Messaging is the most dominant form of communication, thanks to the role the internet and smartphones have played in making it so much easier and more convenient for virtually every customer. However, businesses have taken advantage of this fact in myriad ways, with one of the biggest being the short code SMS service, which is powerful enough to overhaul an entire business. If you’re interested, keep reading to find out how you can find the perfect provider for your business and reach your customers more easily than ever.
1- Evaluate features
The features associated with each shortcode provider can drastically change both your experience and what you can achieve through your partnership with this company. Your messages will go directly to the consumer, and the features associated with each provider will allow you to change and edit your message as freely as you want, given that’s an option at all. With a full suite of features, you’ll have access to voice messaging and MMS, too, allowing you to send catchy jingles and more complex advertisements like videos and pictures to anyone you want to.
2- Understand your customer base
Understanding your customer base is crucial to being able to have a good experience with your SMS short code service provider since your primary use as a business will likely be to tell your customers about promotions, advertisements, and upcoming events, and you’ll need to understand their preferences and what they’ll be more engaged by.
If you’re catering to an older base, your advertisement strategy may need to be more focused on SMS, with shorter texts, more spread out, and simple wording since using audio or video may make it less likely for them to engage with you. If you’re aiming at younger people, your strategy can focus more on a mix of using this SMS technology and traditional social media advertising.
3- Pay attention to the pricing
The pricing related to these businesses is always a special consideration since the service being provided is sought after and can change the way you go about your business and how much you earn. While, in many cases, it’s worth the price, some providers that you consider may charge more in return for more features and possibilities. Some companies run on contracts that are carefully negotiated and last for years, while others charge a fee based on every thousand messages, and both of these can be too expensive if you don’t budget correctly or approach with a clear advertising strategy.
4- Aim for enhanced security
Another aim of using a short code service is that any customer you’re able to reach will be able to reach you, too, and can use your short and easy-to-remember number to send messages. If you’re able to use this right, your customer’s responses can be integrated with other things, like virtual appointment settings or even payments, and these responses will contain a lot of private information and data.
Suppose you’re working with this kind of information. In that case, you’ll need to ensure that the provider you’re working with has top-notch security since any risk can result in fines, a lawsuit, or even regulatory bodies interfering.
5- Search for reviews
There are countless short code providers out there, and thousands of businesses all over the United States have used it over the years. This means that there are lots of reviews online for each business, whether it’s bigger and on the national scale or smaller, based in a local area, and you should use this information and reviews from other businesses in the same industry as you to figure out whether a specific provider is worth your time and money, or if their promises aren’t an accurate representation of what they do.
Conclusion
Suppose you’re an up-and-coming business in the modern world of saturated markets and divided attention spans. In that case, you’ll know you need to make a direct, instant, and lasting impression on a customer to have any impact in the long run, and one of the best ways you can do that is by using short code SMS. However, your provider holds the key to your success, lending you their various strengths and weaknesses to try and help you make it to the top, and that’s why you’ll need to choose the perfect provider for your business.