Introducing Zoho Campaigns' own gateway for SMS campaigns

Introducing Zoho Campaigns' own gateway for SMS campaigns

We are excited to announce the launch of our SMS Gateway to send SMS through Zoho Campaigns. We have also made a few other changes in our current SMS Campaign model to improve your over all user experience.

These updates are planned with an aim to expand our product's potential by catering to the needs of businesses interested in both email and SMS marketing. 

Zoho Campaigns' Own SMS Gateway


Right now we are integrated with thirteen third party applications, to support the SMS sending process for the users. However, these third party integrations create an extra signup step for you to send SMS campaigns and manage multiple bills.
 
To overcome this hindrance and to improve the user experience, we are partnering with a vendor & offering our own SMS gateway.
 
With this, you can send SMS campaigns to mobile numbers in the US and Canada without any hassle.
In future updates we are also planning to include India and multiple countries from the EU region.



Improving the user experience of SMS Campaign feature 




1) Efficient way to manage Mobile number within Zoho Campaigns 

a) SMS field standardization 

The "Mobile number" will be the default field to store the contact number. We will also eliminate the phone number and country selection steps from the SMS creation process.
 
Moreover, the standardization of the contact number field will:

a) Simplify the SMS creation process
b) Make the identification of phone number duplication process easier
c) Effectively maintain SMS channel unsubscribe & DND registry for phone numbers 
d) Reduce the data processing time
e) Ensure organized storage and easy tracing of contact numbers
 
b) Contact number will be mapped to "Mobile Number"

In our current model, during the contact addition process the " email address" has always been the default field to add contact's email address. Henceforth, " Mobile number" will also be shown as a default field to add their contact number. 

c) Recommended to import mobile number with area code

You can add contacts without an area code, but you won't be able to send SMS campaigns to those contacts. We advise that you update your contacts' phone number along with the area code in the Mobile Number field to send SMS campaigns without any hiccups.
 
Accepted format for Mobile Number field : +1 967899090
 
Numbers like 9289098909 will be added, but won't be included for campaign sending, as the area code is missing.


2) Unsubscribe from all SMS marketing communication

Zoho Campaigns ensures that email recipients have the entire control over acceptance and denial of email campaigns through unsubscription option.

This similar best practices will be implemented in the SMS Campaign, with the introduction of the " Unsubscribe" option. With this, contacts can easily opt out from receiving SMS communications.



3) Option to add sender address during SMS creation process


Sender address is the first thing a receiver looks out for, in order to ensure that the communication is received from an authentic source.

So, we will support Long code & Alphanumeric sender address format in this update. And soon we will also support short codes.

So, SMS Campaign users can now select the Sender address format supported in their respective country.
 
We will help our users with the registration process to obtain the respective sender address format from within the product.
 

4) Prepaid, add-on-credit-based pricing

We will be following a pre-paid credit based pricing model for SMS. The user has to separately purchase the required add-on credits to send SMS Campaign.The credits will be automatically added on a recurring basis after every billing cycle.The purchase of credits from 1K to 1M can be made online.
 
Credits per SMS
 
US/ Canada-  4 credits

 

a) Can the un-used credits be carried forward to the next billing cycle?

​In case, if the user has any un-used credits in a particular billing cycle, then the un-used credit will be carried forwarded to the next billing cycle.


b) How to procure long codes?

Long codes will be a separate recurring add-on. To begin with, US/Canada long codes will be 1$/month.

Know more about SMS Campaign pricing

Note: The SMS updates will be made live only to the new users. Existing users can migrate to the new update only after 45 days from the launch date.



      • Sticky Posts

      • Tip of the week 03 - Sending emails in batches

        Today's marketers not only want their email marketing to be efficient, but also smart. For an email campaign, you may think you have all the essential elements for lead conversion—a big mailing list, an attractive template design, and the most-engaging message content, but after hitting the ‘send’ button, you may not get the expected conversions. Wondering why? Here’s one of the major reasons. Many marketers miss out on sending the email campaign the right way. Did you know that you should not be

      • Tip of the week 04 - Know about your recipients' 'prime open time.'

