How to make your SMS strategy succeed

If the global reach wasn't enough to convince you to start using SMS, then the extremely high open rates (98%), and its ability to enhance other channels might. In fact, customers are thirty-five times more likely to read a text message than they are an e-mail!

SMS addresses a wide range of use cases for organisations across almost any sector. It is a fast, impactful, and reliable way to globally communicate the right message to the right person at the right time.

A Good SMS Strategy

SMS as a communication tool alone is not a guaranteed success. You need a strategy! A good SMS strategy should:

• Drive awareness for your brand
• Trigger action or engagement
• Improve the customer experience
• Improve security
• Drive growth and scalability

Makes sense, right? A good SMS strategy starts with ambition and realistic goals. But it doesn't end there. So what do you need to consider when setting up an SMS strategy? Let's discuss!

Tips For Your SMS Strategy

It is essential that you are confident in the speed, security, and reliability of message delivery. The best messaging platforms are adaptable, allowing your business to be agile. At any point, you should be able to scale your requirements as your business grows.

So what does an SMS strategy need to succeed? Keep these six key features in mind:

• Simple Integration; one API, clear documentation, a happy IT department
• Direct & Reliable Connections; strive for a fast delivery
• Verified, Reliable SMS Routes; test the message routes for optimal delivery
• Secure & Certified; understand the details of SMS compliance, laws, and regulations
• Messaging Analytics; data-driven improvements are key
• Good Support & SLA; expertise and reliable support when needed

These features may seem obvious, but nonetheless very significant. Approaching SMS in this way sets you up for the future and with the right mobile messaging strategy and partner, you may need to scale sooner than you might think.

When starting with SMS as a communication tool, you'll need to look for an SMS provider or partner. Think about prospective partners’ experience and track record, set-up and onboarding processes, business models and pricing, global network, and operator connections. All of these are important to ensure that messages are delivered, opened, and acted on to really succeed with your SMS strategy.

SMS and Beyond

Of course, your messaging strategy can extend far beyond SMS to deliver different kinds of messages and content and engage in richer conversations. That’s why you might want to consider a Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) provider to start with SMS and access other messaging channels over time.

Start with SMS and scale to other mobile messaging apps such as Apple Messages for Business, Facebook Messenger, Viber, and WhatsApp, all the way through to voice identification and payments. By connecting multiple channels via a single API, you can get better results, reduce cost and complexity, increase customer satisfaction, and drive sales. Most importantly, though, you reach your audiences how and where they want to be reached.

Get Started

Want to learn more about choosing the right SMS provider for your business? What questions to ask prospective partners? Tips and tricks to make your SMS Strategy succeed? Read about CPaaS possibilities? Check out our SMS Messaging for Business Communication Guide for more information and get started with your own successful SMS strategy.