Clickatell Resources

SMS USE CASE SMS is much more than just sending a text message. It’s a way to engage with customers and keep them in the loop every day, wherever they might be. Our eBook shows 120 real-world examples of how modern businesses in various industries use SMS, from shipping updates to flight and hotel check-ins, food delivery services, medical prescriptions, financial services and payments, surveys and feedback, emergency requests, alerts and time-critical reminders, and so much more. In this guide, you’ll discover how SMS is being used by top-performing businesses with customer satisfaction rates that are through the roof. Uncover how to use SMS daily to connect with and convert customers by sending timely and relevant messages straight to their mobile phones. Whatever your industry, our examples will spark your imagination and give you practical ways to elevate your company’s communications strategy and build lasting affinity with your brand.

Download this guide for: 101 ways in which SMS is used in a range of industries, including retail, CRM, social media, transport and logistics, financial services, marketing and IT Six steps to getting started with SMS messaging Download this guide now for tips on how other companies are connecting with their customers and the workforce via SMS.

Download this guide for: What is meaningful communication? Two-way messaging: refreshing CRM globally Short codes and Long numbers Examples of two-way messaging in customer support services, marketing, PR campaigns, financial services, travel, and healthcare Download the guide to energize your CRM program, and start reaping the rewards of positive customer engagement.

Download this guide and learn about: The changing CRM landscape How organizations are adapting to change in CRM Why mobile CRM? Personalized Priority Messaging (PPM): what it is and what the benefits are How to mobilize your CRM program PPM in marketing, sales and customer service Download this guide now and get the tools to mobilize your CRM program.

Download this guide to discover: Current e-commerce facts Five e-commerce challenges you need to know about Why customer experience is the key to competitive differentiation Which communication channels to use to improve customer relationship management How to gain a competitive edge with SMS Download this guide and learn how to deliver exceptional experiences to meet your customers' demands.

Download this guide for: 13 questions and answers that cover the following key points for consideration when choosing an SMS provider: Message costs Payment methods Purchase requirements Coverage Network options and quality Supporting documentation Managing your account Testing, support, and documentation Don't choose an SMS provider until you've read this valuable guide - download it now.

It couldn’t be easier. We’ll walk you through the steps.

