Sending SMS has become a strength for many marketing teams who use this channel. Indeed, it has the advantage of being fast, inexpensive, effective in terms of deliverability, and offering an excellent ROI. Specifically, in the field of SMS marketing, there are two types of offers: premium SMS and low-cost SMS. In this article, we propose to compare them and explain why low-cost SMS can be more advantageous according to your needs.
Common points between low-cost SMS and premium SMS
Both solutions allow mass messaging, scheduling messages for a specific date and time, inserting a STOP SMS, and tracking campaign results, such as the number of clicks.
Very affordable rates: the main advantage of low-cost SMS
The low-cost SMS is an excellent solution if you need to send a very large volume of messages or run multiple campaigns. Why? Because its cost is particularly affordable, much more so than in the case of premium SMS. An advantage for companies that do not necessarily have a significant budget for this and want to save money while controlling their costs.
Regarding possible features, low-cost SMS allows, as mentioned above, to choose the exact launch time, insert the STOP SMS and track the number of clicks. It is also possible with SMS sending services, to personalize the content of your messages, by including, for example, the recipients’ names. A particularly important point for the success of a campaign.
Disadvantages of low-cost SMS
Despite its ultra-competitive prices, cheap SMS sending services present some disadvantages that are good to know before choosing this option.
First of all, it allows you to personalize the content of the message, but not the sender’s name. Thus, instead of directly seeing for example the name of your brand or company, the person will receive a message from a 10-digit phone number and will have to click on the SMS to find out who is sending it. A constraint that can slow down the opening rate.
Then, the receipt of a low-cost SMS can take longer than with a premium SMS. There can indeed sometimes be a more or less long sending delay, ranging from a few minutes to several hours. It’s not necessarily a problem, but it’s something to consider if you have a very tight schedule.
Also note that low-cost SMS is limited to French territory (Metropolitan France). It therefore does not allow sending messages internationally.
Finally, cheap SMS implies a limit in the number of characters used, with only 160 characters, while premium SMS allows sending longer messages.
So by better understanding the pros and cons of low-cost SMS, you are better able to make your decision. If you are a company with a limited budget, and you need to make mass mailings, it can be a very interesting solution to consider.
