Businesses
We’ve detailed a number of scenarios where SMS can be effectively used by businesses to promote their
products or convey information to a targeted audience.
Information Delivery
Information can be classified into two discreet types: information that is requested and information that is delivered. Any information that has to be requested may in fact never be accessed as the onus is on the individual to make the initial request in the first instance. This can lead to important content never actually being accessed by certain sections of a potential market. One of the benefits of using SMS is that short pieces of information can be successfully delivered to a large or targeted audience.
A suitable example might be estate agents who maintain their own customer database with individual property requirements. Customers could be quickly notified of any new properties coming onto the market that match their requirements. SMS is an ideal tool in these types of situation where a potentially large audience needs to be contacted quickly.
Businesses that issue reminders to customers would also benefit by using SMS as a preferred means of communication. Health centres, doctors, dentists and car servicing businesses all need to issue reminders to their customers on a regular basis and SMS is far more cost effective than sending mail or telephoning in these circumstances.
Marketing
Marketing was one of the first areas where SMS was employed by businesses. Wireless applications offer a phenomenal opportunity for advertisers as they can deliver a message to someone at the exact moment they are positioned to buy.
For example, businesses in the entertainment sector could use SMS to send invitations or ticketing information of their forthcoming events to profiled recipients.
Why Is SMS So Effective?
There are many reasons why SMS is highly rated as a means for businesses to communicate with their customers. A number of which are outlined below:
Cost-effective
As a communications medium, SMS is the most cost-effective way of communicating to any mobile audience. Data is transmitted via different mobile channels than voice, and can be delivered to a handset at a fraction of a voice call. The fact that SMS can be sent out in bulk to large groups of recipients in a manual or automated manner further means that fewer resources are required to action the communication.
High Reach
Globally, there are around 7 times more mobile handsets than there are Internet access points. This means that more people can be reached via SMS than with, for instance, e-mail or fax communications. Especially in developing countries, the lack of non-mobile delivery mechanisms is aggravated. SMS is at the same time mobile, in the sense that recipients can be reached wherever they are.
High Response to Calls-to-Action
SMS is an extremely personal means of communication and therefore generates a high level of attention for any text message that is received by the individual. Almost invariably, the whole message is read, which is really easy since the protocol is constrained to delivering 160 characters (if no message concatenation is used). These factors induce a higher than average response rate to a call to action, as there are high attention levels to incoming messages. At the same time, of course, it means that abuse and unsolicited messages are aggressively reacted upon.
Immediacy
An SMS is typically delivered within seconds, depending on the gateway used, message traffic, and of course on the handset being switched on and within coverage. Because messages are pushed to the handset by the delivering network and do not rely on the recipient retrieving it from a server (unlike e-mail), it is an extremely reliable means of getting time-sensitive messages to recipients. Whether a message is sent to thousands of people in a marketing promotion, to 50 people in a foreign country, or simply to a staff member on the way to a meeting, it is an effective way of communicating directly to the intended recipient as close to real time as possible.
Automation
Should a business integrate SMS with its existing systems, SMS can be automated as easily as it is to automate the sending of e-mail. We allow integration to our SMS service using a technology called
web services. The business is then able to automate the delivery of messages, which means that a bank can easily send automated balances, a financial firm can send stock prices, estate agents can send property alerts.
Reliability
Since SMS was launched, it has excelled as an acceptable communications medium. Due to continued increase in reliability it is widely accepted as a business communications channel.