Reseller Vs Affiliate: How to choose what’s right for you

Recently we have had a lot of interest in our various partner programmes, this is in no small part down to the maturing of the SMS market as businesses all over the U.K. realise the power of SMS Marketing for small, local businesses.

Now while many forward-thinking entrepreneurial individuals realise the power of mobile in generating business for themselves and clients, not all are sure of how to go about providing such a service.

At FASTSMS we operate three main ways for our partners to deliver SMS services to their existing and future customers, in this post I will highlight the advantages and even disadvantages of each approach and who they are aimed at…

Hands-Free SMS Services

One option which is often overlooked by FASTSMS partners looking to extend their own service is the simplest and potentially the most rewarding. Simply open a normal FASTSMS account with multi-use functionality and offer your clients a hands-free SMS service – this means you manage all of their SMS communications for them, you control your own costs, benefiting from bulk purchases with us. You can easily keep all your clients activity separate using our multi-user tools and even integrate keywords (either via Shortcodes, or the much more cost-effective Virtual Mobile Numbers) to manage responses. For the single person operation offering SMS Marketing services to local offline businesses this is by far the best option.

Become an Affiliate

Becoming a FASTSMS affiliate is best when you have an existing customer base who you believe would be interested in our SMS Services. You may include a piece about FASTSMS in your newsletter, on your website or simply market directly to your own data about us. The key here is that you earn commission on any future purchases made by those that you refer to us. You can be as active or inactive as you like in referring, and this degree of effort will often be reflected in the commission you then receive. Important things to remember here is that you have no responsibility or obligation towards those you refer – we take care of all the support and communications once they have been passed on to us. In truth you don’t require any specialised marketing skills surrounding SMS, or indeed any technical skills – you just do what you do best, focusing on your own business. If you already have your own business and could potentially be referring your customers to us for SMS Services this is the best option for you, it will provide additional revenue for relatively little effort.

Become a Reseller

Becoming a FASTSMS Reseller is not a decision to be taken lightly, many people who think they want to become a Reseller would in fact be much better off using one of the two options above. If you do decide a Reseller Platform is right for you, you will have a standalone white-labelled product to call your own, you will be responsible for all front line support to your customers. Resellers maintain complete control over pricing, which could potentially mean higher profits, although it is worth noting the competitive nature of the SMS industry at such a level. There would however be no mention whatsoever of FASTSMS on your platform, you would maintain control over all accounts and billing. The reseller option is best for those who either want to offer an SMS platform alongside other similar products to customers, or who want to invest a lot of time building an entire business around SMS. In either case we recommend discussing it  with us at length before committing.

If you require further clarification on the various options available to you please call us on 0800 954 5305 or email helpdesk@fastsms.co.uk and we will help you find the right path for you.