Running an SMS marketing strategy can have several benefits for your business … but only if you do it the right way.

As of now, there are several regulations on the books that govern the way companies must handle their SMS marketing strategies.

Below, we’ll take a look at the information you need to know about SMS marketing compliance.

What Do You Need to Know About SMS Marketing Compliance?

First and foremost, it’s important to remember that businesses must request and receive consent before adding any consumers to their SMS marketing campaigns.

You cannot start messaging customers without their consent—even if you have their number. It’s for this reason, that you’ll find that companies often have options to fill in mobile numbers with consent forms on their online websites. You may even find these on paper signup forms.

If customers don’t agree to be part of your SMS marketing strategy, you should not message them under any circumstances.

These rules provide the basic groundwork for SMS marketing. But there are other important regulations of which you should be aware in order to run your campaign legally.

What Are Optout Shortlinks?

We’ve seen the importance of asking customers for their consent before messaging them.

But that’s only half the story.

Did you know that businesses must also provide consumers with an option to optout of SMS marketing campaigns? There are several ways that businesses can do this.

First, SMS services must be able to respond to the word “STOP.” Customers who text this back should instantly witness a cessation of new marketing texts.

However, many customers will text other responses, meaning that businesses must constantly scan and look to see if customers are asking to optout.

One way to streamline this process for your clients is by providing optout shortlinks. These shortlinks are condensed URLs that will allow them to quickly optout of your SMS campaign.

Importantly, you’ll notice that once your customers optout, they must receive a confirmation message.

Why Are They Necessary?

As noted, existing regulations require the consent of individuals in order to be part of any SMS marketing campaign. Because of this, they must also have the ability to recant their consent whenever they choose.

Without email optout links, businesses infringe on the rights of their consumers to stop receiving SMS. This does not bode well under existing regulations and could put businesses in legal trouble.

How Does This Fit with GDPR and Other Compliance Regulations?

The GDPR, known fully as the General Data Protection Regulation, was passed by the European Union and provides an updated regulation in regard to how companies must store consumer data.

Importantly, the GDPR makes it mandatory that businesses delete the information of any EU citizen who requests it. Keep in mind, however, because stored data isn’t generally separated by the nationality of users, most businesses apply these regulations to customers no matter where they’re from.

Under these regulations, you may be required to delete the data of anyone who has opted out of your SMS campaign.

Keep this information in mind as you look to run a successful SMS strategy.

To get the most from your SMS marketing strategy, you need a service that allows for 2-Way SMS. 2-Way SMS provides a powerful way for businesses to start boosting their bottom dollar, decrease lost revenue, and build a better relationship with customers and clients.

SMS.to features all the 2-Way SMS services you need to start taking your business to the next level. But what is 2-Way SMS, and how can it help you grow your business?

Below, we’ll take a look at this popular form of SMS marketing and see how it can start helping you cut costs and save money faster than you ever thought possible.

What Is 2-Way SMS?

In many ways, 2-Way SMS is exactly what is sounds like.

If you’ve ever received an automated text from a business, you may have noticed that some allow for responses, while some don’t.

2-Way SMS refers to automated messages that allow for consumers to reply with some form of feedback. Studies indicate that 2-Way SMS encourages greater participation on the part of consumers, as they become actively involved and invested in the messages they are receiving.

By incorporating 2-Way SMS into your marketing strategy, you can start increasing your customer traffic and build better top-of-mind awareness.

But how can you go about using 2-Way SMS in your campaign? We take a look at some of the cleverest ways to use 2-Way SMS to start seeing better growth.

How to Use Them

There are several effective ways to start using 2-Way SMS. Consider the following as you look to add them into your SMS marketing strategy.

1. Set Appointment Reminders

One of the most important benefits of 2-Way SMS is that it allows for businesses to plan ahead for appointments.

With 2-Way SMS, businesses can bulk message patients and clients ahead of time to confirm their appointments. This serves a two-fold purpose: first, it helps remind individuals that they have an appointment, saving businesses time and money.

Second, if for any reason an appointment can’t be made, individuals have the power to respond with an automated message that will allow them to reschedule. In this way, businesses can stop losing unnecessary money.

2. Get Feedback About Services

Want to start improving the services you offer? Use 2-Way SMS to get nearly instant feedback on your customers’ experiences.

Because most customers are likely to read their SMS, a 2-Way system can encourage them to respond almost in real-time. This allows you to have the insight you need to start improving your business’s practices.

