SMS Marketing Software Development

SMS marketing software built around your compliance rules, not a per-message markup

Attentive and Postscript work well for a standard DTC storefront. Once your message volume grows, or your opt-in and consent logic doesn't fit their model, the per-message pricing and rigid workflow builder start working against you. We build a custom SMS marketing system: opt-in and opt-out tracking, consent logging, segmentation, and send automation, owned outright instead of rented by the message.

  • Opt-in and opt-out capture with a full consent audit trail

  • Segmentation and send automation built around your actual customer data

  • No per-message SaaS markup once your volume scales

  • Fixed-cost delivery, scoped up front, with source code ownership

Recent outcomes

Voice AI · Research

6× deeper insights

Text-based interviews converted to automated phone calls

AI Automation · Ops

20k+ txns day one

Manual invoice OCR across 40+ gas stations

Loyalty · Retail

1,062 users in 4 weeks

SuperValu & Centra loyalty platform with receipt validation

SaaS · Logistics

2,000+ shipments yr 1

Multi-carrier shipping hub for Indonesian eCommerce

4.9
on Clutch
See our work

The problem

Sound familiar?

  • Your per-message costs climbing faster than your list, because a SaaS platform prices by volume?

  • Opt-in and consent tracking bolted onto a workflow tool that wasn't built for your compliance rules?

Short answer

SMS marketing software sends and manages text-message campaigns to a customer list, tracking opt-in and opt-out consent, segmenting recipients, and automating sends around triggers like cart abandonment or order updates. Ecommerce and DTC brands buy platforms like Attentive or Postscript for this today, but both charge per message, a cost that grows with your list. RaftLabs builds a custom alternative: an MVP with opt-in tracking, consent logging, and basic segmentation runs $20,000-$50,000 over 12-15 weeks; a full build with automation and advanced segmentation runs $50,000-$100,000 over 15-18 weeks, at a fixed cost.

Key takeaways

  • SMS marketing is distinct from email automation. Consent tracking, opt-in and opt-out logic, and message-format constraints follow different rules than email.
  • TCPA-style consent tracking is buildable as a first-class part of the data model, so your opt-in records hold up if a customer disputes a message.
  • Platforms like Attentive and Postscript charge per message. That markup scales with your list size, which is exactly when a custom build starts paying for itself.
  • An MVP with opt-in tracking and segmentation runs $20,000-$50,000 over 12-15 weeks. A full build with automation runs $50,000-$100,000 over 15-18 weeks.

Trusted by

Vodafone logo
Aldi logo
Nike logo
Microsoft logo
Heineken logo
Cisco logo
Calorgas logo
Energia Rewards logo
GE logo
Bank of America logo
T-Mobile logo
Valero logo
Techstars logo
East Ventures logo
TuneClub logo

SMS marketing software delivery, by the numbers

products shipped
100+
cost delivery
Fixed
week delivery cycles
12-18

Per-message pricing punishes the brands that grow the most

Attentive and Postscript both charge by the message. That model works fine at a small list size, but the bill grows in lockstep with your list and your send frequency, right when you need SMS working hardest. A custom build removes that markup and gives you a data model shaped around your own consent and compliance rules instead of a vendor's workflow builder.

Capabilities

What we build

  • 01
    Opt-in and opt-out consent tracking

    Consent capture at every entry point, with a full audit trail of when, where, and how each contact opted in. Opt-out requests process immediately and stop future sends.

  • 02
    TCPA-style compliance logging

    Consent records built to hold up under dispute: timestamp, source, and method logged for every opt-in and opt-out, structured around your compliance requirements.

  • 03
    List segmentation

    Segments built from your actual customer and order data, not a generic tag system bolted onto a workflow tool.

  • 04
    Triggered send automation

    Automated sends for cart abandonment, order updates, and other lifecycle events, scoped to the triggers your business actually runs.

  • 05
    Carrier and delivery integration

    Integration with an SMS gateway or carrier API for delivery, with send status and failure handling built into the pipeline.

  • 06
    Reporting and send history

    A record of every campaign sent, to whom, and its delivery outcome, so you can see performance without relying on a vendor dashboard.

How we work

From compliance mapping to live software

  1. Weeks 1-2
    01

    Discovery and compliance mapping

    We map your opt-in sources, consent requirements, and message volume. You leave with a written scope and a fixed-price quote.

  2. Weeks 2-5
    02

    Data architecture and carrier setup

    We design the consent data model and connect the SMS gateway or carrier API your sends will run through.

