Customer Guide: Registration Form Best Practices

1. Your Name

The person completing this form should be an authorized user on your FluentStream account.

2. Your Email

This should be the corresponding email address for the authorized user on your FluentStream account.

3.  Legal Company Name

The company name recorded exactly how it is filed with the IRS.

4.  DBA or Brand Name

Name as it appears your FluentStream Invoice if different than the Legal Company Name. If you don’t have a DBA company name, you may leave this field blank.

5.  Legal Form of Company

The legal form of the company is your brand entity type and should match how you file with the IRS.  Use the flowchart below if you’re unsure. It’s important to note that the upstream carriers will not approve a campaign without an EIN.  Any businesses operating as sole proprietors without an EIN can use toll free numbers to send SMS.  Reach out to FluentStream for more information.

6.  Country of Business Registration

For the majority of FluentStream customers, this Is USA.

7.  Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Your company’s 9 digit EIN (Tax ID Number) should be consistent with your IRS registration.

8.  Street Address, City, State, ZIP

Enter your company’s physical address as it’s recorded on IRS documents.

9.  Website URL/Address

Your primary business website will be referenced and validated as part of the approval process. The compliance parties will reference your business’s web presence to ensure legitimacy and confirm customer communication methods.  

If you do not have a website, you can use a social media page for this field, although LinkedIn profiles are discouraged. 

The link entered below needs to be active.  Domain landing pages or “coming soon” pages will be rejected by the compliance houses.

10.  Stock Symbol

If you chose “Public” for “Legal Form of Company”, your company's stock symbol and the stock exchange fields are required.

11.  Business Vertical

Select the business vertical that best represents your industry. The business vertical is essentially the industry category your business falls into. Here are some common business verticals: Retail & eCommerce, Healthcare, Financial Services, Real Estate, Travel & Hospitality, Education, Transportation & Logistics, Non-Profit, Media & Entertainment, Technology, Government, Telecommunications, Professional Services, Automotive, etc.

13.  Campaign Name

A “campaign” is the use case of your outgoing SMS messages.  Enter the general description of the SMS purpose as your campaign name.

For the majority of our customers, we recommend entering a “mixed use campaign” which allows for up to 5 use case types.

14.  Use Case

Refer to the types of use cases provided by the Campaign Registry.

For customers using SMS for multiple purposes ex: customer care, customer notifications, internal messaging, and one-off customer communications should select “Mixed (low volume)” or “Mixed” depending on how many SMS messages are sent per month.  Any account sending less than 2,000 mixed-use outbound messages per month is considered “Mixed (low volume)” and any account sending more than that should select “Mixed”.

15.  Campaign Description

This field is used to give a clear and detailed description of the campaign’s intent. The description should include who you want to reach (e.g., customers, prospects, marketing leads, etc.), and why you are sending out messages (e.g., updates about projects, upcoming promotions, scheduling coordination, etc.). It is important that the campaign description matches the sample messages provided later in the form.

There is a minimum of 40 characters required for the Campaign Description (i.e.,short notes such as “customer service” will be rejected).

16.  Additional Campaign Details - Required Selections

When establishing a campaign with TCR, your company must show that your SMS outreach meets industry requirements and compliance standards. To reduce complexity for our customers, we’ve consolidated this section of the registration into a multi-choice checklist. To complete this section, please check each box if your company is in compliance with and / or consistently delivering these communications. 

While not all fields are required, the fields we recommend below will greatly influence your registration success. We’ve provided examples and guidelines to help you confirm your business’ online presence is compliant.

Each required item and any selected optional items will be validated by the external vetting authorities. You may need to make changes to your company’s website or personnel workflows in order to adhere to 10DLC regulations.

The following messaging features listed below are required in order to receive approval.

• Subscriber Opt-in (required)
  The customers you message to must provide consent to receiving SMS from your business. You can collect opt-ins in a few different ways, such as:

  • Website: On your company website, customers enter their contact information and check a box confirming that they wish to receive SMS from your company.The privacy policy must be clearly stated on this sign-up page.

    Example Opt-in Language - Check box: “By checking this box, you agree to receive text messages from Always be Calling about upcoming appointments and delivery reminders. Messaging and data rates may vary. See privacy policy for more details.”

  • Online Appointment: If a customer books an online appointment via your website, you provide an option for them to receive appointment reminders via SMS. The privacy policy should be accessible from this landing page.

