Should you build or buy your SMS solution?
The playbook for SaaS companies looking at Twilio to add text messaging to its offering.
Working at an enterprise software company, you know the value of your platform and continually look for ways to rapidly add features to it. In an ever-competitive market, you craft your roadmap to ensure you prioritize development of the features and products that you can execute with the team and resources you have, while adding the greatest benefit to users. There are many features you’d like to add but maybe they get pushed back in a sprint.
There’s only so much time for development.
One function that is critical as a software company is how you communicate. You already know if a platform isn’t user-friendly, customers will stop using it. The same is true for communication, if it’s difficult to engage, a customer may drop off.
Adding text messaging directly into a platform such as an ATS or CRM is a natural extension to increase value for your platform since users need a clear and convenient way to communicate with contacts stored in those systems.
Two common approaches in SaaS are to either use an API or white label to add functionality. There are pros and cons to using both that we will break down in this playbook to help you find the right addition for your software platform and customers.
The Two Common Approaches: White Label SMS and Text Message API
An API lets you add features or functionality to your existing platform. APIs happen on the backend, and require more in-depth developer experience and availability. While text message APIs offer customization and flexibility allowing you more control in how it looks and feels, it comes with additional resource and development requirements. If you don’t have a robust team to help integrate the coding necessary and provide maintenance, API for SMS may become a hindrance.
A white label is an off-the-shelf product. Another developer takes a product that is ready to use, and lets you customize it with your brand. This can get you up and running faster than API (and when you don’t have developer expertise or availability). The downside of a white label SMS reseller is that you are restricted to the developer updates and requirements, and may limit functionality for your users.
Examples of White Label SMS and API for SMS
Twilio is a good example of providing text message APIs. They offer two API for SMS options along with other communication APIs (voice calling, video, email, and chat) to provide multi-channel API solutions. Twilio text message APIs offer one for transactional messages and another for two-way conversational communication meaning you have to build both out for each use case.
If seeing the above images has you wondering if text message API is for you, maybe white label SMS would be easier for you to integrate. Most API for SMS will provide similar code for you to integrate on your backend and pull data that allows for full functionality.
Bullhorn Messaging is a good example of a white label SMS. Bullhorn users who are already loyal to the brand and trust the company are able to text users directly from the workflow. It’s powered by TextUs software that has already been proven successful, but with brand identity users recognize. By adding SMS to its robust platform, Bullhorn can offer end-to-end solutions to its customers without having to focus on developing SMS features in-house.
The above image shows you what a TextUs solution looks like but you wouldn’t know it since it has custom branding and UI. Technology focuses on building solutions to problems. Product development looks to build technology that is user friendly and visually appealing. When you have software that works asynchronously and it is branded, there is power to expand your solution.
When you take one SaaS solution that has already been thoughtfully designed and partner with another platform, users benefit from knowing the brand and the other company doesn’t have to waste time developing a solution and can be delivering immediately under its own system. It can be a win-win when you choose your partners as intentionally as you built your product.
But what happens if you want to control the UI and functionality and get the benefits of both text message API and white label SMS reseller?
Text Message API and White Label SMS in One
TextUs has developed embedded messenger, a new product release that allows our industry-leading, pre-built text messaging capabilities to be easily integrated into any CRM, ATS, HRIS, or other SaaS platform, empowering you to quickly increase the value of your software product offering and give your users a consistent way to increase engagement and conversions with customers, leads, and candidates.
The embedded messenger enables enterprise software solutions to embed a conversational SMS window into your platform, allowing text messaging to become a seamless extension of your software suite while significantly reducing the time and development resources required to add text messaging capabilities to your product.
Think of it like a native texting inbox that sits inside of your current software suite so that your customers can leverage texting right from within your product window.
As a white label SMS reseller, TextUs will brand its existing platform with your own logo, colors and URL, as if it were your own texting solution. Plus with our API for SMS, you’ll have endless integration possibilities allowing TextUs messages and contacts to work seamlessly with your ATS, CRM, or any other tech stack.
TextUs Embedded Messenger Benefits
Embedded messenger is like a white label SMS reseller and pre-built SMS API in one. Some of the benefits include:
Effortlessly embed texting directly into your software suite.
By leveraging our embedded messenger, you can seamlessly add it to your platform without the costly time and resources needed to build a proprietary solution, similar to white label SMS reseller.
Quickly expand the value to your product offering.
Stay competitive and rapidly add value for your customers by offering an additional communication channel that drives 10x the response rates of email.
Drive better results for your customers.
Integrated texting allows your customers to better reach their audience with powerful SMS features that drive pipeline creation, increase engagement, and maximize conversions.
Why should you consider this SMS solution over a text message API like Twilio?
Faster implementation.
The embedded messenger is a proven solution that is customizable and quick to launch. Its easy setup significantly reduces implementation time and allows businesses to focus their efforts on their core platform capabilities.
Reduced development effort.
Integrating an API for SMS requires development resources, including time, expertise, and ongoing maintenance. By opting for the embedded messenger, partners can bypass the need for extensive coding and maintenance.
Ongoing support and updates.
By using the embedded messenger, you will have access to the latest features and enhancements through our product updates without the need for additional development work.
Compliance expertise.
Since TextUs handles 10DLC registration, opt-out management, and other SMS compliance and regulations, using the embedded messenger allows you to stay up-to-date with SMS best practices without diverting your own internal resources.
Embedded Messenger Partnership
Don’t let technology come between you and the people you’re trying to reach. With embedded messenger and white label SMS, business texting is a seamless extension of your current suite of offerings. Rather than build out a proprietary texting solution, let TextUs do the heavy lifting. We’ll take our industry-leading conversational text messaging platform and make it look, feel and function like your own.
If you’re already using communication as a component to your communication strategy, adding SMS is a tremendous complement (and comes with 98% read rates)! You may be tempted to send text messages from your personal phone, but that comes with security and privacy concerns. If you try to build yourself, you may lack advanced features that you need for customers to really engage with contacts. Some of the features you will get with our white label SMS reseller program include:
- Texting Templates
- Mobile App
- Typing Indicators
- Message Logging to Your ATS/CRM
- Unlimited SMS Campaign Sizes
- Rich Media Support
- A/B Testing Tools
- Branded Link Shortening
- Unlimited SMS Keywords
- Keyword-Driven Contact Groups
- Scheduled Messages
- Build Automated Sequences
If you require more than just one-time, one-way text communication, building out the full suite of features for business texting will take too much time and take away from your core platform functions. If your customers have experienced deliverability issues or you aren’t sure how to navigate the complex regulations and compliance requirements for SMS, trust a partner who already has those built into its product and is there for additional support.
As a key component of our channel strategy, the embedded messenger is only available through channel and integration partners. The TextUs embedded messenger has been designed as a self executable JS snippet.
Is Embedded Messenger right for you?
If any of the following are true for your business, you may be a great white label SMS reseller partner:
- You need a solution that you can embed and white-label within your CRM, ATS, HRIS or other SaaS product.
- Your customers are midmarket and enterprise organizations.
- The relationship and text communications that your customers have with their employees, candidates, and contacts is central to their business.
- You have the development resources necessary to integrate TextUs into your platform.
Get an Embedded Messenger Demo
Ready to unlock your platform’s potential with integrated text messaging that drives higher engagement and conversions for your customers?