Think of some of your favorite big-name brands. Chances are, they send you text messages. You may be thinking that you need an elaborate team to start sending your own marketing texts—but you don’t. Nowadays, a wide variety of texting apps let you send messages to your customers. However, there’s a catch. Not all text apps are created equal. There are many business SMS platforms, and not all are for small businesses. To help you wade through the choices, we’ve supplied a list of text message marketing software for small business owners.
Is Text Message Marketing Worth It For Small Businesses?
The short answer is…yes. People want to get automated SMS messages from businesses—including small, emerging ones like yours.
A 2022 survey revealed that 75% of consumers are eager to receive brand text messaging services. And 30% indicated that they made a purchase in response to text marketing.
Leveraging SMS messaging can give you an advantage over companies that aren’t using text marketing software. About 61% of marketers don’t use SMS. So, if you adopt this tactic now, you’ll have a competitive edge over many other businesses.
SMS marketing platforms for small businesses also makes it easier to grow and retain your customer base. When you use text to communicate with your audience, you bond with them. What’s more, personalized texts help you build trust with your customers. As your trustworthiness grows, so does your customer satisfaction and retention. So, if you’re not using SMS marketing, you’re missing out on fostering a loyal customer base.
What are the Most Important Features of a Text Message Marketing App?
You know the importance of adopting SMS for marketing. But the platform you choose to send those messages is just as critical. You want to opt for an app that allows you to adjust your scale and gain subscribers. In addition, the right automated text message system for businesses will provide assistance to guide you through campaigns.
Below are four essential features you should look for:
Contact Management
The contact management feature allows you to send bulk and individual SMS messages, segment your audience, and send personalized texts. A contact management tool also lets you see your most valuable segments. And once you’ve identified your most valuable customers, you can engage them with special offers. Or you can adapt your messaging to liven up underperforming segments.
Automation
An excellent automated appointment reminders software will allow you to create and send automated messages. These SMS messages are triggered when a subscriber takes action. So, for example, when someone signs up for your list, with SMS automation in place, they’ll receive a welcome text.
Integrations
You probably use other services and tools if you’re a small business owner. Your automated text messaging software should make it easy to sync the tools you’re already using. Integrating your preferred customer relationship management software lets you track different interactions with customers. It also gives you a clearer picture of what’s working in your overall marketing strategy.
Support
Business SMS marketing can present quite the learning curve for some people. And there’s nothing more frustrating than paying for complicated software to navigate. Therefore, choose a service that provides customer support and assistance. Agents and consultants help save you time, resources, and energy.
5 Best Automated Text Message Marketing Software for Small Business Owners
Now that you know what to look for in an SMS marketing service let’s get into some of the best. Below are platforms that boast the features we discussed (and more).
1. Gleantap
Not to toot our own horn, but this list wouldn’t be complete without Gleantap. Gleantap allows business owners to connect with customers via multiple channels—including SMS. But what sets Gleantap apart from the others is that it’s designed to reduce churn rate and boost repeat customers. In addition, our business SMS marketing platform delivers everything you need to carry out a successful campaign.
A few other key features include:
- Automated text campaigns
- Media and image messaging
- Contact management
- Multiple Inbound Keywords
- Personalization
- Link tracking
- A/B Testing
- Auto replies
- Comprehensive analytics
- Churn management
Gleantap’s onboarding is simple and you have access to a customer success team to help you get fully setup. We schedule onboarding kick-off calls to help you jump-start your first campaign. You’ll also receive monthly check-ins that ensure you take advantage of everything Gleantap offers. Beyond that, you also have access to 24/7 support.
Once you sign up for an account, you can add contacts by enabling our one of many integrations or uploading CSV files. Our integrations make it possible for you to stay in constant sync with your customer database. You’ll also find that the dashboard is streamlined and easy to use. Everything about your SMS campaign, audience, and notifications is located on the main page.
Gleantap was designed for fitness and wellness brands, but eCommerce, spas, and salons also benefit from the platform. Our analytics help you engage users and prevent them from bouncing to a competitor. For instance, you can identify subscribers who don’t engage with your texts. From there, you can target them with personalized content.
We recommend Gleantap for…
- Small businesses who are looking for a solution to high churn rates.
- Brands who want to use business text messaging services to re-engage their audience.
2. EZ Texting
Want to incorporate photos and media-filled messages? Consider EZ Texting. The platform boasts an array of tools that help small business owners create unique SMS marketing campaigns.
Some of the key features include:
- Contact management
- Groups and segmentation
- Design templates
- Media library (courtesy of Shutterstock)
- Automation
- API Access
- Link shortening and tracking
- Toll-free number
- Mass texting
What makes EZ Texting different from the other platforms on this list is its Shutterstock integration. This text software for business lets you search for and insert high-quality stock images into your messages. It also includes a web sign-up form and link shortener, making capturing leads easier.
And as the name implies, EZ Texting is easy to use. The functions are simple to navigate, and the user interface is straightforward. First, you’ll be directed to a video explaining the features when you open the platform. And then, you’ll be guided through how to use each tool. After the short introduction, you’ll be taken to the dashboard, which displays all your SMS marketing essentials.
