Are you looking for the best SMS marketing services for small businesses and enterprise SMS marketing? Well, this article is absolutely for you!
This article will get you to know some of the best SMS marketing services, their advantages, disadvantages, and most importantly, how you can find them.
But before that, let’s have a look at some facts and figures!
Have you ever heard that only 18 percent of the emails sent every day are read? That’s a worrying statistic, and it means that only one in five emails will be acted upon.
If you want your message to be heard, then it’s time you consider SMS marketing. It is an elegant, more engaging, and cost-effective alternative to email marketing. SMS marketing helps you connect with your customers personally. It’s a great way to keep your customers updated about the latest developments, events, and offers your company offers. It is great for smaller businesses with limited marketing budgets. All kinds of small and enterprise businesses, especially eCommerce businesses, prefer SMS direct marketing!
However, here’s our list of the best SMS marketing services for small and enterprise businesses. We will also cover the advantages and disadvantages of these services, the benefits, and how you can find one for your SMS marketing campaign!
What is an SMS Marketing Service?
SMS marketing services enable businesses to send bulk messages to their customers via mobile phones. When an organization sends a message, it’s known as an “SMS blast.” SMS messaging is a great way to keep your customers informed and up-to-date with your business’s latest developments, especially if you have a smaller customer base.
Benefits of SMS Marketing Services
There are many benefits of using SMS services. Here are just a few:
A cost-effective way to reach out to customers:
SMS is generally more affordable than other digital communication channels. This means you can send messages to your entire customer base without worrying about costs.
Easy way to communicate with customers:
You can send messages to your customers very quickly. You don’t have to worry about crafting engaging content or setting up a complicated system—the system does it all for you.
Customized communications:
Another benefit of the best SMS marketing services is the ability to tailor the content of your messages to your customers. You can personalize your text messages with the customer’s name, company name, etc.
Secure and reliable:
SMS is generally more secure than other digital communication channels. It uses a “push” system, which sends messages to a mobile phone as opposed to a “pull” system, where the recipient has to “open” the message. This means there’s not as much room for error as with other digital communication channels.
How to Find the Best SMS Marketing Services
To find the best SMS marketing services, you’ll need to research and compare the different providers. Here are a few questions you should ask yourself when looking for an SMS marketing service:
What is the price of the service? This is likely to be the most critical factor. How much does the service cost? Is there a free trial?
What features does the package include? What is the average volume of messages sent monthly? How many recipients is the service allowed to send messages to each month?
What’s the response rate for the service? What are the typical delivery times?
However, we have listed the top seven best SMS marketing services providers below. You can visit their official websites and compare yourself to choose the right one.
1) RAANGE
One of the best SMS marketing services is RAANGE, which offers a wide range of messaging options tailored to the needs of small and enterprise businesses. RAANGE is a great option if you’re looking for an easy-to-use service that won’t break the bank.
RAANGE offers many features such as scheduled text messaging, business text messages, sms chat, messages with emojis, personalization, segmentation, SMS API, Shopify integrations, and a lot more!
Advantages:
- The service is very easy to use.
- Its interface is clean and well-organized.
- The pricing structure is simple.
- Shopify integration
Trusted By:
- Bluenotes
- URBAN PLANET
- West49
- SUZY
- FOREVER 21
- Lowe’s
Pricing:
The pricing of RAANGE starts from $24.99 per month for up to 10000 SMS and ¢5 per SMS, which is quite cheap!
2) BurstSMS
Another leading SMS marketing service is BurstSMS, which has over ten years of experience in marketing messaging services. It has everything from automating marketing campaigns to customer engagement, with plans designed for small businesses and start-ups.
The main benefits of using Burst SMS include sending unlimited messages to one recipient every day, free trial periods, and no contract. However, we do not recommend this SMS service provider for their pricing, but besides the pricing, it is undoubtedly one of the best SMS marketing services.
Advantages:
- Unlimited messages to one recipient every day.
- Free trial periods.
- No contract.
Disadvantages:
- The service is too expensive!.
- Depending on your plan, you have to pay a monthly fee of $5 to $750.
Pricing:
The pricing of Burst SMS starts from $5 per month with a lot of caps which looks initially cheap, but you will end up with too many extra expenses.
