The days of only using one way to market are over. Instead, marketers can now reach out to customers through many different channels. And customers expect businesses to use all of them to give them the best experience. SMS marketing for small businesses can work well with social marketing because it lets you send targeted and effective messages to customers and potential customers in real-time. Let’s talk about what SMS marketing service platforms are and how you can use their software as part of your marketing plan.
What is SMS Marketing?
Sending marketing messages through text messages is called SMS marketing. It’s a type of marketing that requires people to sign up for it. This makes it different from social marketing, where the marketer posts public content that people can choose to like or follow. Some common examples of SMS marketing are:
- Customized advertising
- Discounts or deals
- Remarketing
- Surveys
Customers are getting more and more used to talking to businesses on their phones. Most of the time, they expect to be able to message or text businesses.
So it’s not surprising that more than half of U.S. retailers planned to spend more on digital marketing for messaging and SMS in January 2020, before COVID-19 changed the way businesses talk to customers.
By June 2020, that number had gone up to 56%, making it the best place to invest in any other area.
What is SMS Marketing Software?
SMS marketing software are tools that businesses to have two-way conversations with their clientele by sending them text messages. Mass texting campaigns are a common way for businesses to interact with their clientele. This kind of communication is preferable because it is inherent to most mobile phones; therefore, clients need not install any additional software to receive these texts. Marketers have the option of sending their messages to both Android and iOS smartphones.
Staying in the minds of current consumers and attracting new ones is a simple task for businesses nowadays. Customers’ everyday reliance on mobile phones lends an intimate feel to SMS marketing. This is important for companies to remember when crafting their advertising campaigns. Successful SMS campaigns may be easily distinguished from underperformers on the finest SMS marketing platforms thanks to their built-in analytical features, allowing marketers to immediately adjust their tactics.
What are the Common Features of SMS Marketing Software?
The capability of SMS marketing tools varies widely depending on the use cases for which they were designed. The following is a list of some of the most often encountered features found in this software:
- Bulk SMS
- Two-way messaging
- Text scheduling
- Transactional SMS
- Multimedia messaging service (MMS)
- Reporting
- Personalization
- White labeling
- Short code
Benefits of SMS Marketing Service for Small Businesses
SMS marketing service for small businesses is better than other kinds of digital marketing in a number of ways.
1. It’s Fast
Marketing with text messages is fast in more than one way. Unlike on social media or email marketing, you don’t need to make any images to go with your content. Text messages also have a small number of characters you can use, so you don’t have to write a lot. They are quick to make and easy to send.
Second, texts get to people faster than a post on Instagram or an email. When your customers get a text from you, their phones let them know right away. They must open a social networking app or email client to see your other advertisements.
2. It Has Near-Perfect Open Rates
If you want your messages read, text them. 98% of marketing texts are opened, which is about 100%. Mailchimp did a study and found that the average number of people who open a marketing email is 21.3%.
3. It Gets High Response Rates
Since a lot of people open SMS, a lot of people also answer it. The average response rate to an SMS marketing service message is 45%, while the average click-through rate for an email is only 7%. When you send a link to a customer via text message instead of email, they are much more likely to click on it.
SMS Marketing for Small Businesses Platforms
Now, we’ll talk about the best SMS marketing services for small business platforms that will help you connect with your customers, keep them interested, and make more money.
#1. Omnisend
Don’t bother with the hassle of using different tools for SMS; Omnisend is one of the SMS marketing service platforms that lets you add SMS to your emails. Add push alerts to automated texts and emails in a single workflow to provide users with a personalized experience.
You can get SMS workflows for birthdays, cart abandonment, shipping confirmation, and many other things with just a few clicks from Ominsend’s library. Furthermore, you can use features that are easy to set up and have no limits on how they can be used. This lets you reach your customers and audiences wherever they are.
You can even reach people all over the world since it supports country codes for text-only messages from every country. This will help you convert more international customers. With Omnisend’s TCPA-compliant tools for building SMS lists, you can get contact information from site visitors through popups, landing pages, a wheel of fortune, signup boxes, and more.