Messaging and chat are exploding, and that’s good news for brands and consumers who want quicker, more simplified, personal and effective communication. Friends and family are increasingly using chat as a preferred means of communication, and consumers are chatting more with businesses, too. Half of U.S. consumers already use chat apps — such as WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger — to talk to businesses, and almost 7 in 10 Millennials do the same, research shows. Meanwhile, almost 9 in 10 consumers regularly use chat apps on a mobile device. That’s a level of chat-focused engagement that brands need to take advantage of, and there’s no better time than now to evolve 1-way SMS campaigns to 2-way SMS chat. What is SMS? SMS is a rapidly growing form of text that is already used by more than five billion people worldwide. It enables the transmission of messages of up to 160 characters among users on a mobile network. The great news for brands is SMS is natively supported on all phones, and the user’s phone number acts as their identity. That means SMS can grow as fast or faster than the penetration of mobile phones, which are expected to reach more than 8 billion people in 2023. Currently, SMS is most popular for outbound uses, such as appointment reminders, shipping notifications, flight confirmations, fraud alerts, or marketing campaigns. The results are astounding. More than 90% of SMS messages are read within three minutes of receipt. This means companies get an opportunity to engage with customers fast. What’s more, text messages have a whopping 98% open rate so the information gets delivered. In comparison, emails have a 20% to 30% open rate. A higher open rate increases the chance of a successful engagement. 2-Way SMS Chat Drives Engagement, Sales Now, with consumers increasingly anxious to do business via chat, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, companies that launch 2-way SMS chat will catch a competitive edge. Chat is fast, easy and direct. With 2-way SMS chat, companies will answer more consumer questions faster. They’ll be more able to follow up in real-time, simplify the customer experience, create happier customers and drive engagement and sales to new levels. Fast responses from companies to consumers can drive fast sales and issue resolution. Also, chat provides a continuous thread between customer and brand, increasing opportunities to cross-sell, up-sell and create personalized messages that build trust and affinity. The ROI of chat and commerce is well documented by Aberdeen Research . Its recent study shows that at least two-thirds of firms use chat, such as WhatsApp and WeChat, in commerce and those that do experience significant results: 75% greater year-over-year revenue growth 89% greater annual growth in cross-sell/up-sell revenue A 48% Y-o-Y bump in customer retention rates Almost 21x greater Y-o-Y increases in marketing ROI Key Benefits of 2-Way SMS Chat Let’s look closer at the key benefits of 2-way SMS which is highly: — Conversational. Commerce is all about relationships and relationships start with conversations. With 2-way SMS, companies don’t just talk to consumers, they talk with them. That builds engagement and connection. With a conversational thread flowing between brand and consumer, companies can quickly innovate and customize by changing tone and content to match the customer’s interest. With 2-way SMS, consumers easily share feedback, content, and opinions—which also makes them feel more valued. If conversations are automated with chatbots, brands do well if live chat takes over when questions become too complex. — Convenience. Consumers today have multiple options to interact with companies, and they increasingly want to do it via chat—and on their timeframe. With 2-way SMS, consumers read the message and can respond when it works best for them. That might be right away or later. They’re engaged with the company without having to wait on hold for a call center agent. Because the full history of the conversation resides in the 2-way SMS chat, the company and the consumer know what transpired before. No more having to repeat the same information to yet another call center chatbot or live agent. This creates a more convenient and satisfying exchange. — Engagement. Customer engagement is the emotional connection between customers and company. Gallup research shows that customers who are fully engaged represent a 23% premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth over the average customer. With 2-way SMS chat, companies reach out, deliver their short message and then consumers can engage further when they want to. Companies aren’t interrupting consumers with unwanted phone calls at unwanted times, demanding attention. Because SMS messages are short, it only takes a few seconds for consumers to take in the information. Once they do, and if the information is on target, they are more likely to fully engage. This doesn’t happen with a phone call that is not listened to, or an email that isn’t opened. 2-Way SMS Adds Value Even as companies evolve from 1-way SMS to 2-way SMS, they must continue to add value to the customer journey. Content needs to be pertinent and appealing. Responses to customer responses need to drive the solution the customer seeks. Messages also need to be effective in 160 characters. Also, companies should test approaches several times and use analytics to gather feedback so messages can be more tailored. The end result of a successful 2-way SMS campaign is improved customer relations and sales. The Clickatell Solution Consumer expectations are driving modern commerce activities. As consumers move more and more to chat, companies need to meet them there—or risk losing them to competitors who do. In this landscape, the opportunities for 2-way SMS are huge. Globally, mobile business messaging traffic hit 2.7 trillion in 2020, up 10% from 2019, Jupiter Research says. The pandemic undoubtedly accelerated adoption of SMS marketing as consumers embraced more digital commerce. Clickatell powers SMS campaigns with one easy-to-setup API, no developers or coding required. Whether your business needs a quick and exceedingly efficient SMS tool or the ability to create rich 2-way chat conversations with customers, Clickatell has the solution. For more information, click here .