3) ClickSend
One of the oldest and most established SMS services is ClickSend which provides professional digital communication services to over 10,000 companies. You can choose from text messages, multimedia messages, and push notifications by offering three main messaging options.
The main benefits of using Click Send include a wide range of plans to choose from, no contract, flexible payment options including PayPal, and a generous free trial. These features make ClickSend one of the best sms marketing services in the world.
Advantages:
- Flexible payment options.
- No contract.
- Generous free trial.
Disadvantages:
- The service is too expensive.
- Depending on your plan, you have to pay a monthly fee of $71.54 per month.
Pricing:
The pricing of ClickSend starts with free inbound SMS and ends up at $71.54 per month. They have a fee structure that offers ¢9 per SMS for up to 2000 SMS.
4) MessageBird
One of the newer best SMS marketing services on this list is MessageBird, a cloud-based app that sends messages via voice or text. You can choose one between three different plans with different features, and the service is currently in beta.
The main benefits of using Message Bird include that it’s completely free with no catch for the smaller business like a business with less than 50 contacts, easy to set up, and you can send unlimited messages. It would be the best option for the best SMS marketing for small business owners. However, let’s have a look at some advantages and disadvantages of this service!
Advantages:
- The service is freemium.
- It’s easy to set up and use.
- It’s user-friendly, and you can create a campaign in just a few minutes.
Disadvantages:
- It limits the number of contact for every plan
Pricing:
The pricing of MessageBird starts from free for up to 50 contacts and ends up to $150 per month for up to 1500 active contacts. It also offers a custom plan!
5) SMSGlobal
With a focus on developing countries, particularly India and China, SMSGlobal has over ten years of experience in the mobile marketing space. Offering three main messaging plans, you can choose between a free plan, a basic plan, or a premium plan.
The main benefits of using SMS Global include being very cost-effective, offering live chat support, and having a wide range of payment options. For Asian countries, no doubt it is one of the best SMS marketing services. If you target an Asian audience, it is the best for you.
Advantages:
- It’s very cost-effective.
- It offers live chat support.
- It has a wide range of payment options.
- You can pay as you go.
Disadvantages:
- A little bit expensive
Pricing:
The pricing of SMSGlobal is very flexible. They offer different prices for different countries and regions. Their minimum charges are set for Asian countries, and maximum charges are set for western countries. They charge from €0.033 to €0.09 per message. However, they also offer a flat rate for the USA, which is $36 per month for up to 1300 SMS.
6) Twilio
Twilio, a cloud-based API communications platform that gives users the ability to send text messages across multiple devices. It comes with an easy-to-use developer platform with integrations with other leading apps. They provide building blocks that are used in other technology products.
The main benefits of using Twilio include its range of messaging APIs for developers. As one of the best SMS marketing services, Twilio also has some advantages and disadvantages listed below.
Advantages:
- It offers audio, video, and text messages.
- It also offers email marketing
- Multi-channel API platform
Disadvantages:
- The app doesn’t come with built-in analytics tools yet, but there are plans to add them in the future.
- Poor customer support as you could guess from a big company.
Pricing:
The pricing of Twilio starts with different plans based on countries and features. It offers an as-you-go plan and a flat fee for the USA, like $0.0075 per SMS.
7) Clickatell
One of the best SMS marketing services is Clickatell, which focuses on customer engagement and response rates. It enables businesses to send short polls to their customers via SMS and let their customers vote on the polls.
The main benefits of using Clickatell include its chat commerce feature with no catch, easy to use, and comes with a free cloud-based virtual number.
Advantages:
- All in one marketing as well CRM services
- Custom pricing
Disadvantages:
- Clickatell’s system of polls and surveys is similar to that of SurveyMonkey.
- It also features a dashboard for all SMS campaigns, including phone numbers, date, number of messages sent/received, response rate, and click-through rate.
Pricing:
The pricing of the Clickatell is based on your needs. They first get in touch with you and discuss your needs. Based on your needs, they will offer custom pricing for their services.
Conclusion
SMS services are a great way to keep your customers updated with the latest developments, events, and offers your company offers. They are also easy to set up and use.
They are also cost-effective and help businesses connect with their customers better.
You can use the above mentioned SMS services to start your campaign. Make sure you choose one that is reliable, has a good reputation, and offers the features you need. You can also customize their packages to suit your needs.