SMS marketing for small business
Most small businesses already have a customer list, stored in the point-of-sale (POS) system, in the appointment book, or on the back of receipts. CampaignCNX+ lets you send that list a text message, such as a flash sale, an appointment reminder, or a note that an order is ready, for $0.06 per SMS (text message) with no monthly contract and no per-user fee.
What small businesses send
Three types of text messages cover most of what a storefront or service business needs from SMS marketing. The same steps work for a coffee shop's flash sale and an HVAC contractor's seasonal service reminder.
01 | Flash sales and walk-in traffic
Tag the customer list by store location and sort it by when each customer last visited. Write a limited-time offer with a promo code that fills in automatically, and schedule it for Thursday at 4 p.m., a time that tends to work well. The platform shows the cost before you send. For example, two thousand customers at $0.06 comes to $120. To see how texting compares with email, the channel most small businesses try first, see SMS versus email marketing.
02 | Appointment reminders and order updates
For a salon, an HVAC contractor, a dental office, or a dog groomer, no-shows reduce profit. A reminder the night before, and a confirmation on the day of the appointment, reduces no-shows. Customers reply to confirm or reschedule, and the reply arrives in the two-way inbox.
03 | Loyalty and reactivation
Tag your regulars as VIP and send early-access offers and birthday perks only to that list. Lapsed customers (no visit in 90 days) receive a separate series of messages inviting them back, all from the same account.
Who uses small-business SMS
The same mass text messaging platform works for different kinds of businesses. For example, a coffee shop sends flash promotions for slow Thursday afternoons, while an HVAC contractor sends "time for your spring tune-up" reminders on a seasonal schedule.
These shops use texting to bring in walk-in customers, announce flash offers, and reward loyalty. A typical week includes a Thursday offer, a Friday reminder, and a Monday review request.
Service businesses text about appointments and schedules more than promotions. The benefits are fewer no-shows, more reliable pickup times, and a two-way channel that customers actually respond to.
TCPA compliance without a compliance officer
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Run an optional check against the federal Do Not Call (DNC) registry when you import contacts. Most small-business lists are customers who opted in (agreed to receive your texts), but at $0.015/contact the check is worth running once.
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We remove opted-out contacts from every campaign on the account, and the send screen checks your STOP language before it lets you send.
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Carrier approval of a toll-free number takes about 3 business days, and we file the request for you. For any program that sends weekly, we recommend 10DLC, a standard local number registered with the carriers (the phone companies, such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile). It is carrier-approved, and more of its messages reach people's phones.
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Sending hours follow each customer's time zone, so no one receives a flash sale at 6 a.m.
Small-business SMS FAQ
No. Pay-as-you-go at $0.06/SMS with no monthly plan fee is designed for lists of 200 to 1,000 contacts. A coffee shop with 400 loyalty customers pays $24 to text the whole list, plus $5 a month for its number. There is no contract and no per-seat fee, and credits never expire.
Export a CSV file from Square, Shopify, Mindbody, Housecall Pro, or a spreadsheet, then upload it and match each column to a contact field. When you import, the platform checks that each phone number is valid and can run an optional DNC lookup.
Yes. Two-way messaging is an add-on at $12.49/mo (included on Enterprise). Replies arrive in a shared inbox the whole team can see, so you can answer customer questions, handle rescheduling, or pass a lead to the right person.
If your POS or e-commerce system can export a CSV file or trigger a webhook (an automatic notice sent from one system to another), the platform can send the follow-up. For most small businesses, a weekly export plus a scheduled send is enough.
Yes, if you send every week. We recommend 10DLC because more of your messages reach people's phones and you can send more messages at a time. Carrier approval of a toll-free number takes about 3 business days, and the carriers review your 10DLC registration at the same time, so you can send from your toll-free number while you wait. We file both for you.
Yes. The trial includes 100 free SMS, and your number is $5 a month. That is enough to test the process on your staff list before you send to customers.
Start sending
The fastest way to start is with a toll-free number. Purchase a phone number and import the contact list from your POS or appointment book. After carrier verification, which usually takes about three business days, you can send a flash sale or appointment reminder. For shops that text regularly (weekly promotions, loyalty offers, and win-backs), we recommend 10DLC carrier registration. You can send from your toll-free number while the carriers review it.