        In today's market, the importance of customer behavior is astounding, with a vast amount of research and resources going into finding how customers make decisions. The process of persuading your customers to open your email and click on your call-to-action becomes easy when you understand the psychology behind their behavioral traits. Time to turn into a psychologist! Let's get to the basics—you want your emails to resonate well with your recipients. So, what's the primary thing involved here? It's

      • Zoho Campaigns Expert Diaries on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

        Hi email champs,  As email marketers, we find great lessons in each other's works—be it the subject lines that worked good, the design that was received well, or the CTA that had the maximum clicks. Email marketing encompasses a wide variety of topics spanning everything from creation and design to development and deliverability.  Here's when we from the Zoho Campaigns team found the need to build an email marketing community comprising of seasoned marketers and email geeks who can help each other

      • Email Deliverability Tip #3: Seal the deal with the preheader

        In the last post, we learned about the subject line. Today we'll be learning about the preheader. A preheader is the short text that follows the subject line in an email. The preheader is designed to hint at what your email message is all about. A good preheader should act as a second subject line and convince your contacts to open the email. Now, let's learn the best way to craft a preheader. Your subject line and preheader should work together and accurately convey the gist of your email. Keep

      • Tip of the week 15 - Add subscription-preferences option. Drive more engagement.

        If crafting content for emails, getting creatives done, and running email campaigns is your love, then unsubscribes are the heartbreakers.  You can save your emails from being unsubscribed/trashed by adding a proper subscription-preferences option in your emails (works best at the time of signup). Giving subscribers the option to choose what they want to receive from you and decide how often (frequency of the emails) your emails should hit their inboxes will increase the reach of your campaigns manifolds. 

        • Recent Topics

        • Trigger Zoho Cliq Channel Workflows for API Messages

          Dear Zoho Cliq Team, I hope this message finds you well. We have noticed that reminders or messages posted to Zoho Cliq channels via the API do not trigger channel-based workflows. This limitation means that any bot configured with a participation handler

        • Webhook Trigger for New Messages in Cliq Channels

          Hello, I would like to request a feature to enable webhook triggers when a new message is added to a Cliq channel. This functionality would allow us to seamlessly send important information from Cliq to other relevant systems. This webhook trigger can

        • Ability to Edit the "Current Job Title" dropdown field

          Current experience/Issue: When a user (candidate) uploads resume to Zoho Recruit candidate portal, some fields are prefilled with the info from the resume/cv correctly. However, we've observed that; 1. the "Current Job Title" dropdown field is usually

        • I'm getting an "Invalid_scope" error, even though I used an access token generated with the correct scope.

          I'm getting an "Invalid_scope" error, even though I used an access token generated with the correct scope. Here’s what I did in Postman: Generated the code to create an access token using the following URL: https://accounts.zoho.eu/oauth/v2/auth?scope=ZohoCampaigns.contact.UPDATE&client_id=<client_id>&response_type=code&access_type=offline&redirect_uri=https://1882-2-26-193-161.ngrok-free.app

        • Problem configuring/customizing sales pipeline steps

          Hello, I have created several sales pipelines with different stages in them. Unfortunately I forgot to properly configure these steps (conversion probability, forecast category). How can I modify and customize all these steps? Thnak you by advance M

        • workflow for bounced email gets triggered, but email is status = opened

          Hello, I have a workflow that sends me an email if outgoing email are bounced. Now I got some kind of this emails, but the corrosponding contacts have status = open at the email. Why this bounce-workflow is triggered? Reports > Email Reports > Bounce

        • Power of Automation :: Automatically start / pause / stop timer on task status update.

          Hello Everyone, A Custom function is a user-written set of code to achieve a specific requirement. Set the required conditions needed as when to trigger using the Workflow rules (be it Tasks / Project) and associate the custom function to it. Requirement:-

        • Website Access Blocked (from one pc only) when attempting unattended access to any device

          Hello From one of my laptops I cannot access any remote device using unattended access. A Zoho Assist error page didplays 'Website Access Blocked. See attached.

        • Zoho Analytics to Zoho Sheets - automatic update?

          Hi all, If I create a zoho sheet from an Analytics Report or Analytics Data, is there a way for the zoho sheet to automatically update as the Report / Data in analytics updates?

