Monday, September 25, 2017

the state of global a2p sms market 2017 to 2022


"Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns"

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns

“Global A2P SMS Market consists of various factors such as definitions, applications, and classifications of the A2P SMS. Several other factors such as import, export, gross margin, price, cost, and consumption are also analysed under the section Analysis of A2P SMS production, supply, sales and market status.”

Some symbolic changes in the global A2P SMS market have made it inevitable for the researchers to study its growth. Researches on the market have proved to be compelling.

The agenda used by analysts for this research are subject to shroud methodology as they intent to achieve quality and reliable results using the information assimilated. They have worked closely with different government bodies, trade associations, news and magazine sources, and other bodies related to the A2P SMS market. In-house documentation service and internet driven researches are used to come to an authentic research finding.

The research uses both direct and indirect sources to broadly cover the state of A2P SMS market. The collected data is validated by different manufacturers, distributors, suppliers, importers, end-users and some of the market experts. Other information collated includes trends, problems, challenges, market drivers, market background, policies and developments of this industry. These factors were established to have an impact on the growth of the A2P SMS market. Hence these factors are studied and analyzed in detail so as to come to a fair opinion.

The report reveals market estimates and forecasts which can assist to scale the current standing of the A2P SMS in global projects. These results can also be used to anticipate its growth in coming five years. There’s very little ambiguity that the research outcome is critical in determining the industry competence of the A2P SMS market, its competitive force, its practices and standard terms.

Whether it maintains its ranking or not is to be decided by the market trends and its Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR), there’s a little argument of its success. The global A2P SMS markets standing is approved and supported by several documents and researches.

Source

how the chatbot is one of the most powerful up-and-coming tool



In a typical contact center scenario, an agent requests a customer to wait for an issue resolution. Any slight delay or a short-of-best response, and the customer may look elsewhere to solve the problem. Even switch over to a competitor. As businesses push to reduce inefficiencies and costs, automation and other artificial intelligence (AI) programs are gaining prominence. And contact centers of the future may look beyond human agents to handle simple customer queries to provide better resolutions

Will chatbots be the answer to provide better customer care in the future? Which human tasks can chatbots perform diligently, and can they perform complex tasks hitherto managed by humans? The jury is out on that. But the bigger question is, do we see a model of coexistence emerge in the future where the agent and the bot complement each other's value proposition? In my assessment, this situation would be both scary and bright. Scary because it will demand an overhaul of the workplace. Bright as it will create a new niche agent work model.

"Engage enterprises and customers in real time conversations"

Engage enterprises and customers in real time conversations

 


The Case for Chatbots

When chatbots were first introduced around 1966, they were programmed to respond to a user's questions with simple matching patterns. Today, they possess sophisticated techniques to understand users' questions and deliver useful and relevant responses. For a chatbot, time is never a constraint. If a customer calls even at midnight for an issue resolution, the chatbot is at his service. If the customer is dissatisfied with the resolution and wants a longer conversation, the bot can still handle it.

With businesses looking at reducing hiring and recruitment costs, chatbots can provide significant cost savings by replacing live agents at lower costs. For businesses, good customer service equals brand success. By using chatbots for instant response - even if it is just a plain "thank you" - and providing appropriate timelines for resolution, businesses earn customer goodwill. Chatbots may be contact centers' answer to the fundamental question: How do you delight customers without losing the human touch.

Chatbots assist businesses by providing real-time, accurate responses to low-complexity customer queries, which largely revolve around non-functional product, warranty expiration, etc. Since time is of the essence, chatbots can bypass dependency on repair personnel and directly provide responses to customers and save precious time. Also, customer information is stored in the organizational database, making it easier for chatbots to dig out previous instances of customer problems and offer speedy resolution.

The Future of Chatbots



A study says nearly 80% of companies have used or plan to use chatbots by 2020. As AI marches, chatbots will move beyond customer service roles. But on the larger question whether they can fully replace human agents, the answer is no! They can be enhancements to the existing customer service processes. They can be deployed for basic, routine, and mundane tasks, freeing agents for complex processes. In the customer service business, chatbots will result in reduced holding times.

Marketing, sales, research, lead generation are some areas where chatbots can be deployed. Contact centers that handle healthcare clients can use chatbots to expedite consultation-related paperwork and save time on administrative tasks. In finance, streamlining of cumbersome processes can be relegated to chatbots. Chatbots in retail and e-commerce businesses can be used to provide personalized shopping experience to customers and assist them in making logical decisions during shopping.

We do see a future where businesses will integrate chatbots in many operations. Their use will help contact centers to reduce operational costs and improve process efficiencies. Chatbots will not replace intelligent human operations, but they will surely complement and assist human agents in delivering superior customer service. The art of crystal-gazing is fraught with risks, but chatbots are here to stay!

