Selecting an SMS Provider - How to identify the best provider to integrate SMS into your digital communication strategy - now and going forward.
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brought to you by waterfall mobile
Brought to you by Waterfall Mobile
Selecting an SMS Provider
How to identify the best provider to integrate SMS into your digital
communication strategy — now and going forward.4 factors differentiate
SMS providers:
1 2 3 4
Software Compliance Support IntegrationSoftware Technology moves fast. Innovation moves faster. Companies looking to launch SMS marketing must find a provider that excels not only today, but also over the long term. Seek out a software platform with a full suite of SMS engagement tools built on top of an underlying structure that seamlessly integrates new channels as they become mainstream. For analytics and CRM, verify that list segmentation, A/B testing, dynamic field insertion, campaign tracking and API connectivity all come standard. Remember, today SMS marketing no longer looks like, "Here, read this message." Consumers expect more dynamic and personalized messaging. And tomorrow? Further evolved, better targeted and more utility. Take steps to verify that a provider can - and will - keep up.
Key
Software Q’s Cutting to the
for vetting providers:
Considerations The Bottom Line
• What’s your strategy for helping us
• Some providers offer extensive manage data and monetize customer
options for customization – it never insights most effectively?
hurts to ask what is and isn’t • What’s your vision for SMS • Choosing an SMS provider only for
possible. marketing going forward? short term wins ignores the total
cost of ownership and pace of
• Select a provider according to total • How does your system manage the technology innovation.
cost of ownership, not up-front cost. introduction and integration of
additional messaging channels? • Find a provider focused on
• Look for providers that have
customer data. This ensures that
demonstrated capabilities not just • What analytics options do you success powering today’s
keeping up with, but staying ahead of provide for calculating ROI? solutions will carry over to
the curve, both from a channel and
• What are the ways that I can add to, tomorrow.
data management perspective.
enhance and track customer use and
redemption of my mobile initiatives?Compliance Arriving after direct mail and email, the mobile messaging industry both benefits and suffers from its position as a second-mover. Determined to avoid industry-stifling SPAM, mobile messaging’s governing bodies put several controls in place to eliminate unwanted messaging. Some of these controls prevent SPAM proliferation by introducing compliance monitoring and auditing, whereas others hinder rapid growth and widespread usage. Work with a provider that diligently addresses compliance rules and regulations as part of standard practice to secure compliance as a competitive advantage.
Compliance Q’s
Key for vetting providers:
Considerations Cutting to the
• What relationship do you have with
the mobile industry’s governing
The Bottom Line
• Some providers provide no service
for compliance and audits. Be bodies, such as the CTIA and Mobile • Work with providers to develop
prepared to handle internally, as Marketing Association? an action plan for compliance
audit penalties will derail campaign • How do you handle carrier monitoring and escalation.
success. regulations such as the carrier • Compliant campaigns double as
• Experienced providers manage disconnect lists? the most effective. In today’s
compliance for several customers • What is your process when my marketplace, consumers
and will increase efficiency for some mobile messaging program gets automatically reject unsolicited
tasks, such as the 8-10 week new audited by the CTIA? information.
short code provisioning process. • What successes have you had
managing compliance for your
clients in the past?Support Customers have two expectations for text messaging: interactive and immediate. Consequently, an SMS delivery outage will more severely impact frustration and dissatisfaction than a hiccup on another channel. Seek a provider that has a responsive support system in place to proactively handle intermittent issues. The best support teams will go beyond transactional updates and inform you of campaign strategies to positively impact the bottom line. Keep in mind, just because something works does not mean it’s complete. Find support professionals who uncover solutions to delight end users on top of providing them with requested information.
Support Q’s
Key for vetting providers:
Cutting to the
Considerations • What’s your escalation process for
any technology breakdowns?
The Bottom Line
• Request references to gain insight
into the experience of working with a • Who provides first-level versus • Without a strong support group,
provider’s support group. second-level support when end users intermittent outages can
request assistance? become full scale customer
• Feel free to scale support needs with
• What types of end user experience issues, which will increase churn.
your mobile experience. Start off with
hand-holding that you can grow out issues does your solution specifically • A support team needs to
of rather than the other way around. solve? monitor customer inquiries to
• Which departments handle ensure that user experience
• Support teams are not created equal.
technology outages and end user improvements receive
Ask probing questions to find out
support? appropriate attention.
which teams have a firm grasp on the
industry’s regulations. • How do your support services add
value?Integration Consumers use mobile devices for everything, from shopping to socializing, browsing, searching, researching and reviewing. As a result, superior SMS marketing deployments integrate text messaging with other communication initiatives. For starters, consider operational alerts, which draw on the same technology as SMS messaging. Customers seeing a healthy balance in their bank account should also have the option of seeing what bank plans would help them achieve their savings goals. Other potential integration points include email, social media and push notifications. Choose a provider with a cross- channel understanding of customer interaction to increase customer satisfaction and digital media ROI.
Key Integration Q’s Cutting to the
for vetting providers:
Considerations The Bottom Line
• Can you tell me about your API go- • The customer/brand conversation
• Take a phased approach to cross- to-market strategy? needs to take place across
channel integration. Trying too much
• What support services do you offer channels in order to replicate
too soon with result in analysis
for platform integration? modern communication.
paralysis.
• What useful data can I extract from • Request insight into providers’ prior
• As opposed to multichannel, which
both operational alerts and client experience and robustness of
focuses on individual communication
marketing messaging to create a their API.
channels launched in a silo, find
providers that put customer data at more profitable customer • Find out how providers plan to
the center of a multi-faceted communication strategy? provide cross-channel analytics –
interaction strategy. • What types of monitoring systems do data crucial for calculating
you have in place for fluid improvements in mobile-induced
connectivity between integrated customer lifetime value.
systems?Summary Choosing the best SMS provider requires understanding the total cost of ownership, which includes setup, software development, ongoing software maintenance, database management, campaign services and software features. Providers that position themselves as strategic technology partners will offer a mobile messaging product that can continuously deepen and enrich customer engagement and lifetime value. The next two pages are a checklist for comparing SMS providers. Use this as a guide for vendor conversations – make sure to add fields and questions depending on the specific needs of your company’s marketing program.
SMS Vendor Comparison Checklist
Platform Feature Detail Vendor #1 Vendor #2 Vendor #3
Dashboard access & self-service login
Access
Multiple accounts & simultaneous usage
Subscription for single & double opt-ins
Send, schedule & trigger messages
Tag & collect metadata
Campaign Types
Sweepstakes & text-to-win
Polling & data validation
Dynamically-pulled & pushed content
Subscriber & List Management Target messaging via any customer data (e.g. zip, store ID, gender)
Reporting & Analytics Customizable reports available via dashboard & APIPlatform Feature Detail Vendor #1 Vendor #2 Vendor #3
Roles & permissions for multiple users
Activate 1-to-1 conversations via catch-all inbox
Additional Capabilities
A/B testing & segmentation
Passbook & mobile coupons integration
Services Full-service provisioning, certification, hosting & maintenance
Data Collection & Hosting Unlimited, via dual direction messaging, online and API
Authentication: verify API sessions for authenticity
Subscribers: manage subscriptions, messaging history & profiles
Account: manage roles & permissions
API Functionality
Campaign: create, edit and export campaigns
Segmentation: create, edit and target metadata
Reporting: generate reports on individual and aggregate campaign successbrought to you by waterfall mobile
Don’t just message. Have a conversation.
Select an SMS Provider — a Waterfall Quick6 LookBook. For additional insight,
visit waterfallmobile.com, call (866) 251-1200 or say hello@waterfallmobile.com.You can also read