3. Use It as Customer Service

By using 2-Way SMS as part of your customer service routine, you can start developing a better relationship between your business and your clients.

In this way, you can build your brand’s image and have a better reputation within the market.

Areas We Service

SMS.to allows you to enjoy all the great benefits of 2-Way SMS. Keep in mind, however, that currently SMS.to offers this option only in the United States, the United Kingdom, and in Canada.

Those wishing to start employing an SMS marketing strategy within their businesses need not forego HLR lookups

If you’ve never looked into SMS marketing, this term may be new to you. However, with the proper use of HLR lookups, you can strengthen your business’s SMS marketing campaign.

For this reason, it’s important to not overlook the benefits HLR lookups can bring to your business. Below, we’ll go over what these tools are, why businesses use them, and the benefits they can bring to your business.

What Are HLR Lookups?

HLR lookups, also known as HLR checking, allow businesses to get a real-time look into a Home Location Register. These registers are used to store subscriber information from various mobile networks.

By utilizing HLR lookups, companies can find out valuable information about their own subscriber data, helping them create a more useful customer list.

As we will see, HLR lookups prove especially useful for companies that wish to run an SMS marketing campaign.

What Do They Do?

HLR lookups send a query to a network’s HLR and return useful information regarding a mobile number. For example, companies can find out if a mobile number is currently active or inactive—important information for businesses looking to use SMS marketing.

Why Use Them?

So why use HLR lookups as part of your SMS marketing strategy? Below, we’ll take a look at the powerful benefits offered by HLR lookups.

As we do so, keep in mind that SMS.to includes HLR lookups as part of its powerful bulk SMS marketing service.

• Verify the Validity of Your Database

Your marketing campaign won’t be very successful if you don’t have an accurate database. Businesses need accurate subscriber information databases to make sure that their SMS strategies are performing as expected.

If a subscriber’s mobile number is inactive, for instance, you may be wasting valuable resources sending them messages. For this reason, validating databases proves an important part to maintaining a quality SMS marketing campaign.

• Clean Your Mobile List

Additionally, the information gleaned from using HLR lookups allows businesses to clean out their mobile lists. In other words, you can eliminate any inactive numbers so that you’re servicing only active clients.

• Get Vital Information on Networks

As noted, HLR lookups allow companies to better regulate their databases by providing critical information.

First and foremost, HLR looks will allow businesses to ensure that only correct mobile numbers are entered. When signing up, customers will not be able to enter a fake phone number, meaning that you can ensure the validity of your data.

Furthermore, these services can make sure that the numbers of customers are providing are in service. Again, this is important to businesses actually wishing to reach consumers.

• Reduce Costs

Finally, because you won’t be wasting time or resources sending information to fake numbers, you can reduce your company’s marketing costs.

Additionally, because you will be sending your SMS to more real people, you can ensure more value is added through your marketing campaign.

For these reasons, consider getting a service—such as SMS.to—that will allow you to get real-time HLR lookup capabilities. Doing so just may take your business’s marketing strategy to the next level.

If you run a small-to-medium-sized business (SME), you know how difficult marketing can be. Budget constraints often mean that you need to find the marketing approach that brings the most value to your business—at the lowest cost possible.

Fortunately, new bulk SMS services such as SMS.to allow SMEs to start cutting costs while enjoying several perks. Below, we’ll take a look at seven of the most important reasons why every SME should be using a bulk SMS service.

1. It’s Fast

Why use an SMS service?

Because they’re fast.

SMS.to allows businesses to get in touch with several of their customers with the click of a button. These messages will appear in their mobile inboxes—making them convenient to access.

2. It’s Reliable

SMS remains the most-effective marketing strategy for SMEs because it offers real results. Unlike other digital marketing methods—such as email marketing—SMS marketing reaches the majority of targeted consumers.

In fact, some studies estimate that over 90% of people will read their SMS—including ones used for marketing. This makes SMS marketing a much more reliable alternative than sending junk emails to a person’s inbox.

Even better, most people will read their SMS within a period of four minutes—meaning that you can reliably reach your clients in a matter of minutes.

3. It’s Inexpensive

Compared to other forms of advertising, SMS marketing proves to be quite inexpensive. With services like SMS.to, businesses can start reaching their marketing goals while staying on budget.

Because businesses can reach a number of customers in a matter of minutes, SMS marketing can grow a company’s reach in no time.

