SMS and Push Notification messages are both effective strategies to include within digital and mobile marketing strategies.

SMS (or text messaging) is the forerunner to the app-linked Push Notification and collectively they do a similar job – using short form messaging to drive customers back to a mobile environment (web or mobile app).

Both SMS and Push Notifications are used to get a message read very quickly. 90% of SMS messages are read within the first 3 minutes while Push Notifications outperform email content in that it delivers messages in real-time and it has also reported higher response rates compared to email.
This makes it useful for communicating important business-information like “Your order is ready” or “Your item will be delivered today”.

SMS and push messages are difficult to search later on and are highly interruptive to the consumer. These are considerations as to what channels are “right’ for each customer communication within a broader omnichannel customer journey.

A crucial differentiator between Push Notifications and SMS is the permission options afforded within Push Notifications. Where SMS options are limited (binary on/off), Push Notifications give the user greater control over the messages they wish to receive. Push Notifications also offer more graphical capability.

Website based Pushed Notifications (Web Push) should also be considered as part of your marketing strategy. This is still a relatively new and underutilised medium but is highly effective, especially when integrated to your ecommerce platforms.

Unlike mobile push notifications that are defaulted when a customer downloads an app, the subsite push notifications must be agreed to from the customer interaction on the website (including mobile sites). Web Push messaging is typically less personlised than conventional mobile app based Push Notifications and CRM.