.1m. Today: Postscript vs Attentive vs SMSBump, AU compliance, and when SMS makes sense (spoiler: never as your primary channel).
Why SMS Is Different From Email
SMS is not email with a character limit. SMS is a different channel with different economics, different compliance, and a completely different customer relationship.
Email: Expected, easy to ignore, 22% open rate SMS: Intrusive, hard to ignore, 98% open rate, immediate action
An SMS campaign that says "New arrivals, 20% off, shop now" will convert at 6–8% (vs email 1–2%). But send that SMS to 10,000 customers and you will get 50–100 complaints, and if you have not properly documented opt-in, ACMA will fine you.
The SMS Opportunity (AU Numbers)
A A$30k/month store with 5,000 email subscribers:
Email:
VIP segment: 400 contacts
Lapsed segment: 2,200 contacts
Total SMS-eligible: ~2,600 (VIP + Lapsed, only)
SMS open rate: 98%
SMS click rate: 20% of opens
Conversion rate: 5% of clicks = 26 conversions/campaign