SMS marketing software helps businesses send bulk text messages to their customers every day. SMS marketing is the process of sending transactional messages, account updates, and promotional offers to customers’ and prospects’ mobile phones.
With a 98% open rate, SMS marketing is still an effective marketing strategy, giving a simple yet potent way to engage with customers.
SMS marketing software makes this possible by automating the whole process, helping businesses reach a larger audience.
Geekflare team has researched and handpicked the top SMS marketing tools based on integration capabilities, customization and automation, and affordability and pricing plans.
- Omnisend – Best for E-commerce Marketing Automation
- Textmagic – Best for Bulk Messaging
- Sender – Best for Affordable SMS Marketing and E-Commerce
- SlickText – Best for Easy Text Campaigns
- Mobile Text Alerts – Best for Sending Alerts & Appointment Reminders
- Brevo – Best for Sending Email and SMS
- Klaviyo – Best for High-Growth E-commerce
- TrueDialog – Best for Compliance
- EZ Texting – Best for Small and Large Enterprises
- ManyChat – Best for Mass Texting
- Drip – Best for E-commerce Customer Segmentation
- EngageBay – Best for Email + SMS marketing
- ClickSend – Best for Business Communication
- Textlocal – Best for UK Businesses
- SimpleTexting – Best for Small Businesses
- Show less
Omnisend
Best for E-commerce Marketing Automation
- Integration CapabilitiesE-commerce, CRM, Zapier
- Message AutomationDrip campaigns, Segmented Targeting
- Customer Support24*7 Live Chat, Email
About Omnisend
Omnisend is a multichannel marketing platform launched in 2014 that has helped over 100,000 businesses worldwide over the last 9+ years. It allows integration of email and SMS for higher engagement with customers and 100% customizable templates for smart brand positioning. The platform also offers an automation library, which has pre-built workflows with SMS alerts on cart abandonment, birthdays, order confirmation, and shipping details.
Why Omnisend imight be the best for SMS and Email automation
Omnisend offers functionalities like cross-channel automation, which lets you combine email and SMS into a single workflow. This ensures targeted messaging across multiple channels to leverage both SMS and email channels.
Omnisend Features
Landing Pages: Create dedicated pages for each campaign and customize them as per your branding goals.
Teasers: Add non-intrusive banners to your website and prompt visitors to take action – whether it is signing up for your SMS list or checking out the latest deals
Sign-up Forms: Access a variety of sign-up forms including embedded forms, landing pages, and pop-ups to grow your SMS and email lists.
SMS Channel Reports: Track the performance of your campaigns with channel-level filtering and see how your messages are performing.
Omnisend Pros/Cons
You get a campaign booster to improve open rates.
The free plan comes with unlimited contacts, which you might not find in other providers unless it’s a paid plan.
If you buy the Pro plan, you get FREE monthly credits added to your account.
Audience segmentation options are limited, and companies with a wide range of customer segments may find it unsuitable to accurately target them.
Insufficient training materials and a steep learning curve.
Textmagic
Best for Bulk Messaging
- Integration CapabilitiesCRM, Zapier, API
- Message AutomationAuto-replies, Message Scheduling
- Customer SupportPhone, 24*7 Email, Live Chat
About Textmagic
Textmagic was launched in 2001 and has served over 25,000 businesses globally to engage with customers through text message with an intuitive interface and robust integrations. It enables sending mass texts to customers in more than 190 countries, converting emails into SMS, and delivering them directly to any smartphone user who has given their consent.
Why is Textmagic best for bulk messaging?
Since there are no monthly fees or commitments, and you only have to pay for the messages you send, managing bulk messaging is easier with Textmagic. It also comes with pre-built SMS templates, which saves time and additional effort.
Textmagic Features
Import Contacts: Easily upload phone numbers from Excel or CSV files. The import wizard will check and format your numbers correctly for maximum efficiency.
CPaaS Enrichment: Integrate your existing Communication Platform As A Service (CPaaS) to use the advanced features of the platform, including SMS and MMS.
10DLC Business Texting: Use a 10-digit Long Code (10DLC) for easy compliance. TextMagic lets you select a local virtual US number and directly activate it on the platform.
Mail Merge SMS and Templates: Personalize text messages with custom information using templates. Add a personal touch, save more time, and create as many custom fields as required.
Textmagic Pros/Cons
Monitor the cost of each message sent.
Effortless setup with an intuitive workflow designer paired with a wide range of samples.
Advanced customization for creating tailored lists for each customer category.
