SlickText Review

Why SlickText Is Best for Customer Engagement

SlickText is our choice for customer engagement thanks to four easy-to-deploy tools to grow your subscriber numbers. We were also impressed by how frictionless the platform makes it for customers to sign up.

Sending campaigns is quick and straightforward. Name your campaign, choose your audiences, write your message and either send it straight away or at a time of your choosing.

We were impressed by how you get unlimited keywords too — you normally pay extra for these on other platforms. Keywords are words that subscribers can use to opt into particular texting lists. Let’s say you’re a retail store owner. You can promote different keywords like “sale” and “new” to tempt shoppers to join your list because they want to save money or stay up to date with the latest fashions.

In addition to keywords, you can enrich your data with custom fields, such as a customer’s nearest local branch or a VIP field to identify high spenders. Extract lists based on these fields to create targeted lists and send more relevant offers.

We loved the SlickText Inbox live chat feature. After you send out a campaign, you can have real-time two-way conversations with customers to answer their questions. You can also use it as a customer service entry point to deal quickly with complaints, requests and inquiries. Best of all, it’s a team inbox, so you and your representatives can open conversations quickly and make sure no message goes unanswered.

Busy small and medium-sized businesses can use SlickText’s automations to send drip campaigns, run surveys and follow up on abandoned carts so staff has more time to work on more complex queries. We also like the fact that the platform comes with a number of templates to help you get started.

Usability

Among all the solutions we reviewed, SlickText is one of the easiest to use. The platform is simple to navigate, with everything you need only a click away. The top menu lets you access all features, manage your account and access customer support quickly. The visual dashboard shows you important account metrics and provides additional links to the features you’re most likely to use often. 

We especially love that a pop-up tutorial appears whenever you access a feature for the first time. A few text slides explain the feature and how to use it and there is an embedded explanation video. We found this feature incredibly useful, especially for small business owners new to text message marketing. 

The system lacks a range of built-in features available on other platforms like customer questionnaires and voting. You can recreate many of them with the drag-and-drop workflow studio, but we felt it would be better if they just came out of the box.

SlickText’s external integrations are limited. You can connect the platform with HubSpot, Shopify and some of the best email marketing software solutions like Mailchimp, Constant Contact and ActiveCampaign. There is also a Zapier integration, which allows you to connect with thousands of other apps and application programming interface tools. However, you can’t add these integrations yourself. You’ll have to contact customer support to set them up. 

SlickText Features

Multifunctional inbox

SlickText is a powerful text marketing tool that excels at enabling meaningful, two-way text conversations with customers. 

Key features include:

• Intuitive layout: The screen is divided into three sections: Settings, threads and conversations. In settings, you can search for messages and view your own (all, unread, open or pending) as well as all team-wide messages and tagged conversations. Managers also get an option to view each teammate’s conversations.
• Flexible message handling: Each team member can see every live conversation underway and jump in to help in case a co-worker is absent or away from their desk. This approach means faster responses to customers and prevents conversations from being siloed, so no messages get overlooked and support stays seamless.
• Tagging and assignment options: Tag conversations with labels like ‘Urgent’ for priority issues or manager attention or by location if you have multiple branches. This makes finding important conversations much faster and easier. Managers can assign teammates to handle conversations or set distribution to random, round-robin or online teammates only. You can also auto-close conversations after a set time to keep the inbox tidy.
• Intuitive customer interactions: The WhatsApp-style conversation thread is well done, making it easy for agents to scroll back through the customer’s history to see past interactions, spot unresolved issues and tailor their responses. Replies from live campaigns also appear in the inbox so you can respond straight away.

Although all the platforms we featured have excellent inbox functionality, SlickText offers the smoothest and most capable one. The one thing it’s missing we’d like to see in a future release is a way for agents to assist each other on live conversations via a two-way messaging box if an agent gets stuck or needs extra help.

The inbox screen in SlickText allows direct two-way conversation with clients including responses direct from marketing campaigns.

Contact Data Enrichment and Segmentation

Data enrichment — when you add extra details to a customer or prospect’s record — can improve marketing conversions. That’s because you can better segment your audience with that extra information and build offers and campaigns around their specific needs and behaviors.

SlickText lets you do this with its custom field options. Custom fields are extra fields of information you can add to a record like a customer’s birthday or favorite product. Thanks to SlickText’s native and Zapier-based integrations, you can keep customer data consistent on all the apps you use.