Their automation workflows are already set up, which will save you time and effort. Set up flash sales and use SMS to promote the newest items. You can also add pictures and GIFs to get more people to pay attention. Find out how your SMS works and what to put in it to get more sales. Omnisend works with Gorgias to improve the value of customer retention with two-way SMS that keeps your customers more interested.
#2. EZ Texting
EZ Texting is a cool tool that can help you grow your SMS marketing service. By creating customer groups, you can easily import contacts and add a personal touch to your SMS campaigns, which will help you get more people to sign up.
There is no limit on the number of contacts, and you can talk to specific customers one-on-one through two-way messaging.
You can also add images to help the text and a way for customers to opt-out of healthy customer interaction.
Also, the pre-made templates and Shutterstock integration add a unique touch to your marketing efforts.
Signup forms and QR code redirects can build your SMS list. You’ll give users terms they can text to sign up for campaigns.
There are also automated texts, replies, schedules, reminders, etc. so that you never miss a lead that could be important.
And EZ Texting can work with Hubspot, Constant Contact, and Mailchimp. You can also use Zapier to connect it to thousands of other apps. But you can also build custom integrations with their Rest API.
#3. TextMagic
TextMagic is an SMS marketing service that is easy for your customers to use. It lets you send alerts, confirmations, SMS marketing, and notifications whenever and wherever you want. Using SMS marketing software, you can send personalized text messages to your staff, suppliers, and customers.
Once you log in to your account, you can send mass texts to users in more than 190 countries. Change emails into SMS messages that can be sent to any smartphone. You can add SMS gateway API to text messages right from the app. You can easily send and receive SMS online with the marketing software on your Mac or PC desktop.
TextMagic lets you send short, accurate messages to business partners, employees, or customers in a way that is quick, cheap, and safe. Get features like virtual mobile numbers, scheduled text messages, SMS attachments, MMS, mail merge templates, SMS opt-out management, and many more.
#4. ManyChat
Among all the numerous platforms if you don’t know where to start, SMS marketing can be hard for an eCommerce business. But a trustworthy tool like ManyChat can help users send text messages and close sales during a chat. Now you can easily talk to your customer and chat with them without calling them over and over.
With this tool, you can send coupons, sales information, and other content to contacts in as little as 3 minutes. It’s easy to connect Messenger or Facebook with SMS and emails, so businesses can chat with customers for free.
Also, brands can interact with customers by sending them one-to-one messages with updates, customized content, appointment reminders, special offers, and other things. It’s also important to have two-way text conversations with customers to get reviews or feedback from surveys.
One can also set up SMS drip campaigns like monthly newsletters and 7-day challenges to keep the conversation going with customers. For a smooth experience and creative multimedia messages, it is easy to get numbers from an eCommerce store.
#5. Drip
With Drip, you can send texts and make more money by suggesting dynamic and personalized products at the right time. With Drip’s easy-to-use workflow builder, you can automate the processes to get a better result.
You can also get in touch with your users or customers through SMS, which is quick, simple, and to the point. They are the perfect way to get close to your customers, send them useful messages, and make money.
Most customers would rather get an SMS than an email or phone call, so use the simple Drip form to add top users to your list. Even though a lot of customers like text messages, they like them, even more, when they come with special deals or discount codes. With SMS marketing, you can easily reach your customers no matter where they are.
Use SMS to get people’s attention, make them more loyal, and create a sense of urgency by sending holiday deals, new product announcements, time-sensitive offers, VIP campaigns, and other things. People don’t like long, spammy messages. To get more customers, keep your text simple, short, and easy to understand. You can also set a date and time for delivery and automate the process so that no customer gets left out.
#6. EngageBay
Use EngageBay to market your product, offers, etc., via SMS to improve your business. You can keep track of all of your responses in a single dashboard and send SMS to thousands of people by making your campaign more personal.
EngageBay stores many kinds of information, such as a person’s first name, last name, age, company, location, and more. You can even add them all by collecting information and sending SMS messages in bulk. You can add SMS functionality to automation workflows and send SMS based on customer behavior or events like failed payments, product updates, cart abandonment, promotions, etc.
#7. Sendinblue
Sendinblue makes it easy for you to send SMS messages directly to your customers. Get the list of contacts from Sendinblue so that you can send mass messages for campaigns and events with just one click.
