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In today’s fast-paced world, we are always on the go and looking for ways to simplify our lives. As a frequent traveler, I can attest to the convenience of receiving real-time updates on my flights and hotel reservations through SMS and push notifications. These channels have become essential tools for businesses to engage with their customers in real time, providing valuable information and personalized experiences.

According to a survey by eMarketer, over 60% of consumers say they have opted into receiving push notifications from brands they like.

A friend of mine recently shared a success story about how she received a push notification from her hotel offering a discount on a spa treatment during her stay. This personalized message improved her experience at the hotel and encouraged her to book the spa treatment, increasing revenue for the business.

However, there are also potential downsides to consider. Customers may feel overwhelmed if they receive too many messages or if the messages are not relevant to their interests. Additionally, businesses must ensure they are compliant with regulations and protect customer privacy when using these channels.

In this article, we will explore the pros and cons of connecting with customers through SMS and push notifications.

SMS

SMS, or Short Message Service, is a widely used communication channel that enables businesses to connect with customers via text messages. With billions of mobile phone users worldwide, SMS offers an unparalleled reach and immediacy that can help businesses drive engagement, sales and customer loyalty. However, to succeed with SMS marketing, businesses need to understand the nuances of this channel and follow best practices to ensure they deliver relevant, valuable, and personalized messages that resonate with their audience.

• High open rates: SMS messages have an average open rate of 98%, which is significantly higher than email marketing. This means that the majority of your audience is likely to see your message, increasing the chances of conversion.
• Immediate delivery: SMS messages are delivered instantly, making them a great way to share time-sensitive information like flash sales, limited-time offers, and event invitations.
• High engagement: SMS messages have an average response rate of 45%, which is significantly higher than other marketing channels. This high engagement makes SMS a great way to communicate with customers and build loyalty.
• Personalization: Personalization is a key advantage of SMS marketing. By using customer data, businesses can craft messages that speak directly to their audience’s interests and preferences. In fact, studies have shown that personalized SMS messages have a 209% higher response rate compared to generic messages.

CONS

• Be mindful of character count: SMS messages are limited to 160 characters, so make sure your message is clear and concise. Avoid using slang or abbreviations that may be confusing to customers.
• Opt-In requirement: Obtaining customer consent before sending SMS messages is essential, but it can be a barrier to reaching a wider audience. Offer value to customers and build trust over time to increase opt-ins.
• Using SMS in combination with other marketing channels: Email and social media can amplify your message and reach a wider audience. Businesses can follow up with an SMS message to those who clicked on the email or engaged with the social media post, reminding them of the offer and encouraging them to take advantage of it before it expires.
• SMS messages can be more expensive than push notifications, particularly for businesses with a large customer base. This is because SMS messages often incur a per-message fee, while push notifications are typically free.

Push Notifications

Push notifications have become a popular way for businesses to engage with their customers. These notifications are short messages that pop up on a user’s phone, even when they’re not actively using the app. With the ability to include rich media, such as images and videos, push notifications offer an effective way to grab your audience’s attention.

But how do push notifications work, and what are some benchmarks to keep in mind when using them for your business? Let’s take a closer look.

PROS

Instant communication: Push notifications provide real-time updates, ensuring that your target audience receives your message immediately, fostering instant engagement. (Example: Flash sales, limited-time offers, or breaking news.)

Enhanced user retention: Push notifications have been shown to increase 30-day app retention rates by 3-10 times. By re-engaging inactive users with personalized content or offers, marketers can improve the long-term success of their apps.

Geofencing and location-based marketing: Marketers can leverage location data to send contextually relevant push notifications. For instance, a retail store could send a promotional offer when a user is near their physical location, increasing the chances of a store visit.

A/B testing and optimization: Marketers can conduct A/B tests with different messaging, creatives, and timing to optimize push notifications for better engagement and conversion. Marketing automation software like Unica Deliver allow for easy experimentation and performance tracking.

CONS

User annoyance: Inappropriate or excessive push notifications can lead to a 71% uninstall rate (Leanplum). For example, if a news app sends too many notifications, users may get annoyed and uninstall the app.

Limited reach: Users must opt-in to receive push notifications, and the average opt-in rate is around 53%. This means almost half of the users may not receive your messages.

Platform restrictions: Some platforms, like iOS, have stricter rules for push notifications, limiting their use for promotional purposes. In addition, iOS users tend to have lower opt-in rates (41%) compared to Android users (91%) (Airship).

Message overload: With numerous apps sending push notifications, users may experience message fatigue, leading to decreased engagement and notification blindness.

Push Notifications and SMS: When to Use What?

