As 90% of text messages are read within three minutes of receipt, it’s no wonder why SMS is increasingly popular for customer engagement across marketing, sales, and service.
But businesses require the right technology in order to start texting customers. In fact, 80% of businesses are currently using software to automate SMS.
In-house SMS can quickly turn into a nightmare, so most businesses will opt for a mass texting service to enable SMS at scale.
However, like any solution, not all mass texting services are built the same. What separates the best is functionality, reliability, and the right features to support business needs for SMS specifically.
This guide breaks down what you should look for in a mass texting service before you buy, highlighting 7 features that are true must-haves for any business looking to drive ROI with texting.
What is a mass texting service?
A mass texting service is a platform or provider that allows businesses to send text messages at scale to customers, leads, or subscribers.
Common use cases for these SMS solutions include:
- Marketing campaigns: SMS platforms enable businesses to send promotional messages at scale.
- Lead follow-up: With higher engagement rates than email or phone calls, texting is a great way to follow up with leads.
- Appointment scheduling and reminders: Texting is a convenient way to schedule appointments in real time without asking customers to hop on the phone.
- Notifications and customer service: As customers have their smartphones on them 24/7, text is a great channel for updates and customer service.
Why use a mass texting service?
For businesses, mass texting services are essential to sending SMS at scale. Mass texting services allow your business to capitalize on the effectiveness of texting without worrying about carriers, phone numbers, or the workload of sending thousands of texts.
A mass texting service sets up a legitimate and consistent phone number for your business to use when texting. It also unifies all text conversations in one place, while allowing messages to be sent to thousands of customers at once, with the ability to segment within your customer base.
Rather than having reps have one-off conversations with customers on individual devices, a mass texting service allows your business to implement visibility, control, and scale for SMS—while reaping the many benefits that texting has to offer.
Benefits of mass texting services
Texting is the highest-preferred channel among consumers. Mass texting services allow your team to send messages straight to the most-used app on your customers’ smartphones—which has huge benefits, especially when it comes to engagement.
According to Martech.org, 75% of consumers prefer to receive promotional content over text rather than other marketing channels.
Benefits include:
- Higher open and response rates than email or calls (See our testimonial for proof of how texting improved engagement for client Colibri Group, especially when compared to email)
- Faster speed-to-lead
- Variety of use cases across marketing, sales, and service
- Scalability without increasing headcount
- Better customer experience by meeting customers where they already are: their phones
7 features to look for in a mass texting service
If you’re ready to start shopping around for a mass texting service, let’s discuss the 7 features you’ll want to look for before you make a purchase. Not all mass texting services are equal: each comes with its own set of capabilities, and some are more important than others.
1. SMS compliance built in
Most marketers are probably familiar with the TCPA, but did you know that this law applies to texting too? The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) governs both calls and texts in the United States, and violations can quickly cause massive financial and reputational damage for a non-compliant business.
The TCPA isn’t the only regulation to worry about. Compliance includes the carriers (CTIA), A2P registration, and state “mini” TCPAs, state laws that apply to texting anyone in the state. Risks of non-compliance include fines, lawsuits, deliverability issues, and consumer distrust.
When it comes to mass texting services, many don’t come with any guidelines or help with compliance—you’ll be on your own.
Must-haves for your mass texting service include:
- Built-in opt-in/opt-out functionality
- A2P and Trust Score registration support
- Ongoing monitoring for deliverability
2. Two-way SMS capabilities
While one-way promotional messages and confirmations are useful, one-way SMS doesn’t cut it anymore. Businesses need to deliver more than just mass marketing messages—customers expect real-time conversations, where they can ask questions, reschedule appointments, get support, or even complete purchases.
Verse research shows that customers are eager to move forward via text, and more likely to respond to qualifying questions over SMS; qualifying campaigns see answer rates up to 92%.
Two-way SMS allows your business to actually engage with customers via text to connect when it matters most.
Must-have for your mass texting service: Two-way capabilities (not just message delivery).
3. CRM and software integrations
Of course, you’ll want any mass texting service you’re using to integrate with your existing systems, such as your CRM.
This ensures that text conversations update the CRM with relevant information, and can trigger the right workflows based on where the customer is in their journey. For example, if you want to offer appointment scheduling via SMS, the texting service should offer integration with your calendar app, like Calendly, etc.
Must-have for your mass texting service: software integration and automatic syncing with CRM.
4. Conversation history and analytics
You’ll want a unified platform where you can see conversation history for all text conversations. Your team should be able to see past messages and performance data at a glance, so they can flag conversations for follow-up, ensure the correct reps are following up, send the right messaging to the right audiences, and track engagement to fine-tune their strategy.
In addition, you’ll want analytics for text conversations, such as open rates, reply rates, opt-out rates, conversation sources, and conversion rates, to name a few. Without these, managers and teams will be flying blind when it comes to your SMS strategy.
Must-haves for your mass texting service:
- Searchable conversation threads
- Conversation dashboard with history
- Analytics and reporting
5. Appointment scheduling & reminders
One of the most common use cases for SMS is appointment scheduling and reminders. Making appointment scheduling easy by offering it via text increases appointments set; sending reminders via text reduces no-shows. At Verse, we’ve found a great conversation flow to be: inquiry to qualification to appointment setting, all over text.
Must-have for your mass texting service: built-in appointment links and/or integrations with scheduling tools, ability to automate reminders, reschedules, and confirmations.
6. Live transfer functionality
Sometimes, text conversations will reach a point where a phone call is needed. When that happens, the handoff from SMS to call should be seamless. This requires a live transfer functionality that ensures consistency and eliminates friction for the customer and the rep.
