SMS or text messaging can greatly improve your company’s efficiency in marketing and CRM communications, but when considering SMS it is important to understand how to leverage it properly in enterprise environments so that common missteps can be avoided.
Below are six common questions companies have when considering SMS, and some simple answers to help overcome the hurdles.
What Are Short Codes?
Short codes are the 4 to 6 digit numbers you see for today’s texting campaigns. When combined with a keyword, organizations can perform a variety of features with their messaging campaigns. Short codes route messages to a server rather than a carrier’s SMS gateway, meaning you can manage, control, route, audit and store everything associated with any messaging campaign, enabling you to capture large amounts of data effortlessly. Short codes can increase your margins, by bringing added value services such as personalized CRM communication or mobile wallets.
Short Codes: From Where and How Much? The Common Short Code Association (CSCA) manages all short code leasing in the U.S. To lease one, you must apply with the CSCA for one of the two types of short codes that are available, “random” or “vanity,” the latter enabling companies to use branding in the code itself. Random short codes cost approximately $500 per month to lease, while vanities are about $1,000 per month.
I Have My Short Code, Now What? Next you must develop and deploy the specific application for your campaign. Once operational, it must be submitted for certification by ALL the carriers you would like to have support your campaign. The approval process can take from six to eighteen months, making it the longest stage of the process. SMS aggregators can help the process by applying to all the carriers simultaneously. Without an aggregator, organizations have to contact each carrier individually for application certification.
SMS aggregators can also speed up certification by facilitating communication with various carriers, thereby decreasing your time to market. SMS aggregators have widely varying pricing models for their services, so shop around for the aggregator that fits your organization’s needs.
What About MMS?
Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) enables the sending of internet-based data (images, audio and video). MMS requires capabilities that do NOT exist on all mobile phones, like Internet-enabled data connections. Additionally there is no single MMS format that meets ALL carrier and handset interoperability
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requirements, making MMS both economically and technologically prohibitive.
SMS is a necessary part of any cellular phone call made in the world today; the use of SMS (via an overhead or paging channel) causes your phone to ring, receive voicemails, provide caller ID, etc. SMS is required for every call you make and by definition works on any mobile phone. Remember that broader reach should be your top priority and SMS is the common denominator for EVERY cell phone in use today. Therefore if your mobile strategy only incorporates advanced wireless capabilities, you are severely limiting your reach.
Is that good enough for your mobile strategy? What Role Does the MMA Play?
The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) is an industry- sponsored association that oversees the conduct of enterprises and aggregators specific to mobile messaging campaigns on wireless networks. The MMA has very strict guidelines on the type of content that can be sent via SMS and stresses that ALL campaigns must be operated on a permission basis, meaning the user must initiate and approve the conversation (or remove a user’s number from a database, if requested). Permission-based protocols help control spamming to wireless users. It is very important to adhere to these guidelines, as the MMA can terminate your campaign for any violations.
Am I Ready to Launch? Launching a mobile messaging campaign can add significant value to your overall marketing or CRM strategy. Once implemented, texting can provide a cost effective method of continued communication. But it is very important to be knowledgeable of the ecosystem you are entering and follow the specific guidelines that have been established. It is also critical to be aware of the various industry patents, especially regarding mobile content delivered via SMS text.
SMS can be the next step in the evolution of your mobile strategy, but in the fast paced world of mobile marketing, only the most targeted, well-managed campaigns, that respect the end-user, have the ability to take your organization to the next level.
About the Author:
Robert Sanchez is the CEO of Globaltel Media, the first company to provide enhanced two-way text dialog and electronic content solutions with the capability to reach the over 4 billion mobile phones globally. Globaltel Media is helping organizations navigate the waters of SMS communications, and implement highly effective text-based campaigns.
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