Understanding when to prioritize an email, SMS, or mobile push
You will learn
Learn about the strengths for each marketing channel (text, email, or mobile push) and times when to send to each first.
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
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.
Pro | Con | Best for | |
Text first | Recipients can see and engage with your message immediately, and there’s less time between sends. | It is more expensive, as you need to send to all your engaged SMS subscribers. | Time-sensitive messages, such as product releases or flash sales. |
Email first | You save on spend while reaching the same audience and having high performance. | 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
These strategies are all good options. You can pick one and use it for all your messaging, or 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. Since you send the text later only if the profile hasn’t engaged or purchased, this approach is lower-cost than starting with a text message.
Mobile push with email or text
In general, push should take priority over text or email. You want to drive people into your app and get them to engage with you again.
It may not be a good use case for push notifications if:
- You want the information to be referenced again.
- Recipients should go to your website (and not your app).
- You want recipients to respond and record that data in Klaviyo (review an item or answer a survey).
- 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]