Onboarding and verification
Getting a number onto the platform involves business verification, display-name approval and, if you are moving an existing number, a migration step. This is the part of the relationship where a good provider is most obviously worth paying for, and where a poor one costs you weeks. Ask each provider to describe the full sequence in writing, including what happens if a display name is rejected, how long verification typically takes for a company like yours, and what they need from you at each step.
Template governance
Templates are where campaigns actually stall. Submission, category assignment, approval, rejection and resubmission all pass through the provider interface, and the quality of that workflow determines whether a campaign ships on Tuesday or the following week. During each trial, submit three real templates including one marketing message and one with variables, and record how long approval took, how clearly any rejection was explained, and how easy it was to correct and resubmit.
Inbox design under load
Every provider will show you a tidy inbox with four conversations in it. The useful test is what happens with two agents and forty. Check assignment and claiming, what the interface does when two people open the same chat simultaneously, whether internal notes and tags are visible without switching screens, whether search finds a conversation from months ago by number or keyword, and what happens to an agent's conversation history when they leave the company.
Automation depth
Automation on this platform ranges from simple keyword replies to routed flows with conditions and handoffs to a human. Write down the one automated flow you genuinely need, for example an away-hours acknowledgement that captures a name and a requirement and creates a task for the morning, then build it in both trials. Building it yourself tells you about the builder, the documentation and the limits far more accurately than watching someone else build a polished example.
Integration reach
List every system that needs to know about these conversations: your CRM, your website forms, your catalogue or payment links, your ticketing tool, your reporting stack. Check each one individually with both providers and ask whether the connector is built and maintained by them, offered through a third party, or achievable only through their interface for developers. A missing connector is not a disaster, but discovering it after signature turns into an unplanned project.
Billing transparency
Your monthly cost has at least two components: what the provider charges for software and what the platform charges per conversation, which varies by conversation category and by country. Estimate your own monthly volume split by category, then ask each provider for a written worked example bill at that volume with every line itemised, plus a clear statement of what happens when you exceed the estimate. Clarity at this question is a strong signal about how the relationship will feel later.
