Texting vs. Email: Which Is Better for Business Communication?

Theyâre not new tools. But theyâre reliable and some of the most widely adopted forms of communication in the world.

So businesses and organizations are turning to SMS text communication to keep connected to their contacts, customers, clients, employees, and teammates.

By the end, youâll know the advantages and benefits of SMS text messaging vs email, voice, and other messaging platforms.

Read on for more.Add SMS Superpowers to Any Business PhoneNo switching carriers. Just add texting. Talk to Sales to get started.

Email has long been the standard for business communication. But with the rise of mobile technology, texting has emerged as an alternative channel. So which is better for modern companies – email or text messaging? In this comprehensive guide, we’ll compare texting vs. email for key factors like open rates, response times, functionality and more.

Key Differences Between Text and Email

Let’s start with a high-level overview of how texting and email differ:

Texting is a mobile-first, conversational medium optimized for short, real-time messages.
Email is better suited for longer, more formal communications that require attachments or threading.
Text open rates exceed 90% compared to 20-30% for email
Texts elicit faster responses with more engagement.
Email offers more advanced features and customization
Texting feels more personal while email maintains professionalism.

Now let’s explore each area in more detail to understand the pros and cons of text vs. email for business.

Open and Response Rates

Two metrics vital to any messaging campaign are open rates and response rates. This is an area where texting clearly outperforms email.

Open rates – Over 98% of text messages are opened, compared to 20-30% of emails. People are more likely to ignore an email in their overflowing inbox versus a new text notification.
Response rates – SMS delivers 6-8 times higher response rates than email on average. Texting is a conversational medium where people expect back-and-forth dialogue.

The intimate, personal nature of texting drives higher engagement. People feel more urgency to respond quickly to texts. Emails are easier to leave unanswered.

Reliability and Deliverability

Another key consideration is how reliably messages reach recipients. For business-critical communications, you need confidence your messages will be delivered.

Texting reliability – SMS delivery rates exceed 99% for most major carriers. Delivery issues primarily arise from invalid numbers or user blocking.
Email deliverability – Various factors like spam filters, firewalls, invalid addresses and more can prevent email delivery. Deliverability rates below 90% are common.

Texting has fewer obstacles to reliable delivery compared to email. But both channels have potential failure points businesses should be aware of.

Features and Functionality

Email provides far more robust features and customization options than text messaging:

Email features – attachments, templates, threading, folders, categorization, etc.
Text features – lightweight, mobile-focused capabilities like group messaging, some automation, and optional MMS.

Email’s expansive capabilities make it better suited for complex communications. Texting’s simplicity and constraints keep messaging focused.

User Experience

Providing a seamless user experience is critical, especially for external communications. So how do text and email compare?

Texting UX – Familiar, lightweight mobile-first interface. Conversational and interactive.
Email UX – More complex with many features. Better for one-way communication.

Surveys show over 85% of consumers prefer texting over email. People view texting as faster, more personal and convenient.

Professionalism

Email maintains a more formal, professional tone suited for certain sensitive or high-stakes communications like:

Legal documents
Investor materials
Job offers
Anything requiring an audit trail

Texting permits a more casual, conversational style optimal for relationship building. The brevity of SMS also encourages getting straight to the point.

Texting vs. Email for Key Business Use Cases

Now that we’ve compared the overall pros and cons, let’s examine some specific business scenarios to determine optimal usage of text vs. email.

Marketing and Promotions

For marketing messages and campaigns, texting provides significant advantages:

Higher open and response rates
Faster lead conversion
Better delivery reliability
More conversational engagement

The only disadvantage is lack of email’s design and formatting capabilities. But the engagement benefits likely outweigh that limitation for most promotional uses.

Verdict: Texting wins for marketing and promotions.

Internal Team Communication

Both email and texting have benefits for communication among employees:

Email pros:

Ability to loop in multiple coworkers
Attach documents and files
Search archives for past threads

Texting pros:

Faster responses and back-and-forth dialogue
Simpler experience from mobile devices
Creates sense of urgency

Texting augments email nicely by enabling quick questions and updates in real-time. Email handles more complex team messages.

Verdict: Text and email together provide the best internal communication.

Customer Service

For customer service, texting offers advantages such as:

Faster response times to resolve issues
Ability to provide status updates
Native mobile experience customers prefer

However, email’s archiving and productivity features better suit long-term service records and complex inquiries.