Source

Thursday, September 21, 2017

how smart push notifications helps to engage with your users in the right way


"Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions"

Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions


From smartphones to smart homes to smart TVs, it seems we’re in the age of smart. More people than ever before own a smartphone, and they’re spending more time using them. On average, smartphone owners will access their devices anywhere from 2,617 times per day, according to Business Insider. Let that sink in for a moment.

Products are smart. They know what people like, what they engage with and their everyday habits. How does your push notification plan shape up against your product? How personal are you getting with your customers?


However, the current approach among app owners is more aligned with “blast and go” instead of a thorough understanding of analysis and using the data available. Push notifications are messages that deliver to a smartphone user’s home screen. 

They’re successful because they can be permission-based and targeted. An app user must opt in for push notifications, and their actions provide data that gives in-depth targeting capabilities. At the mobile level, there’s a great depth of information on customer preferences, habits, likes and dislikes.

If open or sale rates fluctuate or uninstalls go through the roof as a result of your marketing messages, here are some tools and tactics to kick it up a gear:

Individualization that drives interaction


Mobile success is all about the individual. We look to individualization to drive revenue with targeted offers. When we talk about conversions or mobile interactions, we are talking about influencing and persuading the customer.

First impressions count, and a push notification is make-or-break. For mobile app users, they expect clean, succinct and tailored interactions. Stick with catchy titles. Keep character counts low and calls to action strong and action-oriented. Your customers might be in the middle of something when they receive your notification, so it’s important that content is snappy and easy to read.

Segmentation of customers by their interests and behaviors is the next logical step for push notifications. Segmentation means you can group app users together by their app activity. Instead of using their name in an attempt to personalize a message, you can apply it to their behavior. We’ve seen this in sports-betting apps. A single push notification results in a 300 percent increase in bets due to smart send times, context and content, according to Element Wave.

Use behavioral data to add context to your push notifications. For example, customers like targeted offers based on their shopping habits. Use this information to deliver tailored reminder notifications when favorite items go on sale or when items are added to their shopping carts.

Make a mark with automation


An opportunity to improve KPIs with push notifications arrives with automation. Marketing automation takes the grunt work out of many labor-intensive tasks, leading to greater reporting capabilities, scalability and individualization across channels, especially on mobile. The possibilities for automating CRM processes on mobile are limitless.

App journeys are a real possibility with mobile marketing automation. Automation triggers new campaigns on the completion of an app action or a push notification tap. By automating cross-sells, upsells, follow-ups and reminders, your customer lifetime value increases.

Automation makes your marketing channel-agnostic. Multichannel campaigns become holistic user experiences instead of list-based manual efforts. Each strategic step depends on preparation and incorporating best-practice principles. When you have the basics covered, you can start to get creative with your marketing goals.

Analysis to drive engagement


Today, there is constant access to an ever-evolving data set. Marketers are in a coveted position as they gather incredible quantities of data from mobile users. It’s a matter of implementing and using it. Analytics help you understand what it is your customers want from your app and your business.

The evolution is an opportunity to evolve and tweak push notifications to best reflect customers’ needs and wants. Analysis grows at scale with automation, too. One of the benefits is you can study personalization preferences of customers by A/B or C testing headlines, calls to action or any other app-related event.

Use analysis to build customer profiles or cohorts based on purchase history, loyalty information, usage preferences or the app events most important to your bottom line.

The next step


In theory, push notifications are simple: Write some copy, send it out and see the engagements rack up. In practice, they’re a lot smarter, more subtle and resonate for far longer. The nature of push means that when the messages are right, they’re unforgettable and compel action. When done wrong, they become spam and can damage the relationship between the brand and the customer.

Technology is changing quickly. Staying smart, innovating and analyzing your customers’ mobile behavior means you’ll always be ready for the next step.

Source

Wednesday, September 20, 2017

how to develop your creative sms campaigns for the holidays



The holiday season brings with it cherished memories and traditions. It also brings an abundance of advertising noise to consumers and anguish for retailers. We don’t have to tell you that, in today’s changing market, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd. How will you convince consumers to shop with YOU, rather than the competitors?

Know anyone with a mobile device?

With mobile sales growing an astonishing 44% in 2016 and poised to grow even more this holiday season, there’s no better way to reach your customers than through mobile promotions. Before you put the final touches on your holiday campaigns, consider implementing an SMS strategy. Adding this mobile solution to your digital marketing mix provides a direct connection to customers as well as that competitive edge. What’s more – it’s an ideal complement to email campaigns.

