If you searched for Send in Blue SMS, you most likely run email marketing in one tool and want text messages to go out from the same place, against the same contact list. That is the right instinct. This article answers what to check when you choose a combined email and texting tool, and how to move your SMS sending, contacts and consent records onto the levelpartner.ai platform if you decide to bring texting, email, CRM and booking under one licence.
The job you are trying to get done
Nobody wants a texting tool for its own sake. You want a short message to reach the right people at the right moment, and you want to know whether it worked. For a 10 to 250 person firm, that usually means three things: texts that respect the same consent and opt-out records as your email, texts that can be triggered by what someone did, and results that show up next to your sales pipeline.
An email-first marketing tool with texting added can do part of that. The gap usually appears when the text needs to react to something outside marketing: a booking, a stage change in a deal, a missed call. That data lives in your CRM, and the texting tool cannot see it unless you build a sync.
What to check when choosing
Ask these questions of any tool, including ours.
- Does an SMS opt-out apply instantly, everywhere the contact can be texted from?
- Can a text be triggered by a pipeline stage, a booking or a missed call, not only by a marketing list?
- Do replies land in a shared inbox that your sales team already uses?
- Can you register your number for your market from inside the tool?
- Is message usage billed at a clear rate, or bundled into credits that expire?
- Can you see, on one contact record, every email, text, call and booking?
If the answer to most of these is no, you will end up running texts in one place and client conversations in another.
Before you start the move
- An export of your contacts with SMS consent status and the date it was given.
- An export of anyone who has opted out of texts, kept as a separate file.
- Copies of the text templates you use regularly.
- A list of any automated texts and what triggers them.
- A business number for the platform, or a plan to port your existing one.
How to move your contacts and consent
Create custom fields for SMS consent, consent date and consent source under Settings > Custom Fields first, because columns can only map to fields that already exist.
- Go to Contacts and click Import Contacts.
- Choose Contacts and click Next.
- Upload the CSV exported from your old tool.
- Choose to add new contacts or update existing ones.
- Map each column to a field, including the consent fields.
- Tick Don't update Empty Values if blanks must not overwrite.
- Optionally tag the contacts with the name of this import.
- Review the mapping, then confirm and start the import.
After the import, rebuild each automated text as a workflow with the same trigger where possible, send a small test to staff and point your website forms at the platform before switching off the old tool.
Why handle opt-outs first
If an import fails halfway, or a column is mapped wrongly, you do not want to text anyone who asked you to stop. Import the opt-out file as its own batch first and set do not disturb for SMS on those contacts before any send, so a later mistake cannot override it. It takes a few extra minutes and removes the worst risk in a migration.
Say the agency runs email and texting in one marketing tool, its pipeline in a separate CRM and bookings in a third app, and someone spends about six hours a month exporting lists between them. With all three on the platform, the exports disappear. If the same campaigns then took about an hour, that would save five hours a month, and texts would stop automatically when a prospect books. The hours are illustrative.
What it replaces
For most firms the move replaces a marketing tool, a CRM and a scheduling app, plus the manual syncing between them. Texting becomes part of the client journey rather than a separate marketing activity. For a fuller view of combining channels, read email and SMS marketing. If you are weighing a dedicated texting service instead, read what to check before choosing a standalone texting tool.
Time it takes
A typical migration of contacts, templates and a handful of automated texts takes two to four days of part-time work, much of it waiting for number registration. After that, running texts takes no longer than before, and less if you used to move lists by hand.
The mistake most people make
Migrating contacts without consent data. A contact list without consent fields forces you either to text no one or to guess. Export consent and opt-out status explicitly, even if it takes a request to the old tool's support team.
Switching off the old tool before the new number is registered. Keep both running until your first live send on the platform has delivered.
When not to move
If you only send a few texts a year and your CRM already does what you need, moving for SMS alone may not be worth it. The case is strongest when texting needs to react to sales and booking events. For automated messages specifically, see automated SMS messages, and for keeping usage down after the move, affordable SMS marketing.
Troubleshooting
Imported contacts show no consent. The column mapping missed the field. Re-import the consent column only, matching on phone number.
Numbers fail validation on import. Make sure numbers include the country code, such as +44 or +1.
Registration takes longer than expected. Check that your business details match public records exactly; small differences cause delays.
Old automated texts still go out. Switch off automations in the old tool once each one is rebuilt and tested.
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my existing SMS number?
Often yes, by porting it. Check with your current provider whether the number type can be ported.
Will my contacts notice the change?
Not if the sender name, number and tone stay the same. Introduce any new number in your first message.
Do I need to re-collect consent?
Not if you can export the original consent records. If you cannot, ask for consent again by email before texting.
Can I run both tools for a while?
Yes, but send each contact texts from one tool only, to avoid duplicates and conflicting opt-outs.