As a business owner, choosing the best media to market your restaurant can be challenging. When compared side by side, SMS outperforms both free-standing inserts (FSI) and email in coupon delivery.

The Channel Matters as Much as the Message

SMS distinguishes itself from other options as it allows marketers to study redemptions based on location, so they know their message is getting to the right person, in the right place, at the right time. Redemption rates for subscription based SMS Coupons are between 3% and 10%, with some businesses seeing redemptions as high as 13%.

While email can promise to deliver the right message to the right person, it misses the timely distribution that SMS offers. Emails are opened an average of 48 hours after delivery. An email sent out with an offer or discount might not be opened until days later, after your free desert coupon has already expired. Yes, the deal might be a great one, but there is no timeliness or urgency attached to the offer. This could be a contributing factor for email’s low redemption rate – around 2.7%.

FSI, which are tucked into newspapers or magazines, have been trusted to deliver coupons to consumers for years. The widely-accepted redemption rate for FSI is between 0.5% and 2%, which is low when you consider that FSI forces companies to pay for printing, and takes a toll on the environment. When an FSI falls out of my newspaper, I stick it on the fridge, meaning to redeem it later (but it never actually happens). This is quite typical among consumers – 41% say they “always” or “often” forget to bring paper coupons into the store.

The Overlooked Costs of an FSI Redemption

When delivering FSI, companies must pay for design, printing, and distribution – all of which need to be considered when calculating return on investment (ROI). Digital platforms have lower startup fees, and about one third of Sms Coupons featuring unique promotions see ROI well above average, with another 42% see somewhat above-average ROI.

Coupons are a win-win, as they not only help customers save, but also make money for business owners by increasing frequency. Over half of consumers use a coupon at least once in every four purchases. As 83% of consumers prioritize SMS messages over email and other push notifications, it is no surprise that SMS coupons have such high redemption rates. A well-timed lunch offer sent out through SMS is typically read in three minutes or less, providing marketers with the perfect opportunity to strike when they know their customers will be hungry. Reach out to your customers through the channel they prefer, and make your marketing budget go farther.