Use Cases for SMS:

• Sending time-sensitive information: SMS is great for delivering urgent messages that require immediate attention, such as flight cancellations or emergency alerts.
• Sharing promotions and coupon codes: SMS is an effective channel for sharing limited-time offers and discount codes with customers.
• Providing order tracking info: SMS can be used to provide customers with real-time updates on their order status, increasing transparency and customer satisfaction.
• Sending appointment and billing reminders: SMS is a reliable way to send reminders for appointments or bill payments, reducing the risk of missed appointments or late payments.
• Providing technical support: SMS can be used to provide customers with quick and convenient technical support, such as password resets or troubleshooting tips.
• Collecting user feedback: SMS can be used to collect feedback from customers through surveys or polls, providing valuable insights for businesses.
• Helping users take the next step: In a series of actions, like clicking a link to complete their online check-in, SMS can be used to guide customers through a series of steps, such as completing an online check-in or downloading a mobile app.

Use Cases for Push Notifications:

• Sending real-time order updates: With services like meal delivery,push notifications are great for providing real-time updates on order status, such as when a meal is being prepared or is on its way.
• Reducing abandoned carts: By reminding customers to come back and complete their purchase, push notifications can be used to remind customers about items left in their cart, encouraging them to complete their purchase.
• Sharing company news updates: Depending upon the user’s content preferences, push notifications can be used to share company news and updates that are relevant to the user’s interests.
• Alerting users about upcoming events: Push notifications can be used to remind users about upcoming events, such as a concert or a webinar.
• Promoting new content: Like a just-published blog post or a free guide, push notifications can be used to promote new content or resources, increasing engagement and driving traffic to a website.
• Adding value: Push notifications can be used to suggest products or services based on a user’s browsing history or purchase history, providing a personalized experience and creating buy-in.
• Communicating service updates: Push notifications can be used to communicate service updates or alerts, such as weather updates or power outages in a specific area.
• Sending discounts or limited-time offers: Push notifications can be used to share limited-time offers or discounts with customers, increasing the chances of a purchase.

Both SMS and push notifications offer unique advantages and challenges when it comes to connecting with customers. While SMS provides high open rates, immediate delivery, and a wide reach, push notifications offer cost-effective, engaging experiences with rich media support and geo-targeting capabilities.

With Unica Deliver and Unica Campaign, you can create, optimize and manage your campaigns across both channels seamlessly. With Unica Deliver and Unica Campaign, you’ll have access to advanced targeting, personalization, and analytics features, enabling you to reach the right audience with the right message, at the right time. By leveraging their capabilities, you can enhance your marketing strategy, boost customer engagement, and drive better results across both SMS and push notification channels.

The digital transformation that forward-looking companies are intent on making requires the adoption of a platform that streamlines operations, reduces costs, and taps the full potential of the workforce — a low-code application development platform.

Here are the basics about low code and why it offers the best solution for sustainable success in today’s dynamic business environment.

What is a low-code application development platform?

A low-code development platform is an integrated software development environment that’s used to create apps through a graphical user interface. Before low code, building apps meant long development cycles of writing complicated code, then testing and debugging the software. A low-code app development platform (LCAP) replaces coding with intuitive visual tools, saving resources and requiring no advanced training to deliver sophisticated apps quickly and efficiently.

No-code platforms are even simpler to use and are particularly valuable to business users for finding innovative workplace solutions. This includes solving problems such as customer quotations and pricing approvals, employee onboarding, job applications, and CRM, which result in empowering employees and improving the customer experience.

Why are low-code platforms important? Why are low-code/no-code platforms becoming popular?

No code is the fastest, easiest, most cost-effective way to build business apps and empower citizen developers in the workplace to gain quick insights, eliminate wasteful procedures, collaborate, and innovate. Employees without any software engineering skills can create industry-specific apps that were once the sole province of IT departments.

Placing app-building capabilities in the hands of employees is crucial for an organization to stay competitive in our world where digitization and data are key to success. With more and more companies relying on low code / no code to automate antiquated systems and processes, Gartner predicts that low code will power the creation of 70% of new applications by 2025.

What are the benefits of low code?

A low-code platform can help businesses meet their most essential goals: reduce waste, replace inefficient systems with new cost-effective processes, and access fast, accurate insights that lead to enhanced business outcomes and improved employee and customer satisfaction.

Additionally, these platforms lessen the risk of so-called “shadow IT” — digital solutions created by employees that are not under the purview of the IT department — and even offer the prospect of turning these resources into assets.

“It’s worth acknowledging two truths: shadow IT is essential for business operations, and talent capable of creating applications often resides outside the IT department,” write McKinsey experts. “Despite its utility, shadow IT poses a serious security risk to all organizations, but enterprises have an incredible opportunity to transform it into an area of innovation and speed.”