Mix Wisely

Rum and eggnog mix well, but they pack very different punches. Likewise, just because email and SMS work so well together doesn’t mean you should use them similarly. We’ve done the work for you by making a list of best practices and checking it twice:

"Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns."

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns


  • While emails can go out daily – or even multiple times per day – SMS should be used sparingly; ideally, no more than once a week.
  • SMS should include your best offers or discounts.
  • SMS should have a feeling of exclusivity as well as a sense of urgency / immediacy that motivates the customer to act immediately.
  • Great SMS campaigns include immediate flash sales, new product releases, coupons, local event alerts, reminders and language like, “ends tonight” or “last chance”. Campaigns that don’t work well include upcoming sales, future events and coupons that aren’t immediately enabled.
  • The content of your SMS campaigns should be direct. You’re limited to 160 characters, including the mandatory legal messages such as “Reply STOP to end”.
  • It’s also wise to send a single message at a time – don’t send two or three messages in a row to cram in a lot of text. If the message is too lengthy, send an email instead.
  • Don’t overdo it with abbreviations. Some common abbreviations are acceptable, such as “Txt STOP 2 end”.
  • Use a URL shortener such as bit.ly for your call-to-action links; allot 10 characters of the 160-character limit for your link.
  • Unlike email, which can be sent any time of the day, SMS campaigns should ideally be sent from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm local time.
  • Your emails and SMS messages should work together, but shouldn’t compete. Don’t send different offers in the two channels the same day.
  • Remember that mobile marketing is highly regulated, so be sure to follow all the current rules, regulations and guidelines around signage, promotion and messaging.

Conclusion:
 
This holiday season, make the most of your mobile presence by taking advantage of the time consumers spend with their mobile devices. When you engage your audience with mobile messaging, you can generate tailored messages, promote your campaigns, and cut through the holiday clutter while building customer loyalty and driving sales. Implementing an SMS strategy will not only brighten your holidays but ensure success with your future campaigns.

Source

Friday, September 15, 2017

how KPIs push notifications are valuable metrics which help to achieve business goals


"Push Notifications Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions with Push Notifications."

Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions


Understanding your audience is important when planning all marketing communications, but understanding your goals is as vital. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are valuable metrics which help you achieve your business goals. Taking time out at the campaign planning stage to analyse your KPIs and what impact you want to make on them ensures your goals are always to the fore.

KPIs, of course, differ for every organisation, but as an introduction to mobile marketing here are some examples that Element Wave users regard as important:

  • Daily active users (DAU)
  • Monthly active users (MAU)
  • Retention Rates
  • Revenue
  • Sessions
  • Turnover

Establishing KPIs that are most relevant to your business and your sector is important. For example, news providers may want to concentrate on traffic or number of sessions. Retailers might focus on turnover or items per sale. iGaming companies could benefit from analysing daily/monthly active users (D/MAU) or bets per user.

It is worth noting that KPIs are not set in stone. They can be adapted over time. If you have recently launched your app and there is a surge in downloads, retaining those users would and should be a high priority. Let’s continue with the example of a new gaming app. For anyone who placed a bet on their first weekend after install, a money back offer was available. A KPI to align with that campaign might be ‘offer claim rates’. This figure should be analysed to examine uptake. In the weeks following, retention as a KPI would be the focus.

The main goal is to identify what you are trying to impact and then tailor your communications to make that impact. Keep in mind it could be a number of KPIs at once.

Start small if you need to, but make sure to have at least one in mind for every campaign, what are you trying to impact and why? This is a good habit that puts analysis to the fore and will benefit you as well as your users by saving time and energy on having a clear vision, to begin with.

KPIs test success, offer insights, give focus and aid a more targeted approach to communicating with your users. Taking time to analyse campaign activity and examining the contribution to your goals is so often overlooked. Some marketers adopt an ad hoc approach, which of course has a place and the ability to do so is one of the is one of the greatest features of push. For successful mobile moments, you need to plan time to evaluate. Use your hard earned results and knowledge to gain a better insight into your audience base. From there you can develop more tailored, targeted and welcome campaigns.

Source

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

how text messaging can improve hotel customer service




The hotel industry is competitive. When you want to provide the best customer service possible, it’s time to implement SMS alerts for hotels into your marketing strategy. You will be able to reach your guests no matter where they are through text messaging. Opening up this line of communication makes for fast, efficient communication whether your hotel guests are out by the pool enjoying a drink or shopping in the middle of town. Great customer service matters, and it’s time to use text messaging to help your guests.

Let Guests Know About Local and Onsite Events

There are a number of ways to let guests know about what is going on in the area and at your hotel. You can try putting up flyers to notify guests of fun activities to do, or have a display of area brochures for your guests to look through. While providing this type of information is great for guests, activities pop up all the time that your guests may enjoy. If you learn about a fun, local event at the last minute, you can send out a quick text with a link for further information regarding the event you want to share.

