October 2, 2024

SMS vs Messengers: what to choose for business communication

Properly established communication with customers is the best way to promote brands’ products and services. It means direct interaction between the company and the client via different channels. Some of them are outdated, the others still remain popular and gain momentum – SMS and messengers. Our customers often ask what channel to choose for business. So today we will go deeper into their peculiarities, so that you could figure out what suits best for your brand.

Advantages of  SMS business messaging

SMS marketing is a method of promoting goods or services through text messages sent to users’ phones. In addition to the advertising function, SMS can be used for other purposes: sending notifications, verification codes, order/delivery status, etc . 

It has become an effective way to quickly and directly communicate with your target audience, since SMS provide:

• Wide reach. User-friendly, available on any kind of mobile phone, no Internet necessity, – all these enable customers’ connection wherever they are. 
• Increased number of clicks. SMS are short – recipients see the links immediately, without scrolling necessity.
• Simple and fast launch. SMS marketing campaigns are easy to implement, as no preliminary preparation is required. 
• Relatively low competition. Most of your competitors ignore SMS messaging for business. If you use it correctly, – will capture a large market share.
• Possibility to personalize messages. The communication can be customized via API services. The business personalizes each message based on people’s interests and purchasing behavior.
• Brand recognizability. Individual name is the feature thanks to which your messaging will not get lost among the others. 

Disadvantages of SMS: 

• Small message length. Only 160 characters are at your disposal. 
• Lack of creativity and design possibilities. No media are available. 
• High pricing. SMS messaging is one of the most expensive business communication channels and the tariffs are constantly growing.

Important: Obtain the consent of customers before sending them text messages (except for transactional and service messages), since unwanted promotional SMS are considered spam. Check federal, local legislation and operators’ rules – there are goods which are forbidden to advertise.

Advantages of instant business messaging

Instant messaging is a digital marketing method that involves the use of  WhatsApp, Viber, etc. business channels to promote a product. Its main peculiarity: companies do not just send out, but involve the user in a dialogue. Advanced features and functionality make them most popular channels for advertising campaigns, however they serve for transactional and authorization communication as well.

What businesses obtain with messengers:

• Global reach and popularity. According to Statista, WhatsApp has an average of more than 2.44 billion monthly active users or 37 minutes per day. Viber has 250 million monthly active users globally. They interact on the app for an average of 8 minutes per interaction.
• High customer engagement rate. For Viber it is 89%, and 98% for WhatsApp.
• Direct messaging channel. Thanks to it, messages do not go to spam and reach end users.
• Functionality. Messengers support two-way communication with audience, multimedia files, video calls, emojis, etc. 
• Direct selling. In WhatsApp, for example, you can create a catalog with up to 500 of your products or services and share it directly with the customers. Using the Catalog, your consumers will quickly see what you offer without leaving the app.

Disadvantages of messengers:

• Dependence on the Internet. WhatsApp and Viber require a network connection, which can be an issue if your customers are in remote regions.
• Limited coverage. If SMS works on all phones, messengers work only on smartphones. In addition, not all users download applications. 

Taking into consideration an impressive number of benefits provided by both SMS and messengers, choosing what to integrate as your marketing solution may become a complicated issue. Our guide below will help you.

Advice on choosing the business communication channel

• Identify budget, resources. You need to fix how much you plan to pay for the service – pricing differs in dependance of the channel. Messengers are more cost effective in comparison with SMS.
• Set goals. SMS is more common for transactional and authorization messaging, short advertisements of special actions, discounts. Whereas messengers are irreplaceable for complicated creative marketing campaigns.
• Create a customer profile. Young fellows prefer messengers for communication, and 60+ stay loyal to SMS.
• Investigate competitors’ behavior. In case your competitors ignore any channel, it may be time to occupy a niche, however, their obvious success may also become a good example to follow. 
• Cooperate with a communication service platform. Investigate the solutions offered by business messaging providers, recommendations users leave and choose the platform meeting your requirements. 
• Conduct a test drive of your messaging campaign. A must-do implementing a solution, enables you to make sure you made a proper choice.

To combine benefits of both methods and level out limitations implement Cascade forwarding – communication with clients via several channels. They are applied in stages – in the order of cost increase. It means that first the message goes over the channel with the lowest pricing. Main benefits of Cascade are Delivery Guarantee, Maximum coverage and Cost savings. 

Comprehensive info about each solution

1. Learn more about SMS messaging benefits in our article New tops of e-commerce business with SMS messaging. 

2. Details of Cascade benefits you will find in the article Cascade forwarding – communication tool for maximum benefits. 

3. To make a proper choice between WhatsApp and Viber, please, follow our guide in Viber vs WhatsApp: detailed analysis of popular channels for business articles. 

4. WhatsApp valuable features are represented in our articles WhatsApp – on the top of messaging channels for business. 

5. Read about Viber advanced features and functionality in TOP outstanding Viber messaging tools for business.

To reach outstanding business messaging results, please, complete the form on our website. Our manager will offer the options for cooperation and connection.