Building a Bulk SMS Service

Summary

The Bulk SMS Service for direct marketing campaigns is a Web-based tool that helps to create and send mass messages with special offers, company news, discounts, etc. Thanks to advanced scheduling, support for multiple languages, and a possibility to create target groups, managers can send highly personalized SMS at the right time. In addition, the system gathers statistics and tracks the number of sent, received, and failed messages.

The need

One of the biggest mobile network operators in the Nordic region needed a universal automated tool for managing targeted SMS campaigns. The solution had to be integrated with the company’s CRM system and SMS gateway.

The challenges

One of the most challenging tasks in this project was to integrate the software with the customer’s existing CRM system. To make the tool as generic as possible, the team implemented an extendable file format supported by multiple CRM solutions. Using this approach, the customer can provide services to a broader range of clients that use different systems.

The solution

The project was developed as an ASP.NET MVC 3 application integrated with the customer’s CRM system and SMS gateway. To automate the process of adding subscribers, we provided support for one-way client data synchronization.

To create targeted messages and send them on a predefined schedule, general tokens contained in regular SMS were replaced by custom data tokens that have a dynamic number. The team also optimized performance of the service. They developed a faster custom data parsing algorithm that processes hundreds of thousands of user profiles and stores them in parallel threads.

The outcome

Currently, the mobile network company offers the Bulk SMS Service solution to multiple operators and vendors. Compatible with different ERP systems, the tool integrates with existing enterprise solutions and provides many new possibilities for direct marketing.