Offer Exclusive Deals to Guests Who Sign Up for Text Messaging

Once you implement text messaging to save your customer’s time with texting, you can create exclusive deals for those that sign up to receive hospitality messages. Your goal will be to increase the number of subscribers to your hotel communication systems by offering deals that can only be obtained through text messaging. Make your customers feel special by providing valuable deals when you sign up to receive text messages from your hotel. You can offer a quick, time limited deal for a big discount on your restaurant on a quiet night, ensuring that your restaurant stays as full as possible each night.


"SMS Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns."

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns.


Greet Guests Upon Arrival or Say Thank You for Visiting

Guests love to feel welcome when they arrive at your hotel and a quick text message can do the trick. Whether you send a message that includes a list of activities going on, or you simply state to contact the front desk if you have any problems, a text message will let know guests you are ready to serve their needs.


When guests leave your hotel, you can also send out a “thank you for staying at our hotel” message. This message can then include a link to a survey for you to get valuable feedback from your guests. You will be able to get feedback about a stay instantly, giving you the opportunity to fix any problems right away.

Confirm Reservations Through Text Messaging

Your guests want to know when you receive a reservation request. You can confirm a reservation for your hotel through text messaging, or you can let a guest know that you received their request for a table at dinner. When you send out a confirmation through texting, you will save the time it would take to make a phone call instead. When you send out a confirmation for a dinner reservation, you can also include language that shows the recipient how to cancel the reservation if necessary.

Text messaging will give you the ability to reach customers in an instant. You will create a two-way form of communication that is beneficial for both you and your guests. It’s important to make guests feel welcome and have a valuable way to gather feedback from guests who stay in your hotel.

Source

market size of premium a2p and p2a messaging set to skyrocket



A2P messaging indicates application-to-person messaging and P2A messaging is person-to-application messaging. In this ever changing world of communication technology, these two technology are gaining popularity because of secure, reliable, and cost effective communication. The most common uses of A2P messaging are bulk message, notifications, alerts, and mobile contextual marketing. It is imperative for enterprises to have insight into how the dynamics of A2P SMS market is changing. The most significant trend in A2P SMS market is emergence of new communication channels and the way supply chain is innovating to provide an improved customer experience.

Telecommunication service providers, cloud service providers, and vendors of A2P SMS market are working together to ensure continued functioning of A2P SMS. All these entities are making it easier for enterprises to include SMS in their business process. The A2P messaging industry is also working to build synergies between enterprises and communication application providers. It will assist enterprises to cater their customers with better quality.

Changing customer communication behavior is driving the development of the growth of premium A2P and P2A SMS market. In the current scenario, SMS remains a key mobile communications platform for enterprises to reach consumers and employees. It is less expensive, ubiquitous on devices, reliable, and quick. The biggest challenge in the market is telecom operators are facing difficulty to understand the eco system of the market. Many operator sees no difference between P2P SMS and A2P SMS. This is because of the fact that technology remains same in both the communication mode (P2P SMS and A2P SMS).

"Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns."

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns.



Premium A2P and P2A Messaging Market: Segmentation 

 
Premium A2P and P2A messaging market can be segmented on the basis of application, traffic, messaging platform, vertical and region. Application category includes inquiry related services, customer relationship management, notification and alerts, authentication service, and promotional and marketing service. On the basis of traffic, the market can be segmented into national and multi-country. On the basis of messaging platform, the market can be segmented into cloud API messaging platform and managed messaging platform. On the basis of vertical, the market can be segmented into BFSI, telecom and IT, media and entertainment, travel and tourism, retail, healthcare, and government. Region wise, the Market can be segmented into North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Japan, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, and Middle East & Africa.

Source

Tuesday, September 12, 2017

how sms text messaging has long contributed to simplifying in the insurance industry



Text messaging may be a less satisfying communication option — due to its emotional superficiality, the inability to decipher nuance or sarcasm, and its use to avoid actual conversation.

But today’s tech-savvy, forward-thinking insurance businesses have little choice but to incorporate texting (along with app-based messaging) into their prospecting and customer relationship management plans as texting is overwhelmingly popular among consumers, especially millennials.

Consider how far text messaging has come in roughly two decades, based on reporting:

  • 97% of Americans sent and received at least one text message a day, according to the Pew Research Center.
  • Worldwide, consumers sent about 23 billion text messages a day, or 16 million per minute, according to Portio Research.
  • Text messages have a 98% open rate, while email has only a 20% open rate, according to Mobile Marketing Watch.

