The Pros and Cons of Email vs Text Campaigns

There are numerous factors to consider when trying to figure out what kind of marketing campaign will work best for your business, especially when it comes to reaching potential customers on their phones. For most businesses, text message campaigns are the most cost-effective, direct way to engage with customers on their mobile devices, but they’re not always the most effective. Here’s an overview of the pros and cons of text message vs email campaigns.

Why Marketers Use Both Email and Text

Sending messages to your customers isn’t limited to email. Some marketers choose to use text messages (also known as SMS) for marketing. The number of possible users is huge, making SMS an effective way to reach many people at once. Just about every mobile device has texting capabilities—and most people don’t turn them off, making texting a convenient way to keep in touch with your customers (and your friends). As with email, however, there are also drawbacks to using text messaging for marketing purposes. Here are some ways that email and text messages can be used together.

Email (Advantages and Disadvantages)

Email marketing is one of the most successful direct marketing tools available. It is also an incredibly simple way to promote your business, even for those who lack technical or coding knowledge. While it can be used as a standalone product, email is most commonly integrated into online shopping carts, automatically notifying customers when items they’ve purchased are back in stock or on sale. The ability to set up conditional notifications means you only have to connect with clients once, while further interactions will happen virtually on their own. This saves time and money otherwise spent manually reminding clients that you exist.

Text (Advantages and Disadvantages)

While texting has its advantages, it also comes with some disadvantages. The biggest disadvantage is that you need to build your database first. So, if you just started a business and don’t have a good database, you should stick to email marketing until your business is more established. A second negative of text messages is that they tend to be pricey for small businesses. If you use third-party services such as Apple or Google, those messages will cost you extra money. Another issue is that there are so many different ways people can receive text messages these days.