Reps should have the conversation visible to them so customers don’t repeat themselves. In addition, phone calls should come from the same number so that the customer is not confused.
Live transfer functionality is essential for high-intent leads moving through to sales, and for complex customer service inquiries.
Must-have for your mass texting service: SMS-to-call capability that routes customers in real-time to a human rep with full context.
7. Managed services
Many teams don’t have time to manage SMS campaigns manually. Your team will need support from their texting service, not just the platform and features. Managed services are an underrated feature for mass texting services, but SMS management is a huge weight that is lifted off of your team.
You don’t want to be using a platform that takes weeks to set up or doesn’t provide any help with conversation management or integration.
Setting up campaigns can be a challenge, and you’ll want a partner that can help your team manage campaigns and scripting. Texting is unlike other channels, like email, and requires short and precise scripts that maximize reply rates.
For reps, it can be difficult to juggle many different text conversations at once, especially after hours. AI and automation can be helpful in reducing this burden by managing conversations at scale, with 24/7 automated replies to FAQ, automatic lead qualification and scheduling, and routing to human reps. With AI operating on the front lines, your team can focus on high-value conversations while ensuring that every customer is covered, 24/7.
Must-have: a mass texting provider that offers full-service SMS management, including setup, integration, compliance, script optimization, and automated follow-up.
How to choose the right mass texting service
When making a final decision about which mass texting service is right for you, you’ll ultimately want to match the features to your desired use case. For example, if you want to move from SMS to a call with sales, you’ll definitely want a live transfer functionality.
It also depends on how you’ll use texting: for marketing, sales, or service—but if you want to use texting across the customer journey, you’ll really want each of the features listed above.
Ideally, mass texting services shouldn’t just drop messages to your customers’ smartphones, but promote conversations that actually connect your brand with your customers. Choose a solution built for connection at scale, not just volume.
The above list also considers scalability, compliance risk mitigation, and team bandwidth. Fully-managed solutions often outperform basic ones simply because of the support they provide with faster setup, robust analytics, and assistance with scripts that will convert. DIY solutions, in contrast, are extremely costly in terms of the manual work involved—and can be a huge compliance risk.
A mass texting service that drives results
What a coincidence that Verse checks every box on this list—but really, we built our platform with texting must-haves in mind.
Verse’s fully-managed SMS platform enables two-way texting conversations, at scale, across the customer journey, without overworking your team.
The Verse platform combines:
- Compliance enablement and guidance, including Trust Score registration.
- Two-way engagement at scale with conversational AI.
- Customizable scripts with expert scripting team and lead nurture for up to six months.
- Appointment scheduling, including reminders, reschedules, and cancellations.
- Seamless live transfers to your team.
- Robust analytics, with reply rates, time of day, and lead sources, to name a few.
- Managed services, including integration, setup, and our human-in-the-loop concierge team.
If you’re ready to do mass texting right, book a call with us or check out our self-serve demos to learn more.
Key takeaways: Choosing a mass texting service
- A mass texting service enables businesses to send SMS at scale, without managing phone numbers, carriers, or manual outreach.
- Texting is a preferred and high-performing channel, with 75% of consumers favoring SMS for promotional content.
- TCPA requirements, A2P registration, and carrier rules mean compliance is a non-negotiable feature of any mass texting service.
- CRM integrations and conversation visibility are critical for tracking the customer journey, triggering workflows, and ensuring seamless handoffs.
- Live transfer from text to phone is a must-have for high-intent moments, allowing sales or support teams to step in with full context when conversations require a call.
- Managed services and automation dramatically reduce team workload and risk, helping businesses use SMS without overwhelming reps.
- The best mass texting services focus on conversations for meaningful customer connections at scale while protecting deliverability, brand trust, and team bandwidth.
Choosing a mass texting service: FAQ
What is a mass texting service?
A mass texting service is a platform that allows businesses to send SMS messages to large groups of customers or leads at once. Modern mass texting services go beyond one-way message delivery and support two-way conversations, automation, and integrations with CRMs and call center software.
Can mass texting be two-way?
Yes. The most effective mass texting services allow customers to reply freely and engage in real conversations. Two-way SMS dramatically improves engagement, response rates, and customer experience compared to one-way texting.
Is mass texting compliant with TCPA and carrier regulations?
Mass texting can be compliant. You’ll want a service includes built-in support for:
- Express written opt-ins
- Functional opt-outs
- A2P 10DLC registration
- Carrier guidelines (CTIA)
Can mass texting integrate with my CRM or call center software?
Yes. The best mass texting services integrate directly with CRMs and call center platforms to sync contacts, log conversations, trigger workflows, and provide visibility across teams.
Is mass texting only for marketing campaigns?
No. While mass texting is often associated with marketing, it’s also used for:
- Lead qualification and follow-up
- Appointment scheduling and reminders
- Customer service and support
- Re-engagement and nurture campaigns
Do I need a managed service or can I run mass texting myself?
While some companies manage SMS internally, many prefer managed mass texting services that handle setup, compliance, scripting, automation, and ongoing optimization.
What should businesses avoid when choosing a mass texting service?
Businesses should be cautious of platforms that:
- Only support one-way SMS
- Offer no compliance guidance
- Lack CRM integrations
- Provide little visibility into conversation history
- Require agents to manually manage all texts
These limitations can create operational strain, compliance risk, and poor customer experience.
How long does it take to get started with a mass texting service?
Timelines vary by provider. Fully managed mass texting services like Verse typically launch very quickly. Setup may include A2P registration, compliance review, integrations, and scripting.
