{"id":42842,"date":"2022-03-24T19:02:04","date_gmt":"2022-03-24T09:02:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onesaas.local\/blog\/prepare-to-send-bulk-sms-tips\/"},"modified":"2024-03-27T19:51:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-27T19:51:52","slug":"prepare-to-send-bulk-sms-tips","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/nz\/blog\/prepare-to-send-bulk-sms-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoid awkward moments after you hit \u2018send\u2019 on bulk SMS"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When you\u2019re sending text messages to the masses, you want to make sure everything\u2019s spot on before you hit \u2018send\u2019. Not just the actual text message, but also the quality of your database.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s nothing worse than suddenly remembering you were meant to remove someone from your database, but hadn\u2019t. Or, paying to send an SMS to thousands of customers, only to have half bounce back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To avoid awkward moments like these, you need to build and maintain a great database that\u2019s ripe for bulk text messaging. Here\u2019s how to prepare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Sounds obvious, but do you know your customers\u2019 mobile phone numbers?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It all starts here. Before you can even think about sending bulk SMS, you need to build up a database. Often, businesses collect customers\u2019 names and email addresses \u2013 yet forget that most important element, their phone number.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you need to collect people\u2019s phone numbers, <a href=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/nz\/blog\/customer-numbers-sms-marketing\/\">use these helpful tips as a guide<\/a>. While you\u2019re at it, you might want to collect other information that could help you personalise your marketing campaigns \u2013 such as their location, where they shop, product preferences, or communication preferences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And remember, people are more protective of their personal information than ever before, so ask nicely and let them know how you\u2019ll use their data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#e6e4fa\"><strong>How Rona Scrubs built a custom database<\/strong><br><br>Rona Scrubs is a non-profit that sews scrubs for essential workers. In building its database, it not only sought mobile numbers from doctors, nurses, and other hospital workers \u2013 but also sizing and locations.<br><br>The sizing info helped them calculate how many of each size were needed, and locations helped them organise deliveries with distributors.<br><br><a href=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/nz\/case-studies\/customer-success-rona-scrubs-sms\/\">Check out the case study.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. When did you last check the quality of your data?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With your database growing, don\u2019t forget to check your data regularly. People can change mobile phone numbers or locations from time to time, and their preferences may change, too. For example, are you up-to-date with those who\u2019ve opted out?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on the nature of your database \u2013 it might be in a CRM like <a href=\"\/au\/integrations\/hubspot\/\">Hubspot<\/a> or <a href=\"\/au\/integrations\/sms-for-salesforce\/\">Salesforce<\/a>, or in a simple spreadsheet \u2013 you could delegate the task of checking customers\u2019 details with various members of your team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, sales staff could check in with their regular customers or reach out to prospects on their contact lists. It\u2019s a great way to touch base and confirm they\u2019re still interested in your product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Or, you could send out a friendly test message to all your customers from time to time, to check their details are correct.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If it\u2019s just mobile phone numbers that you want to check, you can easily clean up a messy database using <a href=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/nz\/blog\/hlr-lookups-for-sms\/\">HLR lookups<\/a>. These flag inactive, invalid, or unrecognisable numbers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#e6e4fa\"><strong>Here\u2019s what an \u2018update your details\u2019 message could look like:<\/strong><br><br>\u201cHi there. [Company name] here. Quick check-in to make sure we\u2019ve got your details right. Please reply with a YES if this message got through OK. Thank you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Are your country codes and prefixes good to go?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Did you know that mobile phone numbers look slightly different depending on which country you\u2019re in? It\u2019s important to check this when you\u2019re adding your data.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re an American business wanting to send messages to Australian mobiles, make sure you look up the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/List_of_country_calling_codes#Ordered_by_code\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relevant international prefix<\/a> and include it. If you don\u2019t, our web portal will assume you\u2019re importing local numbers \u2013 which may cause an issue when sending.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"515\" height=\"308\" src=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/US-business-sends-SMS-to-AU-customers.jpeg\" alt=\"A US business, depicted by The Statue of Liberty, sending a text message to Australia, depicted by Sydney Opera House\" class=\"wp-image-24094\" srcset=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/US-business-sends-SMS-to-AU-customers.jpeg 515w, https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/US-business-sends-SMS-to-AU-customers-300x179.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 515px) 100vw, 515px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>For example, most local Australian mobile numbers use 04xxxxxxxx \u2013 so you\u2019d need to change it to 614xxxxxxxx, with 61 being the international prefix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even with local numbers (for example, an Australian business sending to Australian customers), it\u2019s still a good idea to use international prefixes as the perfect format for a phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">4. Have you sent out a test broadcast?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you\u2019re sending to 50 or 50,000 people, always test your broadcast first. While SMS is a cost-effective way to reach your customers, it can add up if you\u2019re sending to dud phone numbers or you have to resend to all those people who missed out the first time around.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s how to test things out. Set up a colleague (or even yourself) as a recipient, or perhaps a group of colleagues if you want to do regular test broadcasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hit send, and see how it goes. Do the links work? How long did the message take to reach them? If using mobile landing pages, did the call-to-action work? If sending MMS, were the images crisp? Were there any glitches along the way?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Remember, there\u2019s always room for improvement \u2013 it\u2019s just a matter of looking for things to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ready to get started?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With your database looking ship-shape, you\u2019re ready to send out mass text messages. Before you do, you might want to brush up on our <a href=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/nz\/blog\/business-texting-etiquette\/\">10 tips for texting etiquette<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then, when you\u2019re ready to go, why not <a href=\"https:\/\/messagemedia.com\/nz\/contact\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">contact us<\/a> and get 25 free SMS to play with.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38234,"menu_order":74,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"popular":false,"coming_soon":false,"link":"","footnotes":""},"blog_category":[134,140],"class_list":["post-42842","blog","type-blog","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_category-sms-101-nz","blog_category-tips-tricks-hacks-nz"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Prepare to Hit Send on Bulk SMS With These Tips | MessageMedia New Zealand<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Avoid awkward moments like blocked messages or unhappy customers by getting your bulk SMS database in tip-top shape. 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