SMS Marketing Is Alive and Thriving

It seems like in the era of push notifications and Telegram, there’s no room for SMS. But a University of Khartoum study showed that SMS campaign effectiveness is still impressive—if used correctly.

Researchers surveyed dozens of companies and analyzed hundreds of campaigns across various industries (banking, retail, services). The goal was to identify patterns that distinguish successful mailings from unsuccessful ones.

Key Success Factors

• Frequency and relevance. Once a week is optimal. At a frequency of 2+ times per week, conversion rates drop by an average of 40%.

• Brevity and clarity. The best messages are 15–25 words. Long messages cause “fatigue.”

• Message tone. Messages with an emotional yet respectful tone (“Treat yourself today”) perform twice as well as dry ones (“Discount –20%”).

• Send time. 18:00–20:00 is the peak reading time. After 22:00, it’s almost zero.

Examples
A bank implemented segmentation: clients receiving promotion reminders “on payday” showed +28% response rates.
A pharmacy chain switched from “discounts” to advice: instead of “–10% on vitamins,” they wrote “Winter is time to support immunity.” Conversion grew by 60%.
A retailer added the name at the beginning of SMS—open rate (yes, even in SMS!) increased by 9%.

What Hinders Success
Too frequent notifications (the SMS channel is perceived as more intimate: it’s right there in the phone, so messages more than once a week feel like pressure).
Illegal recipient databases (collected without customer consent or purchased).
Bureaucratic language and impersonal delivery (“ACTION! Today only!”).

What’s Useful for Marketers
Use SMS for targeted, emotional touches, not blasts.
Write naturally: no all caps or exclamation points.
Sign the brand—transparency builds trust.
Coordinate SMS with other channels (email, push, WhatsApp).

SMS is not a relic of the past but a channel for instant empathy. When the message is short, relevant, and human—it turns from “spam” into service.