In recent years, the use of sending Business SMS has grown at a rapid rate, primarily as it allows businesses communicate effectively and at low cost.
The first SMS was sent in 1992 and although it's hard to imagine, it was originally seen as a sideline to allowing calls via mobile phones. Today it's become an integral part to the way that thousands of businesses communicate and companies have found that the ability to send and receive SMS can bring them huge benefits.
So why should businesses use SMS to communicate with their stakeholders? Here are just a few reasons.
- Save on the cost of telephone calls or mailouts
- Save staff time, make them more productive
- Reduce cancelled appointments and their associated costs
- Build your brand, increase brand recognition
- Run more effective marketing campaigns
- Increase customer contact and retention
Many SMS service providers today provide free web-based applications to allow their customers to send SMS online. SMS messages are sent from a web account, and replies can be received back to the account. A virtual mobile number is required to receive SMS messages.
Some key features you should look for in a Web SMS tool
Sending SMS via the Web as opposed to sending SMS via your mobile phone makes sense for many reasons. The key benefit is that it's very quick, so it should be your communication tool of choice when sending SMS to groups. With most Web-based SMS applications, you can upload multiple contacts in one go (often from a csv file), type your SMS message and hit send - saving you lots of time. Consequently, sending SMS on line is ideal for emergency and business critical situations. It should also be cheaper than texting people individually. Receiving SMS messages back to your SMS account makes it easier to administer replies in an interface rather than a mobile phone.
Reputable SMS providers should allow you to send SMS messages from a company name (rather than a number) using a customised sender ID - but beware, many SMS providers charge for this service. If you want to send SMS messages from your company name, ensure you look for an SMS provider that offers this service free of charge as many do.
Most Online SMS applications will allow you to schedule SMS messages for the future, which again saves you time, as does the ability to set up SMS message templates which is useful is you regularly send similar messages.
Other features may include the ability to configure your SMS accounts to push replies to your email address so you never miss a response. SMS delivery receipts are another important feature as they allow you to know whether the message was received - again some SMS providers charge for this service so check first if this feature may be important to you.
Many companies today are international, and so are their communications. This is where real cost savings can be found by using an SMS provider to send SMS internationally. Send an SMS from your mobile phone and you will incur high charges. Sending your international SMS via an SMS provider can be much cheaper and some SMS providers provide a flat fee for sending SMS regardless of the destination. Look out for these types of SMS providers especially if you send many SMS messages internationally.
If you are looking for an SMS provider to send SMS via the Web, I'd recommend a paid-for service with multiple direct network connections. A provider that offers these can ensure service reliability because if one network has problems or delays with delivering SMS messages, the SMS provider can switch the network they are using to deliver the messages straight away, with no loss of service to you. With SMS providers, like with many things in life, you get what you pay for. Free services tend to have poor quality message delivery and some charge the SMS message recipient. That's how they make their money.
If you've been considering implementing an SMS service in your organisation its worth taking a free trial first with to test service reliability and usability of the online SMS interface. Ensure it meets your requirements, and check that you won't incur additional cost for certain features which you may find other SMS providers will give you free of charge.
About the Author
Ann Wilkinson is Marketing Manager for Esendex, international SMS Services provider. We provide the free tools to send and receive SMS via Web SMS, PC SMS, Email SMS or integrate your websites or apps directly with our SMS API.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ann_Wilkinson
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