How Twilio’s Personalized Support keeps Internet Brands Demandforce PRM ahead of the compliance curve

Challenge

Internet Brands needed personalized support services to help guide them through the application-to-person 10-digit long code (A2P 10DLC) registration process for their 17,000+ customers for their patient communication solution, Demandforce. 10DLC phone numbers allow for a local calling and messaging experience, which creates customer trust and improves deliverability. Getting all customers registered was vital to their success.

Solution

Investing in Twilio Personalized Support was a critical step in completing the A2P 10DLC registration process. With the addition of a Technical Account Manager (TAM) and team from Twilio,  Demandforce registered phone numbers for 17,000+ accounts since August 31st, 2023 with minimal disruption. 

Since the early 2000s, businesses have used Short Message Service (SMS) to send cost-effective text messages to customers’ mobile devices, offering marketing promotions, reminders, and support. Despite the rise of omnichannel communication, SMS remains popular due to its speed, high open rates and deliverability, and ubiquity. 

However, the rise in A2P texting led to spam and privacy concerns, which led carriers to impose stricter regulations that make it safer for consumers but more complex for businesses. Plus, U.S. wireless carriers now require businesses sending messages from 10-digit long codes (10DLC) to register and provide use case information for those numbers. 

Today, smart independent software vendors (ISVs) partner with CPaaS companies to navigate evolving regulations and carrier requirements for effective messaging. Enter Demandforce, a company acquired by Internet Brands in 2016.

Tackling A2P 10DLC registration at scale for ISVs

Founded in 2003, Demandforce is a customer communications solution for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the healthcare industry to help clinics and medical practices attract and retain new patients. Demandforce and its white-labels now serve more than 17,000 customers spanning nine different verticals that all use their transformative solution to increase revenues by making sure appointments are fulfilled, and communications are seamless.

Given the importance of reliable communication, Demandforce relies heavily on Twilio’s cloud communications platform to power SMS, email, and voice interactions for customers. In a single month, Demandforce sends 25-30 million texts, a similar number of emails, and 10 million voice calls.

“Our solution allows for a lot of customization by the business owners, where they can actually choose the cadence at which they want to send different kinds of communications,” said Tushar Hegde, Senior Product Manager at Internet Brands. “It's very customizable and it's very compliant.”

However, as Demandforce expanded its services and communication volume, it encountered a significant challenge: the mandatory transition to the A2P 10DLC system. This change, implemented by mobile carriers to combat spam and ensure legitimate business communications, required businesses to register all their SMS campaigns.

The A2P 10DLC registration process is no simple task, particularly for companies managing thousands of customers. It involves registering each business entity with mobile carriers, assigning them specific phone numbers, and ensuring that all messaging complies with regulations. For Internet Brands, the sheer volume of registrations posed a logistical nightmare. Any errors in registration could lead to communication delays, message filtering, or even blocked messages, affecting the ability of these small businesses to operate smoothly.

For the thousands of small businesses that rely on Demandforce to confirm appointments, send reminders, and communicate with patients, even a minor disruption in communication could lead to missed opportunities and unhappy businesses and their customers. The company knew they needed the right partner to guide them through this complex transition. That partner was Twilio.

Twilio’s Personalized Support provides expertise and peace of mind

Internet Brands needed to mitigate the risk of service disruptions, which could have devastating effects on Demandforce’s customers. According to Romit Nath, Internet Brands Director of Technical Program Management, the biggest challenge was reaching out to manually get additional information—such as Employer Identification Numbers (EINs)—from their customers. “It was really hard doing that outreach,” said Nath. “Some customers were suspicious and didn’t want to share that information.”

This is where Twilio's Personalized Support  team became essential. Twilio's Technical Account Manager (TAM) stepped in to provide hands-on guidance throughout the process. The TAM works closely with Demandforce’s technical teams to navigate the complexities of registering such a large customer base.

With the help of Twilio’s Personalized Support , Internet Brands received timely responses to technical inquiries and proactive advice on avoiding pitfalls during the registration process. The Twilio team went above and beyond, offering innovative solutions to streamline registration and prevent bottlenecks. For instance, when Internet Brands faced delays in getting carrier approvals or A2P registration status for certain businesses, the Twilio team introduced automated workflows to reduce manual intervention and speed up the registration process.

Missed appointments disappear with intelligent customer communications

Reliable communication is the backbone of the value proposition offered by Demandforce. Whether it’s a dental practice confirming a patient’s appointment or an auto shop reminding a customer about an upcoming service, these communications drive customer retention and business growth for Demandforce users. 

Any disruption in message delivery could lead to missed appointments and lost revenue for Demandforce customers. That’s why minimizing delivery failures and ensuring reliable communication channels are non-negotiable.

Twilio’s solutions such as our intelligent alerts and messaging insights dashboard became indispensable tools for Internet Brands and Demandforce. These features allowed their teams to monitor message delivery in real-time and proactively identify issues. Twilio’s intelligent alerts also flagged potential problems—such as spikes in failed messages—before they became critical issues, allowing Internet Brands to take immediate action to resolve developing problems.

Moreover, Twilio’s messaging insights provided detailed analytics on message performance, giving insight into delivery rates, message failures, and trends across different carriers. This data is essential for ensuring that the company’s overall message delivery remains reliable, even as their communication volume continues to grow.

Working together to ensure reliable communications at scale

The partnership between Internet Brands’s  Demandforce and Twilio highlights the importance of personalized, expert support in today’s complex communications landscape. As Internet Brands faced the monumental challenge of registering 17,000 businesses for A2P 10DLC, Twilio’s hands-on guidance and technical expertise were crucial to their success. 

As the Demandforce product leadership continues to innovate and explore  new communication features like RCS read receipts, their partnership with Twilio remains a cornerstone of their ability to deliver value and maintain trust with their customers. With Twilio’s personalized support, Internet Brands’s Demandforce is well-equipped to meet the evolving needs of the businesses they serve, ensuring that communications remain seamless, reliable, and impactful.