Australian companies increasingly rely on SMS gateways to send bulk messages to and receive messages from their customers and employees. The SMS gateway provider you choose will play a key role in the success of your digital marketing and communications strategy. Finding the right provider to help achieve your goals requires evaluating the gateway’s pricing, delivery rates, integration capabilities, scalability, and reliability.
Tips for Choosing an SMS Provider
If you are ready to ramp up your direct marketing and communications with a flexible and efficient messaging solution, consider bulk SMS. With the right cloud-based provider, you can engage more users in any part of the world with a custom sender ID gateway in far less time than it would take with other channels.
Pricing
Shop around to get the best deal. Make sure you compare apples with apples and that each proposal contains the same features and SMS gateway benefits. The devil is also in the details, so review the contract terms and conditions carefully before selecting a service or looking into what is required to create an SMS gateway.
Be wary of any SMS provider with exceptionally low prices. Poor-quality service could do more damage than good. Delivery rates and times, compliance, and other critical aspects of your messaging campaign could be seriously impacted by an inferior system.
Reliability and Delivery Rates
Ask about track records delivering large message volumes within designated timeframes. Prospective providers should have evidence to back up their claims. If a provider is not forthright, cross them off your list.
Find a provider that is known for its reliable and responsive customer support. If there is an issue, you need technical support that can fix it quickly. If you are a global operation, check if the provider’s customer support can be provided in local languages.
Integration and Customization
Seamless integration between an SMS gateway and your other systems (e.g., customer support, marketing automation, customer relationship management platforms, etc.) will greatly streamline workflows and improve results.
The level of message customisation can vary from one provider to another. Double-check that the providers you are considering provide the level of customer service and features you need in order to create, schedule, and deliver engaging messages to your target audiences.
Scalability
You want a provider that can easily handle your current and projected message volume as you grow, including delivery to destinations outside Australia. You don’t want your SMS performance to suffer as volume grows. Ask for examples of the different mobile networks the provider has worked with.
Security and Compliance
Customer data should be encrypted and stored safely. SMS providers need to demonstrate how they comply with privacy laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation. If the provider has ever had a data breach, you want to know what happened and how it was resolved.
Measure Successes and Shortcomings
SMS providers must provide analytics and easy-to-understand reports so you can measure the success of an SMS campaign and make adjustments as needed. SMS messages have a much higher open rate than other marketing channels. Performance insights will help you optimise this communication channel.
Making Your Decision
After narrowing down your list of potential SMS gateway providers, check their customer reviews and rankings. If there were issues repeatedly mentioned, you want to factor this into your decision-making process.
At 160.com.au, we let you test out our low-cost SMS services with a no-risk trial. This means you can explore our service firsthand and ensure it contains the features you want before committing.
Reach out today to partner with 160.com.au and launch SMS marketing and communications campaigns that effectively reach your target audiences–wherever they may be!