The telecom industry has shared a variety of information throughout the past year about the new A2P 10DLC regulations initiated by U.S. carriers. As Clickatell has been driving SMS chat technology for the past 20 years, we are here to keep you and your business updated on everything you need to know to seamlessly implement your SMS transition to 10DLC. Registration Enforcement All the major US carrier networks now support A2P 10DLC messaging require registration of your business. We strongly recommend that you complete your brand and campaign registration for your A2P 10DLC program with Clickatell as soon as possible. Any unregistered messaging traffic is expected to be blocked, throttled, or fined by the major carrier networks upon enforcement of 10DLC routes. What do I need to do? For Clickatell customers on our new Clickatell Portal: Complete 10DLC registration application for your Brand and Campaign within your account . For Clickatell customers on Clickatell Developer Central: Complete 10DLC registration application for your Brand and Campaign here . New regulations require that each long number be registered with the details of the Brand that is responsible for the content. If you have not yet started with your registration, please complete the above steps as soon as possible to ensure no disruption of your messaging services. If you are working with your account manager on this process, we highly recommend that you complete this work before the new T-Mobile and AT&T fees go into effect. Clickatell Fees Brand Registration = One Time Fee of $5 Campaign Registration = One Time Fee of $20 (includes one Campaign vetting attempt) Long Number Subscription = $33 per quarter What is U.S. A2P 10DLC? A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) is the new standard mobile messaging system used by all major U.S. carriers, which enables reliable text messaging through a 10-digit long code phone number. By switching to A2P 10DLC, businesses can use this spam reduction mechanism to engage with their consumers through a verified local identity while enhancing their deliverability, reliability, and messaging throughput. U.S. Carriers, AT&T and T-Mobile are requiring a registration process so that they know who businesses are and what messages they are sending. 10DLC will affect all businesses that utilize mobile messaging to communicate with customers in the U.S., so here’s everything you need to know about the 10DLC update and how you can get ready! Chat with our Clickatell team for further assistance in preventing disruptions to your messaging service and ensure that you keep sending engaging and time-critical messages to your customers. Why the change to A2P 10DLC? This is an industry-wide change required by all U.S. carriers. Any and all businesses currently using SMS text messaging to communicate with their customers should be using or switching to 10DLC. This SMS solution is aimed to help protect those on the receiving end of business text messaging by verifying the senders, providing a better and more secure customer experience, while minimizing the risk of spam messages. This regulated system of using U.S long numbers will prevent cases of misuse and is on its way of becoming the new standard of business SMS. Failure to adhere to the new rules and take action to register your number(s) may result in potential 10DLC fees and future disruption of service. The benefits of 10DLC Technology is constantly changing for the better. 10DLC is the newest iteration of A2P business text messaging and aims to provide an improved communication experience overall. Here are some benefits of switching to 10DLC: Text from a recognized local area code A cost-effective solution Improved deliverability Higher volume and throughput rates A regulated channel protected from spam Enhanced customer experience and trust How to register for 10DLC with Clickatell If your business utilizes application-to-person (A2P) text messaging campaigns, it is mandatory that you register your brand and campaign and are compliant with the latest requirements. To register your business for 10DLC, please follow the “10 DLC Registration” registration process within the Clickatell portal. With our easy to use, self-service portal, you will be able to register and verify your Brand, and apply for a messaging Campaign in real time. Choose your number, and we will register your details with the operators on your behalf! Differences of a Brand and a Campaign When you register your business for A2P 10DLC with Clickatell, you need to register both your brand and your campaign(s) separately. The brand is the company or entity sending messages to the end customer. The campaign is a description of the actual use cases of how a company is using their messaging. Each carrier will assign different volume and throughput limits based on the type of Campaign. As of Feb 1st, 2023 the Campaign will need to pass a vetting process (expected to take 5 days) before the 10 digit phone number can be used to send messages. 10DLC use cases for business messaging A 10DLC number is ideal for companies wanting to cost-effectively engage with their customers on SMS. Popular use cases for customers vary from: 2FA notifications Account notifications Delivery notifications Customer care Fraud Alert messaging Marketing campaigns Promotional messages Social updates Polling and surveys What information do I need to register for 10DLC? You’ll want to have all the information that pertains to your business ready to go. This information is necessary to verify your business, what your business does, how it uses texting, and more. These include but aren’t limited to: Legal company name Country of registration Business entity Tax Number/ID/EIN Industry Full address Website Stock Symbol (required if a publicly-traded company) For more information, find additional details about this registration process on our FAQs . Please note that Mobile Network Operators can reject or suspend a campaign if it doesn’t comply with the guidelines for that campaign, resulting in the linked 10-digit long numbers being blocked. Partnering with Clickatell on 10-Digit Long Codes We have 20 years of experience and a product suite that will help you succeed in transitioning from shared short codes to 10DLCs. Our expert team can support your mobile messaging campaigns: Leverage our secure global network to reliably send SMS messages to your customers Take advantage of our cloud-hosted, user-friendly portal and the wizard-driven code generation makes integration into your existing systems easy Send a high volume of messages delivered reliably and on time Ensure that conversations between your business and customers remain 100% private with default end-to-end encryption Still have questions? For more information about A2P 10DLC, check out Clickatell’s 10DLC support FAQ or contact our support department . We are happy to help you navigate through all of the changes required to implement 10DLC, ensuring you have the right business tools to leverage personalized and conversational ways to connect with your customers. The Clickatell team will continue to keep you updated on the latest news of A2P 10DLC. Not using Clickatell yet? Start texting now! Sign up today .