4. It Builds a Connection

Another powerful benefit of SMS marketing is that it allows businesses to develop a more “personal” relationship with consumers. Because SMS marketing actually reaches consumers—and because messages are typically read—businesses can start building better top-of-mind-awareness in their markets.

5. It’s Mobile-Friendly

Let’s face it: most people are always on their phones. SMS.to takes advantage of this by sending your message to a place where your customers are sure to read it.

By being mobile friendly, SMS marketing provides greater convenience for both businesses and consumers.

6. It Allows for Greater Insight

Even better, with the right SMS service, you can start to see insight into your marketing strategy. You’ll be able to see which SMS received the most clicks, allowing you to tailor your strategy to your audience.

This allows for more-successful marketing that can start boosting your business’s bottom dollar.

7. It Provides a Targeted Audience

Finally, keep in mind that SMS marketing is a form of opt-in marketing. This means that consumers receiving your texts have already expressed their interest in hearing from you.

What does this mean?

It means that they are more likely to read and respond to your messages. With this in mind, you’ll be able to help build a loyal base while strengthening your brand’s image and reputation.

For these reasons, investing in an SMS marketing service, such as SMS.to, gives businesses greater flexibility over their marketing strategy by producing real results.

If your business isn’t using bulk SMS, you’re missing out. This simple messaging system proves to be one of the most effective digital marketing methods for businesses of all types.

Businesses looking to harness the powerful benefits of using bulk SMS should be aware of certain laws. Below, we’ll take a look at two of the major benefits of bulk SMS for businesses. Additionally, we’ll look at how regulations such as the GDPR affect how businesses manage customer data.

Benefits of Bulk SMS

Bulk SMS offers a variety of benefits for businesses of nearly every size. As you consider bulk SMS services for your business, keep the following information in mind.

• 98% of Customers Read Their Texts

Why is bulk SMS effective?

Perhaps because it’s one of the most guaranteed ways to stay in touch with your customers. Studies indicate that the majority of people read their text messages—even ones used for marketing purposes.

In fact, with up to 98% of individuals reading their SMS, you can be sure that your promotional content is reaching a greater number of customers. This makes it one of the most effective marketing strategies for businesses across a variety of different industries.

But that’s not all that bulk SMS has to offer.

• SMS Is Extremely Quick

Another factor that makes SMS so effective is the fact that most messages can be read quickly. In fact, up to 94% of SMS can be read within four minutes—making customers much more likely to read your content.

This gives bulk SMS a leg up on other forms of digital marketing.

Regulations to Consider

In order to partake in SMS marketing, businesses must meet a number of important regulations. Keep the following in mind as you develop your own SMS marketing strategy.

• SMS Is Considered Opt-In Marketing

In order to establish an SMS marketing campaign, you’ll need to first get consent from your customers. Generally, opt-in forms are added to sign up pages, where users have the opportunity to opt-in for optional texts and other communication.

While there’s no guarantee that all customers will opt-in, as noted, the ones who do generally prove very responsive.

• You’ll Need to Follow GDPR Guidelines

The General Data Protection Regulation passed by the European Union places strict regulations on how companies use and protect customer data.

Implemented in May of 2018, the GDPR fundamentally changed regulations regarding the processing of consumer data. Businesses based in the EU or dealing with the personal information of citizens in the EU must comply with these new regulations.

Importantly, these new laws stipulate that businesses cannot obtain third-party information about customers. Instead, all information obtained must be done with the consent of the involved party. Additionally, if a consumer requests, all data that companies have must be deleted.

Because businesses risk facing hefty fines for mishandling information—and because global user data is not generally sorted by region—many companies have found it easier to apply these regulations across the board.

In doing so, you can help ensure that your SMS marketing strategy is done by the books.

Mobile Phones and Current Trends in Marketing

In today’s fast-paced world of instant communication, the trends are obvious; everyone has a mobile phone. Mobile phones are not simply used for communication, as first envisioned, but used to do just about every daily task you can imagine. Pay bills, watch a movie, play a game; and most importantly for your business: make purchases.  Social networking was originally designed to allow users to connect with friends and family with pictures, videos, and others.  However, many business owners also saw this growing connectivity trend as an opportunity to effectively advance their marketing campaigns.  It is this connectivity and high-speed communication that can allow a business to reach consumers and get rapid feedback. Near real-time tracking of demographic data to identify what is working best to continuously improve their marketing.