A powerful low-code platform improves efficiency and increases productivity while reducing risk and eliminating the need to revamp old systems or hire additional personnel to adopt a new platform. HCL Domino Leap, for instance, is a proven platform that Fortune 500 companies depend on to leverage the power, security, and innovative technology they need to stay on the leading edge.

How secure is a low-code platform?

A company’s data is its most valuable asset. That’s why top-flight businesses rely on low-code platforms that have rock-solid security, governance and control, email security, and easy integration in their DNA.

Low-code platforms have strong built-in security and when combined with a set of zero-trust rules, they can prevent most data breaches and cyberattacks. What’s more, they include a set of tools to counter the infamous human factor.

“No matter how good the low-code tool is, there’s still a chance that employees will be tempted to create applications beyond the security radar,” Jonathan Reed writes in Security Intelligence. “For this reason, built-in permissions go a long way in maintaining good governance.” Proper training, testing and gate-keeping are key here.

For years, HCL Domino has set a standard for security in the app dev world. It’s so reliable, safe and secure that accounting firms and banks trust their audit processes to Domino Leap.

What can I do with no code? What can I build with a low-code platform?

A no-code platform lets employees create their own tools to help them do their jobs better and more efficiently. Rather than putting in a request to the IT department to come up with a solution to improve workflow, they can do it themselves — in any aspect of the business ecosystem.

From tracking expenses to the submission and approval of documents to case management and candidate recruitment, a high-performance low-code platform such as HCL Domino Leap enables the workforce to easily implement workplace enhancements and gain real-time insights that drive innovation. Check out the Domino Leap showroom to see what’s possible.

How long does it take to put a low-code platform into place?

Switching to a low-code platform transforms businesses, but it is not a time-consuming process. It can be up and running in days, not the weeks or months that adopting a new platform often takes.

Right out of the box, Domino Leap is complete and fully secure in one install — an all-in-one application server ready to help start solving business challenges. The latest version offers low code and a host of features that make it easier than ever to tap the full potential of citizen developers while improving employee and customer experiences.

The best news? Update to the latest version of HCL Domino to take full advantage of this visionary solution.

Will low code replace programmers?

Low code puts app-building capability in the hands of novice developers and designers instead of relying on seasoned software engineers. But it doesn’t eliminate the need for coding or for sophisticated programming experts.

That means that programmers will be less relied upon by the general workforce for all IT-related requests and can focus on higher-level issues like planning, architecture, DevOps, and security.

By mitigating the risk of shadow IT, low-code platforms further un-burden IT professionals from having to perform low-level but necessary tasks — speeding up development time and improving productivity and employee satisfaction.

Does digital transformation require coding?

The rise of no-code and low-code platforms has transformed the work traditionally performed by professional developers, but coding is still very much a valued and necessary part of the move toward digital transformation.

Low code automates thousands of basic tasks, but software engineering skills are still required for high-level innovation, custom development of consumer applications, and other vital initiatives.

In today’s business landscape, speed is of the essence. As organizations continue to prioritize digital transformation, they are increasingly turning to low-code platforms to speed up that initiative.

Is low-code development faster?

The success of low-code platforms in speeding up the app-development process has transformed the business world in recent years. What used to take weeks or months of traditional development can now be accomplished and put into practice in a matter of hours or even minutes.

HCL Domino Leap enables citizen developers to build applications with ready-made components — such as customer lead capture, special customer offers or business dashboards — in minutes. With minimal effort, employees can make their apps mobile and web-ready, meeting customers (and their colleagues) where they are and giving them the accessibility they want. Once an app is finished, it then can be turned into a template for others to use.

Is low code scalable? How customizable is a low-code platform?

Scalability is a key feature of any high-performance low-code/no-code development platform. An agile, intuitive interface and ease of use means employees can continually come up with new solutions and processes based on up-to-the-minute insights without the involvement of a company’s IT professionals. Whether it’s a mining operation or a clothing retailer, end users can create industry-specific apps that maximize efficiency and tap their own creative potential.

No code includes pre-configured visual tools that make it easy for business users with no formal software training to develop custom apps — without writing a single line of code. Guided by a user experience that takes them through the process, citizen developers can easily customize the way their apps look and function. As businesses grow, they can leverage more citizen developers to collaborate and improve their workflows.

HCL Domino Leap offers enterprises a low-code development platform that accelerates the design, building, and deployment of applications while eliminating the need to revamp old systems or hire new personnel to adopt a new platform.

The drive toward digitization and the rise of citizen developers across the business landscape have raised low-code development to a position of strategic importance. Low code’s many advantages — ease of use, security, productivity improvement — align with goals and objectives of organizations challenged to keep pace with the ever-increasing speed of application delivery.

Low code offers a solution that taps the potential of a company’s resources — both human and digital — leading to improved outcomes across the board. Give HCL Domino Leap a try now!