Your SMS Response Rate is a key performance metric that shows how effective your outreach is at generating engagement from prospects. Understanding how this metric is calculated allows you to evaluate your campaigns and adjust your messaging strategy as needed.
? Response Rate Formula
The response rate is calculated using the following formula:
This formula gives you the percentage of recipients who replied at least once to your first SMS message.
A“unique response” refers to the first reply from each contact. Multiple replies from the same contact count only once in this calculation.
Why This Metric Matters
Tracking your Response Rate helps you:
Measure how well your message is resonating with your audience
Compare performance across campaigns, markets, or templates
Identify opportunities to improve your messaging strategy
Forecast lead volume and plan follow-up workflows more effectively
What Counts as an "Initial SMS Sent"?
Only the first outbound SMS sent to each contact is counted. Follow-up messages, replies, or multi-step sequences are not included in the total.
Example Calculation
If you send 1,000 initial SMS messages and receive 78 unique replies:
This means 7.8% of your contacts replied to your initial outreach.
Tips to Improve Your Response Rate
Use friendly, short, and localized names in your messages
Test different intros and opening lines to see what resonates
Avoid over-messaging or sending too frequently
Keep messages short, direct, and personal
Use A/B testing to compare different templates and timings
Want to Go Deeper?
Your Account Manager can help you:
Analyze which templates, markets, or timeframes generate higher responses
Identify opportunities to improve targeting
Run A/B tests to refine your approach
Summary
Response Rate = (Unique Responses / Initial SMS Sent) × 100
Reflects how many contacts replied to your first message
Helps track engagement and guide strategic improvements
Only counts the first outbound message and the first reply per contact
If you need help interpreting your campaign performance or planning your next move, reach out to your Customer Success Manager