Email marketing is a fundamental part of business communications, but how many are customers actually reading? According to a recent survey by af2m (French Association for the Development of Multi-Operator Multimedia Services and Uses), only 20% – far fewer than most marketing teams would care to admit. Is there a better way to reach your customers? Research by af2m has found that SMS campaigns are blessed with a 90% open rate within three minutes of receipt!
Bulk SMS messaging – you won’t believe the stats
In a recent survey by af2m 43% of users made an online purchase after receiving an SMS advertisement. That’s quite remarkable, especially considering the amount of noise businesses would usually have to cut through in order to gain exposure online. Incredibly, 25% of SMS messages are forwarded for viral circulation. To put that into perspective, a customer is more likely to open and forward an SMS than they are to open the email alternative.
When to use a text over email?
A text message is succinct, direct and simple. It cuts through the noise. While there are good reasons for sending emails – such as more room for text and the option for various types of media and attachments – they are less effective in communicating straightforward marketing messages.
We would recommend using a mixture of both in your marketing efforts, but always consider open rates when deciding how to communicate your most potent messages. Here are some top use cases for SMS marketing:
- Promotional deals
- SMS coupons
- Text-to-win competitions
- Flash sales
- Loyalty programs
Which types of businesses benefit from sending bulk SMS campaigns?
All of them! A text isn’t just useful for selling products, it can be used to cascade information of any kind. This includes practical and necessary communications, such as one-time passwords, delivery notifications, event promotion, booking confirmations, and even health check-up results or diagnostics.
OVHcloud bulk SMS: choosing the right SMS solution
Texting people en-masse can be challenging, especially if you choose the wrong provider; however, with the right approach, the process is simple and effective. It’s important to choose a provider whose bulk SMS solution is not only intuitive – saving you the headache – but offers high speed sender delivery, wherever your customer base.
To ensure SMS campaigns reach your customers at lightning speed, no matter where they are in the world, OVHcloud employs several trustworthy, secure white routes with each operator. This means your customers can systematically follow the quickest route for optimal performance. Their solution also offers the most simple and flexible SMS management system on the market. Depending on your needs, you can manage and send your text messages via an intuitive control panel (including sending, receiving, contact files and blacklists) by email via a secure HTTPS URL, or via the OVHcloud API which can be integrated into your website or application and is compatible with several programming languages. With automated SMS options, it’s also possible to effortlessly send updates, notification and reminders, or even message your customers on their birthdays!
An unbeatable price and security at all costs
OVHcloud offers customisable SMS packages (from 100 to 2,000,000 SMS messages) and an unbeatable, degressive pricing structure, which keeps costs in line with your requirements. Based on your needs, you only pay for the credits you need, and they are valid for an unlimited time period. You can also pay more or less depending on your management requirements –with varying prices depending on whether you choose Basic, Intermediate or Advanced options.
As a European player, OVHcloud is well-recognised for their progressive attitude towards data security and data protection. Unlike US players they are not beholden to intrusive laws such as the Cloud act, so your data sovereignty is upheld no matter what. Click here to find out more about OVHcloud’s security-by-design infrastructure and practices.
Upgrade your marketing efforts today, with a simple, secure and cost-effective bulk SMS solution. You can utilise OVHcloud’s bulk SMS solution to manage high-performing SMS marketing campaigns, create SMS alerts, and keep in touch with your customers. If you have any questions about the OVHcloud bulk SMS solution, you can get in touch with them here.
Nicolas Galdini is a Product Marketing Manager who joined the Telecom teams at OVHcloud in 2012 and is currently responsible for spearheading communication & collaboration in the webcloud universe.