Using an API to SMS Enable Bespoke CRM Systems
A BulkSMS.com Case Study

NumberWorks ‘n Words uses an API to SMS enable their bespoke CRM system

NumberWorks ‘n Words is one of the world’s longest-running tuition providers, offering after-school lessons to children between the ages of 5 and 16. NumberWorks ‘n Words was started in New Zealand in 1984, and currently delivers more than 120,000 face to face lessons every term to students in Australia, Philippines, England and Singapore.

As a business that caters to the individual needs of children, regular and immediate communication between parents and the tutors is vital to ensure that parents are aware of any important notifications or reminders and that each child attends all relevant tutoring sessions. NumberWorks ‘n Words turned to SMS to facilitate quick and easy communications with parents.

With the need for SMS identified, NumberWorks ‘n Words required an SMS platform that would integrate with their bespoke Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software and would allow for automated SMS messages to be sent as and when needed. Ralph Wesseling owner of NumberWorks ‘n Words says that they “looked at a number of SMS providers, and tried out a few. Not all were reliable. Our requirements were that the SMS API be affordable, reliable and most importantly, the API integration needed to be simple. The BulkSMS API met all our criteria.”

The SMS enabled CRM system is available for use by all of the NumberWorks ‘n Words franchise operators and allows them to schedule, change or delete any of the SMS messages directly from the software with minimal effort. “We have at least half of our franchisees regularly using SMS to communicate with our parents.” says Ralph.

Lauren Nalty, owner and manager of the Leichhardt NumberWorks ‘n Words franchise in Sydney, Australia started making use of the SMS integration in 2015 in an effort to “keep up with the times.” She believes that “nowadays everyone receives SMS messages for important information such as bank notifications and doctor’s appointments, so we thought it would be a great channel to send important information to the parents of our students.”

Since the implementation of the SMS API into the CRM system, Lauren has found that the number of no-shows has decreased. “We also found that SMS reminders have saved us money and time, because the parents are reminded of their appointments and term start dates,” says Lauren.

“Automated SMS systems are growing daily in popularity and it is great to see the ease at which the BulkSMS API is being integrated into bespoke systems. This use case is another example of where integration into a pre-existing platform means that the automated SMS can easily triumph over manual email and telephone communications.” says Dr. Pieter Streicher, managing director of BulkSMS.com.