How to Set Up SMS Marketing in Odoo
Text messages get read, often within minutes, which makes SMS a powerful channel for timely, important messages. Odoo SMS Marketing lets you send them from the same contact data as everything else. Setting it up well, and using it with restraint, is the key. Continuing this series of practical Odoo how-to guides, here is SMS Marketing.
Set up SMS sending
Sending SMS relies on a messaging service, which in Odoo typically works through in-app purchase credits, you buy credits and spend them per message. Set this up so you can send, and understand the cost per message. Knowing the cost matters, because unlike email, each SMS has a real price attached.
Build your audience
As with email, build your audience from your contacts, using segmentation to target the right people. SMS is particularly personal and direct, so targeting matters even more. Set up your lists thoughtfully, and make sure you have the right to text these people. The right audience is what makes SMS welcome rather than intrusive.
Write short, clear messages
SMS is short by nature, so every word counts. Set up your messages to be clear, immediate and useful, with a single obvious point or action. There is no room for waffle in a text. A well-written SMS respects the reader’s time and gets its message across in a glance, which is exactly what the channel is for.
Use it for the right things
SMS works best for timely, valuable messages: an order is ready, an appointment reminder, a genuinely important offer. Set up your SMS use around these high-value moments rather than routine marketing. Because texts are so direct, using them well means using them sparingly, for things the recipient will actually be glad to get.
Respect frequency and consent
The fastest way to ruin SMS as a channel is to overuse it or text people who did not agree to it. Set clear limits on frequency, honour opt-outs, and only message people who have consented. Treating SMS with this respect is what keeps it effective, because the moment it feels like spam, people tune out or unsubscribe.
Practical tips
- Set up SMS sending and understand the per-message cost.
- Build a targeted, permission-based audience.
- Write short, clear messages with a single obvious point.
- Use SMS for timely, high-value moments, not routine blasts.
- Respect frequency and consent to keep the channel effective.
My take
SMS Marketing is a high-impact channel precisely because texts get read, which makes it powerful and easy to abuse. The winning approach is restraint: a permission-based audience, short and clear messages, used sparingly for genuinely valuable moments. Set up that way, SMS reaches customers when it really matters, without wearing out its welcome. Used carelessly, it burns the channel fast.
Next in this series: how to set up Social Marketing.
Based on the official Odoo 19 SMS Marketing documentation. Want to reach customers directly? Get in touch.