Verdict: Another split decision – texting for real-time service, email for histories and details.

Appointment Reminders

Appointment reminders are a perfect use case for texting:

High open rates ensure customers see the reminders
Two-way messaging allows confirmation or rescheduling
Native calendar alerts can be created

Verdict: Texting is ideal for appointment reminders.

Legal and Compliance

Any legally sensitive communications or documents require email’s audit trail and lack of message deletion. Texting’s ephemeral and informal nature makes it ill-suited for compliance.

Verdict: Email is required for legal and compliance needs.

Best Practices for Business Texting

If you decide to use texting for business purposes, following best practices will maximize benefits:

Get opt-in consent – Never text anyone without prior permission. Follow all regulations like the TCPA.
Introduce yourself – Identify who you are and what company you represent in initial texts.
Be concise – Get to the point fast. Text in short bursts focused on one topic.
Mind the context – Only text during appropriate hours for personal contacts.
Enable two-way dialogue – Make it easy for recipients to respond or opt-out.
Use autoresponders – Automate replies for common questions to improve response times.

Key Takeaways on Texting vs. Email for Business

For driving action and engagement, texting has decisive advantages over email.
For complex communications and record-keeping, email remains necessary.
Most businesses should leverage both channels based on use case.
Texting offers a faster, simpler, mobile-optimized communication option.
Email provides more features yet can suffer from deliverability issues.
Proper opt-in consent and etiquette are essential when texting customers.

The bottom line is that texting and email are complementary tools in a modern business’s tech stack. Email remains essential for formal transactions, while texting enables real-time dialogue that deepens customer relationships.

Instead of viewing it as an either/or choice, integrate text messaging in addition to email. Route different types of communications to the best channel based on use case. This unified messaging strategy gives your business the flexibility to connect on both levels.

About the Author

I’m a content writer specializing in technology, business and marketing topics. I closely followed the rise of texting for business use and how it’s disrupting traditional email. Comparing the pros and cons of each channel provides great insight into optimal usage.

texting vs email in business

Call or Text? Texting vs Calling

Texting		Calling
Pros:	Cons:	Pros:	Cons:
â Text messaging is universal	ð« Texts rely on carrier networks for delivery	â Phone calls are universal	ð« Susceptible to poor network connections and loud ambient noise
â Everyone has a phone number	ð« Not as personable as a phone call	â Everyone owns a cell phone	ð« People are hesitant to answer the phone
â You can schedule and automate text messages	ð« Automated messaging can sound stale if it isnât well written	â Gets you undivided attention from your audience once they answer	ð« Can only complete one phone call at a time
â Text messaging is nearly instant	ð« Text marketing allows you to share s but file size is limited	â A faster way to find solutions to complex problems and issues	ð« Fewer automation opportunities
â Itâs easy to track text message responses	ð« Contacts need to opt-in to receive messages	â Improves personal engagement with your audience	ð« Lower response and engagement rates

You can save time and personalize text messages with templates, tags, media, and links

Email is the standard for business messaging and communication. Itâs easy to implement tactics for setting up an email and personalizing it.

But texting is just as quick and isnât as formal as an email. Texts give you a chance to loosen a few buttonsâtheyâre more conversational and relaxed.

Text message software also comes with features like templates, tags, media, and links. This makes it easy to personalize text messages in friendly and useful ways.

You can save a text message as a reusable template with business texting software like MessageDesk. This template can include personalization tags that auto-insert a recipients first name into every text.

Is Chat really better than Email?

What are the pros and cons of business text messages and email?

Here’s our breakdown of the pros and cons of business text messages and email. Average open rates are highly important when choosing a business communication tool. The channel that offers a higher open rate gives you the best chance of getting your message across. This is where text messages excel.

What is the difference between email and texting?

Texting and email both offer benefits in certain business situations. While texting may be considered more open, informal and immediate, email shows professional courtesy and establishes a respectful attitude towards new customers or colleagues. Below are some ideas about when to use each type of message style:

Should a business use email or text messaging?

While some businesses choose one method or the other, savvy companies take advantage of both email and text messaging. Because email conveys nuanced messages well, it can be used for in-depth customer service conversations that require lengthy explanations and attachments.

Are email messages better than text messages?

Emails are easy to print and file or download and store on computers. While text messages can be downloaded and stored with appropriate business text messaging software, customers, who wouldn’t have access to those services, may be more comfortable receiving messages they can print and collect. Con: Email are often left unopened and unread.