Pricing per message is relatively higher than other tools.
No variety in the types of plans you can choose.
Frequent bug issues lead to confusion and delays.
Brevo
Best for Sending Email and SMS
- IntegrationsCRM, Ecommerce, Payment Services.
- Message AutomationSegmented Targeting, MMS Messaging
- Customer SupportEmail, Live Chat
About Brevo
Launched in 2012, Brevo was formerly known as Sendinblue, and since then, it has served over 500,000 users across 180+ countries. It offers a comprehensive CRM suite across all major channels – SMS, email, push notifications, and more. Brevo has a simple interface meticulously designed for growing businesses looking to manage their leads, support requests, and customers without any hassle. This makes it easy to nurture leads, keep in touch with existing customers, and handle queries more efficiently.
Why Brevo can be best for sending bulk email and SMS
Brevo offers robust features specifically designed for higher deliverability and ease of use. It has a dedicated deliverability infrastructure, which ensures your emails don’t end up in spam folders. Similarly, it allows the segmenting of contacts based on criteria such as location, preferences, and purchase history for precise targeting. So, whether you want to send bulk email or SMS, Brevo can offer the best of both worlds!
Brevo Features
Personalization: Create personalized SMS campaigns using attributes from your contact lists, such as customer names and their past purchase history.
MMS Capabilities: Convert a standard SMS into MMS by simply adding an image to the message.
Integration: Experience smooth integration with major platforms like Zapier, Stripe, Zendesk, and Zoom for improved performance across multiple channels.
Transactional Messages: Send individual messages for order confirmations or shipping details
Brevo Pros/Cons
Access to unlimited contacts and emails per day regardless of the plan chosen.
No daily sending limit with the paid plans.
Email, SMS marketing, and marketing automation are on the same platform, which reduces hassle.
Telephone customer support is not available unless you buy a business plan or a higher one.
Marketing automation workflow doesn’t allow more than 2000 contacts unless you upgrade to a higher plan.
No option to change the name of the campaign.
Sender
Best for Affordable SMS Marketing and E-Commerce
- Integration CapabilitiesE-commerce, CRM, API
- Message AutomationAutomated workflows, Triggers
- Customer SupportEmail, Live Chat
About Sender
Launched in 2012 and having served over 100,000 customers to date, Sender ensures the high deliverability of your text with its robust delivery infrastructure. It comes with a feedback loop integration, which makes it easier to notice if your text gets marked as spam. Hence, it ensures your messages reach the right audience.
Sender offers a free plan that lets you access features like spam checks, SMS opt-in collections, unlimited custom fields, and campaign reports, which makes it an affordable option.
Why Sender might be best for Affordable SMS and E-commerce
Sender is an affordable option due to its pocket-friendly pricing. It charges as little as $0.015 per text for credits (when you’re on a standard plan), which makes it ideal for small businesses that are just getting started. Additionally, it easily integrates with all major E-commerce platforms, CMS, and CRM like Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop, WordPress, Zapier, etc, making it fit for E-commerce businesses.
Sender Features
Omni Channel Follow-up Campaigns: Build and manage custom audience lists on multiple channels and send more personalized messages to your customers.
Custom Personalization Tags: Personalize bulk messages with custom fields such as the recipient’s name, location, or any other specific data you’ve collected.
Simple Automation Builder: Build, run, and track your SMS campaigns with 100% automation without leaving the app.
Templates: Sender has a library with ready-to-send SMS templates, saving you hours of manual work.
Sender Pros and Cons
The pay-as-you-go option is a plus, and the pricing plans are affordable.
Easy-to-build web forms to store information for potential customers and segment them into specific lists.
Supports up to 306 characters, which is far better than other tools.
Insufficient training materials.
No direct integration with Google Analytics or CRM applications.
SMS sending is available only in the standard plan that has no free trial.
SlickText
Best for Easy Text Campaigns
- IntegrationsCRM, Ecommerce, Zapier
- Message AutomationAutoresponders, Scheduled Text, Abandoned Cart
- Customer SupportPhone, Chat, 24*7 Email
About SlickText
SlickText is a highly versatile SMS marketing launched in 2012 that has served more than 70,000 users across 6 countries to manage their SMS campaigns. With every plan on SlickText, you get access to their marketing tools like website popups, tap-to-join links, QR code generator, and opt-in web form builder. These tools can be easily customized to fit your brand just as needed.
