Brands Need to Pivot Marketing Strategies To Texting: Klaviyo Report
Klaviyo, a customer data and marketing automation platform, recently released a study titled SMS for Marketers that delves into how consumers’ phone relationships have changed during the pandemic. Notably, over 51 per cent of people state that they have increased their use of texting in the past 12 months, compared with other popular forms of […]
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Klaviyo, a customer data and marketing automation platform, recently released a study titled SMS for Marketers that delves into how consumers’ phone relationships have changed during the pandemic.
Notably, over 51 per cent of people state that they have increased their use of texting in the past 12 months, compared with other popular forms of communication. With this shift in consumer mobile behaviour, brands need to pivot their marketing strategies to focus more on SMS to reach their customers.
Key findings of the survey, which polled 2,000 Americans ages 13-76 who own cell phones, include:
Our Phones Are Our Lifelines — With Texting Leading the Way
According to the study, more than half (59 per cent) of users say that their phone has been their lifeline during the pandemic; 47 per cent said they literally couldn’t live without it. And 51 per cent say they have increased their use of texting in the past 12 months compared to other communication applications and services such as phone calls (42 per cent), email (42 per cent), Facetime/video calls (41 per cent) and social media messaging.
Other takeaways include:
Across every generation — Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X and Baby Boomer — text messaging ranks number one as the most important communication platform on cell phones.
Emails, on the other hand, are less valued. The average consumer has 1,602 unread emails in their personal inbox, and only 32 per cent of consumers can say they have an inbox with zero unread messages. More than a third of mobile consumers say that their phone is the most important thing they own.
Also Read: Mobile Marketing Strategies to Drive Sales and Revenue
For Brands, Texting is a Powerful Way to Reach Customers
The survey also revealed insights for brands when it comes to communicating with customers via their cell phones. More than one in five survey respondents went as far as to say a text from a brand made their day during the last year.
“Phones have served as an undeniable lifeline to people through some very difficult times over the past year, and it’s clear those relationships we’ve built with our devices are only going to get stronger as we emerge from the pandemic,” said Kady Srinivasan, SVP, Global Head of Marketing at Klaviyo. “Brands need to capitalise on this shift and recognise trends in consumer behaviour to understand better how they can build stronger relationships with their customers through mobile devices.”
Still, brands can’t take this new relationship for granted. They must be quick to keep customers engaged. Forty-nine per cent of mobile users who have received a text from a brand say they expect the brand to text back within 10 minutes; 38 per cent say within five minutes; 13 per cent say they expect an immediate response.
The pandemic also changed how we use our cell phones in the workplace, with 36 per cent of those who said they are now texting more also saying they’ve used it more often to text their bosses and colleagues.
