Over the past decade, WhatsApp’s growth has been incredible. WhatsApp is without a doubt the most popular instant messaging app in the world. Today WhatsApp plays an increasingly important role in the daily communication of our lives. However, in terms of marketing, is it delivering the expected marketing results?
In fact, there are still business owners who often use bulk SMS to reach their customers and convert effectively through promotional messages.
Now the question is, can businesses use WhatsApp messaging to reach customers and get similar results?
Let’s take a look at the details, explore the marketing opportunities of bulk SMS and WhatsApp, and see which one offers the best ROI.
Bulk SMS outreach is almost universal; WhatsApp messaging outreach is limited
Massive SMS marketing helps entrepreneurs reach unlimited audiences. You can easily reach new target groups with SMS mass marketing. There is no limit to the number a trader can send to their target audience. However, if you use WhatsApp, you will be limited to 256 recipients when sending a “broadcast”.
Bulk SMS has a lower barrier of entry; Whatsapp has higher opt-in requirements
Bulk SMS has a low barrier to entry. Companies can obtain customer contact lists by exporting information from customers who have traded with them, thus supplementing their contact database via SMS.
With WhatsApp, users must explicitly register for a business listing. Users can mark their messages as “spam” and delete the message if it is not in their contact list. Reaching customers via WhatsApp sometimes feels like invading the recipient’s privacy. For bulk SMS, this is generally not considered an invasion of privacy.
SMS feature is pre-installed on every phone; WhatsApp must be installed by users manually
With bulk SMS, retailers can reach all end users as an SMS function is pre-installed on every phone. Users do not need to install any software themselves. However, when it comes to WhatsApp, users have to manually install it on their devices. If a merchant wants to know whether the recipient has WhatsApp activated on the device or not, the only option is to add the recipient’s contacts one by one, update WhatsApp, and see if the new contact has WhatsApp installed on their device. It is certainly a long, tedious, and inconvenient process when you want to trade something on a grand scale.
SMS as One-time Password (OTP); WhatsApp does not support features like this
As internet security becomes more and more important, two-factor authentication is now seen as an important security feature for websites with a lot of sensitive personal information. One of the most frequently implemented security functions there is a one-time SMS code or OTP SMS. It’s simple, straightforward, and it gives users another layer of security by helping the system verify your identity by verifying your device as well as your credentials. It can be easily implemented through an API to enable SMS OTP for users who interact with your site. However, WhatsApp does not provide the public with any type of API that can perform such an action.
Cost
The price of SMS keeps dropping and you can still get discounts when you shop in bulk. The price of WhatsApp messages for business now seems to be more expensive than that of SMS.
Conclusion
For all of the reasons above, marketers can say that bulk SMS marketing is definitely a better choice. By using bulk SMS, marketers can run marketing campaigns efficiently and quickly. If you’re interested in bulk SMS, then you should definitely check out Get It SMS bulk SMS marketing service. We provide a reliable, affordable bulk SMS marketing service that allows you to reach bulk SMS anywhere in the world.
