SMS + Email: A Guide to Supercharged Marketing Automation
Think of email as the steady, reliable workhorse of your marketing strategy. It's comprehensive and capable of carrying a ton of information to communicate with your audience. Now, pair it with SMS—the swift, agile messenger that cuts through the noise to deliver timely, direct messages right into the palm of your consumers' hands.
SMS brings in the power of immediacy and personal touch. Its brevity—a mere 160 characters—challenges you to be concise yet impactful, making every word count. From urgent alerts to personalised reminders, SMS adds a dynamic layer to your customer interactions.
Join us as we look at the best ways to integrate SMS into your email marketing automation and how to get the most out of using these mediums together.
Types of SMS Marketing
At its core, SMS marketing is fast, direct, and personal. Whether it's a flash sale alert, an appointment reminder, or a birthday message, SMS can help you connect with customers in a way that's hard to ignore. Simply put, SMS marketing goes far beyond sending out promotional texts. These are some of the strategies it encompasses:
Transactional SMS: Delivers updates about orders, shipping, and delivery.
Promotional SMS: Promotes products, services, or special offers.
Engagement SMS: Engages customers with polls, surveys, or interactive content.
Reminder SMS: Alerts customers about appointments or events.
Incorporating SMS into Your Automation Strategy
Integrating SMS into your automation strategy is more than just adding another channel. We think things are always done better when done together, and this is the case for email and SMS. Including SMS in your automation is all about creating a cohesive communication ecosystem. Here’s how to do it effectively:
Trigger-Based Messages: Use SMS for immediate notifications like cart abandonment alerts, order confirmations, or shipping updates. These timely messages can prompt quick actions from customers.
Welcome Series: After an email sign-up, follow up with an SMS to create an immediate connection.
Image source: Klaviyo
Event-Based Campaigns: Take advantage of special occasions, holidays, or sales events by integrating SMS into your email marketing strategy. This ensures your message stands out amid the email clutter.
Segmented Promotions: Tailor your SMS campaigns based on customer behaviour and preferences, similar to email segmentation, for targeted and relevant messaging.
Nurturing VIPs: Offer exclusive promotions to your most active customers. Send price drop notifications via SMS when they've viewed items, as well as sale offers, early access to product launches, and information about new arrivals. SMS can help keep your line of communication with your VIPs strong, rewarding loyalty and enhancing engagement.
Birthday Flow: Send a simple yet personalised birthday SMS to customers with an exclusive offer. This enhances immediate visibility and engagement but also complements email campaigns, creating a well-rounded, memorable customer experience.
SMS and Email: The Power Duo
Combining SMS with email creates a robust, multi-channel approach that can significantly enhance customer engagement.
SMS with email drives higher visibility, complementing email by ensuring your messages are seen. More than 95% of SMS get opened, and 90% of these are viewed within three minutes. This immediate engagement can prompt quicker reactions than email, which is beneficial for time-sensitive offers or reminders and can ultimately drive your conversion rates through the roof.
SMS also adds an extra personal dimension to your digital communication, helping you build stronger connections with your audience.
It serves as a quick touchpoint that reinforces the message delivered via email, leading to a more consistent and engaging brand experience. This consistency is key to building trust and loyalty among your customer base.
Final Thoughts
The key to successful implementation lies in having a centralised hub for your customer data. This unified view ensures that customers are accurately segmented and presented with relevant, dynamic content.
We recommend starting to build your SMS lists as soon as possible, collecting numbers via popups, and enabling SMS opt-in at checkout, especially for seasonal campaigns like Black Friday/Cyber Monday (BFCM).
Mistakes in this process, especially within the realm of text messaging—a channel known for its heightened intimacy compared to email—can result in a disjointed customer experience. However, with Klaviyo's comprehensive suite of over 300 pre-built integrations, smooth functionality is ensured throughout your marketing funnel.
For more information on how Klaviyo can supercharge your automation, get in touch and we’d be more than willing to share some of our expertise.