A good text messaging service is all you need to send short, targeted messages to your customers. No matter the size of your business, text messaging services can help you engage with your customers and manage promotions, coupons, or announcements more effectively. However, choosing a service that effectively caters to your needs is an uphill task. So we have compiled a list of things to keep in mind before choosing a service.

User friendly
A text messaging service has to be user-friendly. It is one of the most crucial factors to be considered. The messaging platform you intend to use should be easy to set up and simple. It should not be such that you need a specialist to use the platform.

Two-way conversations
Two-way conversations are the key to successful text messaging marketing. The text messaging service should enable you to both send and receive messages. Without the ability to receive messages, you will not be able to receive confirmation, queries, or feedback from customers.

Automation features
As a business, you need more features than just sending text messages. Automation helps businesses reply to common questions from customers through automated responses, eliminating the need for an employee to respond. It is also helpful if you want to send the same text message regularly as a reminder to customers.

Integrations
For text messaging, you might need a host of other digital tools to streamline your internal workflow. An efficient text messaging service will allow you to integrate your text marketing with existing marketing tools such as CRMs and other databases. Look for text messaging services that provide ample integration opportunities.

Customer support
As with any service, you need to ensure that the text messaging service you choose has a full staff of support team members to assist you in case something goes wrong. From initial setup to ongoing support, the support system should help you in every way.

Analytics and reports
Analytics and reports will help you in verifying the effectiveness of your text messaging campaign. Based on these reports, you can improve your future campaign performances. The text messaging platform should provide a pre-built dashboard that showcases transactions, click rates, unsubscribes, and more for performance analysis.

Free trial
When deciding on a text messaging service, free trials are always beneficial. It allows you to evaluate the service and make an informed decision. With free trials, you can get familiar with the user interface and specific features to find out whether the service is exactly what your business needs.

Best text managing services
Depending on how you want to use the application and how well it suits your budget, you can choose the best text messaging service for your business. There are dozens of text messaging services in the market, but a few stand out. Here is a curated list of some of the top text messaging services:

EZ Texting
EZ Texting is an intuitive text messaging platform with an assortment of features, including Shutterstock integration. All these features are centered around marketing-based campaigns to increase customer engagement. Depending on your needs, you can choose from flexible or high-volume plans.

SimpleTexting
Run your marketing campaigns with ease using the text messaging service offered by SimpleTexting. Features such as an intuitive user interface, custom in-house integrations, and a dedicated account manager make SimpleTexting one of the top text messaging services.

Podium
This all-in-one messaging platform provides an optimal user experience to businesses. Apart from marketing, it supports customer payments by text message and has a review management dashboard bringing businesses closer to their customers. It also allows you to turn text conversations into video chat to improve conversion rates.

Textedly
Textedly is another powerful messaging platform offering standard well-built text messages marketing features such as mass texting, scheduling, and automated reply. Other valuable features include free incoming text messages, contact management tools, custom keywords, and many more.

SlickText
This is a feature-packed text messaging service that also offers an easy-to-use platform. SlickText provides businesses with standard text message marketing features, reporting, and personalization and integrates with several third-party apps.

TextMagic
This text messaging service has flexible pricing and is suited for those businesses with changing text messaging needs. Getting started is easy using the simple, intuitive interface. You can create text marketing lists, receive live delivery reports, and more. TextMagic also offers a 30-day free trial for new customers.

Twilio
Twilio is best for those businesses that need customization. The platform allows developers to create any type of bulk messaging service. It has programmable messaging and conversation API that allows businesses to send targeted marketing messages, mass alerts, and more via text, chat, or Whatsapp.

Reach out to your customers faster using any of the above text messaging services. Make sure to choose the one that allows you to achieve your marketing goals within your budget.