Product or service promotion has undergone a sea change in the recent few years. Instead of calling or email, the onus is now on SMS service to grab the attention of a maximum number of target customers. These services can be categorized into two distinctive types– Transactional SMS and Promotional SMS. In India, SMS marketing has witnessed extensive implementation in the recent few years and of the two services, Transactional SMS service is on a rise due to its various benefits.

 

Concept of Transactional SMS

A Transactional SMS conveys vital information like PNR status, current bank balance, etc. It does not contain any promotional message. “50 percent off on all stuff" is a perfect example of a Promotional SMS.

 

In India, Transactional SMS is usually sent by hospitals, registered banks, e-commerce companies, e-ticketing agencies, railways, airlines, and financial organizations. Such a message can be sent by a registered educational institution to the parents or guardians in case of any emergency. A Transactional SMS is always devoid of any promotional tone. 

 

There are numerous benefits of transactional SMS because of which it is considered of great importance by various industries across the nation. Some of the major benefits are however the following ones:

 

• Quick delivery

This can be touted as one of the biggest benefits of a Transactional SMS. No delay means it can be used effectively to send any urgent information to customers. 

• Useful tool for alerts

• Open 24×7

• Access to DND listed customers

• Template based 

In 2014, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) made amendments in its Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR). These amendments now permit telecom operators to offer two-way transactional SMS applications by using small codes. These codes start with 5 as the initial number. This is because, it is not possible to offer a two-way communication using only alphabets in the header. TRAI made the changes in its rules after getting repeated requests from a large number of local as well as international entities to let them engage in an interactive communication effortlessly. 

 

TRAI has engaged in putting a stop on SMS SPAM from time to time because even after giving clear guidelines that a transactional SMS should never be used for promotional purpose, it is subjected to misuse due to excess competition to reach target customers at a cheap rate. Earlier in 2011, TRAI made a conscious effort to curb the problem of SMS spam by imposing a large number of regulations. However, it exempted public authorities who want to send SMS in the public interest from its regulations. 

 

It is an undeniable fact that transactional SMS has a lot of potential in marketing. Only a few major companies of India are engaged in sending promotional messages using the transactional SMS pipeline.  There are many companies like us that offer services to facilitate transactional SMS in bulk for promotional purpose. We offer forward integration for these services and provide a range of solutions to drive these SMS service to cater to your business needs in the best possible manner. 

 

Transactional SMS Services in India are offered by SMS Aggregators like VIBGYORtel

 

References:

http://www.nccptrai.gov.in/nccpregistry/Guidelines%20for%20Telemarketers.pdf