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The SMS Advantage
Think about the last ten emails you received. How many did you open straight away? Now think about the last ten texts. Different story.
Email is crowded. Notifications are muted. Inboxes are full of things people mean to read and never do. Text is different. People open texts. Almost all of them. Almost immediately.
If you are only using email to reach buyers, you are using one of the most competitive channels available and ignoring one of the most effective ones.
What Is The SMS Advantage?
The SMS Advantage is the significant edge you get by using text messages to communicate with buyers instead of, or alongside, email. According to Gartner, SMS has a 98% open rate. Email averages around 20%. That gap is enormous.
Text is also a largely unused channel for business communication. Most buyers receive dozens of marketing emails every day. They receive very few texts. So when one arrives from a business they have opted in with, it stands out. It does not have to fight through a crowded inbox. It just arrives and gets read.
The key word is permission. Sending texts to people who have not opted in is spam and it will damage your reputation fast. But with consent in place, SMS becomes one of the most powerful tools available for reaching buyers at the right moment.
Why Does The SMS Advantage Work?
It works because most people carry their phone with them all day and have SMS notifications switched on. An email can sit unread for hours. A text typically gets seen within minutes. For time-sensitive messages, offers, reminders, and updates, that speed matters.
There is also a scarcity effect at play. Because so few businesses use SMS well, the channel feels personal. When a buyer receives a text from a business, it feels different from a mass email blast. It feels direct. That perception of personal contact increases engagement even when the message is the same as what could have gone by email.
Text also suits the way people actually consume information on their phones. Short, scannable, and immediately actionable. A well-written SMS tells the buyer everything they need to know in a few lines and gives them one clear thing to do. Because there is no scrolling, no loading, and no competing content on the same screen, the message gets full attention.
Finally, SMS works well because the barrier to opting in is low. Asking someone for their mobile number feels more direct than asking for an email, but once they have given it, the relationship is warmer. A buyer who opts into SMS has made a more deliberate choice than one who signed up to an email list in passing.
How Can You Use The SMS Advantage In Sales?
Permission is everything here. Only send texts to people who have actively opted in. With that in place, here are the most effective ways to use SMS.
For Potential New Buyers
Use SMS as an opt-in channel rather than just a broadcast one. Ask potential buyers to text a keyword to a number to receive updates, offers, or useful content. Because they have taken an action to opt in, their engagement is higher from the start. You can also use SMS to send information, links, or reminders to prospects who are warm but not yet converted.
For Existing Clients
SMS works well for appointment reminders, order updates, event notifications, and short valuable messages that are worth interrupting someone’s day for. Because existing clients already have a relationship with you, they are more likely to welcome a text than a cold prospect would be. Keep the messages relevant, short, and worth their time.
Keep It Short and Actionable
A good SMS says one thing and asks for one action. It is not the place for a detailed pitch or a long update. State the offer, the event, or the information clearly. Then give the buyer one obvious next step. A link, a code, a reply keyword. Because the medium rewards brevity, anything longer than a few lines is already too long.
Time Your Messages Carefully
The speed at which texts are read also means timing matters more than with email. A reminder sent an hour before an event is useful. A promotional text sent at 11pm is not. Think about when your buyer is most likely to be in a position to act on the message, and send it then. Because SMS notifications interrupt people, that interruption needs to feel worthwhile.
When The SMS Advantage Works Best
SMS works best for time-sensitive messages where the speed of reading matters. Promotions with a short window, appointment reminders, event day updates, and flash offers all benefit from the near-instant open rates that text provides. Because the buyer sees the message while it is still relevant, the chance of them acting on it is much higher than with a channel where it might sit unread for hours.
It also works well for businesses with a local or community audience. A restaurant, a gym, a salon, or a local retailer can use SMS to create a direct line to their most loyal buyers. Because the messages feel personal and relevant to a specific place or experience, they generate a response that broad digital advertising rarely matches.
When The SMS Advantage Becomes Dangerous
The main risk is sending too often. Even with permission in place, a buyer who receives texts every day will opt out quickly. SMS is powerful because it is used sparingly. The moment it becomes noise, the advantage disappears. So treat access to someone’s phone as a privilege and use it accordingly.
Sending without permission is the other major risk. Unsolicited texts are spam, they damage trust, and in many jurisdictions they carry legal consequences. Always ensure consent is explicit, documented, and easy to withdraw. The channel is too valuable to risk by skipping that step.
Common SMS Advantage Mistakes
Sending Without Permission
There is no shortcut here. Texting buyers who have not opted in will get you blocked, reported, and potentially fined. The open rate is only an advantage when the person receiving the text wanted to hear from you. Build your SMS list the right way and it becomes one of your most valuable assets. Build it the wrong way and it becomes a liability overnight.
Making Texts Too Long
A text is not an email. If your message needs three paragraphs to make its point, SMS is the wrong channel for it. Buyers open texts because they are quick to read. The moment a text feels like work, the experience turns negative. Keep it to one clear message and one clear action. Everything else belongs somewhere else.
Sending at the Wrong Time
Because texts interrupt, a badly timed message creates a bad impression even if the content is good. Early morning, late evening, or during times when your buyer is unlikely to act on the message are all poor choices. Think about when the message is most useful to the buyer and send it then. Timing a text well is part of what makes it feel personal rather than intrusive.
Overusing the Channel
SMS works because it is different from email. The moment you start sending texts as frequently as you send emails, that difference evaporates. Opt-outs will rise and the quality of your list will fall. Use SMS for the messages that genuinely benefit from high visibility and fast reading. Save email for the rest. Because the value of SMS is directly tied to how selectively you use it, more is almost always less here.
The SMS Advantage – An Example
A local restaurant collects mobile numbers from customers who opt in to receive updates. Every Friday at 11am they send one simple text:
🍕 Friday Special! Get 2-for-1 pizzas today from 5–9 PM. Show this text to claim! 🍕
Short, relevant, and timed to land when lunch decisions are being made. Because customers see it almost immediately, the restaurant sees a noticeable spike in bookings and orders every Friday evening.
The message works because it earns its interruption. The buyer opted in, the offer is genuinely useful, the timing is right, and the action is obvious. That is The SMS Advantage working exactly as it should.
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