What small business owners should know before investing in SMS tools

Using SMS tools for marketing is an effective strategy to engage customers and boost sales through sending promotional text messages. Customers are more likely to open texts, and they typically have a high Return-On-Investment (ROI). As a small business owner, you should understand how to invest in SMS marketing tools to make informed decisions and maximize your ROI.

Best practices with SMS for small businesses 

You should be aware of the best SMS practices for small businesses to make the most of the tool. One primary practice is understanding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The government originally passed this act to prevent telemarketers from sending unwanted messages to citizens. Get permission before sending messages to customers and have an unsubscribe option.

Another good practice is to limit message frequency. You want to send enough messages to keep your customers informed, but multiple texts a day could become excessive. Limit your messages to relevant information, such as sales, deals or promotions. That way, customers know each of your texts is essential.

A final practice is to advertise the SMS messaging option on your business’s website and in physical stores. It should be easy to sign up by simply typing a phone number in or scanning a QR code. SMS messages have a 98% open rate because people check their phones more often than marketing outlets. Advertising it everywhere ensures you make the most of the tool.

Methodology for choosing SMS tools

When evaluating which SMS tool to use for your small business, you should consider the following:

• Standard features: Each SMS tool typically has a few standard features that ensure its effectiveness. Mass texting, personalization and automation are some main ones.
• Integration: The tool should integrate well with your existing programs. If you have an e-commerce platform or an existing list of contacts, the SMS tool should easily incorporate that information.

• Scalability: Choose an SMS tool that can grow with your business. Since these tools tend to boost sales, scalability becomes more valuable.
• Support: The SMS tool should have reliable customer support for your clients and your business, since questions and issues may arise throughout the process.
• Analytics: To track the performance of the SMS tool, it should provide detailed analytics reports. Some valuable data includes open rates, click frequency and sales generated by messages.

Affordable small businesses SMS tools 

Here are the top five affordable SMS tools for small businesses, based on customer experience, scalability and compliance. 

1. CompleteSMS

CompleteSMS is the top affordable SMS tool for small businesses. It provides services to small and large companies, allowing potential clients to book a demo or start a free trial directly from the website. You can send messages in bulk or to individual users, via a web browser or email account. 

Some of the tool’s notable features include call forwarding, a long text option, dedicated phone numbers near your area code, unlimited contacts, message threading, opt-out management, two-way texting, and 10DLC registration management. The software and setup are free, and you do not need a developer or programmer to begin using the tool. CompleteSMS offers strong customer support and serves the education, banking and automotive industries, among others.

2. SimpleTexting

SimpleTexting is an SMS tool for small businesses. It offers mass texting or one-on-one. You can start texting for free or book a demo directly on its website. The tool serves over 17,000 customers and has delivered billions of texts to its customers’ clients. 

You can use a new phone number or a text-enabled landline to send messages with SimpleTexting. You can also build your recipient list using an existing list or utilize the tool’s various methods to gain new numbers. It sends automated texts and helps you build an effective marketing campaign. SimpleTexting can help you avoid getting marked as spam by carriers and offers built-in compliance tools to prevent any drawbacks. 

3. Podium

Podium is an SMS tool serving many industries, including retail, aesthetics and wellness. It is an AI-enabled tool, meaning it can operate 24/7 and respond quickly to clients’ customers. The AI model has been trained on over 10 years of data.

Podium offers a consolidated inbox for all your messages. It has many positive reviews and serves over 100,000 businesses. The company follows up with customers after the sale to offer support and request feedback.

4. Textedly

Textedly is an SMS tool that allows users to create a free account. You can text an unlimited number of customers, offering scalability for both big and small businesses. Upload your existing contact list to the tool with a single button, making integration easier. Textedly boasts many customer reviews, multiple ranking positions and awards. 

Textedly allows you to send and track messages for simple reporting. It serves customers in many industries, including schools, sales, restaurants and retail. If you run a seasonal business, the tool lets you pause accounts until the next season.

5. EZ Texting

EZ Texting enables mass text or two-way text, depending on the need. It has served over 230,000 customers and provides a single platform for all SMS tasks. The tool offers unlimited contacts for scalability.

EZ Texting provides advanced reports that show how to boost your SMS messaging outreach. It automates message and reply creation, making the process more efficient. The tool also has opt-in features to maintain only interested customers. You can schedule mass texts and plan campaigns using the tool. 

SMS tools comparison tools 

SMS Tools Comparison Table

The following table outlines each SMS tool’s key features for quick comparison.

Invest in an SMS tool

To choose the right SMS tool for your small business, you should understand the best practices for using an SMS tool and which features to look for. Take the next step in your SMS marketing journey by investing in an SMS tool.