The number of technology companies offering mobile messaging features to marketing and communications teams is growing each day. It can be difficult to sift through the surface-level providers to find a reputable company that has demonstrated success and experience with a full suite of innovative digital engagement solutions.

Here are some things to consider when choosing a mobile messaging platform for your organization.

1.     Is the Mobile Messaging platform scalable?

Flashy features and marketing may get your attention, but if the platform can’t scale to meet your organization’s growing mobile messaging needs, you’ll be behind before you even get started.  Choosing a platform that doesn’t have scalability leads to long term hassles, including needing to transfer your short code, potential down time, and delayed sent messages.

2.     Does the provider offer natural language unsubscribe options?

Stop. Unsubscribe. Opt-out.  These are common unsubscribe responses that are used in mobile messages, but some of the most disgruntled subscribers aren’t going to follow your specific unsubscribe instructions to opt out. Instead they may reply with “leave me alone” or “quit texting me” or some colorful variation of that.

Choosing a technology that can understand the nuances of natural language unsubscribe entries, can help in a variety of ways, including potentially protecting you from a TCPA (telephone consumer protection act) lawsuit.

3.     Can the platform support large mobile messaging initiatives?

When launching a campaign, the last thing you want to worry about is logistical issues at the 11th hour. If the provider you’re working with doesn’t have a successful track record with large mobile messaging initiatives, how can you trust yours will go off without a hitch?

4.     How passionate are current and past clients about the company and the solutions?

Check out reviews and talk to past clients of the platforms you’re considering. Look for people who are truly passionate about the company and the solutions rather than simply satisfied.  According to Texas Tech University, 83% of consumers are willing to refer after a positive experience—yet only 29% actually do.  Which means, if clients are passionate about the platform and the value it delivers, it could be the right solution for you.

5.     Does the organization offer a suite of mobile-first digital engagement solutions?

As your digital strategy grows and your audience preferences evolve, you might consider integrating additional mobile touchpoints to your marketing campaigns, by using Mobile Wallets or Rich Communication Services (RCS).  Mobile Wallets deliver content directly into your phone in the form of wallet passes that can be easily stored and maintained.  RCS delivers rich content and app-like functionality to the SMS inbox.

If you’re working with a provider who offers only one of these solutions though, you will end up with a pieced-together campaign that can’t convert the way it should.

Upland Mobile Messaging is the combination of three large mobile messaging platforms (Mobile Commons, Hipcricket, and Waterfall) to create a single, unified mobile messaging platform that offers SMS/MMS, mobile wallet pass manager, RCS, Phone Calls, a Mobile CRM and more. Our team understands the security, stability, and reliability requirements of a mobile messaging platform to help our customers achieve positive outcomes. In fact, the Mobile Commons platform offered the industry’s first natural language unsubscribe functionality, which started in 2006.

The Humane Society of the United States, iHeartMedia and Blood Systems have all trusted Upland to run their large-scale campaigns, and Upland Mobile Messaging is on pace to send over a billion messages.  Providing best practices to customers, our Mobile Strategy team consists of former clients who used our platforms and loved them so much they decided to come work for us. Because of this, you can trust that we are mobile experts with valuable experience in the digital space.

When it comes to mobile messaging, Upland is the provider you want to work with. We offer a scalable platform capable of handling any size mobile messaging initiative and we have the customer success and satisfaction to back it up. And we don’t just offer natural language unsubscribe functionality, we were the first to implement it.

Selecting a mobile messaging platform for your business is an easy decision. Work with Upland, we’re leaders in this industry for a reason.