Put simply, bulk SMS marketing is the most effective method to reach new and existing customers.  It is the most cost-efficient way to communicate all the great things your business has to offer. If you are not in step with this trend, you will see your business trailing the competition very soon.

What Exactly is SMS and Why SMS Marketing?

SMS (short message service) is the text messaging service element used in mobile phones and internet browsers. Short text messages are sent via standardized communication protocols and allow the connectivity over communication networks that phone companies and internet service companies provide. SMS marketing is simply leveraging this messaging capability to reach your customer base quickly, and build a database of essential customer information.

Most SMS marketing campaigns start with a promotion to reach new customers. For example; your car wash business decides to offer a free car wash on weekdays.  You can bulk send to a list of mobile phone numbers an offer to text 12345, or some similar shortcode to FREE_WASH. Then send those that respond with the details on the weekday offer.  Often consumers will forward great deals to their social network. Given the ease of mobile communication these days and the whole social network trend discussed above, word travels very fast. The networking concept here is that “word of mouth”, advertising can travel at light speed with today’s mobile and internet capabilities. Your business needs to continue to leverage this capability to stay competitive.

Over time, the messaging and feedback can allow your business to build a database of customers, and sales trends. Which customers responded? Which days were the free wash most often used? How many new customers, were added as a result of networking, or those that were contacted by their friends.

Is Bulk SMS Marketing Really Effective?

Bulk SMS is simply sending your company’s message and marketing offers to many existing and potential customers in a single batch delivery. It is highly effective in terms of cost.  SMS marketing is currently, the least expensive method to target a list of potential clients. Along with customer feedback and demographic tracking that is an essential component of your SMS marketing campaign.  If you want to expand your customer base and keep advertising expenditures in check, bulk SMS marketing is a must. Your customized messages go out; and even, in the event, your customers are driving with their phones off, as soon as their phone is turned back on, your message is delivered.

A key to the overall effectiveness of SMS bulk Marketing is that you do not need any specialized skill to get your SMS marketing campaign going. You do need to obtain some web-based software to help organize, send and track your messaging, but again this type of service is relatively inexpensive and easy to initiate your SMS delivery process.  An SMS marketing campaign is a great way to let your customers know about new products, specialized services and unique offers that your company may have coming their way. SMS bulk Marketing is a highly effective way to stay in touch with your customer base, thereby increasing both sales and customer loyalty.

How to Get Started on the Initial Bulk List

To get started the first step is to define the basic data set your business needs to build your customer database. For our car wash example, the business may want to track the following:

1. Customer Mobile Number
2. Customer Email Address
3. Customer Name: LNAME, F_NAME
4. Address/Zip Code
5. Last Date of Car Wash
6. Service Code: wash, wash and wax, super wash, custom clean
7. Car Make/Model

With this data definition, the next step is to start collecting. Easier said then done, but there are likely ways your business is already gathering this information with existing customers or could start as a point of sales or deliveries are completed. This is also a process where getting help from an established SMS marketing firm with a robust tech platform can really help.  SMS.to is an excellent SMS support platform that can really help grow your business.

SMS.TO Mission

The SMS.to mission is to . SMS.to offers a smarter way for a business to communicate with customers to include full support to Bulk SMS marketing. So far in this article, we have only covered SMS platforms, but SMS.to can extend the bulk SMS concept to WhatsAPP and Viber as well.  The SMS.to offers the robust platform components (OmniMessaging & SMS API Gateway) that can integrate your company’s messaging and really start connecting with your customer base.

In today’s fast paced world of instant communication, your business must get better connected to new and potential customers. Your business can jump start its bulk SMS marketing campaign with the help of an experienced SMS marketing tech solution firm: SMS.to  Your company defines the message and data requirements and SMS.to integrates your workflow into the robust gateways that can effectively reach your target market segment.

Bulk SMS It is the most cost-efficient way to communicate all the great things your business has to offer and SMS.to mission is to simplify the process and help your company gain marketing share quickly.

When you run a small business one of the most important things that you need to think about is marketing. After all, you are going to want to try and secure as many clients and customers as possible.

The thing about marketing is that it comes in a variety of forms and it can be hard to know which approach is the right one to take. One that is often forgotten is SMS marketing. But why should SMS  marketing be something that you try out and how can it work for you?

The power of SMS marketing

It is no secret that many of us rely on our smartphones on a day to day basis. We don’t go anywhere without them and, during a quiet moment, we will be sat looking at them. This means that SMS marketing is a great way to reach your target audience, appealing to them and making sure that they know who you are and what you can do for them.