Continue on to learn why nine different insurance, technology and customer care thought leaders believe texting should be used to strengthen customer relationships.


"Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns"

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns.



1: There are fewer regulatory hurdles than in the past

At one time, text messaging between customers and businesses — including insurance and financial services — posed a conundrum. Among other reasons: Federal communications law requires that consumers must consent in writing to receive any commercial text messaging.

However, today’s communications vendors are building text messaging services that accommodate regulatory compliance demands while furthering a company’s business needs.

Prudential Insurance is among the industry leaders that now capitalize on text messaging. Based on the company’s success with social media campaigns, moving into text communications "was really a no-brainer for us," Birdia Chambers, Prudential’s head of social and digital strategy said in a recent blog post penned by Myriah Wood, the product marketing manager for Hearsay Systems.

Wood explains that texting grew to become a powerful business communications tool because more than half of today’s financial services professionals are texting clients, and statistics show that almost all text messages are opened, most within just a few minutes.

2: Texting enhances traditional prospecting strategies

Jaimie Pickles is general manager of insurance with the consumer data and analytics company Jornaya.

He says the use of text messaging is on the rise now that companies have become savvier about securing written consent from consumers to receive a text, which is required by the federal government’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

"Consumers typically read an incoming text immediately whereas voice and email are lower on the list of priorities," Pickles says.

3: Texting is what people want

Keith Savino considers text messaging to be essential to today’s business relationships because it's what his clients want. Savino is a partner and chief operating officer for Warwick Resource Group, LLC, an insurance agency and brokerage based in Warwick, New York.

"As technology evolves, the methods of communication change," Savino says. "Phone, email and texting are the predominant methods of communication in life today. As a result, agencies need to adopt systems that allow them to communicate and document this communication in our systems of record… No one method can satisfy an entire book of business."

4: Text messaging supports customer records and engagement

Fazi Zand, senior vice president of products at EIS Group, says there are multiple reasons for insurers to embrace texting along with chatbots. Zand shared these thoughts via email:

"While insurance customers readily opt in for text (SMS) notifications such as status of claims, payment and renewal reminders, and agent messages, any two-way conversations with insurers are far more likely to happen within chat services bundled in the insurer’s digital services, or via external services such as Facebook Messenger or Twitter. Customers are growing increasingly comfortable using digital apps for interactions with insurers for claims and status, to make payments, get quotes or other services."

"The next related step is integrating chatbots into these conversations. By integrating chatbots into interactions, insurers are able to respond to FAQs, guide conversations and triage requests, and quickly gather essential information for frontline agents. Employing chatbots within virtual assistants can provide significant cost savings by improving efficiency and outcomes, enable 24/7 availability and improve the user experience for all stakeholders."

"Looking further forward, expect customers to warm to new chatbots with natural language understanding because these conversationally savvy bots will be enabled to watch, listen and understand their spoken questions and responses and leverage sentiment analysis techniques to enhance the experience, while also helping to remove the burden of data entry."

5: Texting supports a multi-channel communications strategy

Gail B. Goodman is a national expert on telephone use and strategy, and a regular communications columnist. She acknowledges that text messaging has become pivotal to communications today, but warns against relying on it too heavily or to convey weighty messages.

"Texting … is only one of your tools and needs to be used judiciously," Goodman says. "Being able to add inflection to your words will often save you from being misinterpreted through a digital-only message."

Goodman impresses upon business leaders the power of finding and using their real voice.

"The best use of texting is to clarify information, such as confirming an appointment or advising your client if you are late due to traffic," she says, "but not to ask any critical questions."

6: Text messaging falls in line with the on-demand economy

Insurance and finance tech innovation experts often to point to the way Amazon and the Internet of Things (IoT) have shaped today’s consumer tastes.

Laura Drabik, vice present of Business Innovation for Guidewire Software, says insurance companies of all sizes must consider SMS/texting to take advantage of its ability to provide customers with real-time service.

"This approach is especially useful for claims adjusters' communication with claimants, i.e. claims first-notice-of-loss, inquiries and updates, and the like," Drabik says. "Some insurers and agents use texting to quote/sell to customers/policyholders. Core systems must also be considered in the process, as texting only serves as a digital front-end; it is the core system that enables the actual transactions to take place."

7: Texting, along with social media, opens up a 24/7 line of communication
More than 3 out of 4 Americans now own smartphones, and 9 out of 10 Americans are online. John Sarich with VUE Software says it follows that text messaging has become valuable to the business-to-consumer (B2C) relationship.

"The ability to message is largely a function of having [a smartphone] and sharing the number with clients so they can text a message 24/7 to the agent or service rep," Sarich says. "Also, many agents do use Twitter, giving their clients easy access to them."

