SMS Marketing: the complete guide to your campaigns

SMS marketing best practices to boost engagement and sales

SMS puts you closer to your customers than any other channel, well away from crowded inboxes. Want to make the most of it? This guide gives you everything you need to roll out the channel, engage your audience and maximise your return on investment (ROI).

What is SMS marketing?

SMS marketing is a direct communication channel for sending short messages to contacts who have given their consent beforehand. It is a powerful activation lever at every key moment of the customer journey:

• Acquisition: turn prospects into buyers with a welcome offer or a first-order incentive that closes their first purchase
• Loyalty: reward your best customers and build a special bond through exclusive offers, private sale invitations or rewards
• Alerts: share important or urgent news instantly (new store opening hours, a product back in stock, a flash sale on your website)

In practice, these actions fall into two broad types of message.

On one side, promotional SMS is built for conversion: classic marketing campaigns, scheduled and sent to a target audience to drive sales (special offers, seasonal sales, product launches, events).

On the other, utility SMS is built for the customer experience: automated messages triggered by a specific action from the customer. They reassure, keep the journey smooth and remove friction (order confirmations, appointment reminders, delivery tracking).

Why add SMS to your marketing strategy?

Guaranteed deliverability

SMS needs no internet connection, no app to download and no latest-generation smartphone to arrive. That reach guarantees maximum deliverability: you can be sure of reaching almost every one of your contacts.

An outstanding open rate

Clear of crowded inboxes and spam filters, SMS is seen straight away. With 90% of messages read within three minutes of arriving, its open rate is exceptional, and readers act on the spot.

An excellent return on investment (ROI)

Thanks to its short format, an SMS marketing campaign is quick, agile and very inexpensive to produce. Combined with high conversion rates, that simplicity delivers a remarkable ROI: because the channel is instant, the recipient acts right away. SMS offers excellent value for money, with a big impact on a small budget.

How much does an SMS marketing campaign cost?

Sending a business SMS remains affordable, typically between €0.04 and €0.08 per message, excluding VAT. To make large-scale campaigns as profitable as possible, WAX offers volume pricing: the more you send, the lower the cost per message. Your acquisition costs fall as your contact base grows.

The legal rules of SMS marketing

Under the GDPR and the CNIL’s rules (France’s data protection authority), commercial SMS require the recipient’s prior, explicit and informed consent (opt-in). Numbers must be collected transparently, through a checkbox that is not ticked in advance.

Every promotional SMS must also include a simple, free and immediate way to unsubscribe. Ending the message with “STOP to XXXXX” lets recipients leave your lists at no cost to them.

In France, the af2m’s code of conduct (the French mobile marketing association) also sets when commercial messages can be sent, to respect consumers’ peace and quiet. Your campaigns are:

• Allowed from 8am to 9:30pm
• Recommended from Monday to Saturday
• Tolerated on Sundays and public holidays, but not recommended, to avoid excessive commercial pressure

How to run a successful SMS marketing campaign

Step 1: build and segment your contact base

Several collection points help you build a qualified database, from online forms to in-store sign-ups at the till. To make every message relevant, then segment that base finely by customer profile, purchase history, location or distance from your store.

Your strategy also depends on how well you keep your list. Regular cleaning, to remove wrong numbers and process unsubscribes automatically, protects your deliverability and keeps your sending costs down.

That way, you send the right SMS to the right person at the right time, for the best possible return on investment.

Step 2: write a message that hits home

With a strict limit of 160 characters, every word counts. Remember that the STOP mention comes out of that total and that some special characters count double. Get straight to the point, pairing a strong hook with a clear call to action (CTA).

Use your segmentation data to personalise the content. Dynamic fields (first name, last name) or a tailored offer (by gender, age, buying habits and so on) turn a mass mailing into a targeted, relevant SMS. Your conversion rate rises, and so does customer loyalty.

Step 3: pick the right time to send

When you send has a direct effect on how your SMS performs. To catch your audience’s attention, favour the moments when people are free, such as the lunch break (12pm to 2pm) or the end of the working day (5pm to 7pm).

