SMS Dashboard

Plumb5 SMS dashboard provides comprehensive SMS performance data at a glance. You'll be able to see all SMSs sent or published during a given time frame mapped by opens and clicks, and benchmark their performance against your average rates. There are countless reasons why your business should consider implementing SMS marketing as part of your overall communications strategy.

  • It’s budget-friendly - you can send messages in a couple of cents per message
  • It hits the mark - over 97% of text messages are read within the first four minutes
  • It gets your customers to act - 19% of people will click a link in a SMS campaign rather than just 4.2% for emails
  • It produces results - 30% of SMS campaigns receive average response rates of 30%, compared to 4% for emails

As more brands look to target customers on the move, SMS is becoming an increasingly essential part of effective multi-channel marketing. However, with few digital marketing agencies featuring SMS as a core offering, their clients are potentially missing out on communications with customers and increased ROI.

Organisations mistakenly believe that mobile marketing requires heavy investment in apps and does not allow for personalised, targeted communication and lacks strong analysis to support ROI. The reality is that access to mobile communications is far easier than perceived and gaining access to mobile consumers (smartphone and non-smartphone) can be as simple as sending a personalised, targeted text message. The means to instigate SMS messaging between a company and their mobile users is essential to building a brand in households around the world provided consumer privacy is protected through legal requirements for opt-in.

Types of SMS

  1. Promotional SMS
  2. Transactional SMS

Promotional SMS Campaign Process involves the following

  1. Mobile Number Filtering - Extra Numbers, unwanted spaces, special characters (such as + 91 – /) will be removed & only 10 digit mobile numbers will be retained.
  2. Mobile Number Validation - DND, Non DND & Invalid numbers will be separated and validated. Promotional SMS will reach only to Non DND 10 digit mobile numbers.
  3. SMS samples will be shared based on the SMS content provided. 1SMS = 160 characters & if the content is more than 160 characters 2 credits will be charged for 1 SMS.
  4. Test SMS will be sent to your internal teams. Based on your approval SMS will be blasted on the specific time and it can also be scheduled based on different dates & time slots.
  5. Promotional Message header will be a 6 digit number which is a variable. Example:- LM – 000600 / MD- 654715.

Important Note on Promotional SMS

  1. It can be sent & scheduled only between 9AM to 9PM Promotional SMS can be sent only to Non DND Mobile Numbers.
  2. Promotional Message header will be a 6 digit number which is a variable Example:- LM – 000600 / MD- 654715.
  3. Promotional SMS with a sender ID can also happen based on per your approval on the sender ID. A document stating the same will be required on your company letterhead. (Format will be shared for the same.)
  4. DND, NON DND ∓ invalid list will be separately provided after each campaign. We strictly abide by TRAI rules and regulations.

Transactional SMS Campaign Process involves the following

  1. Mobile Number Filtering - Extra number digits, unwanted spaces, special characters (such as + 91-/) & international numbers will be removed & only 10 digit mobile numbers will be retained. Transactional SMS will reach only to 10 digit mobile numbers both DND & Non DND.
  2. SMS samples will be shared based on the SMS content provided. Each SMS will be calculated for every160 characters & if the content is more than 160 characters, the total characters would be divided by 160 and any decimal nos. would be rounded to the next consecutive no. Eg: 220 Characters/ 160 = 1.375 which would be equivalent to 2 SMS and so on. Any special characters included in the SMS would fall under UNICODE SMS and each SMS would be sent as UNICODE sms and Each SMS will be calculated for every 70 characters & if the content is more than 70 characters, the total characters would be divided by 70 and any decimal nos. would be rounded to the next consecutive no. Eg: 220 Characters/ 70 = 3.142which would be equivalent to 4 SMS and so on.
  3. Test SMS will be sent to your internal teams. Based on your approval SMS will be blasted to the database provided on your confirmed time & date and it can also be scheduled based on different dates & time slots.
  4. Message header will be a 6 digit number which will be suggested as the availability. example:- LM – LTLIND/ NIMBUS /HOMEBL/TUTORS.

Important Note on Transactional SMS

  1. Can also be scheduled as per your date and time. Can be sent to both DND & NON DND Mobile Numbers.
  2. Message header will be used based on your approval. A document stating the same will be required on your company letter head.(Format as mentioned in annexure -1).
  3. Can be sent only to opt-in Database, which needs to be periodically reviewed and updated every six (6) Months and confirmed as per the TRAI regulations.
  4. Opt-in proofs of all the transactional database Phone Nos, could be either a Hard (physical) copy/a soft copy (CRM Capture, online capture forms, etc.)legitimate forms only.
  5. Can be sent/scheduled any time in 24 hours based on your pre requests.
  6. Delivery Report will be shared mentioning the delivery status for each mobile number.
  7. Promotional SMS cannot be sent under Transactional route. Each SMS template will be approved before sending. We strictly abide by TRAI rules and regulations.
  8. If the consumption exceeds the actual committed volume, then cost for the same will be applicable on the balance. SMS credit validity is for 12 months.

