Discover the 8 Best SMS Apps to Improve Small Business Engagement

If you’re struggling to choose the right SMS marketing app for your small business, you’ve come to the right place. Today, we’re talking all things SMS marketing, from what these campaigns entail to the best SMS apps to invest in.

Stay tuned to learn more about SMS marketing applications!

• What is SMS marketing? 
• Benefits of using an SMS app for small businesses
• 8 best SMS apps for small businesses
• SMS marketing app FAQs

What is SMS marketing?

SMS marketing is a type of marketing strategy that involves sending targeted text messages to customers. Businesses use SMS texting for a variety of purposes, like:

• Sending appointment reminders to customers
• Offering exclusive deals
• Reminding people about items in their online shopping cart
• Confirming orders and providing order updates
• Providing product or service information
• And more!

SMS marketing is similar to email marketing in that they allow businesses to reach broad audiences and nurture qualified leads through personalized promotional material.

Key takeway

SMS marketing is a tool that allows you to send targeted text messages to your customers and leads. You can use it to engage your audience through drip campaigns, broadcasts, or one-on-one conversations.

Benefits of using SMS apps for small businesses

SMS apps are valuable tools for those looking to start using SMS marketing strategies for their business because they organize and streamline the SMS marketing process. SMS apps allow businesses to manage their campaign progress, data, contact lists, and more — all from a single platform.

Along with a streamlined workflow, SMS apps for small businesses can also help improve SMS marketing by:

• Nurturing leads
• Encouraging repeat customers
• Earning higher open and response rates
• Personalizing customer interactions
• Improving customer engagement and conversions

8 best SMS apps for small businesses

Ready to find the perfect SMS marketing app for your business? Take a look at eight of the top business text messaging apps.

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1. Twilio

Price: Try for free, or pay as you go

Key Features: 

• Scalable messaging platform with single API for conversational chat, SMS, MMS, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and more
• CustomerAI Perception Engine, which uses natural language processing (NLP) to extract relevant customer data from voice interactions
• Two-factor authentication for log-ins and onboarding to mitigate fraud, all with a single API

2. SimpleTexting

Price: Starting at $39/month

Key Features: 

• 1,000+ app integrations
• Automated messages, including drip campaigns and text-for-info keywords
• Data collection tools for personalized messages to your contact lists

3. TextMagic

Price: Pay as you go

Key Features: 

• Schedule texts ahead of time with text scheduler
• Email to SMS features so you can send texts straight from your inbox
• Zapier integration for increased connectivity

4. EZ Texting

Price: Free trial, then starting at $20/month

Key Features: 

• Unlimited incoming messages, contacts, two-way texting, and keywords
• Image editing tool powered by Shutterstock
• AI Compose for drafting creative and compelling texts

5. Textedly

Price: 14-day free trial, then starting at $26/month

Key Features: 

• Up to 18,000 text messages per month, including picture messaging
• Unlimited contacts and free incoming messages
• Conversation triggers to automatically converse with contacts

6. SlickText

Price: 14-day free trial, then starting at $29/month

Key Features: 

• SMS shortcodes, automation, and rest API
• Two-way and group business texting
• Unlimited contacts and up to 50,000 texts each month

7. Salesmsg

Price: 14-day free trial, then starting at $25/month

Key Features: 

• Merge fields for personalized texts with custom data from your customer relationship management (CRM) platform or marketing automation software
• Import and export contacts via CSV file or CRM
• Opt-out management tools and double opt-in features

8. RingCentral

Price: Free trial, then starting at $20/month

Key Features: 

• Automation and workflows for texts
• Text integrations and third-party add-ons
• File sharing and task management tools

SMS marketing app FAQs

Now that you’ve learned about some of the best SMS apps, here are some FAQs to help you learn more about how to choose the best one for your business.

What should I look for in an SMS app?

When looking for a business text messaging app, there are a few factors you should consider:

• Cost: When considering your options for a business texting app, make sure you evaluate each app’s price to ensure it’s within your budget. You’ll also want to consider what features you’ll have access to so you can better discern its value.
• Scalability: Does the SMS app’s capabilities match your business’s needs? A great SMS app should be scalable and flexible to meet your ever-changing business needs.
• Integrations: If you use various apps and software to support your business, you’ll want to look for an SMS marketing app that can support those via integrations.
• Automation: Part of the appeal of a business text messaging app is how it streamlines your communication efforts, so it’s important that the app you choose has automation capabilities to help you create efficient workflows.
• Personalization: Personalized marketing can make a huge difference in your campaign performance. Explore what, if any, personalization options each SMS app offers so you can personalize your campaigns to your audience.
• Customer support: Knowing you’ll have help if you need it is important. When looking for an SMS app for your small business, see what customer support options are available.
• Cross-platform support: A good SMS app or add-on lets you message your prospects, leads, and customers from wherever you need. For example, Nutshell SMS empowers you to engage with your sales and marketing contacts from within your CRM, without needing to wire tools together.

What should I know before using an SMS app for business?

Before diving into your first SMS campaign, there are a few things you should know about SMS marketing applications.

First, you’ll want to ensure your audience prefers interacting with your business through text. You don’t want to invest time and resources into a campaign your target audience will ignore, right?

Second, ensure your customers have given you permission to send them SMS marketing messages. Think of your SMS marketing as email marketing — the customer needs to opt in before you send them anything.

Is business SMS texting free?

Business SMS texting isn’t entirely free, though plenty of free plans and trials are available for different SMS apps.

Pricing for SMS marketing apps can depend on several factors, all of which depend on the platform. Some factors that can affect business SMS pricing include:

• Number of messages sent each month
• Keywords
• Number of Contacts
• Two-way or mass texting
• Incoming messages
• MMS capabilities

Personalize your SMS marketing with CRM data

Have you chosen from the SMS marketing applications we featured? Want to enrich your SMS marketing campaigns with your customer data? Try Nutshell—an all-in-one CRM that manages and organizes your customer data so you can use it to customize marketing campaigns and improve customer experience.

Learn more about how you can leverage Nutshell for your next SMS campaign by contacting us online or try Nutshell for free today!

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