Next, you can write your message, choose a list based on where they are, what they want, etc., and schedule your messages to be sent at a certain date and time. You can also use an API, a lot of plugins, and marketing automation with Sendinblue to set up shipping updates, transactional SMS, order confirmations, and a lot more based on your business.
#8. SlickText
SlickText is one of the most trusted leaders in SMS marketing, and it can help you use SMS marketing to bring more money into your business. It comes with a lot of features that make it easy to use, and it works well on all devices.
Also, there are no contracts or hidden fees, and you can cancel, downgrade, or upgrade the services whenever you want. Since people respond faster to SMS, SlickText lets you quickly get your message to your customers.
Customers will respond better to your campaign if you send them a picture along with it. You can use every feature to help your business grow, whether it’s a restaurant, a store, a school, or a church. You can send a lot of text messages from anywhere, and you can also ask your customers to send a text message to join your marketing campaign.
#9. ClickSend
With ClickSend, you can use a web-based SMS portal to send marketing messages to your customers. This makes business messaging easy. With the Web to SMS service, you can send thousands of messages all over the world. You can even use the SMS Gateway API to handle transactional SMS.
With ClickSend’s online SMS gateway, you can use a simple set of steps to send messages to one person or to a large group of people at once. Microsoft Outlook Plugin is also used by ClickSend to send text messages. You can also send a lot of SMS through an online service or an app you already have.
Once you add the list of customers and their information, the SMS service will take care of the rest, making your job simple and easy. With the SMTP gateway, you can also send a large number of SMS messages, which gives you a sense of how well it works. With all of these features, plugins, etc., it’s easy to send marketing messages, transactional SMS, promotional SMS, events, reminders, and a lot more.
#10. Textlocal
Smart customers choose smart services like Textlocal, which lets your users send SMS messages in real-time. Use a bulk SMS service that is reliable, scalable, and one of the best SMS marketing platforms to spread the word about your brand, improve the customer journey, and improve your communications.
Depending on what your market needs, there are many ways to send messages. You can pay as you go as your list of contacts grows, or you can choose to have someone else handle your messages. In this case, managed services can help you with your SMS solutions, no matter what kind of business you have. Also, Textlocal lets you find an API gateway for your business that has a lot of APIs.
How Do I Increase My SMS Revenue?
Using simple keywords is one of the most straightforward methods for expanding your SMS list. An SMS keyword is a word or short phrase that customers can text to a specific phone number. Customers can send an SMS keyword to a dedicated phone number. They will be added to your subscriber list if they carry out the aforementioned action. When they text in the keyword, it should be made abundantly clear that they are giving their consent to participate.
What Will Replace SMS?
Rich communication services, often known as RCS, are intended to supplant short message service (SMS) in the future as the primary native text messaging service for all phones. The vast majority of Android handsets currently come equipped with RCS messaging. RCS was built to improve communication and bring it into the modern day, whereas SMS was designed for straightforward communication.
Is SMS Better Than Email Marketing?
Which kind of marketing, SMS or email, is more successful? When compared to email marketing, the open and click-through rates for SMS marketing are significantly greater. In point of fact, anywhere from 50 to 85 percent of all emails sent are deemed to be spam. When compared to SMS messages, which have a significantly lower rate of spam, and messages that look like spam, this is a striking contrast.
SMS Marketing Software for Small Businesses
To find the best software for SMS marketing for your business compare the reviews and features of the products on this list to make it.
#1. Bitrix24
Bitrix24 is the number one free SMS marketing software and CRM, and 8 million businesses around the world use it. The code is open source and can be used in the cloud or on-premise. Even with the free plan, you can send a single SMS message. Bulk SMS and SMS marketing automation are available to commercial Bitrix24 users for as little as $39/mo. We are much cheaper than other SMS marketing services because we don’t add any extra fees to top SMS providers’ prices. You can send text messages in more than 100 countries right now.
#2. ROUTEE
Routee is the best all-in-one among SMS marketing platforms for businesses because it has the highest deliverability rate, meets global standards, and is easy to use. As an SMS hub, we have the best pricing policy and can connect you with as many people as you want. With Routee, you can use short links to send more than 160 characters in an SMS. Database synchronization and immediate integration with your platform. Segmentation and personalization can be done in an unlimited way. Partner with Google Verified SMS.
