In the modern era, business communication has heavily relied on bulk sms marketing as a quick and efficient means of reaching customers and stakeholders.
However, as of August 1, 2023, businesses in India are facing a significant change that will impact their communication budgets. Telecom operators have implemented an enterprise messaging price increase, leading to a 30-40% increase in bulk SMS service costs.
This price increase comes at a time when commercial SMS traffic is experiencing exponential growth, especially in countries such as India, where the number of text messages has grown a lot, reaching over 40 billion messages each month. It is a crucial consideration for businesses that leverage the benefits of bulk sms marketing to communicate with their customers.
This article delves into the details of what is changing and how this price increase might affect businesses across various industries exploring potential mitigation strategies, and tips to navigate this hike and continue to maintain strong relationships with their customers and stakeholders.
What Is Changing?
- Messaging Rate Hike
Industry executives have confirmed that telecom operators are raising their prices for enterprise messaging services. This means that businesses, both large and small, will now have to pay approximately 30-40% more per SMS text message they send to customers, partners, and employees.
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Charges Basis
Earlier some operators were allowed to charge differently on the basis of delivered messages. However now, the charges will be based on messages that are submitted on the platforms.
Why Are These Changes Coming Up?
The way businesses use bulk sms services has changed because it had been a long time since the prices stayed the same.
Over the last few years, a similar strategy has been deployed for prepaid and postpaid call pricing across all telecommunication portals.
India ranks the highest when it comes to providing cost-efficient telecom services to end users and sending text messages used to be cheaper there compared to other countries. This made it hard for companies to make enough money from this service.
To justify the rising costs of running the service and to make a profit, they had to increase the prices.
During the last few years, the prices have experienced a decline because of Reliance Jio’s entry, which provided lower costs. Therefore, to remain in the competition other telco providers also came at par with them. Now the telcos are vying for profitability again.
Also Check: Top 5 Reasons Why Your eCommerce Business Needs SMS Notifications
How Other Messaging Platforms Have Changed?
Other messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Truecaller messaging have also made changes in response to the increasing costs of SMS communication.
Starting June 1, 2023, WhatsApp introduced new charges for businesses when they initiate conversations with customers. The charges will be based on a 24-hour conversation window and will depend on three new conversation templates:
- Utility
- Authentication
- Marketing
As the demand for instant and efficient communication grows, various SMS service platforms are adapting to these changes to justify service quality and deliver the best value to the end user.
How Will It Impact The SME And Large Enterprises?
Even though the increase in messaging service costs may affect SMEs and large enterprises, their interest still lies in bulk SMS services. SMS remains a favoured communication tool due to its direct and instant nature as it is the most economical medium for sending business-critical information such as OTPs, transaction details, updates, etc.
The impact on the industry will be very direct and straightforward. As the prices increase the quality and the reliability also increase resulting in an efficient delivery process as only the genuine vendors would be able to sustain in the market.
For SMEs, bulk SMS is an affordable way to reach a large customer base and stay connected with them. Despite the price hike, they understand the importance of maintaining direct communication for marketing and customer support.
Similarly, large enterprises value bulk sms marketing for its scalability and high-volume capability. Despite the increased expenses, they know the significance of reaching millions of customers instantly through text messages.
SMEs and large enterprises will explore ways to optimise their messaging practices, negotiate better rates, and find providers offering competitive packages.
What Does Your Business Need To Do To Get A Better Price?
To get a better price for your business’s text messages, you need to find a service provider that offers bulk SMS at reasonable rates, between 13.5 paise to 18 paise per message. Be wary of overly affordable options, as they might compromise on quality.
Look for a provider that ensures messages get delivered properly, and offers support at a rate that suits your budget. An excellent choice for your bulk SMS needs is Mtalkz, renowned for its cost-effective and dependable SMS services.
Mtalkz follows a consultancy-based approach and helps you optimise your messaging budget up to 15% by providing optimised cost-efficient way.
They further offer a user-friendly dashboard with real-time analytical tracking, a global reach of their SMS service, and dedicated 24×7 support.
By choosing Mtalkz, you can save money and have a smooth experience while reaching your customers through text messages.