Why SlickText might be best for easy text campaigns
It offers a text survey feature, which lets your customers have a two-way conversation by answering survey questions via text messages. This makes it more engaging than traditional surveys because texting is a far more quick and convenient option. Customers are more likely to respond promptly and thoughtfully, leading to a higher response rate and accurate data collection.
SlickText Features
Text to Join: Allows users to subscribe to your SMS list by texting a keyword to a designated number.
SMS Short Codes: Simplify opting into your SMS marketing program via 5-6 digit numbers (short codes) to send and receive SMS at scale. This supports both standard SMS and multimedia messages.
Text to Win: Run contests or sweepstakes via SMS, where the participants can enter by texting a keyword to your short code.
SMS Autoresponders: Send automated replies to texts to confirm subscriptions, provide information, or schedule follow-up messages.
SlickText Pros/Cons
Ideal for businesses of all sizes since the customization is top-notch.
Allows adjustment for SMS volume monthly depending on existing requirements.
Easy to pull out information and have direct contact with your client or customer base.
Makes it difficult to copy current users to new lists.
Need to re-upload contacts for updates or additions.
Downgrading a plan deletes previous chats.
Mobile Text Alerts
Best for Sending Alerts & Appointment Reminders
- Integration CapabilitiesCRM, Zapier, API
- Message AutomationScheduled Messages, Keywords
- Customer SupportEmail, Live Chat
About Mobile Text Alerts
Mobile Text Alerts was launched in 2011 and since then it has emerged as an easy-to-use SMS platform that makes setting up a text alert system easy with its diverse functionalities. These include automatic replies, contact card usage, and text-to-landlines, ensuring you are always on the right track. Additionally, you get in-built integrations with leading platforms including Zapier, WordPress, Slack, Mailchimp, ClickFunnels, and more for a streamlined workflow.
Why Mobile Text Alerts might be best for sending appointment reminders
Mobile Text Alerts simplifies appointment reminders with automated scheduling and recurring messages by confirming or rescheduling. You can also track how the recipient interacts with reminder links to assess the effectiveness of your strategy.
Mobile Text Alerts Features
SmartSMS Suggest AI: Give a prompt and generate text messages for different occasions (seasonal discounts, customer appreciation, cart abandonment etc.) quicker & better.
MMS Service: Add a touch of creativity with images, GIFs, and emojis in MMS and break the monotony.
Contact Grouping: Organize your contact list into different groups to send targeted and more relevant messages to everyone.
Web Signup Forms: Collect subscriber information by embedding sign-up forms on your website.
Two-way SMS Service: Instantly chat back and forth with your customers while managing individual threads.
Mobile Text Alerts Pros/Cons
LIVE assistant for retailers to track sales, and registration links, and manage loyalty rewards and giveaways.
Supports multiple keywords/groups, and easy customization for different customer segments.
Comes with rollover text functionality, which lets you carry over unused texts for the next month.
No feature to verify the customer you’re sending the SMS to while sending multiple texts.
Limited scheduling options to send the same text on multiple or same days.
No option to add subscribers to a group.
Klaviyo
Best for High-Growth E-commerce
- IntegrationsCRM, Ecommerce, Payment Services, API
- Message AutomationSegmented Targeting, Cross-Channel Flows
- Customer Support24*7 Email, 24*5 Live Chat
About Klaviyo
Having served more than 146,000 brands so far, Klaviyo has helped businesses across multiple sectors connect with their customers across multiple channels. Through its SMS marketing capabilities, Klaviyo enables you to reach out to potential and existing customers to build valuable relationships with them. The “Audience Breakdown” – segment-level campaign reporting is a unique feature that helps you get the campaign metrics at the audience level. Additionally, features like 2-way messaging, A/B testing, MMS, and message personalization further help identify similar patterns to see what works best for each type of customer.
Why Klaviyo might be best for high-growth E-commerce
It might be ideal for high-growth E-Commerce businesses as it offers powerful segmentation and automation teachers best suited for online retail needs. It allows you to use behavioral and transactional data to create highly targeted and personalized email and SMS campaigns. Since segments can be updated in real-time, your messages stay highly relevant considering the needs of the high-growth e-commerce market.
Klaviyo Features
SMS Copywriting: The AI-powered SMS assistant makes it convenient to create SMS campaigns by generating compelling copies almost instantly.
Dynamic Text Blocks: Create an SMS sign-up form that automatically adjusts for easy viewing on mobile devices.
Suggested Replies: Comes with a “suggested responses” functionality that simplifies replying to customers’ messages by recommending the most suitable saved quick responses.
