How to Create and Manage Contact Groups for SMS Campaigns

Effective SMS marketing depends on sending the right message to the right audience at the right time. Contact groups in Sakura SMS allow you to organise your contacts into segmented lists for targeted campaigns. This guide covers everything from creating your first group to advanced segmentation strategies.

Why Contact Groups Matter

Sending the same generic message to your entire contact list is inefficient and often counterproductive. Segmented campaigns consistently outperform blanket broadcasts:

• Higher engagement: Targeted messages are more relevant, leading to better response rates
• Lower opt-out rates: Customers only receive messages relevant to them
• Better ROI: You spend credits only on contacts who are likely to convert
• Compliance: Different groups may have different consent levels, and segmentation helps you respect those boundaries as required by TCRA

Creating Your First Contact Group

Importing Contacts via CSV

The most common method for building contact groups is CSV import. Prepare your file with the following format:

CSV Import Tips

• The phone number column is required; all other columns are optional
• The importer auto-detects column headers, but standard names like "phone", "first_name", "email" work best
• Maximum file size: 10MB (approximately 200,000 contacts)
• For larger imports, split your file or contact support for bulk import assistance
• Duplicate phone numbers within the same group are automatically removed
• Invalid phone numbers are flagged and listed in an error report after import

Segmentation Strategies

Geographic Segmentation

Create groups based on location: "Dar es Salaam", "Arusha", "Mwanza", "Dodoma". This is particularly useful for businesses with region-specific offers or for localised campaigns in Swahili dialects.

Behavioural Segmentation

Segment based on customer behaviour: "Active Customers (Last 30 Days)", "Lapsed Customers (90+ Days)", "High-Value Orders". Use data from your CRM or e-commerce platform and import via CSV or API.

Product/Service-Based Groups

Create groups for customers interested in specific products: "Hosting Customers", "Domain Clients", "SMS API Users". This enables highly targeted upsell and cross-sell campaigns.

Engagement-Based Groups

Sakura SMS tracks which contacts engage with your messages. Create smart groups based on: "Clicked Link in Last Campaign", "Replied to Survey", "Never Opened". Re-engagement campaigns for inactive contacts can recover lost customers.

Managing and Maintaining Groups

Merging Groups

Combine two or more groups into a single list. Navigate to Contacts > Groups, select the groups to merge, and click Merge. Duplicates are automatically removed.

Excluding Groups

When sending a campaign, you can include one or more groups while excluding others. For example, send to "All Customers" but exclude "Opted Out" and "Bounced Numbers". This powerful feature prevents accidental messaging to contacts who should not receive specific campaigns.

Automatic List Cleaning

Sakura SMS automatically maintains your lists by:

• Removing contacts who reply with STOP, ACHA, or other opt-out keywords
• Flagging numbers that consistently fail delivery (invalid, disconnected)
• Marking numbers that are on the TCRA Do Not Disturb (DND) registry

Custom Fields

Beyond the standard name, phone, and email fields, you can create unlimited custom fields to store additional data about your contacts. Navigate to Contacts > Custom Fields to add fields such as:

• Customer ID or Account Number
• Subscription plan or tier
• Last purchase date
• Preferred language (English/Swahili)
• Region or branch

Custom fields can be used as personalisation tags in your messages (e.g., {customer_id}, {plan_name}) and as filter criteria for creating smart segments.

Exporting Contacts

Export any group as a CSV file for backup or use in other systems. Go to Contacts > Groups, select your group, and click Export CSV. The export includes all contact fields and custom data.

API-Based Contact Management

For businesses that need to keep Sakura SMS contacts in sync with their CRM, e-commerce platform, or custom application, our API provides full contact management capabilities. See our SMS API Integration Guide for detailed documentation.

Need help organising your contacts for maximum campaign effectiveness? Reach out to our team for personalised segmentation advice.