Texting applications on the B2B side in insurance, however, may present more adoption challenges.

"First, the carrier needs to have good portal technology and the ability to give access to agents to review certain things such as claim status, underwriting status, commission information, and so on," Sarich says. He adds that instant messaging built into a website may be more functional for carrier-to-agent or vendor communications than traditional text messaging.

8: Text messaging keeps insurers competitive
Since other industries have already adopted and executed text messaging as part of their customer engagement strategies, insurance carriers must fall in line with contemporary consumer expectations.

"The customers of today have increased expectations around digital capabilities," says Chuck Ruzicka, vice president of research and consulting at Novarica, a research and advisory firm focused on insurance technology. "Airline companies have learned to use texting to provide updated flight information to delayed passengers and to actually improve customer experience during difficult times. Insurance carriers can utilize this same technique to update claimants on everything from emergency service status to electronic settlement deposits. The keys are having knowledge of customer preferences and integrated digital processes, which are not easy tasks for carriers with legacy system portfolios."

9: Text demands clear, concise, straightforward messaging
Lisa Woodley is vice president of Customer Experience and FSI Business Consulting at NTT Data, a global IT services company based in Tokyo that caters to many industries including insurance.

Woodley recognizes that the decision whether to use text raises complicated issues for companies in the insurance and financial services sectors. "The intersection of customer preferences, broker or agent habits, and regulatory considerations means insurers should carefully consider when and how to use text messaging," she says.

Akin to capitalizing on each social media channel, or traditional communications such as 'snail mail,' texting may be ideal for certain types of communications, such as messages that are "brief, clear, and contains no sensitive information," Woodley says, or those messages that have a sense of urgency. Banking and billing alerts, for instance, are well-suited to text messaging. In insurance, texting may also work well for claims-processing notifications.

"It's important to allow customers choice," she adds. "Let them define what is urgent and what types of texts they wish to receive from you. Never assume."

Source

how sms messaging helps to grab the attention of food lovers to your restaurant


"Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns."

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns.


With a whopping 75 percent of all customers wanting to receive offers via SMS, it really doesn’t take a genius to know what you should be doing – sending your customers a text message of course. And with more and more restaurants popping up every day, it’s more important than ever to get your restaurant at the forefront of customers minds and your name on the tip of their tongues when they are looking for places to eat.

There are lots of different marketing channels that restaurants are using to promote and acquire new customers, from social media, which is great for sharing news, updates and new dishes. However unless the consumer is actually on the social media platform and following you, they won’t see it.

You can use email marketing, but with people getting hundreds of emails a day, they will either go straight to junk, into the promotion tabs that Gmail have, or will be just deleted without even opening it.

You can advertise on billboards, flyers, your own website and other websites, along with TV and radio. But what all these advertising places mean, is that the customer have to be physically doing something to find your advert, and some the prices on these mediums can be very high.

Using SMS marketing means you can send a text message straight to your customers pocket, and with SMS having an open rate of 98 percent, you can almost guarantee every message will get read - 90 percent of those messages are read within three minutes. Not many marketing channels can hold up to those kinds of stats.

There are numerous ways that restaurants can use SMS and below are some of the mains ways that you can use SMS for your restaurants and  some example texts, in case you are unsure of how it would come across.

Send Text Messages that Include Special Offers

By sending a personalized SMS message with a great offer on, you can hit people on two fronts. One being the great offer, maybe a percentage off or 2 for 1, and the second being a personalized message. People love receiving offers, but when it is directly addressed to them it feels like the restaurant is talking to them on a personal level and that can make customers feel special and wanted.

The great thing about SMS is that you can send a bulk SMS campaign that does this, include the customers name and even a personalized offer as well. By sending an offer to customers and giving them a time frame to use the offer means you can get bums on seats and even if they can’t use your offer, you are still spreading brand awareness.

“Hi Mike, we are offering a huge discount this weekend - 20 percent off all orders of £30 or more. So why not bring the family and eat some delicious food and save on us”

Remind Customers of their Reservations

A great way of going above and beyond is sending a reminder text message to customers with their reservation details on. By sending a reminder message to customers the day of or the day before, not only makes the customer feel like you are rolling out the red carpet for them, but by giving the customer an opportunity to cancel the booking if they have forgotten or can’t make it anymore.

If a customer does not turn up it can cost restaurants money, as most restaurants will give a 10-15 minute leeway, meaning in this time they could have sat another customer down and served them in that time. The NHS have started sending appointment reminder by SMS and it is thought that they could save around £64 million pounds.

“Hi Jane, thank you for making a booking to eat with us tonight. Just to confirm your table is booked for 7.45pm. If for some reason you cannot make it, please call us on 0123 456 78 90.”

