Understanding when to prioritize an email, SMS, or mobile push
You will learn
Learn about the strengths of each marketing channel (text, email, or mobile push) and when to prioritize each one.
Note that there is no single “right” answer. The best channel to use depends on your audience and message. The advice shared here is a starting point, and you should always test and evaluate what works best for your brand.
Before you begin
Choose from the channels each recipient can receive. Email consent does not also provide SMS or mobile push consent. Mobile push requires a mobile app connected to Klaviyo and recipients who have opted in to push notifications.
Each channel has its own pros and cons.
For instance, the positives of the channels are:
Text | Mobile push | |
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These benefits are also visualized in the image below.
Text and email
There are 3 strategies you can use with text and email. You can:
- Send a text first, then follow up with an email.
- Send an email first, then follow up with a text.
- Send an email and text at the same time, then follow up via whichever channel the recipient engages with.
Allow for SMS quiet hours when planning time-sensitive messages. Quiet hours can delay a flow text until an allowed sending time.
Pro | Con | Best for | |
Text first | Recipients can see and engage with your message immediately, and there’s less time between sends. | Can use more SMS sends than an email-first approach that limits texts to subscribers who have not engaged or purchased. | Time-sensitive messages, such as product releases or flash sales. |
Email first | You can reduce SMS spend by following up only with subscribers who have neither engaged with the email nor purchased. | Staggered engagement and not as immediate as sending SMS first. | Any flows or campaigns that are not time sensitive, such as up-/cross-sell automations and newsletter campaigns |
Send text and email at the same time | Reach users on their preferred channel. | Means instantly double-messaging SMS subscribers, which can frustrate them if they get both the text and email alert. | Flows with high engagement, such as abandoned cart or post-purchase. Do not use in campaigns, sunset flows, or winback flows. |
Open the dropdowns below to see how these different strategies look for an abandoned cart flow.
Prioritize text
Prioritize email
Send both text and email at the same time
Choose a strategy based on your audience and message, using the recommendations in the table above. You can switch between them depending on the situation.
For instance, some businesses prefer to set up their mixed text and email flows, prioritizing email. The reason is that flow messages (except the welcome flow) tend not to be as time sensitive as campaigns. Set up your flow’s filters or split conditions so the text only goes to profiles who have neither engaged with the email nor purchased. Sending fewer texts can reduce your SMS spend.
Mobile push with email or text
In general, prioritize push when your goal is to bring subscribers back into your app and get them to engage with you again.
Mobile push can also open your website using the Open external URL action. This can take recipients to a page where they can leave a product review or answer a survey.
It may not be a good use case for push notifications if:
- You want the information to be referenced again.
- You need recipients to reply directly to the message and record their response in Klaviyo.
- Certain flows where a push might be seen as strange (thank you flows or canceled order).
Additional resources
- How to use email, SMS, and push together
Learn how to use SMS, email, and push notifications together, including what makes each channel unique, what to send first, and more.
- Add push to your omnichannel strategy
- SMS marketing strategies for all levels [+12 Pro tips]