"Should we use text or email?" is one of the most common questions we hear. The honest answer is both. They do different jobs, and businesses get the most from each when they stop treating them as competitors.

Here's how the two channels compare, and how to decide which one to use for which message.

How they're different

Where the message lands

Email arrives in an inbox shared with newsletters, receipts and promotions, often sorted into tabs or filtered as spam. A text arrives in the same thread as messages from friends and family, with its own notification. That's why texts tend to get seen quickly, and why customers hold businesses to a higher standard there.

How much room you have

Email has space for images, multiple products, long stories and detailed instructions. A standard text is 160 characters, or longer with a picture message (MMS). Text forces you to get to the point. Email lets you explain.

Speed

Email is good for things that can be read later. Text is good for things that matter now: a reservation reminder, a same-day special, a class with open spots, a schedule change because of weather.

Conversation

Customers reply to texts the way they'd reply to a friend: a quick question, a confirmation, a thank-you. Email replies are rarer and slower. If you want a two-way relationship, text is the more natural place for it.

The permission that comes with it

Both channels require opt-in, but giving a business your phone number feels more personal than giving it your email. That makes text subscribers valuable, and it means overusing the channel costs more. People will tolerate a busy inbox. They won't tolerate a busy text thread.

When to use email

  • Newsletters, stories and longer updates
  • Showing a full menu, schedule or product range
  • Messages people may want to come back to later
  • Detailed instructions, policies or announcements

When to use text

  • Reminders for appointments, classes and reservations
  • Time-sensitive offers and same-day openings
  • Welcome messages the moment someone joins
  • Mobile coupons customers redeem at the counter
  • Quick questions and two-way conversations
  • Urgent updates like closures and schedule changes

Better together

The businesses that get the most from both channels use them in sequence:

  • Announce by email, remind by text. Send the full event details by email, then a short text the day before.
  • Grow one list from the other. Invite email subscribers to join your text list for perks they can't get anywhere else. See our email-to-SMS templates.
  • Let behavior pick the channel. Someone who never opens your emails but always redeems your text coupons is telling you something.
  • Keep the message consistent. The offer in the text should match the email and the sign at the counter.

The bottom line

Email is the place for depth. Text is the place for action and conversation. Use each for what it does best, and use texting sparingly enough that customers are glad to see your name in their messages.

Mobiniti connects to the tools you already use, including your email platform, so the two channels work together instead of in separate silos. Book a demo to see how.