Features

Individuals :

• Send a single message to one or millions of contacts at the same time at the click of a button
• Supports two-way message – i.e. SMS recipients can reply directly to the SMS message you sent using long number or short code.
• SMS response routed directly to your IvySMS account.

Groups :

• Send messages to selected group or groups you have defined in your online account.
• Create as many groups as needed in your IvySMS account. E.g Group can be created based on industry, preferences, geographical location, interests etc of your customers.

Sender IDs :

• A Sender ID is a personal identification which can be your company name, campaign name etc. By using a Sender ID, your customers immediately recognise who the SMS text message is from.
• Notes:

• The message recipient cannot reply directly to a text message sent using a Sender ID. It is best for messages that do not need a response.
• If a response is desired, 2-Way communication is required. That is, a short code or long code number must be provided with the initial message by which the recipient can respond. E.g. Text “YES” to 12345 (Short Code) or Text “YES” to +441234567890 (long number).
• IvySMS will provide your Short Code and/or long number which you use. It is a premium feature and attracts a monthly fee.
• Option to use Sender ID is available in your portal.

Upload Contacts (CSV or Excel) :

• Upload directly your pre-complied contact lists in text, csv or excel spreadsheet file(s) into your online address book/database.
• Typically, the contact lists contain information such as forename, surname, account number, unique voucher codes etc. useful for personalised messaging.
• IvySMS platform removes duplicate numbers in your contact list, so you won’t incur additional costs because you sent texts to the same number.

Message upload from files :

• You can upload messages for specific contacts already composed in your files directly to the platform and thereafter send your SMS messages.

Personalised Message (Text) :

• Personalised Message is a feature that allows merging of names and other personal information such as Name, account number, appointment time, date and venue, results etc into your bulk outgoing text messages. See examples below.

• If you want to send personalised message, you need a well-managed database with multiple columns of data in a spreadsheet. You can then upload the spreadsheets into your online contacts database and then send the message. This will greatly enhance your customer engagement, makes messaging look personal and make your marketing or campaign more efficient.

Scheduled Message :

• Scheduled message is a feature used to send a message for a future date and time.
• It is ideal for scenarios when message should go out at a specific time. E.g. Flight reminder, appointment reminder, event reminder, seasonal message etc.
• It is also useful when you anticipate you might not be available at that time when the message needs to go out.
• It can also be used as a reminder tool for yourself. E.g. A meeting, event etc.

SMS Templates :

• SMS templates is used for messages that are sent out regularly. Those messages are saved for future use.

Long Messages :

• Standard SMS message is 160 characters long. A single text message of up to 160 characters costs one SMS credit or unit.
• When you send a SMS message over 160 characters the message will be split.
• Large messages are segmented into 153-character message and sent individually. The split messages are then concatenated (joined) by the recipient’s device as one long SMS text.
• Examples:

• A long 765-character message is sent as five messages at 153 characters each (765/153). It costs five SMS credits.
• A long 161-character message is sent as two messages, one with 153 characters and the second with 8 characters. It costs two SMS credits.

Unicode :

• The IvySMS platform supports sending non-English characters as SMS message. Typically, a unicode message is about 70 characters per SMS message.

Automated SMS Response :

• Automated response is sequenced (Request and Response) set of messages for customer interaction.
• E.g. For survey or requirement gathering, satisfaction survey, you send a few questions to your customer and they respond after each question. An answer triggers the next question and so on until the end of the questionnaire.