SMS Application: Choosing the best one

If you’re looking for an SMS application to handle your text messaging, take a moment to educate yourself. Afterall, there are some great competitors in the text messaging space. You will want to choose the best one for you. It can be overwhelming, today every provider has distinguishing features that separate them from the rest. Today we’re sharing some key things you should look at when shopping for SMS services. Taking the time to do so will ensure you get a platform that meets your needs at an affordable price.

To simplify we’re breaking things down into pricing, features, and support. Let’s start and dive into pricing!

Pricing for an SMS Application

Your cost per outgoing SMS message.

First and foremost, you need to know how much it costs to send one SMS via the SMS gateway provider. SMS application prices per message may range between $.005 – $.012 with an aggressively priced provider. AvidMobile breaks their pricing plans down into three types. You can sign up for a pay as you go plan, a plan including outgoing messages, or purchases messages in bulk.  No matter what plan you choose it is important to realize there are pricing plans for all budgets. Have an idea of your outgoing message volume, that will be a major factor when deciding on pricing.

The cost for additional items or features.

While outgoing messages make up the majority of a users overage charges there are charges for other features that may come into play. This can include charges for things like keywords, SMS coupons, kiosk, and other important SMS marketing tools to point out a few. When talking to a text message application provider ask them what is included in their plan. Find if popular features are included and if not what you would pay to use them.

Account set up fees.

Does the SMS application provider charge a setup fee? If the answer is yes don’t be afraid to ask what that fee covers. A majority of providers do charge a setup fee of some sorts. For most, this fee covers account creation, training, and other costs of starting a new client.

In demand SMS Application features

No two business run the same. That being said it’s impossible to provide a specific list of texting features that every business needs. Gauging what your business might need from an SMS application provider shouldn’t be a difficult task. In fact, most business can look at their existing marketing plan and quickly find ways to integrate with text message marketing. For some creating SMS, coupons may be the next logical step, for others they may use SMS to shares news and updates. The choice is up to you. Here are ten of the most popular SMS application features inside AvidMobile’s platform.

1. SMS Keywords with advanced keyword features
2. SMS Campaigns (Blasts)
3. Web-Opt-in Form Generators
4. Assitance with SMS Compliance
5. Trackable SMS Coupons
6. Loyalty programs
7. Text-to-win Contests
8. Well written tutorials
9. Quality technical and strategy support
10. Easy to download Groups/databases

SMS Application Training and Support

Another important feature, that is usually ignored by many, is the customer support services offered by the application as the support team must be knowledgeable, patient, can handle queries well and get back to you in time regarding your query.

Keep in mind everything we talked about in this article. It will help you to make the best decision when signing up for an SMS application. Wanna see if SMS is right for you? Sign up for a free trial with AvidMobile.