#3. Squaretalk
A robust SMS marketing solution that makes it easy to automate and connect. Because it’s so easy, you’ll have time to work on other parts of your business. Get a local presence in over 100 countries and 3,400 area codes by using local, mobile, and toll-free numbers. A cheap, scalable, and easy-to-use communications platform gives your sales and support teams powerful tools to work effectively from anywhere and through the channels your customers prefer.
#4. Yotpo
Yotpo gives brands the tools they need to make SMS experiences that can’t be beaten for mobile shoppers today. With just a few clicks, you can start driving sales and create your highest-earning channel by sending personalized messages that convert. With Yotpo, you can use data to send customized SMS and MMS messages to customers at the most important moments, which can boost sales and strengthen relationships. We work with the tools you use every day, like Google, Instagram, and the best eCommerce platforms for SMS marketing.
#5. Swell
Swell is one of the platforms for managing SMS marketing software of any business reputation. It helps local businesses get new customers and improves the way they interact with their customers through personalized automation. Swell does this by helping customers find your business through online reviews, ranking it higher in search results, and modernizing the way businesses communicate by turning website visitors into customers. Swell is set up so that customers can use SMS messages, which is their preferred way to talk. With these solutions, customer interactions are turned into money.
#6. TXT180
Text marketing and bulk SMS software with a text message scheduler, auto-responders, inbox, contact import, unlimited contacts and groups, QR codes, and free inbound messages. Furthermore, TXT180 makes it easy for any type of business or organization, like restaurants, stores, churches, real estate agencies, fundraisers, and more, to send group text messages.
#7. Solutionreach
The Best Engagement Solution for Patient-1st. For 20 years, SR has been the standard that everyone else has tried to reach. We’re still in the lead! Let us show you what you can expect from an all-in-one solution for getting and keeping patients. As the practices we started out with have grown, we’ve added special features for businesses in more than one location. We now work with a lot of the biggest health systems and retail-based networks in the country.
Can I Make My Own SMS API?
Building an SMS application programming interface (API) is not an easy task and requires a significant amount of software coding; therefore, if you are not committed to coding, you should forget about it! If they are not prepared to deal with the software issues that come along with it, app developers should not waste their time building their own SMS API.
Is SMS Marketing Cheap?
Not only does marketing via text pay off in terms of high open rates, but it can also pay off in terms of savings. Pricing may vary depending on your requirements and subscriber list, but if you send one SMS campaign per week to your list of 10,000, you can expect to spend approximately $400 each month with a pay-per-usage platform. This estimate is based on the assumption that you send one SMS campaign per week.
SMS Marketing Examples
Here are 10 examples of SMS marketing:
- Welcome message. “Thanks for signing up for updates.”
- Sales and promos. “Use the code THANKYOU to get 20% off your order.”
- Event invitations. “Join us on 5/1 at 4 pm for a live webinar.”
- Status updates. “Dear valued customer, we have changed our rules.”
- How you live and where you live. “Everything will be fantastic.”
- Confirmations of bookings. “You’re on the list! See you at 3:00 p.m. on March 17, 2020.”
- Appointment reminders. “Your meeting is at 3:00 pm on Wednesday, March 17, 2023.”
- Billing reminders. “On January 1, 2023, a card will pay your $100 balance.”
- Codes for security. “Your verification code is 123456. It’s only good for 15 minutes.”
- Information for employees only. “Please pay attention to building maintenance, team.”
FAQs
Why should I use SMS marketing?
SMS marketing is cheap, easy to set up, and very effective because the messages go straight to the phones of the users.
How can I create a bulk SMS website?
Go to the section called “Database” to start setting up the database. To get into a database, you need to give the name of the database, your user ID or name, and your password. Install the SMS marketing gateway software on the devices you’ll be using to make and send SMS messages.
Do consumers like SMS marketing?
Most consumers (42.04 percent) would rather hear from businesses four to six times a month. Statistics on SMS marketing also show that almost 40% of customers want to hear from brands two to three times a week, while almost 19% don’t mind getting a promotional text message once a day.