How to increase SMS conversion rates
You will learn
Learn how to improve your SMS conversion rates as well as about performance benchmarks for campaigns and flows.
Conversion rates show how many of your SMS recipients become customers. This rate plays a critical role in how successful your SMS marketing efforts are.
Before you begin
Conversion rate is the number of conversions attributed to your SMS or MMS divided by the number of recipients.
The benchmarks below show what’s considered good for SMS conversion rates.
| Conversion rate benchmarks |
Campaigns | 1.2–2.2% |
Flows | 1.8–2.2% |
Increase conversion rates
Improve click Rates
When looking to increase your conversion rates, first follow the steps outlined for click rates. After all, the more people who click the link, the more people who will be on your site — and the more who might convert.
Review your CTA
If you find that a lot of people who click your link are not converting, there might be an issue with your content, specifically your CTA. Your CTA should set the right expectations so that someone who navigates to your website knows exactly what they’ll see.
For example, if your SMS message reads: “Hey friend, for the next 2 hours, get 10% off,” but when someone clicks the link, they see that the 10% off is only good for footwear, you’ve got an issue with your content. Since the expectation (10% off anything in the store) didn’t match the reality (10% off footwear), this may lead to a lower conversion rate.
To fix this, include all important details within the message itself. For example, if instead your SMS message reads: “Hey friend, for the next 2 hours, get 10% off all footwear,” you’re more likely to see conversions from the people who are interested in your shoe sale. It’s also a good idea to read your message aloud prior to sending, as it helps you catch any missing information.
Create a personalized experience
Two ways to make your messaging more personalized to your recipient include:
- Creating targeted segments for campaigns
- Using splits in flows
The goal with both of these strategies is to send messages tailored to subscribers’ likes and dislikes, shopping behavior, how they engage with your messages, and any other available information you have.
Campaigns
Clone your original engaged segment and make it more targeted.
Add conditions to the segment so it fits one of your buyer personas. At first, it may be just one condition, like gender, preferences, hobbies, or location. You can also group those who typically shop sale items or who buy from your latest releases.
As you gather more information about your customers, you can combine conditions and tailor your segments even further; for example, grouping those who shop for women's dresses that are on sale.
Flows
You’ll apply a similar method for flows. In this case, use splits to separate customers by their preferences and previous behavior.
Flows: add a dynamic image
Add a dynamic image in your flows to show a subscriber the product they viewed or started their checkout with. As with email, showing the exact product someone expressed an interest in makes them much more likely to finish their purchase.
For more information, check out this article on how to add a dynamic image.
Optimize the mobile checkout experience
A lower conversion rate may not indicate an issue with your message content but rather a subpar checkout experience. If it’s hard for a user to complete their order, many would-be customers give up.
In particular, it’s important to optimize your mobile experience. Since, in this case, many customers will visit your store via a text on their phones, these people will go through mobile checkout. Any friction points will lead to a lower conversion rate and, if not fixed, a higher unsubscribe rate.
Additional resources
Learn more about improving your SMS performance:
- How to increase SMS click rates
Learn how to improve your SMS click rates as well as about performance benchmarks for campaigns and flows.
- How to decrease SMS unsubscribe rates
Learn how to improve your SMS unsubscribe rates and about performance benchmarks for campaigns and flows.
- Understanding and reviewing your SMS deliverability
Learn the important aspects of SMS deliverability, including how to evaluate it and best practices.