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How to Choose The Best Bulk SMS Provider — Things To Know

BSG Bulk SMS_Hands with world mail delivery on world map background

Mobile advertising, particularly SMS marketing, has been gaining traction, with companies spending an estimated $327 billion in 2022 and projections nearing $400 billion by 2024. Businesses invest in SMS marketing because of its adaptability for sales promotions, improved security, and engaging customers. To fully take advantage of text messaging and efficiently reach a vast audience, partnering with a bulk SMS provider is crucial.

However, many find it challenging to determine what to look for in a service and how to choose the best among numerous options. First and foremost, conduct your own research and avoid focusing exclusively on pricing. While cost is important, other factors can influence your marketing success. 

In this blog post, we’ll discuss the key elements to consider when evaluating potential bulk SMS service providers to meet your unique needs.

Essential Factors for Choosing a Bulk SMS Provider 

The success of your mass SMS marketing hinges on choosing the right provider. To make an informed decision, consider these factors:

Price

Investigate the prices, including rates per text, text credit blocks, tax add-ons, setup fees, and policies for unspent credit. Compare bulk SMS pricing plans based on your messaging volume and frequency to find an affordable provider offering the best value.

Reliability

Examine the infrastructure to ensure rapid and timely message delivery. Reliable providers connect directly to local and global aggregators, offering a dashboard for real-time data tracking and performance indicators.

Feature-rich Platforms

Look for features of a bulk SMS provider. it should include a wide range, such as contact management, real-time reports, SMS APIs, sender ID, and filtering options. Limited features can hinder your campaign’s scalability.

Security

Ensure the SMS gateway provider has a robust security infrastructure to protect your customers’ personal information and comply with regulations like GDPR and TCPA.

Responsive Customer Support

BSG Bulk SMS_Customer care webpage interface word

Does the Customer support for the bulk SMS provider reply in time, 24/7? Check how active they are through reviews or by testing them out during a free trial.

Data and Analytics

Opt for a service that features insights to help measure campaign success, such as delivery rates, bounce rates, and response rates, enabling targeted decision-making.

SMS Variety

The ideal bulk provider should offer various SMS types, such as OTP, promotional messages, customer onboarding, and support, to cater to all aspects of your business. 

User-friendly Interface

Ensure the platform is easy to navigate, supports multiple users and languages, and allows for straightforward contact group downloads, template creation, API connections, and analytical insights.

Industry Experience

Industry experience is a must-have — so include it to your checklist. A vendor with proven experience in SMS marketing should understand industry concepts and relevant regulations. Investigate their track record, clientele, and length of service to gauge their expertise.

API Integration

APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) are toolkits or protocols that allow connected systems to exchange and utilize information and features. 

Among all factors, API integration is the most critical to consider, as selecting the right SMS API provider alleviates the hassle of constantly moving your CRM.

SMS providers offer various APIs, each with unique capabilities:

  • HTTPS API: This API enables the real-time sending of 50-100 messages while allowing configuration of delivery confirmation, delayed messaging, and addresser ID.
  • File Transfer Protocol (FTP): This protocol enables file transfers between systems, typically between a provider’s server and a client system. Features include interfacing with other media converters,  2-way bulk SMS service, gateway escalation, and week delay.
  • Short Message Peer-to-Peer (SMPP) API: Ideal for businesses sending up to 5,000 messages monthly and seeking bidirectional communication, SMPP supports delays, media converters, gateway escalation, and self-determined language platforms.
  • XML API: Capable of processing data from various networks and integrating with legacy platforms, this API supports media conversion, different SMS types, batch sending, delivery and sender identifiers, and is language-independent.
  • SMTP API: Facilitates sending bulk server-generated emails to SMS, streamlining global notifications, alerts, and reminders for businesses.
  • SOAP API: Contains all the features mentioned above, except for two-way messaging capabilities. For two-way messaging, it’s best to choose FTP, HTTP, or SMPP protocols. 

How to Evaluate Bulk SMS Providers

So you have a checklist, how about the actual evaluation process? Assessing the services of a bulk SMS vendor requires additional measures.. 

Research

To find a suitable SMS messaging provider, start by searching “bulk SMS providers” online. Evaluate each prospect by signing up for a free trial to assess the interface, ease of signing up, uploading contacts, and sending a sample message. Additionally, check the support page to gauge the platform’s responsiveness to customer inquiries.

Trial

As the saying goes, “A trial will convince you.” Test a bulk SMS provider’s viability with a small campaign before committing. This cost-effective approach helps you decide whether to continue with them or explore other options.

Reviews

Review aggregator sites can help assess a business SMS platform’s quality. Examine the reviews, scores, and testimonials, focusing on customer support, interface usability, and pricing to gain a comprehensive understanding of the SMS vendor.

Why Choose BSG as Your Trusted Bulk SMS Provider? 

BSG is a global communication platform that provides mass texting services designed specifically for enterprises. We enable sending transactional & promotional SMS messages to local and global customers.

Build Static and Dynamic Groups

You get comprehensive contact management with BSG, as our bulk SMS platform allows easy uploading of customer data parsed by fields from a file or an SMS API. 

99% Delivery Rate 

With a high delivery rate on numbers within a validated database, BSG ensures exceptional performance due to our direct connections with operators.

One-Stop Solution 

You can eliminate the hassle of juggling multiple tabs or tools by setting up your campaigns from a unified dashboard.

If you’re ready to start, follow these five steps to set up your campaign.

  1. Sign up and choose multiple sender names. Once they pass moderation, move on to the campaign form.
  2. Improve mass text messaging by using customer insights for Recency, Frequency, and Monetary analysis (RFM) and cluster segmentation. 
  3. Write messages and save them as SMS templates for future use.
  4. Test your campaign and launch immediately or schedule it for a preferred day and time
  5. Monitor conversions and how much you’re spending.

Need more help getting started? Contact BSG customer support now!

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