How to test SMS distribution

Immediately make a reservation that this text should not be taken as a guide to the spammer. This is an article for a business that collected the database on its own and received consent from customers to send SMS by default (yes, it happens!). In the righteous fight against spam, many people forget that sms-sending is the same marketing tool for working with the target audience as others. And, as in any instrument, there are options to use it correctly and illegally.

When implementing any serious project, sending SMS requires not only careful preparation, but also no less scrupulous testing. Often, what looks perfect in theory and beautifully in words, for some reason, does not work in practice. The reasons for this may be different, sometimes - very unpredictable. We recommend that you create a test plan for mailing lists, which will help you get the best return from them, and at the same time will not cause irritation of potential customers.

Why do we emphasize the need for a clear plan when preparing for testing? First of all, because with the seeming simplicity, the SMS distribution consists of many elements, and each of them must be tested separately. Otherwise, you simply will not understand what exactly and at what moment went wrong.
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To begin with, we note that there are many ways to test. One of the most common and well-performing is A / B testing . In this case, two different groups of users receive a newsletter with different elements, and the conversion level determines which option works best. Unfortunately, not all companies take SMS mailings seriously (and this often leads to the fact that they are associated with spam), and the use of the A / B method is almost never discussed.

So, we start testing. The first thing you need to pay attention to is the name of the sender , or rather, how it will be displayed in the phones of the recipients. Perhaps this advice will seem to someone too simple, or even superfluous, but we emphasize: in no case do not leave the usual phone number in the “From” field. In this case, it is more likely that the recipient will not read the message - because it came from an unfamiliar number, which means it is most likely of little interest.

Instead of a phone number, use a signature. How it will look and how it will work better is already a subject for testing. Perhaps in some cases it is necessary to use the name of the company or brand.

It is also important to clarify here that in some countries, including Russia, it is prohibited to use the sender's numbered name when using the A2P SMS technology. This is done only when sending spam to gray channels, and the official name of the sender is only alphabetic. In Europe, both options are possible. Therefore, here we must take into account the citizens of which countries your mailing list is designed for.

Having decided on the sender's name, we proceed to the most important thing - the message text . Before you write it, decide who your target audience is and what information you are going to convey. Try not to be wordy, but excessive mysteriousness is also not needed. State the main idea briefly and clearly, keeping in mind the understanding of who will read it. Happened? Now do the same thing again.

As a result, you will get two, ideally not very similar to each other, but communicating the same text information. You are now ready to A / B test the message. Send different versions to different groups of people and look at the response. What version brought more feedback - that should be for you to work. However, this does not mean that you so quickly found the perfect message. It may be worthwhile to conduct more than one round of A / B testing, building on the results already obtained in order to find the optimal form.

The name of the sender and the text of the message are basic, but not the only important indicators for the success of the mailing. The value is, for example, the time of dispatch . And although there are generally accepted standards and rules - for example, doing a mailing only during business hours, and better in the morning than in the second, you still have to find the time that is ideal for you. Here A / B testing will also help.

By the way, the platform A2P SMS , developed by Infobip, allows you to take into account time zones and set the time relevant for sending messages for each region.

Finally, the final stage of testing is checking how the message text works with different groups of your target audience. To do this, divide the recipients into groups according to the parameters that are important to you - by age, sex, location, and so on. Our platform allows you to create so-called smart lists (mailing lists), which automatically pull contacts from the entire database on the specified filters. Send messages to different groups, look at the response, count the conversion, make a profit.

Remember: SMS sending, if properly organized, is a powerful marketing tool, which can ideally be set up only after thorough testing. Unfortunately, not all companies take this seriously, with the result that users perceive their messages as spam, and companies themselves are disappointed in this technique. All this can be avoided if you approach the planning of mailings responsibly and use advanced modern tools.