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Sms text messaging has become one of the up-and-coming ways to reach customers effectively. And statistics support that customers prefer texting especially in specific situations. Those businesses who have adopted SMS texting as a marketing tool are finding that there are many uses of this channel of communication. SMS works well on its own as a marketing channel, and it also works to enhance other channels such as email, social media or calling. Many businesses are finding that SMS is a good way to send appointment reminders, parcel pickup and delivery notices and event invitations.
People do not need a smartphone to send and receive texts. This opens up lines of communication with demographics such as the elderly or lower-income families who may not own smartphones. If you are looking to reach people quickly, SMS may be the right solution for you. If you are hesitating using SMS texting for business, consider these statistics before you make up your mind.
- 97 percent of Americans use texting at least once a day on their cell phones.
- Over six billion texts are sent in the United States each day.
- More than 80 percent of American adults text which makes it the most common cell phone activity.
- Email has a 20 percent open rate, while text messages have a 98 percent open rate.
- Text messaging has a 45 percent response rate, while email only has a 6 percent response rate.
- 90 percent of all SMS texts are read in under 3 minutes.
- On average, text messages are read in under 5 seconds.
- 75 percent of worldwide cell phones are text-enabled.
- An average adult uses a total of 23 hours per week texting.
- On average, Millennials exchange 67 text messages per day.
- Americans exchange on average 2X as many texts as calls.
- Only 43 percent of smartphone owners make calls, but over 70 percent of users text.
- 55 percent of heavy text-message users (more than 50 texts per day) prefer to receive a text than a phone call.
- On average, it takes a person 90 minutes to respond to an email, but it only takes 90 seconds for them to respond to a text message.
- Women in America text 14 percent more than men.
- 79 percent of businesses believe that customers prefer SMS/text support.
- 61 percent of call centers will offer SMS text support in 2016.
- 80 percent of people use texting for business.
- 1/5 of consumers are just as likely to prefer an SMS message from businesses to a phone call.
- Preferred texting activities are to check order status (38 percent), schedule or change an appointment (32 percent) and make or confirm reservations (31 percent).
- More than 1/2 of consumers would be likely to text with a customer support agent. 52 percent would prefer texting with customer support over current methods.
- More than 1/3 of business pros cannot go more than 10 minutes without responding to a text message.
- SMS texting converts a $6-to-$10 phone call to a pennies-per-session chat.
- Prospects that are sent texts convert at a 40 percent higher rate than those not sent texts.
- Over 65 percent of marketers report SMS texting as being very effective.
- 70 percent of consumers appreciate getting text messages from healthcare providers.
- 75 percent of consumers would like to have special offers sent to them via texting.
- More than 80 percent of consumers prefer no more than 2 marketing text messages per month.
- 20 percent of financial services use SMS messages to add to their multi-channel capabilities.
- 72 percent of professionals prefer SMS to messaging apps.
Find out how you can take advantage SMS texting in your mobile marketing strategy. Download our complimentary Mobile Marketing Success Kit to see how you can diversity your company's communications with existing customers and new prospects.
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