One has a couple of options when presented with the knowledge that a challenge lies over the next horizon. The first, and most prudent, choice is to determine how you want to posture yourself and your dealership to meet that challenge, define the required actions and associated timeline to meet your end state, and assemble the necessary resources to achieve your objective. The other choice is to fire up Netflix, order a pizza, and let the chips fall where they may because if you wait until the last minute to do something, that that thing only takes a minute. The IRS has not called you about a single tax return that you filed at 11 PM on April 14th after you spent 72 sleepless hours crunching numbers and frantically searching for receipts, so if it ain’t broke, why fix it? We are not going to tell you which method is best, but we will assume that you are a fan of the prudent option (if not, please stop reading…Netflix is not going to watch itself). Therefore, let us take a couple of minutes to talk about how you can prepare you and your dealership for the A2P-10DLC deadline.
Application-to-Person, Ten Digit Long Code (A2P-10DLC) is more than just a painful abbreviation that one would expect to find in a nuclear submarine’s technical manual, it is a system that major US cellular carriers are implementing to validate the message’s sender as a trusted source. This change has the potential to radically impact your SMS campaigns. Believe it or not, US carriers consider ten digits as “short code.” Previously, long code text was a realm reserved for person-to-person text for long code texts have “low volume throughput and lack desirable security standards.”[1] Naturally, unsavory characters exploited this vulnerability and convinced many a poor soul that now is an excellent time to buy gift cards from a Best Buy in the Bahamas. In response, carriers began to “block and throttle” long code traffic, prompting a mass migration to short code text.[2]
To reduce both spamming and the temptation to wire some guy $500 to buy gift cards from the Kingston Best Buy (so, so tempting), US carriers are directing that businesses register with the A2P-10DLC system to certify themselves as trusted senders. The system launched on April 1st this year and businesses have until June 1st to complete their registration. After June 1st, US carriers will begin to restrict SMS traffic that lacks A2P-10DLC certification. This is problematic for businesses who rely upon SMS campaigns for customer outreach because they run the risk of their marketing campaign texts joining the supposed great deals on PlayStation 5s in Jamaica in a morose netherworld of text messages to nowhere.
The good news is that you have time between now and when the A2P-10DLC hammer drops. With a quick Google search, you can find multiple companies who can help you register or search YouTube for a clip that walks you through the process if you are a DIY type of person. Regardless of your preference, you can act now and save yourself an awkward conversation with your general manager on June 2nd. If the internet can help us change our own serpentine belt and install our own laminate floor, it can help you register for A2P-10DLC.
In closing, you have a choice as to how you want to approach A2P-10DLC registration. As a species, we have managed to land a man on the moon, reduce all known knowledge into a device that fits in our pocket, and make several movies about tornados with sharks in them. Clearly, humanity has accomplished some amazing things (come on, make Sharknado 7 already!). All of these marquis achievements have one thing in common: people understood their goals and aggressively attacked problems when they surfaced. More than likely, the fundamental goal of your dealership is to make money, and to that end, you need to keep customers walking through your doors. You can continue to do so if you register for A2P-10DLC now and avoid your SMS marketing campaigns running a 100-meter dash in a 90-meter room on June 2nd. So register today to protect your marketing campaign’s momentum because, like a tornado packed full of sharks, June 2nd is coming whether we want it to or not. We promise that both Netflix and Papa John’s will patiently wait for you to make the smart play and prepare for A2P-10DLC.
[1] https://www.openmarket.com/blog/what-is-a2p-10-dlc/
[2] Ibid.