  3. Weeks 5-14
    03

    Build in two-week sprints

    You review working software at each sprint. Consent tracking, segmentation, and send automation are built and tested incrementally.

  4. Final 2-3 weeks
    04

    Testing and rollout

    We test send flows and consent handling against real list data before your team switches sends over from the old platform.

Why us

Why teams choose RaftLabs over a per-message platform

  • 01
    Senior engineers build what they scope

    The engineers who map your consent rules also build the send pipeline. No offshore handoff after the contract is signed.

  • 02
    Fixed price before development starts

    We scope the work, calculate the cost, and lock it in writing before any development starts.

  • 03
    Founded 2015, 100+ products shipped

    A track record building compliance-conscious marketing systems with consent tracking and audit trails designed in from the start.

  • 04
    You own the source code

    No per-message bill and no vendor lock-in after delivery. The codebase, and everything built into it, is yours.

Have an SMS marketing software project?

Tell us your list size, send volume, and where your consent tracking is falling short today. We'll scope a fixed-cost build.

Scope your SMS marketing software project

Related services

What clients say

What clients say about working with us

Three-year average engagement. Founders and operators describing the work in their own words. No marketing varnish.

Amer Abu Khajil
Amer Abu Khajil
Canada flagCanada
Founder, Peak Studios & Perceptional

I found RaftLabs to be the perfect partner for Perceptional, with their expertise in helping startup founders build MVPs, a free consultation, a prototype that matched my vision, and their unwavering support.

01 / 06

SMS Marketing Software Development, scoped in one call.

Tell us what's broken. Within one business day you get a straight take on cost, timeline, and the right first step. No deck, no pressure.

Stay on topic

More on growth marketing

AI in your CRM: 4 reasons it fails in the first 8 weeks

Article

AI in your CRM: 4 reasons it fails in the first 8 weeks

Most CRM AI projects produce a working demo, then die. Here are the four failure patterns we see every time - and what to fix before you start the build.

Read more
Marketing automation: What works, what doesn't, and where to start

Article

Marketing automation: What works, what doesn't, and where to start

Marketing teams waste 40% of their budget on poorly targeted campaigns and manual tasks AI could automate. Here is where AI genuinely moves the needle - with real benchmarks, not vendor promises.

Read more
Growth Marketing After the Click: Strategy for the Zero-Click Era

Article

Growth Marketing After the Click: Strategy for the Zero-Click Era

68% of Google searches end without a click. Bots now outnumber humans online. Social referral is dead. Here is what growth marketing looks like when the channels you optimized for in 2022 stop working.

Read more

Frequently asked questions

SMS marketing software sends and manages text-message campaigns to an opted-in customer list. It handles consent tracking, list segmentation, and automated sends triggered by events like cart abandonment, order status, or a customer's purchase history.

Attentive, named World's Best by a major publication in 2023, and Postscript, a YC-backed platform built for Shopify stores, are both strong tools for standard DTC ecommerce use cases with a workflow builder and support team included. Custom software makes sense once your per-message costs climb past what the markup is worth at your volume, or your opt-in and consent handling doesn't fit their standard model. We help assess the right fit during discovery.

Yes. Consent capture, an audit trail of when and how each contact opted in, and immediate opt-out processing are core to every SMS build we scope. TCPA-style consent tracking, logging the timestamp, source, and method of each opt-in, is buildable into the data model from day one.

Yes. SMS carries its own compliance rules, message-length constraints, and delivery mechanics that don't map onto email. We scope SMS marketing software as its own build, not a feature bolted onto an email automation platform.

An MVP with opt-in tracking, consent logging, and basic segmentation runs $20,000-$50,000 over 12-15 weeks. A full build with send automation and advanced segmentation runs $50,000-$100,000 over 15-18 weeks. We scope a fixed cost after discovery.

The main reason is cost at scale. Both platforms charge per message, so your bill grows with your list and your send frequency. A custom build has no per-message markup once it's live, which starts paying for itself once you cross a certain volume. We calculate that break-even point with you during discovery.

Work with us

Tell us what you need. We'll tell you what it would take.

We scope SMS Marketing Software Development in 30 minutes. You walk away with a clear cost, timeline, and approach. No commitment required.

  • Scope and cost agreed before work starts. No surprises. No obligation.
  • Working prototype within 3 weeks of kickoff.
  • Pay by milestone. You see progress before each invoice.
  • 60-day post-launch warranty. Bug fixes, UI tweaks, and deployment support. No retainer.
  • All conversations are NDA-protected.