Improving DLT SMS delivery rates is one of the major concerns for businesses using bulk messaging services. A low delivery rate can affect customer communication, campaign performance and overall business growth. In this post, we will understand the key factors that influence DLT SMS delivery rates and learn how to improve them using proven methodologies and best practices.

 

 

What is the importance of SMS Delivery Rates?

SMS delivery rates denote the percentage of messages successfully delivered out of the total messages sent. The importance of SMS delivery rates cannot be denied as they directly impact business budget, customer outlook and overall resources. Higher delivery rates are essential for every business to ensure better communication, improved campaign performance and stronger customer relationships.

 

Common reasons for SMS Delivery failure

Some of the common reasons for SMS delivery failure are:

• Network issues
• Carrier or operator issues
• Invalid or inactive numbers
• Inaccurate DLT registration
• Incorrect template usage
• Sending promotional texts on DND numbers
• Blacklisted or unregistered Headers
• Template not matching message content
• Incomplete message text
• Out of coverage issue
• Spammy texts
• Poor quality of SMS Provider

 

 

How to improve DLT SMS Delivery Rates?

Here, are some of the proven methods to improve DLT SMS Delivery Rates:

1. Register your Principal Entity successfully

As per TRAI rules DLT registration is compulsory in India to send Bulk SMS to your customers. Make sure your registration is successfully completed on the DLT platform and templates are approved. Message delivery is often affected by incorrect or incomplete DLT registration. Hence, it is required to follow all the TRAI rules for DLT registration before sending SMS to your clients.

2. Register Headers on the DLT portal

Your Sender ID or Headers must be registered on the DLT platform before sending messages. Header must follow all the compliance set by TRAI in order to get approval. They must match your brand name and should be according to the message templates. If you are sending messages with an unregistered Sender ID, it may impact delivery rates and lead to message failure.

3. Contact lists should be updated

Make sure you don’t send messages to duplicate numbers, invalid or inactive numbers as it might adversely impact your delivery rates. Regularly update your contact lists and ensure that all numbers are working and active.

4. Follow DND rules

Make sure to follow all DLT rules and regulations as per TRAI. Avoid sending promotional messages to DND numbers as it may lead to penalties, blocking and blacklisting. Service Implicit messages and Transactional messages can be sent on DND numbers.

5. Select the correct message route

Choosing transactional route for sending promotional messages is strictly prohibited as per TRAI guidelines. Ensure to select the right route for sending messages. Transactional route should only used for sending OTPs, crucial alerts and updates by banks. Sending messages by wrong routes lead to message delivery failure and other issues.

6. Avoid spammy message text

Make sure that the message text is free from spam text or fraudulent URLs. Don’t use words like ‘win’, ‘click here’, ‘offers’, etc. Message text with excessive capital letters, use of exclamation or suspicious texts is flagged as spam and does not get delivered.

7. Avoid incorrect encoding

The character limit is different for standard messages and for unicode messages. Incorrect coding leads to message failure. Character limit for standard text is 160 per SMS whereas for unicode is 70 characters per SMS.

8. Use double opt-in processes

Use double opt-in processes to make sure that the customer numbers are valid and working. Ask for their confirmation after subscription to ensure they want to receive notifications from your brand. This is useful for successful delivery rates and helps in increasing client retention.

9. Maintain message sending momentum

It is important to maintain a consistent pattern while sending messages. Sudden increase in sending texts can create delivery issues or cause message delivery delays. For massive campaigns, distribute messages into different time intervals rather than sending all at once.

10. Testing is required

Before starting business campaigns, it is important to first do testing with small batches. Ensure to test it with different carriers such as Jio, Airtel, BSNL, etc. This is useful in identifying any formatting issues, delivery delays or content errors before impacting large audience.

11. Accurate templates

Before sending messages first match it with the approved content template. Make sure the text and variable values are in correct format. Incomplete or invalid texts can cause message delivery failure.

12. Formulate intelligent retry mechanism

Analyse message failure reasons before retrying sending failed messages. Avoid immediate retries as it might be seen as spam. Messages sent with status invalid numbers should not be retried while messages with temporary network issues can be retried successfully.

13. Analyse delivery reports in real time

Monitor delivery reports to understand the cause of message delivery or its failure. This can help in identifying and fixing issues before it affects the complete campaign. You can even setup alerts when there is a sudden drop in delivery rates so that right action can be taken at appropriate time.

14. Don’t send text at peak traffic intervals

In case of important events, festivals, it is better to avoid sending important texts as it might affect delivery and lead to message failures. For urgent texts like OTPs, it is better to use priority sending routes which operators have for time-sensitive and urgent texts.

15. Opt for the reliable SMS Provider

Your SMS Provider’s carrier routes and technology impacts delivery rates. Choose the right provider such as Fast2SMS that can offer fast delivery and higher message delivery success rates.

 

 

Best practices for high SMS Delivery Rates

• Always focus on quality messaging
• Distribute your audience base and send targeted messages
• Follow opt-out requests from customers
• Keep message texts concise and brief
• Avoid using suspicious message URLs
• Include clear opt-out instructions in advertising messages
• Audit your campaigns at regular intervals for quality assurance
• Monitor and analyse delivery failure issues
• Follow all TRAI regulations
• Choose the right SMS Provider

 

Metrics to monitor DLT SMS Delivery Rates

Analyse the following metrics to monitor DLT SMS delivery rates:

• Message delivery rate: This denotes the percentage of messages successfully delivered
• Message failure rate: This implies percentage of messages failed to get delivered
• Bounce rate: Messages returned to operators because of invalid numbers or permanent errors
• Opt-out rate: Percentage of customers unsubscribing
• Response rate: Percentage of customers engaging with the messages
• Time to delivery: The time of messages reaching the recipients

 

 

 

How Fast2SMS promises high SMS Delivery Rates?

Fast2SMS is on the mission of speedy message delivery and complete transparency of the bulk messaging system. We understand that the message delivery rate is crucial for every business. We have direct connectivity with the operators to ensure fastest delivery, instant delivery reports with cost-effective pricing suiting all businesses. Our platform is popular due to:

• Real time delivery reports
• Direct operator connectivity
• Dedicated support for every query
• Delivery reports with complete details of each message
• Complete support for every DLT step
• Help available round the clock for DLT registration and template submission
• Call support and Sender ID management support
• DLT scrubbing for marketing campaigns
• Lowest cost in the industry
• Start with just Rs. 100
• Free testing after every signup
• No purchase limit

 

 

Improve DLT SMS Delivery Rates by choosing Fast2SMS. We provide a simple, user-friendly platform with complete DLT guidance via call, email, chat support. Call us on 6262778822 to send messages in the fastest, quickest and most affordable manner. From instant delivery to affordable pricing, we help your business stay connected without limits. Signup now!