Where everything is intended to be immediate, text message marketing has proved to be one of the best ways of connecting a business and its customers. From launching a new product and giving out new offers to keeping your customers informed, SMS is a direct method of reaching audience members on their mobile devices.
Text message marketing cost is one of the issues that marketers need to understand in order to understand and optimize their strategies. Carrier premiums, SMS Credits, the specific type of messages sent out, and other related factors, all affect the text messaging marketing cost which is essential to operating a marketing campaign.
In this blog, we will assess the elements and variables that affect the cost of SMS Marketing so you do not make needless expensive choices.
What Are The Components of Text Message Marketing Cost?
1. SMS Credit and Pricing Structures
Among the aspects associated with text message marketing, somewhere almost at the top of the list is the cost of SMS credits. Sending an SMS consumes one credit, regardless of the message content or the destination, even though the actual credit usage may vary.
For instance, sending complex texts that require multiple messages or delivering messages quickly to international destinations will consume more credits, ultimately increasing your SMS marketing costs.
Furthermore, some firms structure their SMS marketing pricing by requiring customers to purchase a set number of credits each month. Larger businesses may enjoy buying a large number of credits at a time as it helps reduce costs per message.
For example, EZ Texting is a platform that many find useful since its pricing policy is based on the amount of text messages sent. The more the messages the lower the price per sent message compared to a company that only sends a few every month. Depending on your marketing needs, selecting the ideal plan can help lower the amount spent on text message marketing to a great extent.
2. Short Code for High Volume Campaigns
Businesses that are not afraid to go mass texting or sms marketing usually love the use of short codes. Short codes are telephone numbers that range between five to six digits and are used for mass marketing on multiple phones. The marketing short codes have some mischievous pretense of making it easy but it has a flip side.
Renting a unique short code can cost anywhere from five hundred dollars a month to one thousand dollars. There are cheaper options for shared short codes that allow the use of short codes by more than one company but they have their constraints. Besides, with short codes, it could take weeks to order them, and approval might be needed from the networks to increase your text message marketing cost.
3. Carrier Fees and Regulations
The third determinant of a text message marketing campaign is probably carrier fees. Every single time a text is sent, mobile carriers incur a fee that is charged for the delivery of this message. Such carrier fees can depend on several factors including the geographic location of the recipient, whether the message is SMS or MMS, and the carrier’s particular pricing system.
In some situations, international texts or certain kinds of messages, like those sent at peak times, might incur extra charges.
In order to avoid incurring such losses, most businesses make use of sms marketing providers like Twilio SMS or, again, EZ Texting which include these carrier costs in the models. It is very important to know the amount you pay for every SMS if you want to control your marketing expenses.
4. MMS and SMS Message
For messages, enterprises usually face the option of SMS (ordinary text) and MMS (with the inclusion of multimedia) messages when sending them. Whereas SMS permits sending texts of no more than 160 alphanumeric characters, MMS messages consist of, among others, images, videos, or even audio which makes them more interactive,
However, there are cases in which MMS messages tend to be more expensive than SMS messages, depending on the cost charged per message.
For instance, a retailer sending an SMS may disseminate a brief sale message while an MMS message may have an advertisement with bright graphics. The greater interaction offered by MMS may warrant the extra cost. But, businesses need to analyze the incremental benefits in comparison to the incremental cost of marketing using sms.
5. SMS Marketing Platforms
To implement and execute bulk sms marketing to clients, companies are keen on utilizing sms marketing platforms such as EZ Texting, Twilio, other sms marketing tools, and many more. There is usually a standard subscription fee in addition to purchasing texts from these service providers and their prices depend on the nature of service offered.
And, it varies on message scheduling, automating messaging, and statistics of the use of the messaging service.
These more facile providers may charge premium rates from organizations with certain regular SMS drip campaigns, developed segmentation capabilities, or rapid reporting for target businesses. Still, these types of tools focus more and more accurately at addressing particular markets and improves the return on investment from an sms marketing campaign.
Factors Deeming The Total Text Message Marketing Cost
1. Volume of Messages
The pre-set boundaries of text message marketing cost depend on the number of messages sent. In most cases, a large number of messages costs only a limited extra rather than the full charge message per message.
