How to Choose the Best SMS Provider: 11 Key Factors That Matter

The success of your SMS campaign highly relies on the SMS service provider you choose. Don’t you believe? Let’s understand it through a simple example. Suppose you’ve launched a summer sale SMS campaign. Everything is in place. You have utilized attractive graphics, offered significant discounts, and employed a skilled and seasoned marketing team. Still, you didn’t get the expected result.

Reason?

You have scheduled your SMS campaign with the random service provider you found online.

The result?

Delayed and missing messages and angry customers. The campaign failed not because of poor planning but because you chose the wrong SMS provider.

So, whether you’re a startup or an enterprise, selecting the best SMS provider is a must. The best SMS service provider can be the bridge between you and your customers. It will help create genuine and engaging customer experiences that build lasting customer relationships and drive meaningful revenue.

In this guide, we have discussed 11 key factors to consider when choosing the right SMS provider.

11 Key Factors to Consider While Selecting the Best SMS Provider

Let’s check out key factors that you need to keep in mind while selecting the best SMS provider.

1. Reliable and Quick Message Delivery

According to Gartner, SMS offers a 98% open rate and 90% of them are read within 3 minutes of receipt.

So, if message delivery is delayed, you lose the opportunity to engage because users disappear quickly, especially during high-sales times like BFCM. This often happens when your SMS provider has a low throughput limit (the maximum number of messages that can be sent per second). It causes delays during peak loads.

For example,

Suppose you’ve sent a flash sale SMS to 10,000 customers during Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM). However, it reaches them after the sale ends. Isn’t it useless? Speed, throughput limit,  and delivery are the most important factors when it comes to text messaging. Your message should be delivered within seconds, even during high-volume sending times like BFCM.

Therefore, you must select an SMS platform with a robust delivery network, good throughput limit, and strong infrastructure that ensures your message is delivered effectively. Ensure the SMS provider you choose offers high delivery rates and real-time delivery reports. You can ask for a free trial to test delivery speed.

2. Scalability and Reliability

Your business won’t stay small forever, and neither will your SMS subscribers. So, your SMS provider should be ready to grow with you. Ask yourself a few questions while selecting the best SMS provider to ensure it can keep up as things scale:

• Will this platform handle high-volume campaigns during peak times?
• Do they offer uptime guarantees?
• Do they allow you to add more contacts or segment them without extra charges?

The best SMS provider will offer a cloud-based, scalable solution that won’t crash during the festive or holiday season.

3. Message Customization and Personalization

Answer this question honestly – would you respond to “Hey customer, check our sale” or “Hey Emily, your favourite dresses are 40% off today!”?

Personalization always wins when it comes to SMS marketing. So, choose the SMS provider that provides segmentation tools, A/B testing, and supports merge fields, which work the same as dynamic tags ( [First Name], [City]), etc.

Even as per a McKinsey study, 76% of consumers prefer to buy from brands that personalize their communication. Businesses can use customer data to craft personalized message which will boost engagement and conversion.

When you choose the best SMS service provider, they will help you send relevant messages, not generic texts. Go for the platform that delivers a hyper-relevant experience to customers by using customer data through triggers, flows, and automation features.

4. Seamless Integration With Existing Systems

Does your SMS tool work in a silo? If yes, you’re losing your valuable time and data. You must choose an SMS platform that can be easily integrated with CRMs, ecommerce platforms, email marketing tools, and customer support tools. It lets you automate the workflow.

For example, whenever someone signs up on your website, your SMS platform should automatically send a welcome message to the new user. In short, easy integration = efficiency.

5. AI-Enabled Features

No business owner wants to send the same message to every customer, and not every entrepreneur has time to write each message manually. Here, AI and automation can be a helpful hand. Popular SMS platforms like Textdrip offer AI features such as AI intent detection and text message spam checker. Besides, it supports an AI-text generator, chatbot integration for two-way SMS, autoresponders for FAQs, etc.

In short, SMS platforms with AI capabilities help improve response rates, save time, and personalize communication on autopilot.

6. Built-in Compliance and Data Security

Text messaging is a highly regulated communication channel with strict rules and requirements. Therefore, the SMS provider you choose must be familiar with SMS compliance laws and offer built-in tools to help you stay compliant. If you send promotional SMS without customer’s permission, you need to pay a fine, or even your brand can be banned.

Therefore, select an SMS provider that is TCPA, GDPR, and 10DLC compliant and has a built-in opt-in/opt-out system.