How to get SMS marketing right

Want to make sure that SMS works for you? Here are some of the things that you need to do in order to make sure that SMS marketing works for you.

Know who you are talking to

The first thing that you need to do when it comes to SMS marketing is knowing your customer. Think about who you are trying to appeal to and what they are going to want and need. Once you know who you are talking to, then you can make sure that you send out the right messages, to the right people.

Make sure your messages are clear

In a text message, you are limited to as little as 160 characters. Which means that you need to get to the point and quickly. You also need to make sure that your message is clear, despite being brief. This means you should always write them in plain English, avoiding the use of abbreviations if you can.

Add in a call to action

A call to action is when you tell your customer what they need to do next and they are known to really increase engagement, particularly in SMS marketing texts. There are a variety of calls to action within text messages that you can use. You can add in “Show This Text” where they can take the text into your store in order to gain a discount or “Click Here” which points them to a website whereby they can find out more info.

Always get your timing right

The thing to remember about SMS marketing is that it is immediate. Within 3 minutes of being received, the message is likely to be opened and read. Due to their immediate nature, it is best to send a marketing text just before your customers can use it. That way they won’t forget about it. It is also good to try and avoid late nights and early mornings when sending texts as they are likely to be ignored.

SMS marketing is an incredibly powerful tool for your small business to use, so, if you want to harness the power, why not try it out for yourself? With a little help, you can make sure that SMS works for you.

Despite living in an increasingly modern world, people often forget the most basic tools when they design solutions to problems. Because we focus so intensely on innovation and growth, we neglect an easy answer even when it is sitting right in front of us.

In the world of sudden accidents and instability, the need for a warning system and a communication system that is less likely to fail is vital. The SMS method is just one way in which you can keep everyone connected during a crisis, and we’ll be examining it here and now.

AlertSMS – Your Friend in Crisis?

Getting the best communication package together is tricky, and there’s no doubt about that. With all of the different options and choices that are out there for communicating with customers and clients, finding a reliable method isn’t easy.

The SMS option is one of the most common options available and indeed one of the most fundamental methods of communication in the modern age. A bulk messaging service can make all the difference when it comes to trying to get the absolute most from a set of goods or services, and we want to make sure that you get an experience you can count on.

How It Works

So, let’s take a look at how the process would work and what it might mean for you from the perspective of a company. Let’s say that there was going to be a natural disaster taking place. An earthquake or some main gas problem can quickly spread from one place to the next and devastate a company. It’s so crucial to, therefore, warn people all at once, because that way you can minimize the damages done to life and property.

That’s where a bulk SMS API system can come in handy because it really can make all the difference when you’re trying to communicate succinctly with many people. Everyone gets the same message at the same time, and there’s no confusion about what’s happening.

When everyone is aware of what’s going on, and they are taking steps to try and prevent a problem from happening, it becomes easy for people to make the correct steps to keep themselves and others safe in an emergency. You can evacuate an area, make sure to prep for oncoming shockwaves, or whatever problem you’re about to face.

Overall, these are just a few of the different things that you’re going to want to consider when it comes to trying to debate getting a bulk SMS system. There is no doubt that you can get so much use from them, even if it’s just passing general messages onto employees and making sure that business partners are kept up to date with what’s going on. Because there’s so much that you need to think about, you should make sure that you’re at least getting this small thing sorted and fixed. It is just one less thing to think about it, and it can make all the difference.

SMS, WhatsApp, and other text-based instant communication systems have become the universal way to reach customers, regardless of the industry you’re in.

Did you know that there is a 40% higher conversion rate for customers who receive an SMS? Or that 98% of SMS messages are opened within three minutes after they’re received?

The figures are powerful and show just why bulk SMS is the must-have tool for any business to achieve real ROI from their marketing. Here are some ideas about how you could use bulk SMS to secure the same results.

Remember to K.I.S.S

 No, we’re not suggesting you add terms of endearment to your bulk SMS – but do remember to K.I.S.S: Keep It Short and Sweet.

The whole point of SMS is that you can convey an instant message; the last thing your customer wants to see is a huge block of text. Condense what you want to say into the shortest possible text and your marketing campaign will be fair more effective than long, flowery sentences.

Get the timing right

Not everyone is a lark or a night owl so if you get carried away and forget about the time of day, you could end up with more complaints than commissions! Sending SMS messages early in the day or late at night is a cardinal sin that your customer won’t forget.