        • Update Zoho Flow on Sprint Work Item Status Change

          Hello, I've contacted Zoho One support but have been unable to help in a timely manner, so I'm asking the community. I want to start using sprints, but I'm having an issue. I need to post updates to Slack when a Work Item has a status change. My understanding

        • Fixed Assets Register

          Thank you Zoho Books for adding fixed assets register. BUT there are certian tweeks that needs to be implemented. I found the following issues and seek improvements. 1) Fixed Asset Register Report in the Report Section has columns which are so much confusing.

        • Why can't I sync my Zoho Mail tasks and notes with my mobile device, and is there a way to fix this issue?

          I'm having trouble syncing my Zoho Mail tasks and notes with my mobile device. Despite following the usual steps, the tasks and notes don't appear on my phone. Is there a way to fix this issue? Regards, Adamjes, Tekskills India Pvt Limited, India.

        • Link to Desk tickets

          Hello, We are using Analytics to analyze data in Desk. Is there a way to embed a link to a ticket in reports? We'd love to be able to see the drill down data, and click a value in a result row that would launch the Desk Ticket in another window/tab. Thanks

        • Announcing new features in Trident for macOS (v.1.11.0)

          Hello everyone! Trident for macOS (v.1.11.0) is here with interesting features and enhancements to elevate your workplace communication and productivity. Let's take a quick look at them. Export emails. You can now export emails in the .eml file format

        • Zoho Sign Product updates - H2 2024

          Hello! We have almost come to the end of 2024! Here's a list of features and enhancements that went live in the later half of the year. NOM 151 certification Witness signing Formula, conditional, and custom fields Zoho Sign's extension for Bigin by Zoho

        • Build custom AI solutions with Catalyst’s QuickML capabilities in CRM

          Hello everyone, We’re thrilled to announce an improvement for our Zoho CRM Enterprise users: the ability to create custom AI solutions using Catalyst’s QuickML directly from Zoho CRM. As you may already know, Zia, Zoho CRM’s AI-powered assistant, offers

        • 【Zoho CRM】Webフォームに関するアップデート

          ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中からWebフォームに関するアップデートについて紹介します。 今回、以下２点のアップデートがありました。 ダブルオプトイン（2段階の同意確認）後の確認メッセージのカスタマイズ 登録から確認まで一貫したユーザーエクスペリエンスを顧客に提供するために、カスタマイズされた確認メッセージを作成できるようになりました。 ダブルオプトイン認証メールのカスタマイズ 顧客に最初から興味を持ってもらえるよう、パーソナライズされたメールを作成できるようになりました。ユーザーのブランドに合った本文を作成し、パーソナライズすることで、様々な顧客に対応することができます。

        • Converting Time and Time Zones

          Hi Everyone I am trying to convert a time Zone to the local time of the user. I am fetching some data from an API, and it is coming back in this format: 2024-12-09T16:49:23Z This is in UTC/GMTZulu time. I am looking to convert it to the user time. In

        • Tip of the week 34 - 5 ways to maintain your email list

          A proper email list often reflects the reach of an institution. This reach is coveted by all but achieved by some. We often forget about drawbacks and incline towards numbers. Success is often reflected by quality and not quantity. This simple message reverberates in maintaining a hygienic email list. Here are five tips which will help you maintain a proper email list.    Organic email lists   Non-stop competition can make us susceptible to shortcuts like buying and renting lists from third party

        • Whatsapp Limitation Questions

          Good day, I would like to find out about the functionality or possibility of all the below points within the Zoho/WhatsApp integration. Will WhatsApp buttons ever be possible in the future? Will WhatsApp Re-directs to different users be possible based

        • Can not send campaign

          Hi, I'm trying to send a newsletter to my subscribers, but seems is not working - or maybe I did some wrong steps re. upgrades. I'm the admin for this account, no other person is using Zoho for my campaigns and I did not access the platform during last

        • Multilingual Newsletter

          Hi, Can Zoho campaign give the possibility to create and send a campaign in English and French, giving the possibility to the person receiving it to switch from default language chosen for a campaign? thnaks

        • Re: constant rejected email form and to my account

          Hi, have had several rejection when I sent an email to Zoho account as well as other people have sent emails to my as your health Centre they have account and all aspects have been ejected. i wonder why the email are rejecting to and from. If you see

        • Top Menu Disappeared from Blog Page

          Hi, Our top menu disappeared at Blog Posts page. However, it's still visible any other page on the website. I attached two screenshots, so it can be understood clearly. How can we bring back top menu? Thanks, K.