You’ll also be able to access integrations with Constant Contact, MailChimp, Squarespace, Shutterstock, and Zapier. The platform only has six native integrations, but you have the option to build custom integrations through API.
We recommend EZ Texting for…
- Small businesses who’ve graduated from basic features and something a little more advanced.
- Those who want a tool that’s straightforward to set up.
3. SimpleTexting
SimpleTexting lives up to its name. This platform makes it easy for small businesses to run campaigns and send individual or large-scale messages. What stands out about SimpleTexting is its array of customization tools. For example, you can craft custom keywords—which isn’t a standard on many other platforms.
Other highlight features include:
- Toll-free texting
- Landline texting
- Shortcodes
- Autorepsonders
- Automation
- Link shortening and tracking
- Custom fields
- Advanced data collection and segmentation
- Self-cleaning lists
- Media and image messaging
As with the other platforms we’ve discussed, SimpleTexting is beginner-friendly. It typically takes you no more than 10 minutes to add keywords, your contacts list, and auto-replies. If you’re integrating other apps, the setup will take a little longer.
You’ll find that the dashboard is easy to maneuver. Everything you need to create your first campaign is visible on the homepage. But if you get stuck, the platform provides 10 instructional videos in the help center. And if you sign up for the 7,500 credit plan, you get an account success manager.
As we briefly mentioned earlier, you get advanced customization tools. For instance, custom keywords let you appoint your own sign-up words. You also get to group subscribers based on the keywords you create. In addition, SimpleTexting allows you to connect each word to apps and track engagement.
We recommend SimpleTexting for…
- Small businesses who need consultants to help guide their SMS marketing efforts.
- Business owners who want to incorporate embedded SMS subscription forms on their websites.
4. TextMagic
TextMagic provides all the basic features you need to get started with SMS marketing tool. But if you already have a strategy, the platform lets you take it to the next level. For instance, TextMagic helps you establish two-way communication with subscribers. You also send automated SMS messages through email.
Some other highlights include:
- A dedicated phone number
- Media and image messaging
- SMS opt-out management
- SMS surveys and polls
- API Access
- Sub-accounts for team members
- Global coverage
- Detailed reporting and analytics
After you sign up for an account on TextMagic, you’ll find that the experience is simple and intuitive. Everything you need is located on the SimpleTexting homepage. You’ll also receive timely notifications to help you and your team stay on top of tasks and SMS messages.
Once you acclimate to the platform, you can begin synching apps. A few SMS integrations include MailChimp, Salesforce, Zapier, HubSpot, Instagram, Shopify, and WordPress. Like other tools on this list, SimpleTexting allows you to create your own integration through API.
What’s unique about TextMagic is that you and your team communicate with subscribers through multiple channels. In addition to email, you and your team can send and receive SMS messages via iOS and Android devices.
TextMagic also provides a flexible non-commitment pricing model. Instead of a preset monthly plan, you pay as you go. This is ideal for small businesses that are growing their subscriber list.
We recommend TextMagic for…
- Small businesses who want a budget-friendly service that provides straightforward SMS services.
- Businesses that want to send text messages to customers abroad.
5. Textedly
Textedly is another user-friendly automated text message marketing software for small business owners. It includes everything you need to get started with SMS marketing platforms —including MMS messaging, a toll-free number, and other features.
Key features include:
- Webforms
- Mass group texting
- Text keywords
- Autoresponders
- Text automation
- Two Way SMS
- 300+ character text limit
- Unlimited subscribers
- Comprehensive analytics
- Email capture
- Photo messaging
The great thing is that you don’t have to jump through hoops to begin using Textedly. Getting started is simple. After you sign up, your account is ready to use. You’ll already have a generated toll-free number. From there, you can add new subscribers manually or by uploading a CSV file. And what about when you add more customers to your list?
As your business grows, the number of text messages you need to send will change. With Textedly, you can quickly shift between their 12 reasonably priced plans. The platform’s scalability is a draw for small businesses. Scaling also won’t break the bank. And as you scale, Textedly will always afford you an unlimited number of subscribers. So the sky’s the limit—literally. And it’s easy to upload new subscribers with a click of a button.
The platform is also easy to use. You’ll see your plan, the remaining monthly messages, and the total available keywords on the dashboard. The dashboard also displays the number of subscribers, total messages delivered, unsubscribe rates, and click-throughs.
You’ll find the integration option in the navigation panel if you have other tools you want to sync. Some integrations for Textedly include Zapier, Slack, HubSpot, Mailchimp, and Salesforce.
We recommend Textedly for…
- We recommend Textedly for small businesses who want software that scales with them.
- Businesses that need an affordable platform with high text message allowances.
- Businesses who wish to have a toll-free number with voice calling capabilities.
Discover the Text Message Platform for You
You have many choices when choosing the text message app for you. The platform you land on depends on your business type, marketing goals, and your comfortability with SMS. Each tool we’ve gone over today offers you what you need to execute a successful automated text message marketing software campaign.
But the only way to know the right platform is to try it out. So schedule a free Gleantap demo today. Our team is waiting to hear from you!
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