Use SMS for Competitions

Everyone loves a competition, even if it is to just win something small, people love free stuff and what better and easier way to enter a competition than texting. Getting customers to text a word to enter a competition not only means an interaction with your brand but will keep customers happy, and if you do enough competitions you will keep your customers waiting for the next one, again keeping them in touch with your brand.

The great thing about using SMS for competitions is you can advertise it literally anywhere, with just a simple word all the customer needs to do is, text into enter. You can advertise it on your website, in the restaurant, on table mats or coasters, mugs, glasses, basically anywhere you can think of advertising it - because it’s just a small bit of text.

“Text FOOD to 88802 to enter a competition to have a free meal on us”

Use an SMS Loyalty Program

As said above, customers love receiving offers, but receiving offers that are exclusive and not for open to the general public is even better. That is exactly what an SMS loyalty program can give customers, and with 90 percent of users who enroll in an SMS loyalty program feeling that they gained value from it, it really is another great tool to keep your customers happy.

“Thank you for entering our SMS loyalty program, your first of many exclusive offers is a free dessert, and the best thing is, you don’t even need to buy anything to get it, just pop in and show this text message to claim your free dessert on us”

Allow Customer to Text in to Make a Booking

Making it easy for customers to make a table reservation means you are more likely to get booking rather than people just turning up, which is great as you can see how busy you will be. Most restaurants let you call up and make a booking, some allow you to do it online but the next step is allowing someone to text in to make a booking.

Some people don’t like talking on the phone and for those that don’t have a website where people can book a table means they probably won’t book, but letting people text you to make a booking means you don’t have to employee anyone on the phone taking books and it can all be automated.

“Thank you for booking a table tonight, unfortunately we don’t have any tables available at 7.00pm but we do have a table at 6.45 p.m. Reply ‘Yes’ to book the table at 6.45 p.m.”

Use SMS Surveys to Gain Customer Feedback

As all restaurant owners know, improving the dining experience of customers is vital to a growing restaurant and can be the difference between a failed restaurant and a huge chain. Collecting feedback on the customer’s experience is the best way to do this, feedback cards for people to fill in are often long winded and time consuming so customers would rather not fill them out.

A more advanced way of collecting feedback is by sending customers an SMS survey. This can be sent an hour or a day after they have ate, whichever you find best. This gives the consumer enough time to think about their meal whilst it is still fresh in their mind. With SMS surveys being all done through texts, with only a couple of questions it will on take a minute to collect some feedback.

“Thank you for eating with us yesterday, with your dining experience fresh in your mind, would you mind answer a couple of questions so we can improve our service to you. Reply ‘Yes’ to start the survey”

These are just a few ways that restaurants are already using SMS to ensure their customers are kept happy and keep coming back.

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Sunday, September 10, 2017

how sms marketing can be the perfect marketing tool to target your existing customers


"Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns."

Dynamically Send, Receive & Enhance Text Message Campaigns.


One of the most confounding parts of managing a small business is determining how to best market your brand to customers. Of all the choices, text message marketing (SMS, specifically) seems like the ideal pick – it's quick, easy, and you're almost guaranteed that customers will see it. A few drawbacks, concerns and misconceptions, though, may keep you from hitting the send button on this form of marketing. 

 Is text message marketing effective?

You've likely heard someone complain about having to take a phone call, or you've noticed a co-worker ignore a phone call, only to pick up their smartphone to answer a text message. Texting has become a preferred method of communication.
If that isn't enough to convince you that text message marketing is a good idea, consider this: Consumers want offers by text message, but 83 percent pointed out that two per month is the limit. People send and receive about 6 billion text messages per month in the U.S., so it's definitely something people want.

Aren't text messages mostly for personal use? 
 
Surprisingly, no. There are a number of businesses that use text messaging to alert customers of all kinds of things. Nail salons text customers to let them know if an appointment needs to change. Restaurants send texts to alert diners that their table is ready. And many people rely on text messages for password verification for security.

Cell phone users are tuned into text message alerts, which explains why 95 percent of people who have opted in for text messages with a business read those messages within three minutes of receiving it, per Mogreet, a text message marketing company. Can you convey everything in a text?

Although most cell phone owners choose smartphones, there are still a handful of people who use regular cell phones, so it's best to keep your messages short. Think of every text message you send to a consumer like you would a tweet – about 160 characters or less. Ideally, you want to lead with the offer, include a link to your website and add a little fun fluff. Old Navy, Frontier Airlines, Bed Bath & Beyond and others use word play, special characters and more to grab attention in email marketing – all ideas you can use in your text messages.

