When does B2B SMS marketing make sense?
Texting a business buyer works when the buyer asked for the text and needs it soon: a reminder for a demo they booked, the link they asked for on a call, directions on the morning of an event. It works badly as a broadcast channel for offers and newsletters, because the rules below don't exempt work mobiles. Use this table to decide, message by message.
| Message | Text it? | Deciding fact |
|---|---|---|
| Reminder for a meeting the buyer booked | Yes, if they gave a mobile number for reminders | CTIA treats appointment reminders as informational: the buyer agreed to texts for that purpose |
| Link or file promised on a call | Yes, if they asked for it by text | One reply to a specific request is close to CTIA's conversational category |
| Event check-in, room change, parking | Yes, for registrants who opted in to event texts | Time-sensitive, and email may not be read on the day |
| Webinar promotion, discount, new feature launch | Only with written consent for marketing texts | Promotional content needs express written consent under CTIA's table and, with an autodialer, under the FCC rule |
| First contact with a prospect from a data vendor | No | No consent, and CTIA says not to use rented, sold or shared opt-in lists |
| Monthly newsletter | No | Email suits long content better |
A useful test: if the text would still make sense with no link and no offer in it, it is probably informational. Once you add a call to action such as a coupon code, CTIA says the message may move into the promotional category.
Does a business mobile number change the consent rules?
Mostly no. The FCC rule at 47 CFR 64.1200 bans calls made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice to any number assigned to a cellular telephone service, unless the person gave prior express consent, and for advertising or telemarketing it requires prior express written consent. The rule covers texts too: its opt-out paragraphs refer to robotexts and text messages. Paragraph (a) has no carve-out for numbers used for work (read 5 Nov 2026), so a VP's company-issued iPhone sits under the same paragraph as a teenager's.
Three details do change the picture, and B2B advice often blurs them:
- What counts as an autodialer. In Facebook v. Duguid (decided 1 April 2021) the Supreme Court held that an automatic telephone dialing system must be able to store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator. The eCFR definition says the same. Whether your texting tool meets that test is a question for a lawyer.
- Quiet hours and the Do Not Call registry. Paragraph (c) bars telephone solicitations to a residential telephone subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time, and to residential numbers on the national Do Not Call registry. Paragraph (e) applies those rules to wireless numbers to the extent described in the FCC's 2003 order. The rule doesn't say when a mobile used for work counts as residential, so plan as if it does.
- The FTC's business exemption is a different rule. The Telemarketing Sales Rule at 16 CFR 310.6 exempts most telephone calls between a telemarketer and a business, except calls selling nondurable office or cleaning supplies. That exemption sits in the FTC's rule. It doesn't appear in the FCC's TCPA rule above.
The money at stake comes from the statute, 47 U.S.C. 227: for the autodialer rules a person can sue for actual loss or $500 for each violation, whichever is greater, and a court may treble that for wilful or knowing violations. One autodialed marketing campaign sent to 300 people without consent is 300 possible violations, or $150,000 at $500 each before trebling. This is a summary of the rule text, not legal advice. State laws can add stricter rules, so check yours or ask a lawyer before you launch.
What do quiet hours and opt-outs mean for a sales team?
Send between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the buyer's time zone, and make one opt-out stop every rep. The FCC rule's revocation paragraph, read 5 Nov 2026, has three parts that hit B2B teams harder than shops:
- Any reasonable wording revokes consent. Stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel and unsubscribe always count, and other words count if a reasonable person would read them as a request to stop. A buyer replying "take me off this" to a rep's number has opted out.
- Ten business days at most. Revocation made in any reasonable way must be honoured within a reasonable time, not more than ten business days. If the opt-out lands on one rep's number, every other rep and every automated reminder for that contact has to stop too, so record it on the contact in your CRM, not in one phone.
- One clarifying text is allowed. A confirmation sent within five minutes is presumed to fall within consent, and if the buyer had agreed to several kinds of texts, that one message may ask which ones they meant. Until they answer, stop every text that needs consent.
Time zones bite B2B lists because the buyer's office and mobile area code often differ. A 9 a.m. Eastern send reaches a Los Angeles buyer at 6 a.m. Use the time zone from the meeting invite or the CRM record, and when unsure, send only in hours that fall between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in both zones.
What do carriers and A2P 10DLC require?
Carriers expect consent that matches the message type and a registered sender. The CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023) sort business texts into three types:
| CTIA type | Who texts first | Consent CTIA expects | B2B example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conversational | The person | Implied, if you only reply with relevant information | A buyer texts "running late, still on?" and the rep replies |
| Informational | Either | Express consent for that specific purpose, given over text, on a form, on a website or verbally | Demo reminders, event check-ins |
| Promotional | The business | Express written consent, such as a checked box | Webinar invites, offers, launches |
Two parts of the guide matter for sales teams. First, it defines a Non-Consumer sender to include agents and representatives acting on behalf of a business, so a rep texting prospects for the company is a business sender. Second, it asks senders to keep a record of each opt-in: timestamp, how it was collected, the wording shown, the campaign, the IP address, the number and who consented.
