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Text message marketing can be very effective when you decide to implement an automated tool to help you reach your customers without manually texting them yourself. But what happens when you search text message marketing software on google and a million tools pop-up all with features that you have no clue about.
This buyer’s guide is meant to offer you questions to ask before choosing a text message marketing software.
Not all text message software gives you the same type of phone number. It may come as a surprise but there are two different types of phone numbers, each with their own set of uses.
Short Code -> A 5-digit number you might have seen from an airliner or phone provider.
Long Code -> A 10-digit number that you use every day to text your friends and family.
Short Code numbers are primarily used by Enterprise business, POS systems, or apps to send notifications to their customers. You might have received a text looking like this👇
While they are useful to notify customers about upcoming appointments, it does just that, notify.
Long Code numbers are a distant cousin of shortcodes. They are used by many CRMs, online tools and services to send marketing or sales texts to customers. These numbers are more familiar to customers due to using them for personal use every day.
The next biggest question you need to ask yourself is if you want your customers to be able to text back.
While many businesses only need to notify their customers, depending on your business, you might want to enable them to text back.
If your business relies on repeat business or a high-level of service, the 2-way text is a must-have feature for your text message software.
Depending on the software you choose, there are varying prices per text as well as payment methods.
Some text message software allows you to buy credit to start texting others allow you to pay as you go.
Credit:
Pros: Great if you know exactly how many outbound texts you’ll need to send as well as inbound if you choose to choose a software that allows your customers to text back
Cons: If you find out that you need more credits, you either need to change the tier of your service or pay an inflated rate per credit which can become costly
Pay as you go:
Pros: In most cases, these software tools will not restrict your text usage, meaning you can text and not worry about which package you’re subscribed to
Cons: Depending on the provider, you can be charged upwards 4 cents a text. It’s suggested never to pay over 2 cents a text as a rule of thumb
Some text message marketing software limit the number of characters you are allowed to send in a given text message. While it is always best practice to keep your texts short and to the point, there are times when you may need that extra wiggle room to send a more thought our or meaningful text message to your customers.
Make sure you understand the character limits of your text message marketing service.
Automating your text message marketing feels amazing until your customers are still getting your texts even though they’ve expressed to you that they’d like to opt-out of your text list.
While you may be unhappy that your customers are ghosting you, you are liable to be fined a substantial amount if you text them without their consent.
Save yourself the trouble and make sure your software allows your customers to opt-out automatically
Did you know that some text message software tools share a set of numbers among multiple other businesses?
If you care about the real estate of your own personal number, make sure that you have full ownership of your personal number.
If you care about servicing a local customer base then being able to choose your area code is just as valuable as owning your own number.
Cold callers and spammers have deterred customers from messages they receive from area codes they’ve never heard of. That’s why picking a local area code is important to build trust between you and your texting community.
Just because the software can text your customers, doesn’t mean it lets them call you.
Some software companies don’t allow your customers to call. If this is the case, they will be sent to an automated message denying them access.
Others only enable the customer to call the head office of a business. While this may work for some, it detracts from the relationship your customers have with the location they frequent the moth.
A must-have feature if you have a multi-location business.
If you’re still unsure of which software to use, TRY IT OUT.
Many companies will let you try out their software for a trial run before you make a commitment. Take advantage of this and test them out to see if they are truly right for you. If they don’t let you trial, then I would suggest you keep looking.
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