Ask 10 people what Bulk SMS is and you're likely to get 10 different answers. Most of them though, will probably include some sense of sending a large amount of SMS messages. But beyond that it can get a bit confusing.
Traditionally the term Bulk SMS referred to mass messaging available at cheap prices. Usually the routes for the messages were inferior (hence the cheap) with unreliable deliveries. Now though, if you Google the term you'll get both reputable service providers as well as many more dubious ones promising to send lots of messages for the cheapest pricing.
The term has also gained in popularity with the rise of mobile marketing. And to many, Bulk SMS is synonymous with mobile marketing with SMS messages. It's not the same thing. Or at least it doesn't have to be. The problem is probably made worse by definitions such as the one on Wikipedia:
"Bulk Messaging is the...
Are you plagued by invalid numbers or fraudulent mobile numbers for your taxi service? Or are you too afraid to use SMS for your services because you think it can be abused too easily? While there will always be someone trying to make trouble, the good news is that you can help stop people (competitors?) from falsely ordering a pick up. Our web-based SMS platform provides just the tools you’ll need.
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One of the major metrics in SMS marketing is how many people opt in to receive your messages. But there’s a flip side to that metric: how many people opt out. In the ideal world, no one would ever leave your list and instead continue to make purchases or support your organisation for as long as you decide to message them.
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When you use SMS messaging for marketing, you have certain legal obligations to meet. One of those is obtaining permission to send direct marketing messages to the people on your list. While it’s true you can send messages to customers in the course of business with them, sending marketing messages needs to be done with care.
Last week, in my Can you send anyone a text message? post I talked about the best practices of getting a documented opt in before sending a SMS marketing message. After that post went live, there was an announcement in the US that the large telecommunications company Sprint was fined for violating the US regulations against spam texting. Not being able to resist such a great example of what not to do, I decided to share some of the details of the Sprint case as well as a UK example to prove the point.
