SMS vs Email Marketing for Local Businesses

Open rates: it's not close

The headline difference is attention. Email open rates for local businesses typically sit in the low-to-mid twenties percent, and a good chunk of that is delayed by hours. Text messages are read within minutes the overwhelming majority of the time.

For anything time-sensitive — a birthday offer, a today-only special, an appointment reminder — that gap decides whether the message does its job. If it has to be seen today, it should be a text.

Cost: email is cheaper per message

Email costs a fraction of a cent to send; a text costs a few cents. That makes email the right tool for longer, less urgent content — a monthly update, a story, a full menu — where you're sending a lot of volume and immediacy doesn't matter.

The economics still favor texts where it counts: a birthday text that costs a few cents and produces a visit worth many dollars is one of the best returns in marketing, even at the higher per-message price.

Compliance: texts need more care

Both channels require permission and an easy opt-out, but SMS is more strictly regulated. You need clear opt-in consent, you must honor STOP immediately, and business texting in the US runs through a registration process (A2P 10DLC). A good platform handles the registration and opt-outs for you; doing it yourself by hand is where businesses get into trouble.

The answer: use both, for different jobs

Use email for depth and volume: newsletters, full details, storytelling, anything not tied to a specific day. Use SMS for moments that must be seen now: birthday gifts, flash offers, reminders.

The strongest birthday campaigns send both — an email with the full gift details and a short text that guarantees it's seen. You get email's richness and SMS's attention without choosing between them.