Then fine-tune those times by looking back at your previous campaigns, or at the moments with the highest click rates for your industry and business volume.

Step 4: choose a platform for your SMS strategy

Your sending tool plays a decisive part in the success of your campaigns, and a few criteria can guide your choice:

• Ease of use: choose an intuitive interface that lets your teams create, personalise and schedule sends quickly, with no technical skills required
• Reliability and deliverability: make sure the platform offers direct, high-quality routing, so that your messages never get lost and reach your customers’ phones
• A custom Sender ID: choose software that replaces the generic sender number with your company name. It reassures recipients and lifts your open rate
• Integration with your ecosystem (SMS API): the solution must connect smoothly to the tools you already use (CRM, e-commerce platform) to sync your data and automate your sends

Built to meet all of these needs, WAX is the ideal partner to bring your actions together. Its smooth, intuitive interface makes it easy to manage your SMS campaigns and your whole multichannel mobile strategy (WhatsApp, RCS, SMS).

To make every campaign a success, WAX provides personalised support from dedicated experts. The platform also gives you precise analysis of your data, so you can keep refining your strategy and maximise your return on investment.

Step 5: analyse the results

Tracking every key figure after a campaign is essential to measure its impact and improve your next sends:

• The delivery rate confirms the quality of your contact list
• The click rate measures genuine interest in your offer
• The unsubscribe rate tells you when to adjust marketing pressure, so your audience stays engaged over the long term

5 SMS marketing campaigns to run with WAX

Product launches and new arrivals

This campaign sparks interest, drives qualified traffic and turns early excitement into sales. It reaches up to a 10% conversion rate when a new product launches.

Flash sales and limited-time offers

Ideal for flash sales and seasonal sales, this SMS marketing campaign delivers a limited-time offer that moves prospects and customers to act. Sending recipients to your online shop or your store, it converts at up to 10%.

Back in stock

Designed to re-engage customers as soon as an item is restocked, this campaign turns existing purchase intent into a sale at the moment demand peaks. These alerts convert at up to 12%.

Private sales & early access

Aimed at your most engaged customers, this campaign rewards your regular buyers with private offers or loyalty card benefits. Early access and exclusive products drive sales, with conversion rates of up to 12%.

NPS survey and repeat-purchase offer

This scenario collects customer satisfaction after an order, then immediately invites happy customers to buy again. It converts at up to 12%.

5 SMS automations to switch on in WAX

Welcome SMS

Triggered as soon as a prospect opts in to your contact list, this first message rewards the sign-up and sets a professional tone for what follows. It is an excellent way to encourage a first order.

Abandoned cart

With 7 carts in 10 abandoned, this automatic reminder is a must: it helps you understand what holds customers back and recovers up to 30% of carts, with a ROAS of up to 120x.

Utility SMS

Essential to a mobile strategy that runs smoothly, transactional messages (confirmations, order tracking) bring every customer real value. A direct link to their tracking page makes the experience seamless and reassuring.

Birthday offer

Use the information in your contact list to give customers special attention at key moments, such as their birthday. A voucher or a gift of their choice builds a close bond and prompts a spontaneous purchase, with an ROI of up to 25x.

Cross-sell

Sent after an order, this message offers customers tailored product recommendations to complete their purchase. It grows your revenue and customer satisfaction at the same time.

SMS, RCS, WhatsApp or email: which channel should you choose?

Because it works natively on every mobile phone, SMS remains the benchmark for universal reach, in France and abroad. It is the go-to lever for colder audiences and for reactivating prospects.

RCS and WhatsApp, for their part, bring rich, conversational experiences built on visuals, carousels and action buttons. Keep these formats first for your most engaged customers, to strengthen the relationship, drive purchases and build loyalty.

Email is ideal for long-form content, brand storytelling or detailed information. It extends the experience, while mobile channels spark instant interaction.

The key to a winning strategy is combining these channels so that their strengths add up. By automating multichannel scenarios, you send every message on the most relevant channel for each customer’s maturity and habits.