There’s lots of research about the right day and time to send a text message, but lots will depend upon the content you’re including. However, as a rough rule of thumb, if you avoid the rush hours and Mondays and aim for lunchtime, Friday afternoons and weekends, you should get a good return.

Shorten those links!

 If you are directing your customer with a link, make sure you don’t inadvertently include a long and unwieldy URL. It looks awful over SMS and can be a real deterrent for your customer to click, spoiling all your hard marketing work.

There are lots of different providers who you can use to shorten your URL so there’s no excuse. It looks far more professional and will be far more inviting for your customer to click.

Never send the same message twice

There may be times when you want to send more than one SMS for a campaign, but simply re-sending the same message would be marketing suicide.

Although you’re using a bulk SMS service, you still want your customer to feel individual and valued. A repeat SMS with the same content will make your messages feel more like unwanted spam than a personalized connection.

It’s more than possible to promote the same campaign but with different wording so have variations ready for when you want to send out those reminders.

Make it meaningful

This may sound obvious but it’s essential to only contact your customers when you really do have something to say. Make sure your message is clear and succinct and that your customer can easily see the reason you’re getting in touch.

If you bombard your customer with too many messages or the reason isn’t clear, your carefully worded SMS will be disregarded as spam and it could even affect the reception of future SMS communication too. 

For more top tips on bulk SMS and how to make your marketing meaningful with real ROI, get in touch with us today to find out how we could help.

Retail businesses have started to feel the impacts of technologies on their business models in recent years. Embracing technologies and augmenting current customer relationships and marketing efforts become more important as young and tech-savvy customers start increasing their purchasing power.

This particular clients’ behavior requires most businesses to convey messages all across many different channels as clients wanted to be informed about their favorite special deals and store and also offers made available to them through their medium of choices.

The following are campaign ideas that retail business owners can follow:

1. Customer Returns, Refund Offers, and More 

You can make use of SMS marketing in communicating with clients regarding refunds, repairs and product returns. These kinds of situations can result in massive amounts of customer frustration and satisfaction. However, with SMS marketing, you can keep your clients informed and can also manage their expectations.

2. SMS Marketing Linked to Email Marketing

Your SMS marketing strategies can be linked to your email marketing. Your retail business can send out SMS to clients and remind them about your retail business’s email newsletters.

3. Limited Time Offers 

Combining real-time messaging with limited-time offers are proven an excellent way of increasing urgency and business sales. This also adds a personal touch that makes clients feel more special that they can score the best offers and deals.

4. The Two-Way System 

SMS can provide you with a two-way system making it convenient for clients to opt for market programs and purchase services and products.

5. Loyalty Programs 

Setting up SMS loyalty programs allow your customers and members to get exclusive offers and then text them regarding new products to be released or give your customers the first options on pre-orders. This will surely entice customers and will keep them coming back.

6. Sale and Special Offers

You can make use of SMS in driving special offers and sales offered by your retail store particularly when it is aimed at a shorter period. Offers must include a compelling call to action and one message such as a particular brand or item. SMS marketing is essentially proven to get greater responses when offers are time sensitive where an average response to SMS retail promotions five times higher than the online advertising.

7. Coupons Via SMS

 This is a great strategy to connect clients with your target marketing messages and make sure that these are being read. With SMS, you can also include rich media to promote your products to the entire customer base.

As you can see, the retail business and SMS is the perfect match. If you can incorporate the SMS mentioned above campaign idea the proper and strategic way, can create a product or brand awareness, boost sales and enhance customer retention and can turn a profit to both big and small retail business. With the help of these ideas, you can now have the confidence that your message can reach your audience. Overall, the implementation of these abovementioned SMS campaign ideas for a retail business can benefit your retail business in many ways.

Our mission is simple, we want to simplify and enrich business communications, making them accessible, affordable and efficient by introducing simple to integrate, cost-effective and rich communication features.

Today we released 2 features to that direction

HTTP REST API

The first version of our HTTP REST API is ready, you can now send a single message to a number, single message to multiple recipients, and a message to an uploaded list.

More features and possibilities will be available soon, contact us for technical support and integration into your systems!

Read the docs here: https://blog.sms.to/api-docs

Endpoints: https://blog.sms.to/api-docs/endpoints.html#api-endpoints

GET YOUR API KEY TODAY!

2-Way SMS feature

Easily from within the dashboard, you can click the 2-way SMS menu and Rent a number. Current availability is for USA, UK, Canada but many more countries will be released soon. If you need a particular country let us know and we can make it happen.

