Only the Best for Your SMS: Airship and Tier 1 Aggregators

With a 98% open rate and 45% response rate, SMS is one of the most engaging channels for communicating with customers on mobile. However, not all text messages are delivered equally.  Delivering messages at top speed and performance can directly affect your customer experience and your bottom line. That is where SMS aggregators come in and why it is so important for brands to make sure they are working with the top tier.

At Airship, we want to make sure that you deliver the fastest, most engaging messages for your SMS marketing strategy, so we know how important it is to make sure that brands are using the right aggregator to send their text messaging. Here’s why and how you should use Tier 1 aggregators and Airship’s SMS to get the most out of your text messages.

What Is a Tier 1 Aggregator?

SMS aggregators are the conduit between the carrier networks, such as Verizon and AT&T, and the software providers, such as Airship. Aggregators have direct connections to the networks so that brands don’t have to forge those relationships themselves, but can still make sure text messages make it to their customers, no matter their network.  

In the U.S., aggregators are considered Tier 1 when they connect directly to the top five networks in the U.S.: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and US Cellular. Worldwide, criteria for Tier 1 varies based on local carriers and performance requirements.

Why Does Tier 1 Matter?

Through their direct relationships with the top carriers, Tier 1 Aggregators are able to provide top speed, performance and data protection.  

• Throughput and Speed: Tier 1 Aggregators obtain the highest throughput between the software providers and the carriers, which allows brands to reduce the multiple message requests from customers that can increase cost and make a less than ideal customer experience.  
• Performance: The direct relationships with networks also deliver the most stable connectivity and maximizes deliverability, creating an engaging and worry-free customer experience.
• Data Protection: Only aggregators and carriers see your customer data, making it more secure and protected.

Airship Brings the Power of Tier 1 Aggregators to Life

Adding the speed, performance and data protection of a Tier 1 Aggregator with the coordinated, integrated and intelligent capabilities of Airship’s SMS technology creates a highly efficient and quality SMS product for brands.  

• Cost Efficiency: Through Airship, text messages are only sent when SMS is the best channel for the brand and customer, and they are sent fast enough that you’ll reduce multiple requests from your customer.
• Global Scalability: Airship’s platform can support the global scale of enterprise companies and can provide top performance across many countries when partnered with a Tier 1 Aggregator.
• Convenience: Brands have direct access to the best deliverability through the easy to use Airship interface and platform.  

Using a Tier 1 Aggregator for your SMS marketing can make all the difference. You don’t want to compromise when it comes to using this personal messaging channel to build relationships with your customers.

Have more questions about aggregators and SMS marketing? Don’t worry, we got you. Contact at us today and we’ll connect you with an SMS expert.