On registration, Twilio's A2P 10DLC guide says anyone sending SMS to the US over a 10-digit local number from an application must register a Brand (who you are) and a Campaign (how people opt in and out and what you send). Carriers treat all Twilio traffic as application-to-person, and unregistered senders pay extra carrier fees. Twilio says toll-free numbers and short codes aren't part of A2P 10DLC.
B2B text message examples you can copy
All names below are samples. Each message names the sender, stays short enough for one segment where possible, and carries opt-out wording. The label shows the CTIA type it is written for. For what to say once a buyer replies, the scripts on turning replies into meetings work by text as well as email.
Leave links on your own domain. CTIA asks that shortened links use a shortener dedicated to the sender, and that the destination page clearly identify the business.
Does texting B2B buyers improve show rates? What the data says
The best evidence on reminder texts comes from healthcare, not B2B sales, so treat it as a direction rather than a forecast. A Cochrane review of eight randomised trials (6,615 participants, published December 2013) found attendance of 67.8% with no reminder and 78.6% with text reminders, a gap of 10.8 percentage points (78.6 minus 67.8). Text reminders worked about as well as phone call reminders, and two studies found the cost per attendance 55% and 65% lower than for phone call reminders. The authors rate the evidence low to moderate and say it is not enough to settle policy. I found no comparable trial for B2B sales meetings.
Reach isn't the problem. Pew Research Center found 98% of US adults own a cellphone and 91% own a smartphone (survey of 5,511 adults, 30 January to 18 June 2026).
Worked cost example (sample numbers). A five-person team books 40 demos a month and sends two reminders each, plus 40 event check-ins a quarter, about 13 a month. That is 40 × 2 + 13 = 93 texts a month.
- Twilio US SMS pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026): $0.0083 per outbound segment on a long code, plus a carrier fee such as AT&T's $0.0035 or T-Mobile's $0.0045.
- At the higher fee: 93 × ($0.0083 + $0.0045) = 93 × $0.0128 = $1.19.
- One leased long code: $1.15 a month, so about $2.34 a month in total, before A2P 10DLC registration onboarding fees, which Twilio lists separately.
The cost is trivial. The real cost of SMS in B2B is consent work and a reply inbox someone watches. Siela does not send text messages, so if you use its calendar and booking pages you would add SMS reminders through a separate texting provider.
What to do this week
- List every text your team sends today, including reps' own phones, and tag each one conversational, informational or promotional.
- Add an unticked SMS opt-in line to your booking form, worded for reminders only.
- Create one opt-out field on the contact record that every rep and tool checks.
- Register a Brand and Campaign with your provider before the first automated send.
- Move offers and newsletters to email, where the rules are covered in GDPR, PECR and CAN-SPAM compared.
- For consumer-style texting rules and tool prices, see the sibling guide on SMS marketing for small business.
Frequently asked questions
Is SMS marketing allowed for B2B in the US?
Yes, with the same consent you would need for any mobile number. The FCC's rule at 47 CFR 64.1200 covers numbers assigned to cellular service without a business exemption in its autodialer paragraph, and carriers apply CTIA's consent guidelines to business senders. Promotional texts need written consent; reminders need consent for that purpose. This is not legal advice.
Can I text a prospect whose mobile number I found on LinkedIn or a data tool?
Not as a first marketing message. A number you found isn't consent, and CTIA's guidelines tell senders not to use opt-in lists that were rented, sold or shared. Email or a LinkedIn message is the better first touch. Ask for the mobile number and the permission to text at the same time, for example on a booking form.
What hours can you send B2B text messages?
The FCC rule bars telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the recipient's location, and the rule doesn't say when a work mobile stops being residential. Plan every send for 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the buyer's own time zone, using the meeting invite or CRM record to find it.
Do I need A2P 10DLC registration for a small sales team?
If you send from a 10-digit local number through an application such as Twilio, yes. Twilio's guide says anyone sending SMS to the US that way must register, including individuals, by creating a Brand and a Campaign. Unregistered traffic pays extra carrier fees. Toll-free numbers and short codes have separate processes.
What is the difference between informational and promotional texts?
In CTIA's guidelines, informational texts fulfil something the person asked for, such as an appointment reminder or alert, and need express consent for that purpose. Promotional texts promote a product or service and need express written consent. Adding a coupon or sales call to action to a reminder can move it into the promotional group.
Sources
- eCFR, 47 CFR 64.1200 (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Cornell LII, 47 U.S.C. 227 (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Supreme Court, Facebook v. Duguid (slip opinion) (1 Apr 2021)
- eCFR, 16 CFR 310.6 (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023)
- Twilio, A2P 10DLC (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Twilio, US SMS pricing (checked 5 Nov 2026)
- Gurol-Urganci et al., Cochrane review (PMC) (5 Dec 2013)
- Pew Research Center, Mobile fact sheet (checked 5 Nov 2026)