The importance of the alpha-sender name for SMS messaging

To ensure your SMS messaging attracts customers and promotes your brand, the sender must be immediately identifiable from the message. This is where the alpha-name comes in. It’s the sender’s name that the recipient sees on their smartphone, even if they haven’t opened the message. The name helps the client instantly understand who has contacted them.

The pros and cons of using an alpha-name

Branded SMS offer several advantages to a company:

• A respectable image — The sender’s name lends text messages a more substantial appearance.
• Brand promotion — By sending SMS, you are advertising your company.
• Confidence that advertising has reached its target. A branded message provides almost a 100% guarantee that it will be read by people interested in your services.
• Customer safety. The presence of an alpha-name confirms the sender’s legality, as it undergoes mandatory verification during registration. Therefore, users do not need to fear fraud, when receiving SMS from unknown numbers.
• Company data protection. By using an alpha name, you can hide your real phone number, protecting personal information from unwanted contacts.

One downside is that clients cannot respond to an SMS indicating the sender’s identifier. To solve this problem, include your contact details in the text message.

Alpha name: main requirements

When composing an alpha-sender name, bear in mind that the minimum number of characters should not be less than three, and the maximum should not exceed eleven. The title may look like this:

• only Latin letters, for example, a brand name;
• only numbers — usually used for service messages;
• mixed option — letters, numbers, hyphens, spaces, dots, underscores.

You cannot use Cyrillic script, obscene words, or common names. Also prohibited are phone numbers and names of cellular operators.

How to register an alpha name

To obtain an identifier, register on the Decision Telecom website and follow these steps:

1. Contact our operator through a feedback form.
2. Apply for an alpha-name. If you need to arrange several names (dynamic names), submit a separate application for each one.
3. Pay the bill.
4. Wait for a positive response. Mobile operators approve the name within 14-20 days.

If an SMS mailing will be carried out on behalf of an official company or trademark, you need to present permission from its owner. This is not our requirement but one imposed by mobile operators and it cannot be bypassed. Operators will allow you to use an alpha name only after studying documents. Once it is received, you can confidently send SMS mailings on behalf of your brand.