Tagged numbers’ role in two-way messaging

An effective, but lesser-known SMS feature available for two-way mobile messaging, is ‘tagged numbers’.

Simply put, tagged numbers are a range or block of two-way numbers that are rented out by an SMS gateway to a client, giving them the flexibility to decide which two-way number to use as the reply path for any given SMS. This is done by appending additional digits at the end of the regular 9 digit telephone number. Tagged numbers are offered both locally (South Africa) and internationally.

So what makes tagged numbers more beneficial to you than a static two-way number? Initially, when venturing into a two-way SMS solution for the first time, a static two-way number may appear to meet all your requirements. However, depending on your requirements, you’ll soon discover the limitations… Imagine a company with 500 employees and only one telephone line. Managing your SMS replies could similarly become as complex, and you’ll soon find yourself asking these questions: “How do I map the outbound SMS to the inbound?” and “how to I route a specific reply to the correct individual or department?”

You (or your developer) have probably tried ‘Prefixing’ or the ‘CliMsgID’ parameter. Unfortunately, prefixing an SMS with specific text, such as “NEWS”, relies on the recipient to ensure that their reply via tw0-way SMS has a certain keyword attached to the SMS. As you can imagine (or have already discovered), this doesn’t always work so well.

So what about using the ‘CliMsgID’ parameter? Well, this has nothing to do with two-way at all. The truth is that a two-way reply only contains the following information: the customer’s mobile number, the two-way number they replied to and the message. The only real way to map your outbound SMS to the inbound SMS is by using tagged numbers…

In South Africa, as an example, you can rent a block of up to 10 000 (4 digit range) unique two-way numbers (per network) from an SMS gateway. You are then able to link 30 000 outbound messages and their replies in one rotation (or you can rent additional blocks).

In another scenario, you can provide 10 000 employees/clients with their own two-way number set (one per network), which ensures that every inbound SMS can be successfully mapped back to the original sender. As the two-way number is specific to an outbound SMS, this even solves the problem of another handset being used to reply (such as when they have run out of airtime).

So, before you employ an ‘SMS Receptionist’, consider a two-way tagged number solution.

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Tags: bulk SMS, Clickatell ZA, mobile messaging, SMS gateway, SMS Gateways, tagged numbers, two way messaging, Two-way SMS messaging