Predicted Customer Attributes: Predict attributes like lifetime value, purchase possibilities, and churn risk with advanced AI and machine learning capabilities.
A/B Testing: Analyze which SMS copy or flow settings are performing well for the campaign with A/B testing.
Klaviyo Pros/Cons
Excellent analytical ability to visualize all the KPIs in one place.
The segmentation tool makes it easy to choose how many variables you want to create a contact list.
Tailored discounts for active Shopify users.
Advanced features are comparatively costlier.
Hassle to manually filter the downloaded data in sheets if you’re looking for specific questions.
Insufficient dedicated IPs, resulting in lower deliverability rates.
TrueDialog
Best for Compliance
- IntegrationsCRM, API
- Message AutomationAutoresponders, Message Scheduling
- Customer SupportEmail, Helpdesk
About TrueDialog
TrueDialog was launched in 2008 and to date, it has served over 2000 customers including Fortune 500 companies, universities, and non-profit organizations. It is an AI-powered business text messaging solution designed to enhance communication between organizations and their customers. It comes with an AI engine that supports external chat to help the customers choose the right reply promptly. Truedialog is suitable for both large and small-scale businesses since it offers multiple functionalities such as SMS marketing campaigns, customer service messaging, and internal team communication.
Why TrueDialog might be the best for compliance focus
TrueDialog ensures seamless compliance with the guidelines of the CTIA (Cellular Telephone Industries Association) to regulate message content. It also maintains a dual opt-out database in its ISO 9001-certified cloud, which ensures no user who has opted out receives accidental messages.
TrueDialog Features
URL Shortener: Comes with built-in functionality to shorten long URLs directly within your SMS, making it visually appealing.
SMS Survey Engine: Create or send surveys via SMS and gather feedback from your audience effectively.
Mobile Apps: Manage campaigns directly from mobile with white-labeled text inboxes and handle ongoing conversations on the go.
Team-Based Two-way Messaging: Allows multiple team members to manage two-way SMS conversations with your audience for seamless communication.
TrueDialog Pros/Cons
Ideal for high-volume texting in two-way conversations.
Offers API-only pricing to use SMS API without using the whole platform.
Account management features, especially the billing structure, are one of the best compared to other tools.
No option to edit templates once they are set.
Not ideal for global reach as it doesn’t support international coverage.
EZ Texting
Best for Small and Large Enterprises
- IntegrationsCRM, Ecommerce, Zapier, API
- Messaging AutomationDrip, Text Scheduling, Recurring Messages
- Customer SupportLive Chat, Help Center
About EZ Texting
With a customer base of over 230,000 clients, EZ Texting has evolved into an end-to-end solution for SMS marketing ambitions, especially for businesses across multiple industries. Users get everything from unlimited contacts, and list growth tools, to reporting tools for easy management of your SMS marketing campaigns. Plus, with its unique integration with Shutterstock, you can use image suggestions while drafting texts for customers to ensure media-rich interaction.
Why EZ Texting might be best for employee communication
EZ Texting lets you easily fill open shifts or routes by sending bulk text messages to ensure staffing needs are quickly met. It also comes with an emergency alert SMS system to maintain staff safety by sending out important updates promptly during emergencies. This ensures that all employees stay informed and respond timely which makes EZ Texting a highly effective tool to improve internal communication and operational efficiency.
EZ Texting Features
AI Compose: Create tailored bulk text messages with AI and boost your response rates by up to 30%.
SMS for Employee Communications: Manage recruiting, onboarding, staff scheduling, and send out mass texts to employees for streamlined internal communication.
Text Forwarding: Automatically forward inbound texts, and replies directly to your phone email or dashboard.
QR Codes: Simplify joining your list for the users with a quick scan and effectively drive more opt-ins.
EZ Texting Pros/Cons
Send out mass texts to your customers based on certain keyword groups.
Create unlimited groups to organize contacts.
Option to export bounced messages and import mass contacts with zero hassle.
Frequent delays in delivering messages.
Tech support is not as good as other tools in the market.
No analytics in the lower-cost version.
ManyChat
Best for Mass Texting
- IntegrationsCRM, Zapier, Payment Services
- Messaging AutomationSegmented Targeting, Flow Builder, Drip
- Customer SupportHelpdesk, Knowledge Base
About ManyChat
Launched in 2015, ManyChat has garnered a user base of over 1.8 million across 190 countries. It makes SMS marketing with its extensive AI-powered features. It lets you send coupons, drive sales, or inform about an upcoming event via SMS and across all major social media platforms like Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp. ManyChat also lets you engage with every mention, or reaction across social media platforms, which ensures instant communication with potential customers on autopilot.