        • Add Comment/Notes to Each Action in Zoho Flow for Internal Documentation

          It would be great if Zoho Flow could introduce a field to every action where we can make an internal note about why we are doing something with a specific action. This is especially helpful if more than one person from the organization handles automation

        • Questions about To Do

          1. I created a To Do note on Android and there is a line sorting option in the options drop down menu. But I didn’t find such an option in the PC client. I really need this option. 2. Why is there no search in To Do on the PC client? 3. Why is there no

        • Tip of the week 03 - Sending emails in batches

          Today's marketers not only want their email marketing to be efficient, but also smart. For an email campaign, you may think you have all the essential elements for lead conversion—a big mailing list, an attractive template design, and the most-engaging message content, but after hitting the ‘send’ button, you may not get the expected conversions. Wondering why? Here’s one of the major reasons. Many marketers miss out on sending the email campaign the right way. Did you know that you should not be

        • Sites Speed and Performance Grades

          I noticed that there are no recent inquiries or complaints about load speed or performance issues with Zoho Sites websites. However, I wanted to understand what Zoho has done to ensure that speed remains optimized, images are compressed and lazy loaded,

        • Feature Request - Configurable Payment Icons + Pay Now link in email.

          The PAY NOW buttons (icons) on invoices are really small. It would be great if we could make that a big, colored icon. Better would be to add a button to emails as well. 

        • Survey end date extension

          Hi, Is there any way to extend the end date of my survey? I needed more time in finding respondents that is why I need to extend the end date of my survey. Help. Thanks

        • AI read notes or explanation

          It would be such a great feature to have AI voices be able to read our Notes or Explanation If not having the AI speak the notes at run time, how about a feature where inside of Zoho Show you can have it look at all the notes of all the slides and have

        • Help with technical problem

          Hello, I want to make it so I can say how many days are left until a date is reached, and for it to give me a status on if its VALID, EXPIRED, or ABOUT TO EXPIRE, but the problem I'm having is I want it to be compared to the date every day, not just the

        • How do I redeem credits?

          How do I redeem credits that are shown in billing section?

        • Managing Prepaid Hours for Consulting

          We are a consulting firm that bills clients a flat upfront annual fee plus an hourly rate and offer a discount for pre-paying a block of hours. Hours that surpass the pre-paid block are billed monthly at the normal rate. If there are any pre-paid hours remaining at the end of the project they are banked for future use. I'm not seeing a method of doing this in Projects/Books/CRM... thoughts?

        • Email Verification Tool

          Hi there, just came across this tool for Google Sheets https://www.producthunt.com/posts/email-verification-tool-for-google-sheets-2 How would one do to automatically verify/validate email addresses entered on the CRM in a similar way?

        • Get DealID when Deal Created?

          Hi What's the easiest way to grab the DealID when a deal is created?  I want to add it to a custom field on the deal. Thanks

        • ZOHO Widget SDK not loading in html

          I have this code below, I have imported the widgetsdk however I get the error shown in the image, I have tried many different ways of importing and initiating the function ZOHO but nothing is working. can someone explain what I'm doing wrong, if I am

        • Enhancements to Zoho Corp Help Center "Team Requests" View

          Dear Zoho Team, I hope this message finds you well. The ability to view both my tickets and my team’s tickets in the Zoho Corp Help Center is a fantastic feature, especially as the focal point for Zoho in our organization. However, we’ve encountered a

        • Allow Multiple Scheduled Appointments with Zoho Support

          Dear Zoho Team, I hope you're doing well. First, thank you for introducing the option to schedule support calls via the Zoho CRM booking link. This has been a fantastic enhancement, eliminating the need for back-and-forth coordination when scheduling

        • Projectwise budget ---

          Can we have a Project wise subject in addition to the Monthly, and quarterly ACCOUNT LEVEL budget?

        • Next Page