List growth rate

This is a measure of how fast your subscriber list is growing. This growth rate can be calculated on a weekly, monthly, or yearly basis. A steady growth rate means you are acquiring new customers and retaining them consistently. If the growth rate reduces you should look for solutions in two places – marketing to acquire new users and attrition of existing users.

You can calculate this weekly or monthly, by dividing the increase in this time period with the original number of subscribers at the start

Formula = (Subscribers at end of a time period – subscribers at the beginning)/(subscribers at the beginning of the time period)

List size

This metric is the total number of phone numbers subscribed to your campaign. This number does not necessarily equal the number of customers reached, since there will inevitably be some inactive phone numbers. But this is the best metric for measuring how large your subscriber base is.

Attrition rate

Some customers will inevitably unsubscribe from your text marketing campaigns. Some will do so because they are simply no longer interested in your service, but others will because they find your messages intrusive or the value proposition lacking. Changing the frequency and content of your messages may lower your attrition rate. You need to work to tune the content and frequency until you reach an acceptable attrition rate.

To reduce the risk of high attrition you can segment your audience on Gleantap and run different campaigns to each segment and understand which messaging converts more.

Formula = (Opt outs during the week or month)/original number subscribers at the beginning of the week or month

Response rate

This metric is the primary measure of effectiveness for an individual broadcast. It’s a measurement of how many subscribers have taken action after receiving a text message. Keeping track of this statistic will let you know what format for messages is most effective. Other factors to consider are timing, message structure, and offer type.

Not all messages may have a response rate component to them. For example you could be sending your customers fitness tips if you are a gym and in those moments, you should look at open rate

Formula = offers redeemed/total offers delivered

Acquisition cost per subscriber

This metric is used to measure the cost of acquiring a mobile subscriber. Comparing this cost to the average profit of a subscriber tells you how much you can offer customers to sign up to your list.

Return on investment

This metric is used to determine the overall effectiveness of your text marketing, either on a per-campaign basis or over all your campaigns. As long as this metric is in positive territory, your campaigns are successful.