Why ManyChat might be best for mass texting
ManyChat offers a powerful automation and easy integration with social media platforms. It also lets you create detailed automated workflows which makes it easy to set up sequences of messengers triggered by specific user actions or schedules, ideal for customization on scale.
ManyChat Features
AI Assistance: Harness the power of artificial intelligence with AI assistant and plug-and-play templates to get started with automation.
Flow Builder: Create automated and personalized text message sequences with a visual flow builder.
Lead Generation: Gain high conversion rates with advanced functionalities to identify interested leads and keep them engaged without expensive retargeting.
Multiple Platform Support: Going beyond SMS, manage your business conversations on social media platforms and keep a tab on your customer interactions everywhere.
ManyChat Pros/Cons
Unlimited custom fields and tags.
Easy monitoring in real-time with drag-and-drop building tools.
Comes with growth tools to drive users to funnels.
Not ideal for small and medium-sized businesses.
There is no support for running an email marketing campaign alongside.
No integration with commonly used tools like Zendesk, HubSpot, or Salesforce.
Drip
Best for E-commerce Customer Segmentation
- IntegrationsCRM, Ecommerce, API, Payment Services
- Messaging AutomationSegmented Targeting, Abandoned Cart Alerting, Drip
- Customer SupportEmail, Knowledge Base
About Drip
Drip is a Minnealopis-based automated marketing platform launched in 2012 designed to manage customer relationships across multiple touchpoints for sales. Through its SMS marketing capabilities, it helps you send the right message at the right time to help you stay updated with campaign performance. With features like behavior-based automation and social integrations, it helps to further streamline marketing campaigns across multiple channels.
Why Drip might be the best for E-commerce customer segmentation
It offers behavior-based segmentation capabilities, which lets you tailor messages based on specific customer actions. For instance, depending on their browsing behavior or purchase history, you can customize your messaging and increase the odds of higher conversion rates.
Drip Features
Behavior-based Automation: Send personalized SMS based on customer actions, such as purchasing, or browsing.
OMS Sync: Synchronize with an Order Management System (OMS) to exchange order-related data and send personalized SMS based on customers’ order status updates, abandoned carts, or recent purchases.
Seamless Migration: Maintain accurate and actionable customer data for personalized marketing and ensure safe data migration.
Automatic Social Retargeting: Reconnect with potential customers who visited but left without purchasing with automated retargeting.
Drip Pros/Cons
Contact import feature for active Mailchimp users.
Pre-built playbooks for welcome series, post-purchase campaigns, and other categories.
Event-based automation is a versatile addition.
Basic flow editor compared to other options.
High pricing considering the number of contacts.
Limited integrations as compared to other options.
EngageBay
Best for Email + SMS marketing
- IntegrationsEcommerce, Zapier, Payment Services
- Marketing AutomationSegmented targeting, Drip, Abandoned Cart Alerting
- Customer SupportLive Chat, Email
About EngageBay
Renowned for its all-in-one capabilities among 28,000 customers as a CRM platform, Engagebay was launched in 2018. It is an effective solution for managing SMS marketing campaigns with preferred metrics. This makes it easier to customize and streamline your processes with automated workflows as needed. It also offers a wide range of filters for audience fragmentation which ensures a customized experience for every customer depending on their needs and preferences.
Why EngageBay might be best for small to medium businesses
It is ideal for small to medium businesses for its affordability, as it offers a free plan that includes almost all the features you will get in a paid plan. However, if you want additional capabilities, the paid plans start from $13.79/month (annually), which is quite generous and often ideal for small to medium-sized businesses.
EngageBay Features
Bulk Messaging with Smart Autoresponders: If your customer has clicked on a link, left a product in the cart, or subscribed to your newsletter – Engagebay’s smart auto-responders will quickly send a message.
Drag-and-drop Designer for Workflow: Smooth workflow with drag-and-drop visual design to keep technical jargon at bay.
Personalization: Easy personalization for your bulk SMS marketing campaigns with a wide range of features. Achieve laser-sharp precision with filters like first and last name, location, date, and so on.
Automated Workflow: Add SMS messaging to your marketing automation process at any given point and send texts based on specific triggers or user actions.
EngageBay Pros/Cons
Option to create your own preferred custom personalization feature.
Free for up to 15 users.
Supports running multiple domains for a campaign.
The payment process needs to be improved for easy navigation.
