The SMS service has now shifted to the commercial sector after years of popularity it enjoyed with the people of the world. Many companies and organizations need an efficient form of communication both within and outside the organization. Sending a large number of customized messages to customers or employees is termed Bulk SMS service. By a large margin, Bulk SMS service effectively manages to deliver this service to the organization. It also does this by having a considerable amount of security in the service. However, Most organizations adopt this method for quick communication because of its infamous low prices. Other marketing attempts, either offline or online incur heavy charges to the organization and do not promise a greater reach than the bulk SMS service.
It seems that even though Bulk SMS itself is a great tool for marketing and quick communication, choosing how to go about getting this sort of service is a hard thing for companies. The bigger the company or an organization, the more trustworthy a bulk SMS service provider must be. This is because it is difficult to change the communication strategies in big organizations on a whim. Choosing the wrong Bulk SMS provider can cost a lot to the company, and also damage its reputation. It is also important to choose a customizable bulk SMS service provider so that they can add features that the customers want how the company chooses to implement in the future. When the best bulk SMS service provider is chosen, it can increase customer satisfaction, drive sales, and increase profits for the company.
Although most Bulk SMS service providers look the same, there are differences between them. Many use different technologies and provide varying degrees of features. Following are some factors that help someone choose the correct bulk SMS service.
This is one of the most important factors influencing the company's decision to buy bulk SMS services. The company needs to know if the bulk SMS service provider has all the correct connections with the country's primary Telecom operators. The major networking routes that the service provider uses also come into consideration. An inquiry should be done if the bulk SMS service provider reaches the customer base using safe, legitimate network pathways. Using an illegitimate network can damage the company's reputation.
bulk SMS service should be customizable, to include multiple languages and also include features of incorporating media links and images. It must be possible to study their campaigns as the company sees fit. Setting the range of SMS between different places should be possible. A company that buys the bulk SMS service must check if its service provider gives most of these features. Discovering an important feature not present after choosing the bulk SMS service provider, can cost the company heavily. The best bulk SMS service providers always make sure that their features are customizable to an extent that the companies are satisfied.
Technological improvements happen day by day, and it is important to choose a bulk SMS service provider that uses the latest technologies in the service. SMS gateway should be encrypted with HTTPS, and it should work considerably fast even in low network bandwidths. This feature is important to reach remote places having low network connectivity. Many companies provide their own APIs(Application Programming Interfaces) and have detailed explanations to use the APIs. Before buying from a bulk SMS service provider, one should check their API and other technical documentation.
Support services offered by the bulk SMS service provider are important when technical difficulties arise. Sometimes the messages may be delayed or not sent at all. At any cost, messages must reach the customer and customer queries should come to the company. This can only happen when the bulk SMS service provider has good support services. The company should investigate the downtime that has occurred due to some technical difficulties in the past. The company must then choose the one which has the lowest downtime. The best bulk SMS provider who is always ready to fix bugs in their system must be chosen. Increased support services also increase customer satisfaction, and improves the growth of the company.
The bulk SMS service provider must provide the company expensive tracking and analytics services. The company should be able to differentiate between its various demographics, age groups, and other such criteria. Delivery reports, read reports, subscription rates, etc. must be delivered to the company whenever such data is asked for. The company should investigate if analytics are authentic enough. It is wise if the companies choose bulk SMS providers who provide immediate, real-time, transparent Data Analytics to whichever organization they serve.
Finally, there is the monetary aspect of choosing the bulk SMS service provider. There are many service providers who charge companies under the brand name and the companies end up paying a lot more than they need to these service providers. There are other companies that charge very little but give a less than valuable experience of SMS transactions between the customers. This is why it is important to check for a lot of different bulk SMS providers and compare their prices. The prices are normally determined by the number of text messages that the company buys, which then can be sent to people around the world. Generally the higher number of text messages the company wants, the higher is the price.
Bulk SMS service has been known to contribute greatly to the marketing business and it is one of the most cost-effective methods of marketing. But choosing a worthy Bulk SMS service provider seems to be a hard task. Advanta Africa is the best bulk SMS service provider in Kenya. It provides transactional and marketing bulk SMS services at affordable rates to clients around the world. It also offers high-security services to the messages in their network.
