No one has to overemphasize importance of communication for any business. For the most part, business firms use short messages to communicate with their customers for marketing purposes. Today, many organizations have centralized their IT functionalities in the web and this where need for Sms gateways arises.
Well, companies may rely on emails to communicate with their customers, but not as effectively as using SMSs. Here there is a problem in linking up SMS technologies with the internet. An SMS gateway makes it possible for businesses to send short text messages to their clients’ phone numbers. Replies reach the company via email.Thus, SMS gateways are not dispensable for any business that wishes to have a competitive edge in the market. Your business needs to reach out to clients and communicate in real time. It may take a very long time before a client notices he or she has a number of unread emails. In fact, some people have a habit of not logging into their email accounts on daily basis. Thus, emails are not very effective when urgency is critical.
On the other hand, SMS messages coming via gateways behave just like ordinary phone messages and the intended recipient is alerted by the usual phone’s ringtone or vibration functionality. Thus, your client may respond immediately to your messages if need be. The technology is reliable and easy to use. Therefore, you should subscribe to an SMS gateway operator for your business if you do not have one. What you will need is an easy to set up account and a plan that suits your requirements. Additionally, go for a provider that covers a wide range of phone networks.
Why are SMS Short Codes important for business
SMS Short Codes are 5 or 6 digits issued to organization for use mostly for marketing purposes. These too are very critical for success in business. The numbers are easy to memorize and customers can easily associate them with their owners. The short codes also go with easy to memorize keywords that customers may text to the short codes.
The short codes come in two possible modes: shared and dedicated. Shared codes are cheapest and most appropriate for SMS marketing needs of many business organizations. They are shared among many customers and use keywords. On the other hand, dedicated codes are reserved for a single customer. They are expensive to run and also take a long time to set up.
Many businesses today have adopted SMS Short codes in their marketing strategies. Content providers, TV shows, gambling or raffle companies use such codes to help their target audiences or fans send certain keywords. Mostly, charges for these services are above normal rates. Aggregators provide the short code services for SMSs and work in conjunction with telephone service providers. Do your research about the most appropriate aggregator company for the service. Consider rates so that you do not run a service that is too costly for your clients. Different providers have different restrictions regarding nature of content that their service can be used for. For instance, some providers will not allow their service to serve political interests.
The sms gateway receives messages from your SMS software application and translates it into whichever ‘protocol’ your recipients’ carrier uses. Different mass sms have differing capabilities, it’s important to be clear about the type of you need.
