Inbound SMS – Receive SMS from your Customers

Inbound SMS is the most reliable way to receive large volumes of incoming SMS messages

Do you want to build your customer database? Run an SMS competition? Or have your clients, staff or students send you SMS messages? Inbound SMS is the most flexible and reliable solution for you.

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What is an SMS Gateway?

SMS Gateway

Essentially, an SMS Gateway is an online platform that allows you to send bulk SMS messages at the push of a button. Put simply, it acts as a conduit between the user and a telecommunications network and allows us to provide a reliable and effective SMS service to Australian businesses.

SMS Gateway Australia

As many of us have learned the hard way, cheap overseas providers come with a hidden cost of poor customer service and unreliable delivery. Can you and your business really afford wasted time and missed opportunities? directSMS has been providing an affordable SMS service since 2001.

We’re based in Sydney and are relied on to deliver a quality SMS service to thousands of businesses, large and small. Your data stays in Australia ensuring you are in complete compliance with the new privacy laws.

We send all SMS messages through the local telecommunications providers including Telstra, Optus and Vodafone. We do not take any chances with the delivery of your messages. That’s why we’ve been an SMS provider of choice in Australia for over a decade.

Is directSMS an SMS provider?

Yes, in some ways we are an SMS provider but we’re also much more. Our SMS Gateway is a fully inclusive service which connects you to your customers and produces outstanding results for SMS marketing campaigns, appointment reminders, service updates and internal staff communications.

So while we do provide an SMS service, we also offer so much more to help you engage with your customers as well as measure and track your campaign performance.

is trusted by…

More than 8,231 Small to Large Australian Businesses and counting

Inbound SMS services can be used to:

Run mobile marketing campaigns listing a single contact number each time you send an SMS broadcast
Build your customer database by asking clients to SMS your inbound number with their contact details and their service/product preferences
Run customer service or employee outreach programs. The classic feedback line
Implement keyword based marketing campaigns. Here you can segment your database or build a new one and add some interactivity into the mix
Ensure you are 100% compliant with Australia’s anti-spam legislation by providing automatic opt-out processing. Any time a STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE message is received, the system will add the sending number to your blacklist

How Does It Work?

Inbound SMS numbers are Virtual Mobile Numbers. They enable your SMS account to receive SMS as well as send them. It works just like a normal mobile number, however instead of replies going to a hand-set, they are routed to our platform.

You lease one or more mobile numbers from directSMS. Choose from standard numbers or a range of ‘reserved numbers’, which are the easiest to remember.

Use your phone or tablet to send bulk messages through directSMS

When an SMS message is received on your Inbound SMS number, you can choose to:

View the message online
Receive the message as an email in real time
Forwarded to a URL via a HTTP GET call. Great for building apps or automation around SMS interactions
Retrieved by one of our APIs.
Processed by our system to do Keyword based campaigns, auto repsonse or opt-in/opt-out marketing

Can You Do MMS?

Yes, but you need an MMS enabled inbound number. You can have a look at our Inbound MMS service to see what you can do with MMS.

How Do Keywords Work?

We can configure your dedicated inbound SMS number to automatically respond to various messages sent by your customers. Here are some examples for a motor dealership.

If the customer sends the words “TEST DRIVE” to your dedicated number, the system can be configured to:

Add the customer to a specific group in your directSMS address book
Send an email containing the message content to a specific email address
Reply back to the customer with a predefined message. E.g. “Thanks for booking your test drive at XYZ Motors. One of our consultants will contact you shortly. You can reach us on ….”

If the customer sends the words “INFO GSR” to your dedicated number, the system can be configured to:

Add the customer to another group in your directSMS address book
Send an email containing the message content to another email address
Reply back to the customer with a predefined message. E.g. “Thanks for your interest in our new GSR model. One of our consultants will contact you shortly. You can reach us on ….”

With the high penetration of Smart Phones, you can include links back to your mobile optimised website and keep clients engaged that way.

The options are only limited by your imagination.

Do I Really Need My Own Dedicated Number?

If you just want customers to be able to reply back to the messages you send them, then NO. You don’t need a dedicated number. You don’t need your own inbound number. This is what our 2-way SMS system is great at doing.

Our 2-way system will let you send messages and then will correlate all the replies back to their original messages and notify you when a reply has been received. This is great for confirming appointments and similar applications.

If you want customers to be able to message you without you first without you contacting them, then YES. You will need your own number.

Benefits Of Inbound SMS

Receive any volume of Incoming SMS messages quickly and efficiently
Messages can be received reliably, then routed and shared easily (as opposed to receiving messages on a regular mobile)
No need to install any software or have a dedicated handset to receive SMS
Use your existing web browser or email application to read the messages and interact with your customers or staff
Makes it easy for customers to interact with you any time, any place
Far more cost effective than other methods of inbound communication, such as a call centre
Full compliance with anti-spam legislation by providing opt-in and opt-out for all your marketing campaigns

How Does Pricing Work?

We offer very competitive rates and do not charge for the incoming SMS messages. You pay the same low fee whether you receive 100 or 100,000 messages a month.

Package	Type of Number	Monthly Fee
Standard	Any numbers that do not meet the criteria for Gold or Silver are classified as Bronze.	$29.00
Silver	Five of the same (e.g. 999991 or 199999) Five in sequence (e.g. 245678, 456782, or 287654) Identical pairs within triplets (e.g. 004008, or 400800), one identical and one in sequence (e.g. 444789, or 345777), or mirror image (e.g. 468864) Three non-identical (e.g. 447700) or three in sequence (e.g. 232425, or 090807)	$59.00
Gold	Six of the same (e.g. 999999) Six in sequence (e.g. 234567, or 765432) Two identical (e.g. 123123) or two double (e.g. 444666) Three identical (e.g. 454545)	$99.00

Package	Standard
Type of Number	Any numbers that do not meet the criteria for Gold or Silver are classified as Bronze.
Monthly Fee	$29.00
Package	Silver
Type of Number	Five of the same (e.g. 999991 or 199999) Five in sequence (e.g. 245678, 456782, or 287654) Identical pairs within triplets (e.g. 004008, or 400800), one identical and one in sequence (e.g. 444789, or 345777), or mirror image (e.g. 468864) Three non-identical (e.g. 447700) or three in sequence (e.g. 232425, or 090807)
Monthly Fee	$59.00
Package	Gold
Type of Number	Six of the same (e.g. 999999) Six in sequence (e.g. 234567, or 765432) Two identical (e.g. 123123) or two double (e.g. 444666) Three identical (e.g. 454545)
Monthly Fee	$99.00

Answers To Common Questions:

Do you offer discounted pricing at all?

What is the minimum contract length?

What happens when my customers call this number?

Can I forward the messages received to a group of people?

Can I reply back to customers who SMS this number?

What is auto opt-out processing?

What will customers pay when they send SMS to my dedicated number?

What happens if a customer sends an MMS to my dedicated number?

For more information and answers to other frequently asked questions, please see the FAQ page.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

Create your 100% free trial account (no credit card required!)

We’ll send an SMS with your password and an Email with instructions on how to get started.

You’ll have access to all of our great standard features with your free trial account – like our online SMS system, usage reports, delivery receipts, and email to SMS functionality PLUS our short tutorial videos and help.

Start sending SMS!

Every Free Trial account gets Free Credit so you can really try directSMS for your business. PLUS, if you run out of credit, get in touch and we can always add more for you.

Start Today! FREE TRIAL

IS TRUSTED BY…

More than 8,231 Small to Large Australian Businesses and counting