Click Rent Number, Choose Country, Number and Done!

Our platform makes communication simple, rent a range of numbers to use for appointment confirmations, polling, support numbers, and any other type of conversational product.

You will soon be able to set up auto-responders and callbacks back to your application

START WITH 2WAY SMS

Continuing our mission to create a complete omni channel business communication platform we are releasing our new feature the HLR Number Verification/Lookup

This feature is accessible from your web dashboard.

What is HLR Number Lookup?

With the HLR Lookup you can determine if a number is valid, invalid, inactive or has been ported. This lookup can also help you define the home network of a mobile subscriber as well as the roaming network if the mobile number is in another country than its country code.

The service is very useful for data sanitation by removing mobile numbers no longer active as well as minimisation of the SMS Marketing/Billing. Many carriers charge per attempt and by removing inactive numbers can provide considerable savings in the long run.

Another benefit is to identify the carrier of each mobile number you can optimise delivery on a pay per carrier billing model and again reduce costs.

 

How do I get started?

The feature is seamlesly integrated in our web platform, login in your account, and you can verify a Single Number, Paste a List, or verify a list from your List Manager.

GET STARTED

Intergo Telecom Launches SMS.to – A Smarter Omni-Channel Business Communication Platform (CPaaS)

• All Business to Customer communication managed in one place
• Compliance focus marketing tools (GDPR & Automatic Opt-out management)
• Growth-oriented features (A/B testing) integrated within communication-management platform

 

Launching this month, SMS.to is a CPaaS Al-powered omni-channel business communication platform, created to streamline the time-consuming management of outdated business messaging. SMS.to is a product of Intergo Telecom Ltd, a developer of innovative telecom solutions based in Cyprus looking to storm in the European market.

Working, initially with SMS but with plans to onboard WhatsApp and Viber capabilities shortly, SMS.to has been designed to enable businesses to integrate all B2C communications into one easy to manage platform. While providing a robust Programmable Web API (SMS Gateway, Viber & WhatsApp Gateway), which can be assimilated into user’s workflow or CRM software, the interface connects businesses with their customers and aids in the sending of:

• Marketing & Promotional messages
• Omnichannel notifications (Whatsapp, Viber, SMS)
• OTP (one time passwords)
• Transaction notifications
• Appointment reminders
• 2FA (two factor authentication)
• 2 Way SMS ( send & receive SMS)
• Smart Workflows – Action triggered notifications

 

 

However, although communication is at the heart of the platform, that’s not it’s complete USP (Unique Selling Proposition). SMS.to has been enhanced by a series of compliance features, which enables businesses to augment their marketing strategy without falling foul of marketing & SPAM regulations. This means that customers are provided with simple, automated opt-out features, GDPR compliance features allowing multiple subscriber lists to be effectively managed, and all collected data to be efficiently reported.

SMS.to in its goal to offer data driven communications provides a split-testing and URL tracking feature, enabling businesses to easily perform A/B tests on all marketing messages, to build towards the best possible conversion rates and ROI (return of investment), AI algorithms will analyse the best time to send a message and make recommendations in the future.

‘Customer communication is integral to any business, but it can be a needlessly laborious and highly complicated and regulated task,’ explains Marios Italos, Director of SMS.to. ‘The future of communications is here with customers interacting with multiple channels simultaneously (SMS, Viber, WhatsApp, Facebook etc.). SMS.to is allowing businesses to deal with multiple communications channels, rather than individually in an all in one unique, feature rich platform with data intelligence in mind’

‘With SMS.to, we wanted to create a single tool that did a lot of things that puts businesses in control of their data, at a price point that would mean that it was accessible to everyone – from start-ups to multinationals. This system works to improve productivity, efficiency, customer service and compliance, while not just collecting and keeping agreed-to customer data and communicate with them in a compliant manner, but actually presenting it in a form which businesses can use and benefit from through smart data insights. The platform aspires to provide answers to questions like:

‘Which SMS message performs best? What is the best time to send a message?. ‘

‘Long gone are the days of blindly loading up number lists and sending. Business can now interact and engage with customers, collect and present meaningful data and make decisions that grow their business.

Of course, all of this would be pointless if you needed a technology degree to be able to use it, so we spent a lot of time working to make the interface as user friendly as possible. It takes a few minutes to set up and is as intuitive to use as we could make it.