While the integrations work well, setting them up is tricky.
The templates aren’t updated regularly.
ClickSend
Best for Business Communication
- IntegrationsCRM, Zapier, Payment Services, API
- Marketing AutomationAlerts and Notifications
- Customer Support24*7 Chat Support
About ClickSend
ClickSend was launched in 2013 and since then, it has served 900,000 clients. It has grown from a business communication software to a full-fledged SMS gateway allowing businesses to run SMS marketing campaigns via a web-based portal. It simplifies your marketing efforts by managing product launches and seasonal promotions with features like real-time message status monitoring, and low credit warning for streamlined communication
Why ClickSend might be best for business communication
It supports multichannel marketing campaigns using SMS, email, and direct mail all from one app. This versatility makes it easy to maintain close contact with both customers and staff, ensuring that your messages are delivered through their preferred channels.
ClickSend Features
Text Blast: Send a single text message to a group of contacts where each recipient receives the message individually without seeing the group details
Global Messaging Capabilities: Helps you send SMS worldwide, making it the perfect solution for global campaigns.
Secure Messaging: Enterprise-grade security makes your communication with customers safe for a high uptime rate and secure message delivery.
Customizable SMS Solutions: With API access, it integrates into your existing system to make sending SMS directly from your software easier. The integration is supported across multiple languages and all major platforms, including Salesforce, Zendesk, Mailchimp, Airtable, Podio, and more.
ClickSend Pros/Cons
Pay-as-you-go pricing, no monthly maintenance fees.
Easy account setup and bulk SMS for 1000+ contacts.
Additional free credits with the free plan.
Difficult to export and share the details.
Links embedded in the SMS may get marked as spam.
No option to auto-delete bounced or undelivered messages.
Textlocal
Best for UK Businesses
- IntegrationsCRM, Ecommerce, Payment Services, API
- Marketing AutomationBulk SMS, Mobile Surveys, MMS
- Customer SupportEmail, Phone
About Textlocal
The UK’s top choice for mobile communications, Textlocal is a top-rated online SMS platform introduced in 2005 as a bulk messaging platform. Since then, it has developed a strong customer base of 165,000+ satisfied customers. Textlocal also enables RCS (Rich communication services), which works like SMS but offers additional functionalities like group chats, sharing locations, uploading images, etc via the phone’s native messaging application.
Why Textlocal might be best for UK businesses
Textlocal is especially beneficial for UK-based businesses as it offers low-cost messaging, especially for charities at 2.8p per text. You get a free UK short number and keyword with every messenger account, which makes it easier to handle incoming messages. Therefore, with all the tools for camping management, forms, attachments, and automation, you get a cost-effective edge with this tool on that front.
Textlocal Features
Apple Messages for Business: Enable your customers to easily interact with you, schedule appointments, make bookings, and make purchases through Apple Pay, all with the Apple Messages app.
Customization: Customize your SMS campaign with its user-friendly interface that can compose texts in 20+ languages, ideal for targeting a diverse linguistic region.
Validating Third-party Database: Send messages to a sample group from each database, track the click-through rate to check the engagement, and directly communicate with the sample audience to verify performance.
Email to SMS: Send bulk text messages directly from your email client (Outlook or Gmail) and receive replies in your email inbox. You can also add attachments, which recipients can download via a link to their SMS.
Textlocal Pros/Cons
Functionality to use external data with customizable SMS templates.
Option to send a free alert on the delivery schedules to reduce undelivered messages.
Notify customers of the pickup schedule in advance with the self-pick-up option.
If you’re running a global campaign, some features may be unavailable in selected regions.
Need to get approval for SMS format before sending, which can be tedious.
The balanced top-up process sometimes lag.
SimpleTexting
Best for Small Businesses
- IntegrationZapier, Mailchimp, API
- Messaging AutomationBulk SMS, Autoresponders, Drip
- Customer SupportPhone, Chat
About SimpleTexting
SimpleTexting offers in-built integration with 1000+ tools like Zapier, MailChimp, Slack, Shopify, and other CRM systems to automate workflows and synchronize data across platforms. It was launched in 2010 and has served more than 15,000 customers so far. SimpleTexting comes with built-in templates that speed up response time with saved replies and self-cleaning lists, which helps take care of the little nuances of your campaign. You can also use the text-to-win functionality to grow your list by hosting contests, author responders, or integrations.