DLT Registration Process for SMS integration (India only)

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has made it mandatory for all entities to register on the Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. ... The DLT platform is a block-chain based registration system adopted to keep records of all transactions made between network participants.

This is to inform you that Enterprise & Sender Id registration is mandatory on DLT platform as per New TRAI regulation. kindly note that DLT registration (Only Registration for Entity) is free as of now, till further notice from TRAI.

In case you have already completed the Entity registration on the DLT platform then please start all types of Sender Id (Header) registration on an Urgent basis. Entities who are sending promotional messages need to register promotional sender Id's on the DLT platform and share a screenshot of approved sender Id with us for configuration on respective Plumb5 panels or instances.

Please send us the duly filled Excel Sheet (Attached) & documents (Attached Templates)

  1. DLT Registration Process – To be Filled by You (Mandatory)
  2. Agreement Draft Copy – (on Co. Letterhead with Stamp & Sign) (Mandatory)
  3. Draft Authority Letter - Draft Letter for Authorising, an authorized person for DLT Registration (Mandatory).
  4. Copy of Proof Of Identity- Aadhar Card, Driving License, Passport, Election Card, Pan Card (Copy in Pdf, Jpeg, Png. Not More than 100KB) (Mandatory).
  5. Copy of Address Proof- Elec Bill / LandLine / Leased line Bill / Internet Bill ( Not Less Than 2 Months), Sale Deed, (Mandatory).
  6. Company’s Pan Card Copy(Mandatory).
  7. GST/Udyog Aadhaar registration Copy (optional).

Note: Please Register your organization on various operator DLT platforms and enabling compliance to the TCCCPR Regulations. Please download the documents from the links above. These documents that need to be uploaded in the DLT Portal for Entity registration

SMS Campaign Rules

There are rules to follow in order for each of your SMS campaigns to be successful. Following are the rules we encourage customers to adopt as often as possible when building your SMS marketing campaign.

Rule 1 - Communicate valuable offerings

Remember that your consumers seek valuable offers. Always make sure that the SMS you send out creates a hard to resist offer. Put yourself in the shoes of your customers or prospective customers and ask yourself, will this interest them? Will this encourage them to checkout, visit your store, call or email you?

No audience wants to receive a worthless, pointless offer from a brand that they love, and remember, you want your customers to love you.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

Rule 2 - Start the text with your offer

Text message marketing is built to be concise and to the point. Your audience are busy people, and not getting to the point straight away will turn them off. Just cut right to the chase in order to reach everyone. Placing your offer at the beginning of the message grabs maximum attention.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

Rule 3 - Keep it exclusive

In order to make the most out of your SMS campaign, make sure that what your offers seems to be exclusive to the person reading and receiving it. Make your audience feel as though they are part of something special. If an offer is available to everyone, then redeeming that offer becomes less attractive and urgent. Making a sale via SMS is all about ensuring you feel special and valued.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

Rule 4 - Create a sense of urgency

Your business can see rising footfall, website visits and revenue if you create a sense of urgency amongst your audience. Your audience will take time out of their day if you create enough of a reason for them to. An offer is a viable offer only if there is an expiry date associated with the offer and that this is clearly communicated in the offer itself.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

Rule 5 - Location, location, location

Mentioning the location is the single most important element of your text message that your audience will need to know in order to redeem the offer. Do not miss out on stating the exact location of your store, even if it is an e-commerce store. Your audience would lose respect and willingness to engage with you as a brand if you grabbed their attention with an offer, without telling them where to go to get it.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

Rule 6 - Include a call to action

A call to action is vital in order to lead the customer into your sales funnel. Keep your call to action clean and simple and easy to follow. Assume that your audience are lazy, but a clever call to action will spring them into action.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

Rule 7 - State your brand name explicitly

There are different ways to ensure that your audience know where the text is coming from. The sender ID can be used for this purpose, but what your audience is reading when they receive the text is the text itself, so it’s worth signing off with who you are in the body of the text as well.

Example:

Buy 2 jeans, get 1 shirt for FREE for all Gold text Club members this whole week at the ABC Market Shopping Mall outlet. Show this text to redeem this deal. Customer service representatives are waiting for you at the store! ABC Apparels & Co.

SMS Campaign Benefits

1. It’s a direct, immediate channel

SMS is one of the most immediate channels available; with a read rate of 97% within 15 minutes delivery, you can be reassured that your time critical messages will be read almost instantly. A significant 45% of SMS campaigns generate a successful ROI, reaching over 50% when combined with other popular channels such as email and social media.

2. You can use shortcodes to simplify response and build your database

Have your customers make the first move by adding a shortcode or keyword to print collateral, advertisements and advertising boards as well as social media. This strategy means that customers soon become familiar with a brand’s code and keyword and are therefore more likely to interact and respond.

