How to Use Phone Number Data to Increase SMS Open Rates

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SMS marketing remains one of the most effective communication channels, with open rates often exceeding 90%. However, to fully capitalize on this potential, businesses must use phone number data strategically to ensure messages are not only delivered but also opened and acted upon. Proper segmentation, personalization, timing, and compliance all play key roles in increasing SMS open rates.

1. Segment Your Audience
Not all customers are the same. Use phone number data to segment your audience based on demographics, location, purchase history, and engagement behavior. For example, sending promotional texts to users who recently interacted with your brand or purchased a product is more likely to yield high open rates than sending to a cold list.

Segmentation Ideas:

New vs. returning customers

Recent purchase activity

Geographic location based on area codes

Time zone and preferred hours of engagement

2. Personalize Your Messages
Generic messages get ignored. By linking phone numbers to customer profiles, you can personalize SMS content with the customer’s name, preferences, or past purchases. Personalization creates relevance, which increases the likelihood that your message will be opened.

Example:
“Hi Alex, your favorite running shoes are back in stock—order now and get 10% off!”

3. Optimize Timing and Frequency
Phone number data often includes time zone or location jordan phone number list information, which you can use to schedule SMS messages at optimal times—typically during waking hours and not during commuting or late-night hours. Avoid sending too many messages, which can lead to opt-outs or message fatigue.

Best Practices:

Send messages between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time

Limit SMS frequency to avoid overwhelming users

Use A/B testing to determine peak engagement hours

4. Maintain Clean, Verified Lists
Invalid or outdated phone numbers hurt deliverability and skew performance metrics. Use phone number validation tools to ensure numbers are active, correctly formatted, and SMS-compatible. Clean data ensures your messages reach real users, improving your open rate potential.

5. Respect Privacy and Gain Consent
Always ensure that users have opted in to receive SMS messages. This not only keeps you compliant with regulations like GDPR and TCPA but also means your audience expects and welcomes your messages—drastically improving open rates.

Conclusion
To increase SMS open rates, businesses must go beyond simply sending messages. By using phone number data to segment audiences, personalize content, optimize timing, and ensure clean data and consent, SMS campaigns become more effective, impactful, and welcomed by recipients.