Buyers' guide

Ask your text messaging provider these questions:

Business messaging is relatively new, and there are few entry barriers to the industry.. Anyone can ‘set up shop’ and begin selling SMS services, and as such, the market is full of start-up businesses with unreliable messaging.

Our clients often come to us after initially trying a cut-price texting re-seller. The overwhelming response is that they wasted both time and money – issues such as poor service and unreliable message delivery were endemic.

To ensure sure you get what you pay for, we suggest you ask your SMS provider these questions:

1. Do you use 'USA originated' messaging?

Why it matters

Many "USA" text message providers route their message traffic via offshore gateways to save money. They buy bulk SMS from budget suppliers in other countries, then sell it to unsuspecting customers here in America, who are not aware of the poor reliability that comes with ‘junk SMS’.

>> All MessageMedia SMS is sent via USA carriers, meaning our message traffic is ultra-reliable. We also have SMS gateways in both LA and Dallas to ensure back-up is always available, and this allows us to offer our 100% uptime guarantee.

2. Are you selling another organization’s messaging, or have you developed your own technology?

Why it matters

Most resellers have very limited knowledge of SMS technology or the industry, and this lack of knowledge is often reflected in their customer support. These companies lack 'specialist' expertize and have difficulty delivering a quality service.

>> MessageMedia developed all our IT in-house, which allows us to provide feature-rich, user-friendly SMS systems.

3. When did you begin selling text messsaging services?

Why it matters

>Every month a new re-seller sets up business on the web and starts selling SMS, and every month another closes its doors. This can leave you out of pocket after buying large amounts of 'SMS credits'.

>> MessageMedia has been operating since 2000.

4. Who are your large corporate clients?

Why it matters

Large corporate customers indicate your SMS provider has met the due diligence processes that larger organizations impose on their suppliers.

>>MessageMedia's large corporate customers include: Hewlett Packard, Dell, DuPont, BP, YMCA, Coca-Cola and Honda.

5. Are your text message services used for 'mission critical' communication by well known organizations?

Why it matters

An SMS service must be reliable, if it’s not, your staff will soon stop using it for mission critical communications.

>> MessageMedia is used by a range of emergency services who demand reliability, including fire departments and federal police agencies.

6. Do you offer 2-way messaging and delivery tracking?

Why it matters

2-way SMS is crucial in today’s modern mobile world. For marketing related SMS, enabling replies so recipients can opt-out is mandatory, and delivery tracking provides an audit trail of all messages.

>> MessageMedia offers 2-way SMS and delivery tracking technology.

7. Do you provide customer support over the phone?

Why it matters

For most businesses, a phone call is often the fastest and easiest form of support and/or problem solving.

>> MessageMedia welcomes client support calls, and a real person will answer the phone!

8. Does your organization offer a Service Level Agreement (SLA) that outlines a commitment to reliable SMS delivery?

Why it matters

An SLA highlights the SMS provider's commitment to giving you what you’ve paid for – your messages delivered.

>> All MessageMedia systems are fully redundant, and we offer a 100% uptime guarantee. Click here to view our SLA.

9. Are you a business SMS or consumer SMS provider?

Why it matters

Consumer SMS providers often focus on ring-tones, graphics etc, they rely on minimum cost routing (international SMS), which can be unreliable.

>> MessageMedia only provides SMS to business and government customers.

10. Do you offer any kind of 'money-back guarantee'?

Why it matters

An SMS provider that offers a money back guarantee is confident their service will meet expectations.

>> At MessageMedia we have a 30 day money back guarantee (including up to 20 messages per day free).