I really think that a lot of businesses will see the benefits that SMS.to could bring to their company.’

 

Company: SMS.to by Intergo Telecom Ltd

Name: Marios Italos

Website: https://blog.sms.to

Email: press@sms.to

Phone Number:  +357 (22) 000 522

Address: Office 206, 3 Nikolaou Nikolaidi, Savvas Plazza, 8010, Paphos, Cyprus

 

In the world of marketing, opportunities for innovation and creativity are endless and oftentimes some of the simplest communication methods are oftentimes overlooked and underrated. Which communication method am I referring to? The humble SMS of course. Let’s face it; the majority of your potential and existing customers for your business most likely own a smartphone. With a ratio of four mobile devices to every computer and smartphone users increasing daily, it is abundantly clear where customers spend a lot of their time during their day and one of the core principles of effective marketing is to go where your customers are, even if that means reaching them on their phones through SMS.

The key to getting your product or service in front of potential and existing customers is visibility, preferably wherever your customers are and what better way to achieve that by making use of a piece of technology that almost every single one of us has at arms reach; the smartphone! Mobile marketing is not something of the future, it is here now and you’d be missing out if you’re not capitalizing on this tried, a tested and reliable marketing method that has been around for over 20 years! Incorporating SMS marketing into your business practice will ensure your business is up to date with market trends as more and more businesses are starting to see the benefits of being mobile-friendly.

Below, I’ve listed six reasons why you should start using SMS marketing, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month, but today!

1. Immediacy

With SMS marketing, there is no need for campaigns to be printed out or for designs to be created, saving you valuable and precious time. Simply decide what your message will be and then send a bulk SMS to your customers which will take no longer than sending an SMS text on your own phone. The absolute bonus is the fact that 90% of SMS text messages are read within 3 minutes of being received which means you could see results immediately!

2. No Need to Reinvent the Wheel

The fact is, customers simply love using SMS texting due to its ease of use, accessibility, and simplicity which will allow you to bank on their familiarity with this communication medium, which is being used daily, worldwide after all. Since most people send and receive text messages all the time, the open rate of SMS marketing (the rate at which your targeted customers actually open up the text message) is a whopping 98%. In terms of reading rate, SMS marketing is way ahead of any other communication method around. So instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, why
not use what already works?

3. Direct Laser-Targeted Marketing

Consider this. What is one of the things most people absolutely cannot leave the house without? Yup, that’s right, you guessed it; their mobile phones! In fact, it is probably within arms-reach 24/7. Apart from meeting a customer in person or calling them over the phone, making use of SMS marketing is one of the most direct ways of communicating your message whilst ensuring your message is literally delivered straight into the right hands, at exactly the right time. How more laser-targeted can your marketing get than that?

4. Straight to the Point

In a world oversaturated with unread emails, overlooked advertisements and pamphlets and junk-mail simply thrown away, it’s easy to see that we suffer from an information overload while at the same time, trying to cope with our busy lives and demanding schedules. In contrast to the abovementioned communications media, SMS messages are the exact opposite. They are small and simple and don’t demand too much time and attention. They get the message across instantly and are more straight to the point. Think about it this way. How many SMS messages do you receive that you don’t open and read?

5. SMS Marketing is Budget Friendly

Regardless of your budget shape and size, SMS campaigns, in general, are highly affordable and you’ll also see a healthy return on your investment in SMS marketing. At just a few cents per message, you can have a highly targeted campaign without putting a dent in your pocket. Here at  sms.to, we offer the lowest and cheapest SMS rates and costs worldwide!

6. Intelligent Tracking

When it comes to detailed reports and tracking data, most service providers offer simple delivery reporting to check if your messages have been sent successfully. Here at sms.to we offer more intelligent tracking and not only tell you when your messages have been sent successfully but also provide you with details on how many people opened your message and exactly when across many campaigns, including detailed reports. We also provide several functionalities to meet your very specific, and crucial needs such as a feature called the ‘SMS Log & Scheduler’, where you can access & manage your SMS delivery reports in real-time, ensuring you get the most out of your campaigns!

SMS marketing truly is an efficient and cost-effective way to improve your sales and conversions and overall communication with your customers in large numbers. As technology grows and adapts, so does our marketing efforts and strategies and SMS marketing should definitely be included in your marketing arsenal. It is quick, simple, accessible and very straight to the point and your potential and existing clients will appreciate that! So what are you waiting for? Head on over to SMS.to and get started today!