What is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing, also known as text message marketing or mobile marketing, is sending short message service (SMS) messages directly to customers mobile phones to promote products or services. It’s super effective because it’s direct and instant. Unlike other marketing channels that require internet access or app downloads, SMS messages get delivered straight to the recipient’s phone so there is extremely high visibility.
One of the biggest advantages of SMS marketing is low effort, high impact. Businesses can quickly craft and send promotional text messages to their target audience and drive immediate engagement and action. Whether it’s a flash sale, a special discount or a new product announcement, SMS marketing campaigns can generate big revenue and customer loyalty.
Plus SMS marketing is a powerful tool for building customer loyalty. By sending personalised messages, exclusive offers and timely reminders businesses can create a strong connection with their customers. This direct line of communication helps build loyalty and gets customers coming back.
The Growing Importance of SMS Campaigns
In today’s fast paced digital world businesses need fast, effective and reliable ways to connect with their audience. SMS has become one of the most powerful tools, offering high engagement rates, fast response times and strong conversion potential. Integrating SMS with other communication channels like email can really optimise marketing and get better audience engagement.
For Australian businesses SMS can make all the difference in reaching customers fast and cost effectively while keeping communication strategies lean. SMS marketing tools are key to customer engagement and sales for businesses of all sizes.
Even if you personally don’t love getting a ping from one of your favourite brands on your phone, data shows most people do engage with SMS messages—often more than they do with emails or social media ads. Our personal experience is not always a reflection of how customers interact with marketing. In fact SMS marketing has proven to be one of the most cost effective and high converting tools businesses can use.
If you’ve been hesitant to try SMS marketing here’s why you should reconsider:
High Engagement Rates
SMS marketing outperforms email marketing when it comes to engagement. According to Swift Digital, SMS messages in Australia have an open rate of 94%, with 78% of recipients reading every message they receive. Compare that to email where the average open rate is just 34%—it’s clear which one has more impact.
If you want to increase brand awareness SMS marketing ensures messages get to your audience quickly and effectively. Use SMS for customer retention strategies—sending exclusive offers or loyalty rewards can feel like a big warm hug to a loyal customer and get them to come back.
Rapid Response Times
Instant Customer Interaction
Timing is everything in marketing and SMS delivers faster results than other digital channels. Research shows that up to 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of being received, which is a long way from the stacked promotions folder of my personal inbox.
If you want to increase customer engagement SMS marketing is great for time sensitive promotions, appointment reminders or flash sales, creating urgency for the customer. An effective SMS message can significantly improve customer engagement by creating urgency whether it’s for birthday promotions or cart abandonment follow-ups.
Higher Conversion Rates
Turning Text Messages Into Sales
Getting customers to take action is the ultimate goal of any marketing strategy and SMS marketing excels at driving conversions. A study by 160.com.au found that 72% of consumers have made a purchase after receiving a text from a brand, which is huge.
If you want to boost sales and customer retention SMS marketing services can be a game changer by enhancing customer communication through text messages. Use personalised messaging and exclusive offers to get customers to complete a purchase. Segment your SMS list based on customer behaviour to ensure promotions are targeted and relevant and increase the chance of conversion.
Australia’s Mobile-First Market
Reaching Customers Where They Are
With around 32.89 million mobile connections in Australia SMS marketing has wide reach. Everyone has a mobile phone and SMS allows businesses to reach a large audience without relying on internet access.
Adding SMS to multi-channel marketing strategies—combining it with social media campaigns or email—can reinforce messaging and keep customers engaged. Plus rewarding loyal customers with exclusive offers and personalised messaging via SMS can strengthen the connection between brands and their repeat customers and drive higher engagement and sales.
Cost Effective Communication – Get More Out of Your Marketing Budget with SMS Marketing
For businesses looking for an affordable marketing solution SMS marketing is a good ROI. The cost of sending an SMS is on average $0.07 making it a low cost high impact channel compared to paid social media ads or email marketing.
For businesses looking to get more out of their marketing budget SMS is an affordable way to stay connected with customers. SMS marketing platforms known for their ease of use and built in compliance features allow companies to automate SMS campaigns, reduce manual work and operational costs and stay top of mind with customers.
Customers Prefer SMS Communication
Convenience and Reliability Matter for Customer Loyalty
Consumers like the convenience and reliability of SMS. SMS messaging is quick and user friendly, making it easy to reply.
There’s something so easy about getting a SMS reminder you can respond to with a simple YES or NO rather than opening an email or taking a phone call to confirm. Service providers, healthcare professionals and finance companies can use SMS for appointment confirmations, payment reminders and customer support, improving customer experience and reducing no-shows.
Growing Adoption Among Australian Businesses
Why More Companies Are Investing in SMS
Businesses are taking note of SMS marketing’s effectiveness. Swift Digital reported that 61% of Australian businesses plan to increase their SMS marketing budget in response to changing consumer behaviour and the need for instant communication.
To stay ahead of the competition businesses should integrate SMS marketing tools into customer engagement strategies, send updates, promotions and feedback requests to customers and test different SMS campaign formats—transactional alerts, promotional offers and surveys—to see what resonates with customers.
SMS Marketing Works (Even If You Think It Won’t)
Lot’s of people are sceptical of SMS marketing at first. But the data doesn’t lie. Even if it’s not your preferred method of receiving marketing messages it could be exactly what your audience needs to stay engaged with your brand. Including SMS in a mobile marketing campaign can offer strategic advantages especially during peak shopping periods.
With higher engagement rates, faster response times and higher conversion potential SMS marketing is an essential tool for Australian businesses.
Want to know how to add SMS to your strategy? HyperWeb can help. Contact us today to see how SMS can help your business.
