Business owners today are facing rising advertising costs, increased privacy restrictions, and a shifting search and social media landscape – making it more challenging to consistently reach and engage their target audience.
That’s why SMS is one of the most powerful marketing and communication channels in this new era. It’s not just convenient, but it’s personal, well-read, and impactful for building long-term relationships. SMS offers an incredible opportunity for business owners to enhance customer engagement, boost sales, and grow revenue from existing clients.
This blog explores the core reasons why SMS customer engagement is effective, proven strategies to engage customers through SMS, and how to maximize engagement from text message marketing.
The Importance and Definition of Customer Engagement
As a business owner, you know that your most valuable assets are your customers. Ensuring that your customers are happy and satisfied is the primary goal of any successful business as growth doesn’t happen without them. Good customer engagement is an indicator that your customers enjoy your product or service.
Paul Greenberg defines customer engagement for HubSpot as “the ongoing interactions between company and customer, offered by the company, chosen by the customer.” What is beneficial about this definition is that it emphasizes the need for ongoing interaction. An emotional connection and real realtionship with your brand is what differentiates your company from others. And like any connection, it can’t be a one-time thing, but rather a long-lasting process.
While keeping a personal relationship and ongoing conversations with every customer is simply impossible, that doesn’t mean that you can’t engage them in a meaningful way.
Why SMS for Customer Engagement Works
Text messaging is one of the most effective ways to engage both new and existing customers. According to research, SMS marketing boasts an impressive engagement rate. Here are a few stats that show how this channel can help your business succeed:
- The click-through rate (CTR) for links in SMS messages is 10 times higher than that of links in emails.
- Texts have a 98% open rate, which can significantly increase engagement with your messages.
- Texts are read within three minutes of receipt, making them great for quick, time-sensitive notifications and conversations.
- The average response rate to a text message is 45%, which is nearly eight times higher than the response rate to an email.
13 Proven SMS Engagement Strategies
Now that you know the definition and why SMS is a successful channel, let’s dive into some real-world examples that brands use every day to better engage their audience.
1. Tap Into Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is all the rage in 2025. When it comes to SMS, conversational marketing means establishing honest two-way communication with customers via text. You want to engage customers with immediate responses and encourage them to reach out to your brand via text. Conversational marketing enables brands to quickly address a range of common customer issues, such as responding to customer questions, clarifying pricing, or offering product recommendations.
2. Set Up an Automated Text Back After a Missed Call
If a customer calls your business phone number but you aren’t able to answer, they may feel deep frustration. One of the best ways to overcome this and build better relationships is to set up an automated text message that sends to customers right after the missed call. This message can be simple, just letting them know that you’ll get back to them soon. A good example of a text message is, “Sorry, I just missed your call. I’m in the store helping a customer. I’ll give you a call back momentarily.”
3. Create an Irresistible Welcome Series
When people first subscribe to your SMS program, they are typically highly engaged. They’re actively seeking an opportunity to engage with your brand, get a discount, and make a purchase. Use this to your advantage by building out an irresistible welcome series that lays the groundwork for a long-term customer relationship.
In your first welcome series texts, you could:
- Provide an exclusive welcome offer for their first purchase
- Make them feel like a VIP and as if they joined an exclusive club
- ‘Drip’ a text series of new products, discounts, or exclusive invites
- Tease a few upcoming discounts and freebies they will receive
4. Exclusive VIP Offers for Text Subscribers
The more exclusive you make your text marketing program, the more likely you are to engage customers repeatedly. Ensure that you give customers a good reason to stay subscribed. This means making your SMS program feel exclusive. In your written text messages, make sure to let subscribers know that only SMS subscribers are getting invited to an event, getting a discount, or getting early access to a deal.
5. Personalized Birthday Discounts Each Year
Engage your text subscribers with automated birthday discounts every year. These birthday text messages can do wonders for your brand as they let customers know that you remembered their special day. A personalized birthday discount is engaging because it helps your brand stand out and be top-of-mind for their birthday.
6. Master the Abandoned Cart Workflow
Abandoned carts happen frequently in the ecommerce world. Mastering your abandoned cart workflow can help you engage customers and drive up sales. A simple abandoned cart SMS notification gets your message in front of customers and encourages them to complete a purchase. Here are a few text messages you can use to engage customers who abandoned their carts:
- Simple SMS nudge: Hey, Cheyanne! Your cart misses you > [Link]
- Offer free shipping: Hey, Sierra! Looks like you left something behind. Check out now for free shipping [Link]
- Give a discount: Hey Fred! Here’s a little 10% off coupon. Head back to your cart [Link]
- Create FOMO: Supplies are running low! Get the Puma golf skirt today. Your cart awaits > [Link]
7. Build an SMS Loyalty Program
Customer engagement and loyalty are interconnected. Creating text loyalty programs will boost customer engagement. Additionally, having engaged customers will, in turn, increase the number of loyal customers you have for your business. Here are two creative SMS loyalty program examples:
- Point system: Set it up so that a customer earns one point for every $1 spent, but earns double points for offers claimed via a text link. This encourages customers to purchase using your SMS links. Point systems work best for businesses that encourage short-term and frequent purchases.
