Email marketing fights for open rates around 20%. An SMS is read almost every time, usually within minutes. That is why message campaigns remain the most direct channel for offers, reminders and seasonal greetings. The question is not “whether”, it is “which channel”.
What SMS does well
- Reaches every phone, no apps, no internet required.
- Shows your business name as the sender, not an unknown number.
- Has the highest read rates of any channel.
It is priced per message, slightly above Viber. It is the channel of certainty: when the message must arrive, it arrives.
What Viber does well
- Costs less per message, and you only pay for delivered ones.
- Shows an image, longer text and a button leading to your site or phone.
- Fits visual offers: new collections, sales, menus, events.
Its limitation: it needs the app. In Greece Viber is extremely widespread, but not universal.
The combination that wins
The best-performing campaigns we see do this: send Viber first (cheaper, richer), then automatically send SMS to whoever did not receive it. You pay for the expensive channel only where needed, and coverage is complete.
What about GDPR?
Bulk messages go only to people who opted in: your customers, newsletter subscribers, members. Every message must offer an easy way out, and opt-outs must be honored automatically. Set up properly from the start, GDPR is not an obstacle, it is a quality filter: you talk only to people who want to hear from you.
How we do it
Our campaigns run through isend, our own platform, on our own servers. You get access and send yourself, or you give us the copy and the list and we handle the send, with a delivery report for every message. No monthly fee: you buy credits that never expire. See the SMS & Viber service or ask us for a package that fits.
