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
Bring the problem, the current workflow, or the existing code. We reply with a practical next step within one business day.
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The brief
Start with what is not working.
Good software decisions begin with the constraint, not a list of features or a preferred technology.
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?
Plain 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.
What to remember
- 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.
Proof
- software products shipped since 2015
- 100+
- RaftLabs delivery record
- average client rating across delivered projects
- 4.9/5
- Clutch, verified reviews
- scope and cost agreed in writing before any development starts
- Fixed price
- Every RaftLabs engagement
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
- Weeks 1-201
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.
- Weeks 2-502
Data architecture and carrier setup
We design the consent data model and connect the SMS gateway or carrier API your sends will run through.
- Weeks 5-1403
Build in two-week sprints
You review working software at each sprint. Consent tracking, segmentation, and send automation are built and tested incrementally.
- Final 2-3 weeks04
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
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.
Work with us
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 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.
Common 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.
We register your brand and campaigns through The Campaign Registry, which is required for application-to-person messaging on all major US carriers, and we build consent capture, opt-out handling, and quiet-hour enforcement into the platform itself. Every message carries a stored consent record so you can prove compliance if a complaint arises. TCPA violations start at $500 per message, so this is not an afterthought.
Yes. We import subscriber lists with their consent timestamps, suppression lists, and segment definitions, and we bring over campaign templates and performance history so your reporting does not restart from zero. Migration typically takes 2 to 3 weeks including a parallel-send validation period where both platforms run side by side.
Yes. We build multi-tenant sending with separate brand identities, consent records, and 10DLC registrations per brand or location, all managed from one dashboard. Each franchisee sees only their own subscribers and campaigns, while you keep central oversight of compliance and deliverability.