Why SimpleTexting might be best for small businesses
It is ideal for small businesses because it offers the flexibility to scale pricing according to needs. Understandably, it’s difficult for small businesses to tell how much they would want to invest in text message marketing software when starting out. SimpleTexting eases this pressure with its pricing based on the number of texts sent per month and later upgrade as the texting needs increase with growing business.
SimpleTexting Features
Website Popups: Create small popup windows on your website and encourage visitors to subscribe to your SMS marketing list directly from the site.
Two-way Messaging: Improve interactions with customers with a two-way texting feature that allows customers to reply to messages.
Text to Join Keywords: Set specific keywords that people can text to a designated number, making it easier for them to join your list instantly.
Live Tracking and Analytics: Analytics help businesses track how SMS campaigns are performing. With link tracking, see who clicked on a link within a message and how they interacted with your website afterward.
SimpleTexting Pros/Cons
Exclusive support from an in-house account manager to custom integrations (applicable only for paid users of select plans.)
Mailchimp integration allows importing contacts.
Option to create multiple keywords for contact numbers at no extra cost.
Insufficient options for intermediate pricing.
Additional charges for team access unless subscribed to the 50,000+ credit plan.
Doesn’t have sufficient QR code generation tools.
SMS Marketing Tools Comparison Table
Below is a comparison of the main features of the above listed SMS marketing tools.
Product | Rating Geekflare’s editorial team determines ratings based on factors such as key features, ease of use, pricing, and customer support to help you choose the right business software. | Monthly Pricing | Campaign Types | Analytics | Explore |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Omnisend | $16 | Promotional messages, welcome messages, automated texts. | Open rates, segment performance, audience growth trends, form reports | ||
Sender | $15.83 | Drip, alerts, reminders, transactional | Open and click tracking, data, and time analysis, click map, subscriber profiles | ||
SlickText | $29 | Drip campaigns, auto-replies, surveys | Click rates, response data, opt-in data, abandoned cart revenue | ||
Mobile Text Alerts | $20 | Promotional, appointment reminders, drip campaigns, welcome messages | Sent messages report, opt-out report, link tracking | ||
Textmagic | $24.5 | Drip campaigns and promotional messages | Delivery and reply rates, product usage, and performance | ||
Brevo | $8.08 | SMS campaigns, transactional SMS, and drip campaigns | Open rates and click-through rates | ||
Klaviyo | $20 | Drip, transactional, two-way messaging | A/B testing, engagement reports, predictive analytics, revenue attribution, conversion rates | ||
TrueDialog | $99 | Automated reminders, promotional messages, two-way SMS | Drill-down reporting, target segmentation, opt-in and opt-out rates | ||
EZ Texting | $20 | Drip campaigns, scheduled messages, recurring messages | Delivery rates, credits used, new recipients added, no action rates | ||
ManyChat | $15 | Omnichannel drip campaigns | Buy button conversion, contact collection conversion, Shopify conversion | ||
Drip | $39 | Drip campaigns and promotional messages | Subscriber growth, lead score, lifetime revenue of subscribers | ||
Engagebay | $13.79 | Email broadcast, SMS broadcast, sequences, automation, and workflows | Pipeline and sales reports, sales forecasting | ||
ClickSend | $0.025 | Promotional messages, drip campaigns, and transactional messages | Country, browser, device, and operating system apart from the basic metrics | ||
Textlocal | £24.50/500 SMS credits | Promotional and transactional messages, and service SMS | CTR, open rates, opt-in and opt-out rates | ||
SimpleTexting | $33.20 | Auto confirmation, autoresponders, schedule messages | Delivery status, CTR, subscriber behavior, campaign performance. |
What Kind of SMS Can You Send as a Business?
As a business, you can send the following types of messages:
- Transactional: These messages are sent with the information customers need after completing a transaction. The message typically includes a confirmation, date of order, shipping updates, and payment receipt.
- Promotional: These messages are sent to promote sales and let the customer know about a special offer or event. The main focus is to attract the customer’s attention and then encourage them to purchase a product or participate in a promotional event.
- Alerts and Reminders: These messages are useful to keep the customers updated about their accounts, the latest updates on their appointments, or if there is a change in the service.
- Customer Support: These messages are sent as a response to the customer’s inquiry. It can be an answer to their questions, assistance, or managing their requests and complaints.
- Engagement Messages: Apart from the regular ones, engagement messages are sent to keep the customer engaged with your brand. It can be anything – a helpful tip to keep in mind while using the product or service, something educational, or simply fun.
Does SMS Marketing Work?
