Running a local business means juggling a lot, but one thing you can't afford to drop is speed in responding to customers. One Harvard study found that reaching out to a new lead within one hour makes you seven times more likely to engage that lead and potentially close a deal.

And what’s the best way to reach new leads and customers? SMS marketing. The data speaks for itself. Studies show that SMS has an open rate of 98%. But speed and automation alone won’t get sales—you need the correct data and a CRM that helps keep track of everything. 

What is CRM SMS Marketing?

Everybody gets promotional texts from brands they forgot they subscribed to. These texts are likely deleted or get high unsubscribe rates. The reason for that is simple: a lack of relevancy and personalization. 

CRM SMS marketing changes that by leveraging customer and lead data into your campaigns. You can get personalized automated SMS workflows, predictive analytics, and multi-channel outreach. But the benefits don’t stop there. 

Benefits of CRM SMS Marketing

Businesses that text customers at the right time with the right messages are 217% more successful than those who stick to generic campaigns. That’s because of the following: 

Automated and Personalized SMS Campaigns

One of the most significant advantages of using an SMS-focused CRM platform is automating campaigns and utilizing AI and customer data. This lets you create different SMS campaigns that local businesses need, such as:

• Welcome series
• Abandoned cart messages
• Order and appointment notifications
• Re-engagement or renewal campaigns

But CRMs are essential because they help personalize. AI algorithms analyze customer data and behaviors to craft timely messages and recommend products to promote. 

Centralized Inbox for All Communications

Tracking all customer communication in your text channels is hard enough. Now, add messages from your website, email, and social media accounts. That’s a nightmare to track. To keep things in check, you’ll need an all-in-one inbox that can centralize all communications. 

For example, if your CRM knows a customer clicked an email but didn’t convert, you could trigger an SMS follow-up with a better offer. Or if a customer just purchased an SMS link, you might stop similar email promos to them for a while. 

Turn Website Visitors into Sales Opportunities

In traditional brick-and-mortar stores, salespeople can approach anybody who goes inside. You can’t say the same about website visitors. If you want to reach out, you must wait for them to fill out a form on your landing page. 

But if you have a tool that can help you engage with site visitors, collect their data, add it directly to a CRM, and reach out immediately, you can turn your site into a lead generation machine that runs like clockwork. 

Answer Customer Queries and Fulfill Needs in an Instant

You can’t track every message 24/7. You’ll need a tool to manage two-way SMS conversations, engage site visitors, and collect contact information. Customers can ask questions, buy products, and pay with the convenience of a text. 

For more common questions, you can set up an AI tool to answer customer support questions and start sales convos that are contextually relevant to their customer data to help sales teams maximize productivity when a new lead is handed over. 

Maximizes Sales Team Productivity

A CRM helps sales teams stay organized, focused, and on track by keeping all their customer data, interactions, and tasks in one place: no more scattered notes or forgotten follow-ups.

And when it comes to team collaboration? That’s where Chekkit’s Groupchat comes in. Here’s how Groupchat keeps your team on the same page:

• You can create multiple groups to keep conversations focused and relevant. This means you won't have to sift through endless messages to find what matters.
• Whether your team is across town or the country, Groupchat allows instant communication and virtual meetings anywhere.
• Shared files, messages, and discussions are stored and easily accessible, so your team always has the info they need without wasting time searching.
• Do you need to clarify something quickly? Groupchat’s built-in video chat lets you instantly switch from text to a virtual meeting.

Best CRM for SMS Marketing

The best CRMs for SMS marketing should have features that let you automate campaigns, track customer behavior, and provide insights from key metrics to help you iterate strategies. Below are three options that provide just that. 

Chekkit.io

Growing your business often comes with a steep cost, especially when starting to scale. That’s why we built Chekkit. We’ve got all the bells and whistles of bigger platforms at a fraction of the cost because we want local businesses to grow at an affordable price.

Our Business Package starts at $127/month if you pay for an annual subscription. You don’t need to pay for additional contacts or extra seats when adding new team members. Plus, you get the following features built specifically for CRM SMS Marketing.

Centralized Customer Database: 

• Store and manage all customer interactions in one place.
• Organize contacts with tags and statuses for targeted messaging.
• View the website and click path history to understand customer behavior.

Smart SMS Marketing & Automation

• Send bulk text campaigns to reach multiple customers at once.
• Set up custom auto-replies and after-hours responses to keep engagement going 24/7.
• Use message scheduling to send texts at the perfect time.
• Automate review requests with Review Drip Campaigns to boost credibility.

AI-Powered Outreach & Responses

• Use AI-suggested replies to speed up responses.
• Automate AI review and FAQ responses to engage customers instantly.
• Respond to customers faster with unanswered message reminders so no lead gets left behind.

Seamless Multi-Platform Messaging

• Manage conversations across SMS, Google, Facebook, Instagram, and website chat from one inbox.
• Enable textable landlines so customers can text your business phone.
• Route messages to the right team members with message routing for faster service.

Integrated Analytics & Customer Insights

• Track outgoing and incoming messages to measure engagement.
• Monitor review link tracking to see how many customers leave feedback.
• Get insights into competitor rankings to stay ahead in your industry.

Birdeye

Birdeye is a highly rated platform that integrates text messaging, customer review management, and customer experience tools into one system. It offers all the essentials you’d need from an SMS tool, such as a unified inbox and automation features. 

However, Birdeye doesn’t have flat-rate pricing. Instead, it’s tailored to your business size and needs. But, if you have a single-location business, pricing starts at around $299/month for their Starter plan.

More advanced packages with AI tools, social media management, and additional messaging features range from $349 to $449/month per location. For this price, you get: 

• Multi-Channel Messaging: Manage SMS, website chat, and social media messages from one inbox.
• Automated Review Requests: Send review invites via SMS or email and monitor feedback on sites like Google.
• AI-Powered Engagement: To save time, get AI-suggested replies, sentiment analysis, and automated responses.
• Reputation Management: Track and improve online reviews to boost credibility.
• Industry-Focused Solutions: Popular among healthcare, financial services, and retail businesses that rely on high customer satisfaction.

Key Takeaways

CRM SMS marketing is the best way to communicate with customers and leads. Gone are the days of generic, spammy, and poorly performing messages. With a CRM tool built for SMS, you can run campaigns focused on providing the most value to customers. 

If you’re ready to see how Chekkit can help you turn text messages into revenue, book a free demo today!