Using standard and custom fields, you can build marketing lists based on specific criteria like recent purchases or spending activity. We love how dynamic these lists are. If SlickText spots a new subscriber with the same characteristics or an existing subscriber meets the criteria later, it will auto-populate the relevant list.

You can check the segments you’ve built at any time by clicking “Audience” then “Segments.” Users on all plans can create unlimited segments for their campaigns.

It’s easy to segment customers in SlickText to run more targeted marketing campaigns. Source: SlickText

Workflows

The foolproof drag-and-drop visual workflow builder lets you build tailored journeys easily for your customers. While most platforms offer similar features, we found 

SlickText’s marketing automation tools to be among the easiest to use. 

Creating new workflows with the drag-and-drop interface is easy. Place and connect objects on the canvas, and you’re ready to launch automated campaigns in minutes.

We loved the simple logic that underpins workflows and makes them easy to build. “Triggers” start the journey like when a customer texts a keyword or is added to a list and then actions perform tasks like sending messages or updating contact records. “Conditions” check that specific criteria (like whether a customer provided an email address) have been met before allowing an action to be taken. With “Waits,” you can pause the completion of a workflow until that condition is met or for a set period you decide.

We were impressed by the out-of-the-box templates, including welcome series, drip campaigns, birthday greetings and contests. The system’s simple and intuitive workflows make it suitable for companies that want to make the most of texting but don’t have the time to micromanage all campaigns and interactions.

SlickText’s drag-and-drop visual workflow builder makes automating your text messages a breeze. Source: SlickText

Analytics 

There’s a choice of six pre-built dashboards in SlickText:

• Home page: Get a quick overview of metrics, automated and scheduled messages and, if applicable, overall revenue.
• Audience: Track your audience growth and how they subscribed by source (for example, webform, popup, first appearance in the inbox, from third-party integration and so on).
• Campaign: View performance data on your campaigns, including metrics like clicks, unsubscribes, credits used and revenue generation.
• Workflow: Understand how your automated workflows are performing in engaging contacts and driving revenue.
• Inbox: Analyze your team’s performance in one-on-one conversations by measuring the number of unread messages and open/pending conversations.
• Messaging: Monitor your company’s overall messaging activity across all channels, including messages sent, messaging by source (campaigns, workflows, inboxes and so on) and deliverability.

We appreciate that SlickText lets you use your messages flexibly. If you haven’t reached your monthly messaging limit, unused credits roll over automatically. If you pay annually, unused credits roll over from one year to the next. We also like how you can now top up with extra messages if you run out of credits within a billing cycle. 

Track how well your campaigns are going in the analytics section. Source: SlickText

Audience Growth Tools

SlickText comes packed with a selection of four tools to help you grow your subscriber lists: 

• QR codes: Place QR codes on your website, contact cards and premises to encourage people to sign up. QR codes direct subscribers to a webpage where they can submit their details.
• Keywords: Customers can choose what type of information they want to receive. For example, if you run a sportswear shop, you could use the keyword “COMMANDERS” to inform fans about new merchandise or offers on Commanders stock.
• Branded pop-ups: Branded pop-ups are like the pop-ups you see on some sites when you’re about to leave. SlickText provides you with the code for a branded popup on your site so people can leave their number and other details you ask for.
• Tap-to-join: This is a link you can add to your marketing materials like social media posts, emails, website banners and digital ads. When subscribers click the link, they then start the opt-in process.

The firm is soon launching online landing pages and webforms for company sites so there’s another vector to attract new subscribers.

Easy access to list-building tools from the main dashboard. Source: SlickText

Mobile App

A fully functional mobile app is a necessity for businesses looking for the ease and convenience of managing text message marketing campaigns and customer loyalty programs from anywhere. We love that SlickText lets you do it all from their app for iOS and Android, something not all competitors can say. The app also allows you to open a customer check-in screen for your rewards program right on your tablet.

SlickText Costs

SlickText has a variety of plans based on how many messages you plan to send each month. All plans include unlimited incoming texts, keywords, contacts, rollover messages, live chat support, integrations, workflows and the inbox.