SMS marketing might sound old-fashioned, but it is still a reliable opportunity to engage with your potential and existing customers. E-commerce marketers generate around $71 for every dollar they spend on SMS marketing. On the other hand, 60% of consumers read messages within 1-5 minutes of receiving them.
Notice something here? There’s a clear untapped opportunity to interact with your customers through SMS marketing. Since people read texts shortly after receiving them, your promotions might get noticed faster. The only thing holding businesses back from leveraging this medium is not recognizing its power. If that’s you, it’s time to catch up with the trend and connect with your customers in a way they appreciate and respond to!
Features To Consider When Choosing an SMS Marketing Platform
With all the potential SMS marketing holds, you may wonder, “Which SMS marketing platform is right for my business?” With so many options out there, how do you make the right choice that fits YOUR needs? Most importantly, how to make sure you don’t miss out on the best features? Here are a few aspects to keep in check:
Compliance With The Laws
No matter how promising your campaign is, it might be worth nothing if your tool doesn’t comply with the applicable laws and standards. You might face penalties in that situation. This is why your priority should be a tool that prioritizes compliance and assures a safe global reach.
Key considerations:
- Should be a certified CTIA (Certified Threat Intelligence Analyst) partner.
- Compliance with the TCPA guidelines (Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 1991)
- Must follow the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) guidelines.
💡 Bonus tip: Look for a platform that provides straightforward legal terms on sign-up. This would make it easy for people to opt-out if they want to and prevent them from being subscribed if they don’t want to.
Easy Channel Management
Your text message marketing software should be able to reach potential customers everywhere. An ideal tool would include specific features like centralized control panels to manage multichannel campaigns – from SMS to email and social media. This ensures your messages are consistent across all channels, and they are easy to customize as and when needed.
Key considerations:
- Functionalities like pop-ups, footer widgets, embedded forms, floating buttons, sign-up pages, and check-out options.
- Tools for your social media and marketing channels, typically keywords, social story links, and sign-up links.
- Tools for your store, including QR codes, POS (point-of-sale), and text to subscribe.
- Ready-to-launch and customizable templates for customer engagement and obtaining their consent.
Tracking And Analytics
Data-driven decisions hardly miss the mark and for that, you need the right tool to back up with accurate and updated data. This ensures transparency and easy targeting with laser-sharp precision.
Key considerations:
- A comprehensive analytics dashboard to track campaign performance and SMS cost against the revenue.
- Subscriber collection analytics to know where your audience is coming from – social media, your website, or any other channel.
- Flexible attribution model to accurately track and credit multiple customer touch points.
- A/B testing capabilities to help you understand what resonates best with your audience.
Integration Scope
An important part of the marketing puzzle is having strong integration capabilities. This means your SMS platform works smoothly with other tools you use for better results.
Key considerations:
- Compatibility with help desk solutions for easy management of your SMS replies.
- Integration with other CRM platforms without any major jargon.
- Synergy between SMS and other programs or channels such as reviews, loyalty, and user-generated content.
- Seamless integration with payment systems to facilitate transactional SMS alerts for payment confirmations and upcoming bill reminders.
How to Send Marketing SMS Programmatically?
As your business grows, you’re likely to have more customers and more frequent interactions with them. This requires a faster and more organized way to handle messages and keep up with their queries and orders. Programmatically sending marketing SMS via APIs automates this entire process and helps you send bulk text messages in response to specific actions. Here’s how it works:
- API Integration: Integrate an SMS API with your business systems, like a CRM, website, or app. This requires configuring the API using your system credentials and specifying the endpoints for sending and receiving messages.
- Drafting Messages: Next, draft the personalized text messages that will be sent to customers. It can be a promotional message, an appointment reminder, or an OTP.
- Sending The Message: API will now send the message to the SMS service and deliver it to the recipient’s phone number. This is triggered by certain customer behavior and predefined conditions like sign-ups or unsubscribing.
- Message Delivery: Next, the SMS API will handle the delivery of messages to the customer’s phone through telecom networks. This process takes a few seconds.
- Receiving Delivery Reports: Finally, the SMS API will provide a delivery report on whether the message was successfully delivered, failed, or is still being processed. These reports are necessary to monitor the performance of your SMS marketing campaigns and can be easily accessed through the API dashboard.
FAQs
Yes, it’s legal and you can do it as long as you comply with the laws – TCPA in the US and GDPR in the EU. If you break the law, you may face penalties or even lawsuits which can harm your brand reputation.
It is used to send promotional offers, updates, and alerts directly to customers to keep them engaged with your brand.