In today’s digital world, brands explore SMS promotional messages to reach their potential customers. SMS marketing offers a holistic approach in multi-channel marketing as 2025 is the year you must take advantage of messaging services for your businesses. In this article, let us take a closer look at why it is necessary to obtain consent before sending your audience promotional SMS messages:
1. What is SMS Marketing ?
SMS marketing means a promotional message marketing tool that is used to interact with clients who permits businesses to send them text messages. People have smartphones with them all the time and you can hit your target audience if they are willing to see your message in the places where they wish to see them.
When you send promotional messages, they reach you faster than the train speed to your client’s smartphones. So, a Promotional message is the best marketing tool in today’s digital era. Another reason why it is important to use SMS marketing is affordability. An SMS marketing method is affordable for businesses or brands than other marketing methods. These are some of the reasons why you should choose SMS marketing for your businesses to reach your potential customers.
2. What does Promotional SMS mean ?
Promotional SMS is the SMS promotional message to drive existing customers. It keeps clients informed when you are offering new discounts, offers or new deals. You are assured of higher conversion rates and engagement when you use the right frequency and message around promotional campaigns.
3. What does Transactional SMS mean ?
Transactional SMS is used to share sensitive updates for a service or product used by your clients. Transactional SMS means company policy updates that impact the relationship of the client.
4. Understanding the Difference Between Promotional and Transactional SMS Promotional SMS
The primary purpose of Promotional SMS is to promote products and increase brand awareness and sales. Examples such as new product launches, discounts, sales, marketing, and coupons.
- Transactional SMS
Transactional SMS’s purpose is to offer important updates for clients to use a product or service. Examples such as delivery updates, account-related notifications, OTPs, notifications, service-related updates, and order confirmations.
Transactional SMS are used for booking alerts or informational updates to clients. While Promotional SMS is used for sales and marketing. These messages are only delivered to non-DND numbers.
- Promotional SMS
Business organizations use promotional SMS to reach out to a wider audience to promote their products, services, or offers. The primary intention of promotional SMS is to market the business product, service, or offer and enhance sales along with brand visibility and reach customers. The messages are sent to the potential or existing customers who have opted to receive promotional content. A random numeric code or a customized alphanumeric ID may be the sender ID based on the choice of the service provider.
Key Differences in Brief:
| Perspective | Promotional SMS | Transactional SMS |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Marketing and promotion | Critical or informational communication |
| Content | Offers, ads, product promotions | Alerts, OTPs, order updates, account info |
| Delivery | Time-restricted (9 AM–9 PM); respects DND | 24/7; delivered even to DND users |
| Sender ID | Random/numeric or custom (SALE01) | Custom alphanumeric (e.g., BANKXY) |
| Cost | Lower | Higher |
5. Building Trust and Credibility With Your Audience
You must obtain consent before sending your audience promotional and transactional SMS as it is the duty of an inbound marketer. When you get the consent of your audience, you build credibility and can increase your engagement among your customers. This helps you build authenticity among your customers. Once you obtain consent from your clients, they become aware that the brand is genuine and trustworthy.
QuickMessage offers Transactional and Promotional SMS services to help businesses reach out to their potential customers. QuickMessage offers a fast and customised SMS message service to help you associate with your potential clients in a personalized manner.
6. Managing Opt-Out Requests and Consent Updates
In several countries, express written consent is needed from recipients with an opt-out option in each message for Promotional SMS. Also, express written consent is needed for Transactional SMS that is obtained when clients offer their mobile numbers during checkouts. You should obtain consent before sending your audience Promotional and transactional messages as it is ethically correct and legally needed in several countries. Your potential customers might block your number if you don’t receive consent before sending your audience.
You can quickly identify your potential clients and also target them through SMS marketing so that they feel valued. You can set up SMS segment if someone places an order with you. You can offer the best customer satisfaction by thanking them to place an order and also creating an opportunity to cross-sell them other items.
You can also make a segment of new subscribers and send them promotional SMS that will help them know your brand and encourage them to buy more items. You can create an SMS segment of dormant clients and also send them an SMS that they are missing out on an opportunity.
Wrapping Up
Obtaining consent ensures compliance with ethical and legal needs and demonstrates respect for client’s preferences and privacy and builds trust and positive relationships with customers. QuickMessage offers Promotional and Transactional SMS to businesses and ensures that adhere to compliance guidelines and obtain the consent of the target audience before sending them SMS.