SMS Campaign KPIs: These Are the Metrics You Should Be Tracking
SMS Campaigns are a great way to gain and engage loyal customers. They’re fast, effective, and have incredibly high open rates. But, like all things marketing, we need to measure just how effective they are. So, what are the SMS campaign KPIs we should be tracking? Let’s break it down.
Before setting SMS Campaign KPIs
Before we even jump into KPI planning, it’s important to have a specific and measurable goal for the campaign. What exactly do we want people to do after receiving our SMS? This will help us prioritize each KPI.
For example, let’s say we want to send a group of people a promo code to be used in-store. In this case, we’ll be less concerned about the click-through rate, and more concerned about open rates. Our primary goal here getting people in the store to take advantage of our promotion, so we don’t have a need for them to click-through to more content.
The SMS Campaign KPIs to track
Open rate
Open rate is simply the number of people that open your message. Many marketers choose to include SMS in their marketing mix because of high open rates. Globally, the average open rate for SMS is 94%. In a world when businesses are struggling to break through the clutter, statistics like that make SMS a powerful tool. So, if you send an SMS to 100 people and 98 of them open it, your open rate is 98%.
Click-through rate
The click-through rate helps measure the number of people who performed a second action after opening the SMS message. By using links and URLs, you can track the number of people who clicked through to read more, learn more, or take another action. The click-through rate is a good indicator of how engaged your audience is. Again, you’ll want to have a specific goal and reason why your customers should click your link.
Opt-out rate
It’s generally a best practice to make it easy for people to opt-out of SMS campaigns. In the US, the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) requires that people be able to opt-out of your campaign at any time. Your opt-out rate is the percentage of people who no longer wish to receive your messages.
While opt-outs are unfortunate, they’re important to track. This data will help you answer important questions about what is causing users to opt-out. Is your frequency too high? Are there trends in timing? When are your opt-outs occurring? Is there a particular type of content where you’re seeing the highest opt-outs? This data will help us understand the preferences (and dislikes) of our audience.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is one of the most sought after SMS campaign KPIs. It is the percentage of people who took the desired action. If you can, try to track the behavior of people from the time they receive the message until the time they convert. Again, just like with our opt-out rates we can try to find spikes in data, trends, or patterns. Maybe it’s the copy, style, offer, or another element of your campaign that’s driving success. Regardless, we’ll want to continue with what has been working.
Delivered percentage
Your delivered percentage is how many messages reached your contact list. If you have a high number of undelivered messages, there might be something wrong. Partnering with a provider like Routee is important in making sure you don’t pay for undelivered messages.
Firstly, Routee is powered by AMD Telecom, which is a powerhouse in the telecommunications industry. Our proven deliverability is part of what has made us a trusted partner for some of the most well-known companies in the world. Secondly, if any messages in your campaign aren’t delivered, we don’t charge for them. With Routee, you only pay for what’s actually delivered.
Opt-in source
Tracking how people join your SMS campaign in the first place is important, too. This is key to understanding how to attract new subscribers. To do this, make sure you use different opt-in phrases across your different marketing channels. For example, you can let customers text SAVE to 40225 during checkout to join your list. Then, use JOIN if you’re trying to get subscribers in a radio campaign. In short, using specific keywords is important to understand attribution.
Now you’re ready to set SMS Campaign KPIs
Now that you’re ready to plan and optimize your SMS campaign, choose Routee to help you make it happen. We have the tools to make SMS campaigns a breeze. Our easy-to-use API will help you understand costs, segment your audience, and analyze results. And, we can even integrate with CRM systems. It’s never been easier to reach your customers with SMS.
Get started by contacting our experts, today!