SMS Brand Admin Best Practices | XM Community
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As a brand admin responsible for administering SMS credits, it’s crucial to manage these resources efficiently to maximize ROI, ensure compliance, and maintain a positive reputation. Here are best practices to follow:

Monitoring and Allocation:

  1. Track Usage:
    • Real-Time Monitoring: Use platforms that allow you to monitor SMS credit usage in real-time to avoid overspending and ensure you stay within budget.
    • Usage Reports: Regularly generate and review usage reports to understand patterns and areas of improvement.
  2. Allocate Wisely:
    • Departmental Allocation: Distribute credits based on department needs (e.g., marketing, customer service) and campaigns.
    • Prioritize: Allocate credits for high-priority campaigns that are likely to yield the highest return.

Budgeting and Forecasting:

  1. Set Budgets:
    • Monthly Budgets: Define monthly or quarterly budgets for SMS credits to avoid unforeseen expenses.
    • Budget Alerts: Set up alerts to notify you when credits are running low or nearing the budget limit.
  2. Forecast Needs:
    • Historical Data: Use historical data to forecast future needs and adjust your budget accordingly.
    • Seasonal Trends: Consider seasonal trends or upcoming campaigns that may require more credits.

Cost Optimization:

  1. Optimize Send Times:
    • Ideal Timing: Send messages during optimal times for engagement to maximize the effectiveness of your credits.
    • Avoiding Peak Hours: If costs vary by time of day, consider sending during non-peak hours to save on credits.
  2. Segment Your Audience:
    • Targeted Campaigns: Segment your audience to send personalized, relevant messages, improving engagement and cost-efficiency.
    • A/B Testing: Conduct A/B testing to determine the most effective messages without wasting credits on ineffective ones.

Compliance and Best Practices:

  1. Regulatory Adherence:
    • Opt-In/Opt-Out: Ensure all SMS recipients have opted in to receive messages and provide easy options to opt-out.
    • Compliance: Stay updated and compliant with local and international regulations (e.g., GDPR, TCPA).
  2. Content Quality:
    • Value-Driven: Ensure the content of your messages provides value to the recipient to maintain high engagement rates.
    • Clear and Concise: Keep messages straightforward and easy to read to avoid confusion and enhance recipient experience.

Reporting and Analysis:

  1. Analyze Performance:
    • Key Metrics: Track key metrics such as delivery rates, open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates.
    • Adjust Strategies: Use the insights gained to refine your strategies and improve future campaigns.
  2. Feedback Loop:
    • Recipient Feedback: Collect feedback from recipients to gauge satisfaction and areas for improvement.
    • Internal Feedback: Get input from different departments on the effectiveness of the SMS campaigns and resource allocation.

Automation and Tools:

  1. Use Automation:
    • SMS Platforms: Utilize advanced SMS platforms that offer automation features for scheduling, sending, and tracking messages.
    • API Integration: Integrate SMS functionalities with your Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems for automated and personalized interactions.
  2. Credit Management Tools:
    • Purchasing Options: Establish a process for quickly purchasing additional credits if necessary to avoid disruption.

Security and Privacy:

  1. Data Protection:
    • Encryption: Ensure all SMS data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
    • Access Controls: Restrict access to SMS credit administration to authorized personnel only.
  2. Vendor Due Diligence:
    • Reliable Providers: Partner with reputable SMS service providers that have strong security measures and compliance records.
    • SLA Agreements: Ensure Service Level Agreements (SLAs) are in place to guarantee service quality and support.

By adhering to these best practices, you can effectively manage SMS credits, optimize your spending, comply with regulations, and achieve better campaign results.

 

 

At the University of Arizona, we are using User Types to manage SMS credits. When a group confirms they want SMS credits, we first link up our Account Representative with the customer for payment.

Once payment is complete, we Brand Admins create a new User Type for them with the following format: SMS - Dept or Project Name. 

User Types Tab


Before adding users to the new group, we then ensure a few configuration items such as:

  1. Ensuring the new group has the SMS Distribution Extension enabled. 
SMS Distribution Extension
  1. Enabling SMS Distributions under Account Permissions (we enable both SMS Distributions & SMS Access Codes). 
Account Permissions - SMS Distributions

 

  1. Further down within the Survey Platform tab, under Account Restrictions, add the number of SMS credits that the user/group paid for under Allowed SMS Message Credits. 
SMS Credit Amount
  1. The last step is to then add any approved users to the new group. This allows any user in this new group to use the alloted number of SMS credits without going over the allotment.

 

We are now using this same method of User Types to manage the number of weekly emails that users can send out in incremets of 5K. The naming convention for those groups in our Admin area is: Email Increase - 5,000/week, Email Increase - 10,000/week, etc.

To manage this, we have a Qualtrics form that feeds into our Service Now ticketing system and creates a ticket directly to the Qualtrics Brand Admins. When a user fills out the Qualtrics form, we claim the ticket and simply have to add the user to the appropriate User Type. It’s made things very easy to maintain as admins. 

I hope our process helps others as well. 

Thank you. 

-Evy Lizárraga Edwards

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