the only surprising result shared in the survey conducted by Internet Retailer. Companies large and small know how useful SMS can be. Read on to see why now is the perfect time to start.
Death of SMS? Premature indeed.
Consumers Prefer SMS Over Mobile Apps
Earlier this month I attended an online webinar session covering topics related to SMS. One of the presenters produced some interesting statistics. I wanted to know more, so I went to the original source and found some great news for everyone using SMS as a key part of their mobile strategy.
Do You Really Check Your Mobile Phone 1550 Times a Week?
Recently Tecmark released the results of a survey they conducted on mobile phone use. You’ll see the results reported everywhere online as the data is quite extraordinary. Here’s we include a summary of statistics for an average user. They may not be all that surprising, but they're certainly telling.
OFCOM Report Proves SMEs Reliant on SMS Messaging
A recent OFCOM report answers the age-old question: Do SMEs use SMS messaging? Maybe it’s not such an old question, but the answer is quite interesting if you work in an SME. That’s because SMS turns out to be one of the most relied on communications methods available.
24 Key Research Statistics that Prove You Should be Using SMS Marketing
If you find yourself needing to justify putting budget towards SMS marketing or convincing your manager that it's the right decision for you, here are some key research statistics to keep in mind for why you should pursue an SMS campaign...
SMS vs. Instant Message App Marketing
It seems there's a new messaging app popping up every month. It's hard to keep track of them all, but it's also hard to ignore them if you're looking to use mobile marketing. When you've got limited marketing resources, should you spend them advertising on the latest IM app, or go with SMS marketing?