Before settling down on any SMS provider, ask them about their data encryption and storage practices. Remember, you’re not just sending SMS, but you are handling your personal data. Therefore, the best SMS gateway provider in the USA should treat that data with care.

7. Customer Support and Onboarding

Responsive and reliable customer support is not optional, but it is a key factor in customer retention and smooth onboarding. 86% of consumers leave a brand after only two poor customer experiences.

Understand that not everyone is tech-savvy. So, human support is always required. While selecting the best SMS provider, check whether the platform offers 24/7 live chat or phone support, a dedicated account manager, and onboarding help and training resources. Never settle for the ticket system with a 2-day response time.

In short, from evaluation to purchase and even post-purchase, your SMS provider must assist you at each step. A provider must offer constant technical support with skilled, seasoned, and responsible personnel.

8. Comprehensive Reporting and Campaign Analytics

It’s simple: you cannot improve what you don’t measure. Ensure the SMS provider you choose offers a real-time dashboard with delivery rates, open and click-through rates, opt-in/opt-out data, bounce rate, and ROI tracking for each SMS campaign. It helps you get more insight into which strategy worked well and which didn’t.

The best SMS service provider offers top-notch reporting and analytics tools that keep your SMS campaign on track. This way, you can create and optimize SMS marketing campaigns that engage customers and win more business.

The best low-cost SMS service provider will not only send your messages but also help you learn from them, engage customers, and win more business.

9. Transparent and Flexible Pricing

Who likes hidden fees? No one, right? The best SMS service provider must offer a clear and simple pricing plan. So, ask your shortlisted SMS providers whether their quotation includes a setup fee, per SMS fee, tax, monthly hosting fee, campaign registration fee, 10DLC fee, etc. Also, look for setup or cancellation fees, API access or integration charges, and hidden costs for delivery reports or shortcodes.

Also, inquire about bulk discounts if you plan to send a large number of messages. If you’re a startup, looking for the best low-cost SMS service provider does not mean going cheap; it means choosing value over price.

10. Reputation and Customer Reviews

According to Statista, 85% of U.S consumers prioritize the overall average star rating of a business before making a buying decision.

Source: Link

Before you sign up, see what others are saying about that specific SMS provider. Check online reviews, ask for client references, and look for case studies which are relevant to your industry.

If the SMS provider you’re planning to choose has positive reviews for customer support, uptime, and ease of use, it’s a green flag. Remember that reputation is not built overnight. So, go for the provider that is trusted and proven.

11. Supports Two-Way Messaging

SMS marketing is not only about sending an SMS to customers. In various scenarios, a business might want to receive texts from the customer as well. That’s why it is important that you choose an automated SMS marketing platform that supports two-way texting. It helps build closer relationships with your audience and brand. With one-to-one interaction, your business can quickly respond to inquiries, reschedule appointments or employee shifts, and share important updates. Everything is in an engaging and easy-to-access format. SMS marketing campaigns, such as surveys and feedback, can be easily conducted through a two-way messaging feature in an SMS platform.

Customers can even share their opinions about the product and service by replying to text messages. Also, they can communicate their issues, which lets businesses address them quickly.

Textdrip Checks All the Right Boxes!

You might be wondering if there is an SMS provider that offers all 11 key factors we’ve discussed above.

Yes, Textdrip offers all these.

So, whether you’re a startup or a growing enterprise, Textdrip is the best SMS provider for modern business. It ensures reliable message delivery with a compliance-first approach. The platform supports TCPA and 10DLC SMS compliance. Additionally, the platform is highly scalable and supports hyper-personalized messaging with automation, AI-powered segmentation ( also known as AI intent detection and classification), two-way texting, drip campaigns, and more. Also, the platform is easy to integrate with your existing CRM, ecommerce platform, etc. Textdrip offers transparent pricing and clear plans that grow with your business. In short, Textdrip is the best SMS gateway provider in the USA on which you can count.

Concluding Remarks

You do not need the most expensive SMS provider, but you need the right one that is equipped with all the 10 key factors we have discussed in this blog. Textdrip is one of them. It is the best SMS provider that helps you build trust, drive conversions, and deliver value through text messages.

So, if you’re serious about choosing the best low cost SMS service provider that does not compromise on quality, it’s time to start with Textdrip. Are you ready to make every message count? Start Textdrip’s free trial today.