What is “received SMS”?

“Received SMS” is a status metric that indicates when a subscriber has received a text from your brand.

While “received SMS” isn’t directly tied to customer engagement, it is part of the “SMS deliverability” umbrella. SMS deliverability rates are important for maintaining a good sender reputation with mobile carriers.

4 ways to improve your SMS deliverability

  1. Use double opt-in: Make sure your SMS subscriber lists contain accurate, up-to-date phone numbers. You can do this with double opt-in, which requires subscribers to confirm their number with a keyword before being added to your list.
  2. Use a trusted sending number: Send SMS messages from a short code or a verified number to avoid issues with delivery and build trust with your subscribers.
  3. Send relevant, valuable content: Tailor your messages to different segments of your audience, so you’re always sending content that’s relevant and less likely to be flagged as spam.
  4. Be mindful of frequency: According to a Klaviyo survey, 57% of Europeans have unsubscribed from SMS because they receive too many messages. That being said, 72% of Europeans also said they are willing to see a text from a brand at least once per week. This is why you’ll need to send text messages regularly once you start—if you don’t, your subscribers may forget why they signed up in the first place and end up unsubscribing.

Ready to start sending powerful SMS campaigns and automated flows that boost sales? Sign up for Klaviyo today and make it easy to maintain high SMS deliverability with easy-to-read metrics dashboards, automated list cleaning, and segmentation.

Additional resources