For small companies, teething into sms marketing campaigns, it’s wise to scale up the campaign in bites so as to minimize the text message marketing cost. On the other hand, large-scale corporations that have sufficiently deep pockets when it comes to marketing will often take advantage of the considerable discounts offered on bulk buying.
For example, a company that sends 2,000 messages would be charged $0.10 per message, whereas one sending 50,000 messages would pay just $0.03 each. This pricing model benefits both sides, allowing businesses to cut costs as their campaign volumes grow.
2. Target Location
For international recipients, sending messages could attract higher carrier charges due to increased intrusion of geographic and country pricing structures. If your business is cross-border, you will have to take into consideration the regional charges and how they may apply to your overall text message marketing cost.
As another example, the cost of sending an sms message to a customer in the U.S.A. could probably cost a few cents, whereas someone in Europe or Asia sending the same message may incur higher costs. For companies with international operations, it’s important to choose sms marketing software with an honest pricing policy for international campaigns.
3. Marketing Campaign Type
The type of campaign you’re running can also impact the expenses involved. For example, confidential messages, such as a message indicating that their purchase is in transit or a reminder on an appointment can be classified as necessary messages and are less expensive to send. Whereas, Marketing messages, which are mostly controlled by carriers and thus attract higher fees.
Likewise, interactive sms marketing campaigns such as voting, contests, or surveys, tend to send out more messages, thus making the campaigns more costly. Nevertheless, these campaigns can also generate better customer engagement for your higher return on your sms marketing.
4. Compliance and requirement to opt-in
Following the rules of compliance is another important point to observe in the course of campaigns and implementing sms marketing. Compliance, which involves getting the necessary opt-in from customers is a requirement. Failure to follow the required rules may accrue penalties and litigation fees which may also be useful in the marketing campaigns, increasing the text message marketing cost.
In order not to run into any compliance issues, the business has to ensure that the SMS subscriber list has only those customers who are willing to receive texts from them. Sometimes, it requires putting in place double opt-in systems where a customer has to reply to an initial message confirming that he/she would like to subscribe.
5. Customer Engagement and Support
Deploying good customer support systems and customer service while undertaking sms marketing campaigns affects your total sms marketing expenditure. Giving customers the chance to reach people for help or get back or answer questions immediately will enhance the activities and efficiency of the marketers’ campaigns.
Some of the sms marketing platforms incorporate customer support services as part of the subscription plans. This means that the extra cost incurred will improve the overall experience for you and your audience.
How To Make The Most Of The Text Message Marketing Cost In Your Strategy
For your sms marketing strategy to be effective, it is important not to lose focus in relation to generating value from a given sms marketing strategy. Here are some of the recommendations you can consider to implement the most out of the text message marketing cost into a strategy:
- Categorize Your Audience: Instead of flooding your entire audience with mass texts, segment the element of sms subscribers in relevance to their demographics, and purchasing habits and show the past or the present social engagement levels. This will increase the chances of sending the appropriate message to the appropriate segment of consumers.
- Optimize Message Timing: This is especially important when sending a text message. Box message marketing is best done when it’s peak time and the customers will really need it. That is during breaks or after work hours which increases the effectiveness of the campaign.
- Use Cross Channel Marketing: There are advantages to using SMS in addition to other approaches such as email marketing or social media so that the audience is not ignored. This approach meets customer needs more predictably by ensuring that customers receive information without being overwhelmed.
See related post: Text message Marketing for Car Dealership
So, what makes up the text message marketing cost?
The text message marketing cost is determined by several aspects. The number of sms credits, otherwise carrier fees, short codes, and even the type of sms marketing platform that one is using in promoting the services. Every business unit must carefully consider these factors to formulate cost-effective campaigns that engage clients effectively.
In small-medium sms marketing campaigns or mass texting operations, the knowledge of the costs is an advantage. One will understand how to maximize text message marketing cost returns and keep the investment in check. Text message marketing as part of a marketing strategy framework is possible with the use of sms marketing instruments in the proper way, increasing clients and developing market relations.