The pricing plans SlickText offers are:

• 500 messages: $29 per month
• 1,000 messages: $49 per month
• 2,000 messages: $79 per month
• 3,500 messages: $129 per month
• 5,000 messages: $169 per month
• 10,000 messages: $319 per month
• 25,000 messages: $579 per month
• 50,000 messages: $939 per month
• 50,000-plus messages: Custom pricing 

On all plans with 5,000 messages or more, the onboarding team will assist you in setting up on using the platform and compliance. On plans with 25,000 or more, you also get access to your own customer success manager.

Messages roll over from one billing cycle to the next. So, if you pay $169 for 5,000 messages and only use 4,500, you’ll have 5,500 to use the following month. Texts only roll over for one cycle so if you don’t use them, you’ll lose them. Annual subscribers would pay $2,028 and get 60,000 messages. If they didn’t use 20,000 of them in that year, they’d have 80,000 available for the next year. As mentioned earlier, you can buy extra credits during a billing cycle if you run out.

All plans come with a premium sending number, a high-speed toll-free number and local 10DLC numbers are available for $10 per month. You can also text-enable your current landline with a one-time application fee of $44 and an additional $10 per month. Plans with over 10,000 monthly messages can purchase a short code. Random shortcodes cost $500 per month plus a one-time set-up fee, which is one of the lowest prices we’ve come across. Vanity short code costs $1,000 per month.

SlickText Setup

Getting started with SlickText’s web-based platform is quick and painless. Once you sign up, you’ll be guided through a setup checklist, which will show you how to create keywords, import contacts and send your first message. The guided setup will also walk you through all of SlickText’s features, so you know exactly what the platform is capable of. We especially love that video tutorials are linked to each tool, so you don’t have to search around for instructions on how to set up or use each feature.

The only downside is that some users have reported wait times of up to 10 days for 10DLC number registration, which means you might have to wait longer than with other competitors to start sending messages. 

SlickText Customer Service

We love that SlickText makes it easy to reach out to support when needed. Right from the dashboard you have access to SlickText’s customer service number, in-app live chat, email and a searchable help center. Live phone and chat hours are Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time. We appreciate that SlickText’s website also offers compliance and best text practices guides. 

In our experience, support, even by email, was prompt and helpful. However, we found the hours to be limited compared to other competitors who offer longer hours and weekend service. If your business operates evenings and weekends, we recommend checking out our review of Textedly, which provides live support seven days a week.

While most user reviews note that SlickText provides excellent customer support, a few reviews said that they can be slow when processing requests to cancel your account by email. 

SlickText Drawbacks

SlickText’s range of plans is extensive but pricey at high volumes. If your business needs an affordable and versatile solution that lets you pay for add-ons when needed, consider reading our SimpleTexting review, our top choice for flexibility. 

Contact management could be smoother in places. Adding and editing contacts is simple but moving them between keywords is cumbersome. You’ll need to either delete and recreate the contact under the new keyword or send an opt-in request. This is common to many platforms, however.

The latest refresh of the platform fixed lots of issues like assigning conversations to team members, leaving internal notes and viewing detailed interaction histories within the contact information section. We were pleased to see this but we feel it’s missing a “Whispers”-type feature that you can read more about it in our Textline review. This is where you can bring colleagues into a conversation when you need help, but customers can’t see the conversation you’re having with your colleague.

Finally, it has a low number of integrations: 15 at the last count. While you can connect to 7,000 more via Zapier, that may require you to hire a technical freelancer to set the system up how you want at extra cost. You also have to let SlickText know in advance you’ll need additional integrations, which may cost additional money.

Methodology

To determine the best text message marketing platforms, we took a close look at over a dozen platforms. We sat down with company representatives for a product demo and tested the platforms for ourselves in free trials. We also spoke to customer support representatives and combed through online reviews to find out more about how real-world users’ experiences lined up with our research. When choosing the best service for building customer loyalty, we looked specifically at the availability, ease of use and cost of features to engage customers, create personalized communications and incentivize repeat visits or purchases.

Overall Value

We recommend SlickText for …

• Small businesses new to text message marketing that need step-by-step explanations.
• Small businesses looking for features to engage customers and build loyalty.
• Small businesses that want a foolproof workflow tool for building personalized communications.

We do not recommend SlickText for … 

• Businesses that need the flexibility to purchase extra numbers.
• Businesses that want a robust inbox for managing customers over multiple phone numbers. 
• Businesses looking to keep costs down while messaging at high volumes.