3. It can support and integrate with other channels

It is important that all channels work well together within the marketing mix and SMS is no exception. SMS is a great standalone channel, however it also has the ability to enhance and support other marketing mediums, such as social media and email.

As well as being great on its own, SMS can also function to enhance and support other popular mediums among consumers, such as social media and email.

For example they can serve to remind customers to read an email sent by a brand hours or even days before. A simple follow up SMS asking “have you read our email?” can help increase email open rates by 20%–30%.

4. You can learn more about your customers

SMS is a great channel to get feedback from your customers via surveys. Research shows that on average 31% of consumers will respond to a survey via SMS with the average response time for users being just over 5 minutes. Meaning you can get great results in a short period of time.

5. You can increase customer engagement

Think of SMS as a way to enhance how your brand engages with your customers across the entire customer lifecycle. Businesses should remember to vary the type of content they send out - while customers may value updates and news on forthcoming developments within the brand, this information is best delivered via email where longer, more creative messaging is more appropriate.

Additionally, brands can use texting for more immediate, expected sales-related offers such as vouchers, discounts, promotions or even birthday messages.

6. Response data enables you to monitor, track and improve

Tracking meaningful ROI, identifying customers engaging via text message and monitoring delivery rates are all possible through SMS revealing the realities to the misconception of SMS being an untraceable channel and bringing it more in line with what has been possible with email for years.

By using these analytics, businesses can create further targeted campaigns and continually build a better understanding of their mobile database. Not only does it mean they save money and improve ROI but by profiling and segmenting out numbers that are least likely to respond, SMS allows a company to target those customers via email or another channel.

Campaign Effectiveness

Improve your SMS strategy by identifying trends among your most successful SMSs, and the tips will help you make improvements to your SMS strategy.

Delivery-to-Click-Rate(DTCR)

CTOR measures the relevancy and context of an SMS by taking the number of delivered messages divided by the number of unique clicks, and then multiplying by 100 to show it as a percentage. What it tells you is simply this: Of the subscribers who got the SMS, how many clicked.

Delivery Rate 

The percentage of people who received your SMS out of the people who were sent your SMS.

Click Rate

The percentage of people who clicked a link in your SMS out of the people who were delivered your SMS.

Legend/Tips

  • Low Delivery, Low Clicks

Campaigns in this region are not doing very well. You could try a different subject line or different time to improve upon the open rates. It is also advisable to revisit the content of the SMS for better click rates

  • High Delivery, Low Clicks

Many received the SMS but were not compelled to click. These campaigns could have done better with a better Call-to-action or an engaging content

  • Low Delivery, High Clicks

Those who received it, clicked it. But not a lot of folks opened it. This SMS could have fared better with a different subject line, preview text or if sent at a different time.      

  • High Delivery, High Clicks

These campaigns have done above average. These campaigns have found the right subject line, right content & send time.

SMS Performance Over Time

This graph shows your SMS delivered and clicks over time. This data can help you learn what times of day are best to reach out to your contacts. Hover over parts of the graph to reveal open and click data for a specific date and time. To analyze data from a specific timeframe, click the time period dropdown in the upper left corner.

Engagement Widget

A Widget listing the number of successful clicks & opt-outs for the time period selected.

Delivery Widget

A Widget listing the number of sent,delivered & bounces  for the time period selected.

Bounce Vs Rejected

This pie chart shows break-up of the undelivered SMS by bounces and rejection(plumb5 system rejected SMS).

When sending an SMS, certain messages may not reach their recipients and may bounce. This list below explains the different types of SMS bounces that can occur and their causes:

Call barred by operator 

This message is usually given to us when there is some kind of restriction on the destination line that prevents the delivery of the SMS. For example, a prepaid user who has run out of credit and has the line temporarily blocked waiting for the recharge.

Failed Message Delivery 

This is the generic error, when the operator doesn't give us more information about the reason for the error.

Ported Number 

In fact this code is used for "Unknown or ported number", that is, when a number has been ported to another operator to whom the SMS cannot be delivered (not possible in Spain) or when the number has no active line (the number exists, has a correct format and is assigned to an operator, but does not correspond to any user).

Validity Period Expired 

The message expires without being able to be delivered to the terminal due to a temporary problem in the terminal, such as being off, out of range or with a full inbox.

Below is a list of the different statuses returned by operators:

Terminal not available

After these 48 hours if the terminal hasn't recovered the network, the operator desists in its retry policy and returns this status.

Undelivered message

In this case the operator hasn't been able to deliver the message, but doesn't give more details. It's usually because the phone is cancelled or with the incoming messages restricted, broken or with a full mailbox.

Invalid phone

The number has no valid format, for example 8 digits for Spain. The message has not been sent and there is no charge for it.

Error when sending

This status tells us that the operator has rejected the sending, usually because the number isn't valid.