Whether you run a small retail network and want to announce a holiday offer, or you need to send a single-use password to your subscriber, today you should integrate bulk SMS marketing into the business blueprint. And, similarly to any other service, even every TOP SMS service provider has advantages in certain aspects and limitations in others. The price seems to be a decisive factor, however, it is not the only thing to regard. What to consider while choosing the proper SMS gateway to reach out particularly to your customers?
Calculate the Cost Accurately
Willy nilly, pricing defines the allocated budgets. Ensure to learn about pricing in full measure. Is it a rate per text, or for a block of text credits? Are there any set-up fees? Whether the unspent credits expire? Tax add-ons, introductory offers — some SMS platforms for business do not quote all those on their websites. And such things may suddenly exceed the budget of your campaign.
Figure Out Deliverability Rates
Almost 100% of SMS’s are opened within ninety seconds after delivery. Depending upon the number of forwarded messages, delivery time ranges from a matter of minutes to hours. Along that way, part of messages may be bounced — instead of rational utilization, your funds will drain. Reputable international SMS service providers directly connect with the established local and global aggregators. They routinely verify phone numbers in their recipients database. Their dashboards precisely visualize data on a real-time basis allowing you to observe deliverability indicators: when messages were dispatched, how many were opened and bounced, how many acceptors responded? You will see fewer drawbacks and delays in the stats provided.
Examine the Interface
When choosing a messaging framework, user-friendliness is among the most omitted factors. Usable and accessible bulk SMS system will not require deep IT insight from you and your employees. There has to be a multi-user and multilingual web-interface, dependable and scalable. You should be able to download contact groups, set up an API connection and view in-depth statistics, build message templates including the multi-channel ones. The more usable your platform will be, the more clients will flock around it.
Integration Capability
The application programming interface (API) is a toolkit and protocols provide the systems with the means to exchange data and utilize each other’s features. Settle on a provider with a full suite of thoroughly documented APIs. You will probably be offered one of the following APIs.
- The HTTPS allows sending 50-100 SMSs in real-time, configuring delivery confirmation, delayed messaging and addresser ID.
- An FTP protocol streamlines batch processing from legacy CRM or ERP systems and is commonly used for single-shot massive dispatches. Among its features are interfacing with media converters, both-way messaging, gateway escalation and week delay.
- Large companies who send at least 5000 messages monthly and need steady bi-directional communication choose SMPP. Utilizing it requires specialist knowledge. It’s real-time authenticated communication allows sending bulk SMS for businesses right away from anywhere in the world. SMPP features include delays, self-determined language platform, support of media converters, gateway escalation etc.
- An XML API can process data in heterogeneous networks and integrate with your legacy platform. It is also language-independent and supports media conversion, various message types, sender identifier, escalation, batch sending, delivery acknowledgment and a week delay.
- The SMTP API allows for sending bulk server generated emails to SMS. Thus you can send SMS notifications, reminders and alerts to your clients globally.
- The SOAP API includes all mentioned features except for the two-way messaging. It is necessary to integrate with FTP, HTTP or SMPP to use this feature.
In summary, the support for the API integration is crucial in modern business environments. After all, deciding on a bulk SMS service provider is far easier than moving your business to an entirely new CRM system solely for that purpose. All above listed criteria are met by the BSG bulk messaging platform — we offer both API and web interface, easy to understand and for affordable prices, which will score you the excellent deliverability metrics.