    Example opt-in language - Customer sign up: “Text JOIN to 1234 to receive updates. Messaging and data rates may apply. See privacy policy for more details”

  • Verbally: If this is your company’s collection method, you’ll provide an example script in the “Call to Action / Message Flow” field below. The privacy policy notification must be included in the sample script to pass vetting requirements.

• Subscriber Opt-Out (required)
  Customers must have a clear way to opt out of text messages once subscribed. This frequently takes the form of notices at the end of an SMS. Example: "You can opt out of our messages at any time by replying with 'STOP' or 'UNSUBSCRIBE’.” The opt-out requirements will be validated by the external vetting authorities.

• Privacy Policy (required)
  Your company’s website must include a privacy policy clearly outlining how your business manages customer information. When updating your privacy policy, it’s important to address the following:

  • Data collection practices
  • How the data will be used
  • Customer rights regarding their data

Privacy policy statements must be included on any page where a customer provides their contact information, including:

• SMS communication Opt-in pages
• “Contact us” or support pages
• A sample privacy policy statement is included here for your reference: "We collect and use your phone number to send you SMS messages about your account, promotions, and other relevant information. Your data is stored securely and will not be shared with third parties. You have the right to opt-out at any time by following the instructions provided in each message."

17.  Additional Campaign Details - Campaign and Content Attributes

The following messaging features listed below are not required but must be selected if your brand utilizes any of these options. 

Additional website and texting use case details. Check all that apply:

• Embedded Link
  Check this box if your campaign will contain an embedded link. You can use a link shortener with custom domains.
• Subscriber Help
  Check this box if a subscriber can receive assistance by messaging HELP.
• Embedded Phone Number
  Check this box if the campaign directs customers to call a phone number that is not the company’s support number.
• Number Porting
  Check this box if you are porting your SMS number to FluentStream from another provider.
• Age-Gated Content
  Check this box if your message content includes age-gated material as defined by Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) guidelines.
• Direct Lending or Loan Arrangement
  Check this box if your message content includes lending or loan information.

18.  Sample SMS Messages

Provide 1-2 examples of sample messages that your company is sending its customers. The samples provided should be in alignment with the campaign description and details selected above, including opt-out language. Each message must be a minimum of 20 characters.

19.  Call to Action/ Message Flow

This is the section that receives the highest amount of campaign failure rates, so be sure to read the following content thoroughly and make any necessary changes to your business’ website or opt-in process.

The main objective of the Message Flow (or Call to Action) is to ensure that the end user gives consent to receive text messages and fully understands the nature of the communication. The information you put into your registration form should be a step by step process of the messaging you use to get consent from your customers to send them SMS.  The Message Flow must also be accessible to a third-party reviewer for verification purposes.  

The details of the Call to Action Entry must include reference to the following:

• Program or product description
• Identity of the organization or individual sending the message
• Opt-in: It’s mandatory that your customers opt-in to receiving SMS messages from your company. In your Message Flow statement provide clear language about opt-in and any associated fees or charges for receiving messages. 
• Privacy Policy: Be sure to include a reference to your company’s privacy policy and how it’s displayed to customers during the opt-in step
• Opt-out: How a customer can opt-out of communication
• Customer care contact information: How a customer can contact your business for help
• Confirmation Message

Example Language: Message Flow on Website

Program Description:
Sign up to receive SMS updates, reminders, and special offers from [Business Name] directly to your phone.

Opt-In Process:
Enter your phone number below to subscribe to text message updates from [Business Name]. By clicking "Sign Up," you agree to receive recurring automated promotional and personalized marketing text messages (e.g., cart reminders) from [Business Name] at the mobile number provided. Message frequency varies. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Standard message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe, HELP for help.  See privacy policy for details.

Confirmation Message:
You’ve successfully subscribed to [Company Name] offers. Expect [frequency] messages per month. Reply STOP to opt-out, HELP for help. Msg&Data rates may apply.

Example Language: Message Flow via Verbal Script

While on the phone with the user, we confirm if they would like to receive updates regarding their account via SMS.  If they say yes we provide the following information 

Representative:
"Great! By opting in, you’ll receive reminders, confirmations, and important updates via text message. Message frequency will depend on your appointments, and standard message and data rates may apply. You can reply 'STOP' anytime if you no longer wish to receive messages. You can view our privacy policy at the provided URL on our website.”

20.  Telephone Numbers

List all phone numbers to be registered with your SMS campaign, including all seven digits of each phone number, omitting any parentheses and hyphens. Separate all phone numbers by a comma. You can find a list of numbers by logging into your FluentStream account.

21.  Signature

Complete form with an electronic signature then submit your document by following the prompts in the form.