Mobile numbers
Mobile (system field) and Mobile SMS opt-in (custom field created when the SMS module is enabled for your account). Do not use the Phone field.
Country codes are required, but the leading ’00’ or ‘+’ are optional. In other words,
- 4917756578912
- +4917756578912
- 004917756578912
are all accepted.
No, all three of the variations shown above are allowed, as long as they are correct.
No, please add prefix to each number.
Spaces are allowed, but not recommended. If in doubt, test this by sending yourself a test SMS.
Message content
Yes, it normally uses 23 characters.
Once the first message has been sent in an SMS campaign, you cannot edit any of the content except for the unsubscribe landing page. This applies equally for Automation Center campaigns and for ad hoc and batch campaigns.
For SMS messages used in Automation Center programs you can continue to edit the entire message after the program has been launched. The editing restrictions apply only after the first text message has been sent by the program.
Yes it can. However, some SMS routes to the Nordic countries, e.g. Sweden, Finland or Denmark, require the URLs to be registered before you send your campaign. In case you need any assistance, please contact Emarsys Support to register your URLs, which might take a couple of days to complete.
Delivery and responses
Yes, but please be aware each destination will be charged differently.
No. Emarsys takes care to integrate with the best vendors on the market, and cannot support every vendor.
Yes, Emarsys provides you with a detailed Campaign summary. For Automation Center programs, we can’t calculate the exact cost, as we can’t predict the amount of SMS that will be triggered.
The campaign will not be launched and you will be notified that you need to top up your balance.
Only a few seconds, as long as we are provided with proof of the transaction.
You can top up your balance in any currency. However, we will convert this in your Emarsys account into one of the following: EUR, USD and HKD. If you would like to use different currency in your account, please contact Emarsys Support.
If there is insufficient credit at the moment of launch the campaign will not be sent and will remain in the Campaigns tab. Once the credit has been topped up you can send it again.
There is no dedicated feature for SMS messages, but you can easily use the Automation Center participation settings to control how many messages a contact can receive.
The number stays valid, because soft bounces mean that the carrier’s message queue was full at the exact time of delivery, or the recipient’s device was temporarily unavailable, and therefore messages can still be sent to it in the future.
Apart from soft bounces, we have:
- Hard bounce – The cell phone number no longer exists on that carrier.
- Unknown – The carrier replied back with an “unknown” reason for the unsuccessful delivery of this message.
- With carrier – The message was delivered to the carrier but they have not returned the status.
Changing a mobile phone number will automatically reset the bounce status for that contact, and they will be able to receive messages again.
Yes. We allow only permission-based marketing for SMS as we do for email. However, since at the beginning no contacts have an explicit True value for the field Mobile SMS opt-in, we do allow to send to contacts with an empty value. Contacts with a Falsevalue for this field will not be sent SMS messages. As for email opt-in, you cannot overwrite this field in data imports.
We have a feature that can be activated on demand which allows for certain messages in Automation Center programs to ignore opt-in. Please note that it is always your responsibility to separate unsubscribes from the batch messages. We suggest using two threads, one for batch messages and one for transactional ones. Please contact Emarsys Support for more information.
Two option are available. The simplest (and cheapest) is to insert an unsubscribe link in your content. The second is 2-Way messaging, for which you need to purchase a short/long code (which is expensive), and then you can ask your customers to reply with a keyword to the message. Note that your customers will also have to pay for their reply.
Contacts who have replied to an SMS campaign are listed on the Inbound SMS tab. Remember that you need a numeric sender ID in order to be able to receive replies.
Sometimes. If you are sending any kind of marketing material, you must do so in order to comply with SMS regulations. Transactional messages (such as shipping confirmation) do not need an opt-out.
Only if you use an unsubscribe link. “STOP” keywords do not require an Internet connection.
Yes, you can trigger Automation Center programs with external events, that can include SMS sending.