You know about the wonders of SMS marketing, so you invest in it. But you learn the hard truth – you cannot send promotional SMS to DND numbers.

Businesses cannot send promotional SMS messages to DND numbers because the Telecommunication Regulatory Agency of India (TRAI) prohibits it. 

Since that reduces the potential number of customers that businesses can reach via SMS.

What do you do?

We want to show you not 1 but 3 ways to get your promotional messages to your intended audience. 

So if you want to broaden your marketing reach and boost your sales volume, keep reading.

SMSCountry is the best bulk SMS service to execute your promotional SMS campaign. Learn more about our SMS services.

What is a DND number?

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A DND number is marked as “do not disturb” contact. This set of numbers does not receive promotional bulk messages. Or do they?

Marking these numbers as DND prevents these contacts from receiving any marketing or promotional messages.

TRAI decides which numbers are in this category. Even for the non-DND numbers, TRAI only allows sending marketing or promotional messages between 9 AM and 9 PM.

Businesses have to be careful in sending promotional SMS to non-DND numbers. The business gets fined if six complaints get raised against it.

With all this in mind, you must be wondering how it is possible to get promotional messages delivered to DND numbers. Let us show you the process: 

The process to send promotional SMS to DND numbers 

Although the widely held notion is that DND numbers cannot receive promotional SMS messages, there still are ways around this. 

Here are two ways by which you can send promotional SMS to DND numbers:

1. Explicit permission: 

You can send promotional SMS to a person if they sign up or give you consent. This is possible if the person becomes your customer by purchasing something at your online or physical store. 

This way, even if the number gets registered as a DND contact, you can send them promotional SMSes. You have to make them sign your consent form, thus giving you explicit permission to message them.

2. Send via service channel:

You can send promotional SMS to DND numbers via the service channel. This is advisable if the user is your customer. It means they have given you implicit permission. But it is illegal if you use this to message contacts who are not your customers. In such a scenario, you may be liable to pay a fine between INR 25,000 and INR 2,75,000 if any user complains.

3. Send to partially blocked numbers: 

Some mobile numbers are registered with the NDNC (National Do Not Call) list as partially blocked. They can receive promotional messages that are in any of the following categories:

• Finance
• Real estate
• Education
• Health
• Consumer goods and automobiles
• Communication
• Tourism and leisure 

So if your business falls into any of these categories, you are in luck.

Now you know how to deliver your promotional SMS to customers with DND numbers. There are other TRAI regulations governing promotional SMSes. We have outlined them below for your information.

SMSCountry is the best bulk SMS service to execute your promotional SMS campaign. Learn more about our SMS services.

TRAI rules for promotional SMS

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As a business owner who uses bulk SMS to promote your goods and services, you must know the SMS regulations guiding promotional SMS communications.

This way, you can effectively promote your business with SMS while avoiding any DND promotional SMS issues with the authorities.

Here are the TRAI regulations for promotional SMS communications:

• Only send promotional SMS to mobile numbers that are your registered users. These users must have your opt-in clause to receive occasional promotional messages.
• Users who opt-in to receive promotional messages from you must renew their preferences once every six months (180 days). If they do not renew it by sending the opt-in message, you cannot send them promotional SMS after six months.
• You can only send promotional SMS to DND numbers who opted in via the explicit category. The DLT system will only deliver discount offers and general promotional SMS to non-DND numbers.
• Network providers will pay a promotional SMS charge of Re. 0.05. For each promotional SMS sent by a registered telemarketer, the “sending” network provider will pay this amount to the “receiving” network. This is regardless of whether they send the bulk SMS to DND or non-DND numbers
• It is illegal to send a user on the DND/NDNC list a marketing SMS (when they have not given consent). The recipients can file a complaint against the senders/companies.
• If any marketer or business gets reported, it is answerable to the TRAI. They would have to present the users’ opt-in details or pay a fine between INR 25,000 to INR 2,75,000.
• Promotional sender IDs must be in six digits.
• Businesses can send promotional messages between 9 AM and 9 PM only.
• Promotional messages can include an alphanumeric identifier. They must be in the format AB-CDDDD, where:
  • ‘A’ stands for the code allotted to the access provider
  • ‘B’ stands for the service area
  • ‘C’ is any digit between 0 and 7
  • DDDDD is a 5-digit unique code assigned to the company by the access provider

Follow these rules and regulations to avoid inconveniences in sending promotional SMS to DND numbers.

Send SMS with SMSCountry to reach more people

Now you know how to send promotional SMS to DND numbers and get more customers within your reach. But do you know that SMSCountry can make your SMS process even better?

We have the best support team to help you get started with your SMS journey.