SMS marketing is a direct marketing channel that’s too often underestimated by businesses. Many still favor email campaigns, despite email open rates averaging just 18%, with click-through rates around 2.6%.
By contrast, SMS boasts a 98% read rate, making it one of the fastest and most effective ways to reach your audience. Four out of five consumers say they want to receive messages from their favorite brands. With SMS marketing, your message is not only read — it’s remembered and welcomed. This guide will show you how to unlock the full potential of mobile marketing.
Back to Basics: What Is SMS Marketing?
SMS marketing is a way to communicate directly with clients and prospects. It offers wide reach:
- 77% of French consumers own a smartphone
- 94% use it daily
Brands use commercial SMS as a complement to broader marketing strategies. It pairs well with other channels like email — SMS is great for short, urgent information, while emails can offer more detail.
SMS content can be promotional or informational:
- Transactional SMS includes notifications, payment confirmations, delivery alerts, access codes, etc. These made up 60% of all messages sent in 2021
- Commercial SMS is used for advertising, direct marketing, drive-to-store strategies, etc. These account for 40% of messages sent by brands
Legal Considerations (France)
SMS marketing is tightly regulated:
- No commercial SMS between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m., on Sundays or public holidays
- Messages may only be sent to B2C contacts who’ve given prior consent
- An opt-out option (free) must be included: e.g., “STOP SMS to XXXX”
- In B2B, contacts must be informed that their number may be used for commercial outreach and must have a simple, free way to opt out
Benefits of SMS Marketing
1. Easy to Use
SMS works on all smartphones and mobile networks. Its simplicity saves marketing teams time. Whether you’re sending appointment reminders, bulk promotions, or personalized messages, SMS fits every industry and use case.
2. Immediate Impact
- 66% of French consumers have visited a store after receiving a marketing text
- Over 90% of users read messages within 4 minutes
- Unsubscribe rate is just 0.13%
3. Personalization
With a 160-character limit (70 with emojis or special characters), SMS must be concise. Personalizing the message with the recipient’s name, order number, or account ID boosts engagement.
4. Interactivity
SMS enhances customer relationships. Send birthday wishes, order updates, meeting reminders — all of which create brand loyalty across the customer journey.
6 Best Practices for SMS Marketing
1. OneClick SMS
Use short tracked links (16–20 characters) that lead to landing pages with no forms to fill — everything is pre-filled or hidden. You can direct users to websites, apps, Facebook pages, or documents. Tracking these links helps measure campaign performance.
2. Right People, Right Time
Automation allows seamless SMS integration with tools like CRMs, apps, or websites. Create targeted workflows for loyalty, conversion, and more. Just like emails, timing matters — the best open rates occur Tuesdays or Thursdays, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.
3. Customize the Sender Name
Avoid using anonymous 5-digit numbers like "36XXX" or "38XXX". Use your brand name instead to improve trust and recognition.
4. Multichannel Campaigns (SMS + Email)
Reinforce your message by combining channels — this increases memorability and engagement.
5. Compliance
Ensure you’ve legally collected consent from recipients to receive SMS marketing.
6. Test Before Launch (A/B Testing)
Use A/B testing to fine-tune your campaign before sending it at scale. This lets you:
- Test hypotheses and measure impact
- Identify top-performing message elements
- Understand what influences user behavior
Launch Your Interactive SMS Campaign in 3 Steps with Dataventure
Whether local, multilocal, or national, we help you find the perfect geo-targeting solution for your goals. Our experts design custom multichannel scenarios to amplify your brand’s voice.
Ready to engage your core audience?
Contact us — a Dataventure expert will respond within the hour!
