All businesses big and small need to continuously reexamine the ways they’re interacting with their customers, to see if they’re staying up to date with new technologies and channels that their customers prefer to use. Today, one of the most preferred methods of communication is SMS or text messaging and brands of all sizes have added an SMS campaign to their marketing strategy. If your business has yet to add the SMS channel, here are eight reasons why you can’t go without it any longer.

SMS campaigns are easier to run and implement

Text message marketing campaigns are easier to manage than ever thanks to the growing number of bulk SMS platforms that help brands to automate their campaigns. Simply sign up with one of these platforms, register a shortcode and keyword, tell customers what the shortcode and keyword is so that they can easily opt in to receive your texts, and you’re ready to start writing and sending text messages. It’s far easier than producing a radio or TV commercial or writing and designing a print advertisement.

Your audience is receptive

Imagine airing a radio ad that 100% of listeners are receptive to. How much more effective would that be than an audience who immediately turns the station when the commercials begin to air as most people do?

SMS is different from other channels in that every recipient of your text messages has to give you permission first. On the one hand, that means a smaller audience. But on the other hand, it means an audience made up of people who want to receive your text messages and who are far more likely to act on them.

It’s extremely effective

Building off of the last point, SMS is extremely effective when it comes to the likelihood of people reading, clicking through, and acting on text messages. Approximately 98% of all text messages you send will be opened. Can that be said about any other marketing channel? More than one-third of all recipients will click on a link that you include in the text message. Coupons sent via text are three to four times more likely to be redeemed that coupons sent via email and ten times more likely to be redeemed than coupons sent via mail.

It’s immediate

Not only are 98% of text messages opened, but 90% of them are opened within the first three minutes of being sent. Imagine being able to send out a time sensitive message and knowing that nine out of every ten will get that message in just three minutes.

SMS Marketing is affordable

Text messages cost about one penny to send per recipient. While that may seem high compared to email, the overall cost effectiveness is better when you consider how much more likely SMS recipients are to read and act on the message.

It’s short and to-the-point

In the digital age, people–and especially young people–have shorter attention spans. Even 30 second radio or TV commercials can strain a person’s attention span. Text messages, on the other hand, are limited to just 160 characters so people can read them in about five seconds or less.

SMS marketing is easy to track

With TV, radio, and printed advertisements, it can be hard to measure how many people are actually seeing or hearing them and even harder to know how many are acting on them. Bulk SMS platforms come with easy-to-use tools that allow you to see open and click-through rates at a glance as well as the average conversion time. You can see all of this on a per text message basis so you know which types of messages and offers are most effective, and which ones need to be fine tuned.

SMS use is still growing

You might assume that SMS use has already reached its peak and that the growing popularity of messaging apps are taking away some SMS users. But SMS is actually still growing in popularity. Approximately 85% of the 18-65 age group own a cellphone and 75% of 13-17 year-olds have one as well. The over 65 age group has the lowest cellphone ownership rate but it’s also the demographic whose ownership rate is growing the fastest.