SMS campaigns do outperform email… and here’s why
As a company that’s carved a reputation for helping charities of all sizes maximise their return on fundraising campaigns using a whole suite of tools and technologies, it’s fair to say that we know a thing or two about what works and what doesn’t when it comes to donor engagement.
And one tool that we’ve enjoyed HUGE success with is SMS fundraising campaigns. In fact, SMS fundraising has become the one tool that we’ve become synonymous with over the years.
Don’t just take our word for it, though. After all, the numbers speak for themselves. Since 2004, we’ve processed a total of £70m using SMS. And we currently process 150,000 SMS-based donations every month.
But why exactly is SMS fundraising so effective? And how does it outperform email fundraising campaigns? Let’s take a look.
SMS vs. email
It’s worth pointing out that email fundraising isn’t a thing of the past; it’s still very much alive and one of our top 10 tools to use when it comes to donor engagement. It’s just that SMS is… well, better.
We asked our team of fundraising specialists why, and here’s what they said.
1. High open rates
A fundamental point to make here is that everybody has a phone. And they tend to have it on them at all times. With that in mind, it’s perhaps no surprise that SMS text open rates are a staggering 98 per cent. This compares to a relatively modest open rate of between 20 – 22 per cent with email.
2. The 90/90 rule
SMS response times aren’t just quicker than email response times … they’re MUCH quicker. UK Fundraising magazine supports this by revealing that whilst respondents tend to respond to SMS messages in 90 seconds, it can take as long as 90 minutes to respond to an email broadcast. When you’re launching an urgent appeal, you want something to be read – and hopefully acted on – immediately. SMS is the perfect tool for immediacy.
3. Click-through conquests
Generally speaking, CYMBA’s SMS campaign click-through rates far exceed when compared to email click-through rates of around 2–5 per cent. SMS certainly outperforms email here.
4. Captive audience
According to datareportal.com, there are a whopping 5.81 billion unique mobile phone subscribers across the world. This represents just over 70 per cent of the global population. Porch Group Media, however, claims that there were 4.25 billion active email users in 2022. Of course, this is still a large number of people, but when it comes to audience size, SMS provides the greatest potential in terms of getting your fundraising campaign seen by the highest number of people.
5. More personal
SMS is a much more personal, not to mention accessible, form of communication. People tend to have alerts set for incoming text messages, which means that it’s generally seen and acted on much quicker than email. It’s also a much more informal channel for communication, typically reserved for friends and family. Of course, with this comes a greater need to send messages that respect personal boundaries – although that’s an area that CYMBA specialises in.
And the winner is …
In our view, it’s very clearly SMS. It’s quick, it comes with a degree of urgency that email simply doesn’t, and it’s cost-effective, too.
For example, through SMS campaigns, we’ve helped reduce ActionAid UK’s cost per acquisition and helped Cats Protection implement an SMS lottery service, which boosted sign-up rates.
However, there is still a place for email fundraising campaigns, and this channel is far from over. The secret is to harness the benefits of both to maximise engagement, build relationships, and boost revenue.
Interested in using SMS campaigns to enhance engagement and increase revenues?
Contact the Cymba team on 0845 0829622.
