Choosing a Text Marketing Service: Why Should You Try It Before You Buy?

Cell phones have become a basic necessity for almost every individual, as people rely on them to communicate in multiple ways with others, search information, consume media, work and much more.
More and more small businesses and larger companies use SMS marketing as a major component of their overall marketing strategy.

Text messages offer a significant benefit: they are supported by all mobile phones, from the oldest and most basic ones to the newest and smartest models.
The ability to quickly send messages to large groups simultaneously, straight to the users’ personal phones without requiring them to open an inbox or download a special app to read them is a major advantage.

With high open and read rates, a simple and convincing message can increase awareness of your brand, grab more attention to it, reach customers, increase their loyalty and drive them into immediate action that directly affects your sales volume and bottom line.

Mass text messaging can be used for a variety of activities, such as:

• Advertising sales and deals
• Coupons, special offers, and promotions
• News updates
• Surveys
• Appointment reminders
• Alerts, announcements & notifications

Essential features like mass texting, scheduled messaging, message personalization, shortcodes, mobile keywords, automated responses, 2-way messaging, MMS support, analytics, and others are very common with many providers.

So how can you determine which cloud-based SMS marketing software is ideal for your ongoing needs?
Since there are so many alternative options available, the best thing you can do is try some out for yourself and obtain an independent insight on which SaaS product deserves your hard-earned money.

The no-obligation testing period gives you the chance to review all components of a certain program in a hands-on way, which gives you a real feel for how it works.
It also helps you to form an independent opinion about the service, discover its strengths and weaknesses, and reach a research-based conclusion, whether a long-term paid subscription is worth it or not.

How to Make the Most of an SMS Marketing Service Trial Period?

An initial trial period allows you to try out a commercial text marketing service for free before committing to a monthly or annual subscription and without spending a penny.

It’s a great way to verify that the service provider you consider delivers on everything you’re looking for before actually putting money down.
Research, reviews, and customer recommendations are extremely useful, but it’s not the same as actually taking a platform for a test drive.

Unlike a demo version or a freemium, free trial accounts come with significantly fewer limitations or restrictions, and in some cases, none at all.
In such cases, users get complete access to the entire system for a certain period and enjoy the same benefits and privileges of a paid subscriber.

This time window enables you to fully explore the service’s features, evaluate its ease of use, assess its value for money, and experience the provider’s customer service and support departments.
You get all of this without paying anything upfront and with no obligation to join the service as a paying customer.

After starting your free trial, test the dashboard, play a little bit with the system and try to create a sample campaign. See how easy (or difficult) it is to get started.
Manage contacts, build a list of subscribers, create segmented groups, use the automation and scheduling tools and check how detailed the reports are in terms of providing useful analytical data.

Ask yourself: do you like using this service? Can you easily create and send SMS blats? Can you set up automated drip campaigns and create polls, text-to-win contests, and mobile coupons?

If you’re happy with what you saw and experienced, then you are free to purchase a paid plan.
However, if the service did not meet your expectations or needs, simply cancel the trial and look for better bulk SMS alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Trying out and comparing a number of potential text marketing service options is a vital step before choosing a company and selecting a relevant plan.
Here’s a list of common questions (and answers) that often come up during this process.

• Why Should You Sign Up? Benefits of Using Free Trials before Choosing Any Paid Service
  
• “Credit Card Required”: Why Do Some Free Trial Offers Require Users to Enter-In Their Credit Card Information?
  
• Risk-Free Offer Models: What’s the Difference Between Free Trials, Freemium and Money-Back Guarantee?
  
• Common Free Trial Scams: How Do They Work and What Can You Do To Avoid Them?
  
• Tips: How Do You Cancel a Free Trial You Signed Up For?