- Membership cards: Give SMS subscribers access to a “membership reward card,” where they can earn exclusive discounts or scan it in stores for free rewards.
8. App Download Campaign
Many brands want their clients to download an application, but often struggle to get clients to the app store. Use an SMS campaign to encourage more downloads. You can use a text message campaign to let clients know that if they download your app, they will get a special discount or reward.
For example, you can let clients know that:
- You have an app that they can download to book appointments faster
- Your app lets them browse new collections before anyone else
- You’ll give them a 10% off coupon for downloading the app
9. Win-Back or Re-Engagement Campaigns
If you notice your clients have stopped regularly attending classes or engaging with your brand, send them a text message they can’t resist. This approach works especially well for brands that offer subscription services, such as SaaS platforms or memberships, like gyms.
10. Seasonal Promotions
One of the most popular ways brands use SMS marketing is to share exclusive deals and run seasonal sales. You can use a text message to help boost sales during slower periods or encourage purchases during big shopping days like Black Friday. Either way, ensure that the text and offer feel valuable, relevant, and limited edition. Here are a few ideas for seasonal promotions:
- Early bird access for Black Friday
- Gift guides for Christmas
- Back-to-school discounts
- Offer 31.4% off for Pi Day
- Run a site-wide summer sale
- Run a last-chance sale for the end of the year
11. Anniversary Texts
Similar in concept to a birthday text, anniversary texts go a long way in keeping clients engaged. Send customers an appreciation message on the date they joined your SMS program. This will make them feel special and more engaged with your brand.
12. Helpful Reminders
Remember that customer engagement doesn’t mean just promoting sales. It is a series of ongoing interactions that customers have with your brand. Many customers simply want helpful reminders from your company to improve their satisfaction levels. Use a text message to remind customers about:
- Upcoming appointments
- Scheduled demos
- Seasonal service reminders
- In-home sessions
13. SMS Surveys or Collective Votes
SMS surveys are a great way to engage your audience and get customer feedback. Text surveys can help your business:
- Understand how customers feel about your product
- Give customers a say in your next priorities
- Gain a deeper understanding of their likes and interests
- Get essential data to improve business performance
- Improve engagement by letting customers share their opinions
Tips to Get the Most Engagement From Your Texting Strategy
While the ideas above will help you create engaging SMS campaigns, there are a few things you should keep in mind when executing your texting strategy. This will help you achieve the most engagement with SMS.
- Always get opt-ins. The reason SMS is so effective is that it is a form of opt-in marketing. This means that you must obtain customers' consent first before you can text them. You can also encourage them to text your business first, which is a form of implied consent. Please note that implied consent works for customer service-type use cases.
- Get the timing right. Even the most eye-catching text will sit unread if you time it poorly. Ensure you understand your customers' behavior to determine when to send your mass texts. For example, if you’re a restaurant owner, you may want to send your enticing offer right before lunchtime to maximize engagement.
- A/B test for best results. A core component of any effective marketing and outreach strategy is A/B testing. These tests help you pinpoint exactly what messaging, visuals, and timing resonate most with your audience.
- Include visuals. Multimedia messages have been shown to boost engagement. A photo can help showcase your new product or better explain a complex concept, making it an effective way to boost interest.
- Clear CTAs. Make it obvious what you want your audience to do after reading your message. Make your call to action clear and concise.
- Personalize. Ensure each text message feels personal and relevant. You can do this by segmenting your contact list, personalizing messages with first names, and understanding past behavior.
How to Measure SMS Customer Engagement?
It’s one thing to set a goal to increase customer engagement with SMS, but how do you ensure that improvements happen? Here are the metrics and KPIs you should keep tabs on to understand how SMS is performing and if customer engagement is increasing:
- Open rate. Tells you how often your mass text message is opened.
- Click-through rate. Gets you to understand how many people clicked on your SMS link out of the total number of messages sent.
- Conversion rate. This helps you uncover how many people took your desired action after getting a text message.
- Opt-out rate. Tells you how many people unsubscribed from your SMS program after a text message was sent.
- Response rate. How many people are replying to your messages? This tells you how engaging your texts are.
Drive Sales and Repeat Clients With Textedly’s SMS Customer Engagement Platform
It’s harder than ever before to attract, retain, and engage customers. That’s why SMS is growing in popularity – because it’s a way to stay in contact with customers who want to hear from your brand. If you’re looking for a texting platform that can help you get more sales in as little as seven days, look no further than Textedly. Our SMS marketing platform offers affordable business texting pricing plans, enabling you to start engaging with customers effectively.
But don’t just take our word for it. You can try Textedly for free today. Sign up now.