How to get customers to opt in 

 
You can't just send texts to your customers without permission – not everyone is on an unlimited plan – and text rates from their provider may apply. That's why it's important to get customers to opt in for text messages from your business. To entice customers to sign up for texts, offer them an introductory percentage off, a gift or some other benefit.

Next, you need to make sure the opt-in process is easy. Skip the quotes – these can be confusing and result in a customer not getting a response from your system. Here are some good examples:

  • Want the best damn chocolate-covered caramel popcorn – and a free sample? Text YUMPOP to 12345 now!
  • Be the first to know when your favorite gadgets go on sale! Text GOGOGADGET to 12345 – get your gadget on!
  • Sign up for text alerts for $10 off* your next purchase! Text UMYES to 12345
  • Remember to include a note that standard message and date rates may apply.

Texting rules to keep in mind 

 
Clearly, those who prefer texting to email or phone calls like texting for its straightforward approach and because it's a huge timesaver. Also, texting is fun. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when launching your text message marketing campaign:

  • Keep it short – think of it like a tweet
  • Don't send too many – no more than two per month (unless you're having a rare flash sale)
  • Keep it fun – emojis can keep things light, but use them sparingly and keep it on trend
  • Make the text interactive – tempt consumers to click; surveys are a great way to get consumers involved and make them feel special
  • Avoid abbreviations and slang – you don't want to alienate a group of consumers
  • Announce who you are – a coupon's great, but with no idea of who it's from, how can your consumer redeem it?
  • Make it valuable – every text should come with some value
  • Give them an out – include a message at the bottom to make it easy for a consumer to opt out of text messages

The bottom line

 
Text messaging has been around for decades, but it has stood the test of time. Create a marketing plan or hire someone to plan it for you, and have fun with it! You may be surprised at how many people are excited to receive a text from your business.

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Thursday, September 7, 2017

effective strategies which will reap benefits for push notifications


"Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions "

Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions


For marketers, one of the hardest parts of the job is how fast things move. Customer preferences and behaviors are always changing, and the marketing tools and tactics that brands use to reach them keep changing, too.In the the present economy we never met a marketer that doesn’t dream of responding faster.

Using technology is a great way to move fast and engage a massive audience, particularly if it builds upon other technology that everyone is already familiar with. Work on mobile marketing automation and would argue that web push is a technology that can help. While still new and relatively unproven, its potential for early adopters is clear.

The What And Why Of Web Push Notifications

Just as traditional push notifications let marketers reach mobile users when they’re not using the app, web push notifications allow you to send outreach to web visitors even if their browser isn’t open. That makes web push a powerful tool for keeping your web audience engaged — and for re-engaging visitors who have stopped visiting. It can also support a more valuable product experience by keeping users informed about new content, or updating them about the status of an order.

And because Chrome, the most-used web browser, supports web push both on desktop and on Android mobile devices, this channel can reach users at home and on the go.

While native apps have become a major part of people’s digital engagement, the web hasn’t gone anywhere — it’s still a major platform. Americans spend 24% of their screen time on computers, and the time people spend on desktops has grown 37% in the last five years.

Because the web isn’t new, you probably already have the groundwork needed for web push. This means companies have a new messaging channel in their arsenal with very little additional work. It usually takes less than an hour to help clients get started with it. That's the thing about web push: You don't have to wrap your head around an entirely new technology.

The First-Mover Advantage

Although there are a number of companies working on it, including my own, web push is still new. It lets you speak directly to your web visitors beyond your website for the first time. That’s powerful. when marketers who start using web push now will see more value than those who wait.

Web push is in the same place traditional push was four years ago. Think about traditional push notifications. Over time, the number of people willing to enable push notifications from native apps has dropped to 59% on Android and 40% on iOS, in part because of marketers who misused the channel. It’s still possible to convince users to opt in if you’re strategic and thoughtful, but it’s tougher than it used to be. So brands that encourage their web audiences to enable push notifications now will likely see a higher percentage of them opt in -- which will expand the benefits of having web push notifications at all -- than brands who try later.

While you’ll need to try out web push to learn how to best reach users with this channel, there are also lessons from mobile app push that apply here, too. Getting customers to opt in for web push is a lot easier if you prime them by explaining the benefits of receiving messages (for instance, being notified when a friend messages you or a food order arrives at your door) before asking them to enable it. And while few users are overwhelmed just yet with web push, it’s still wise to control how often you’re reaching out with this channel by capping the frequency of web messages for each user so they don't get overwhelmed.

How To Use Web Messaging To Increase Conversions

Web push is a great way to nudge visitors to revisit your website and engage with your brand. But if you’re looking to increase the chances that they make a purchase or other conversion once they’re there, you should be using the full spectrum of web messaging options to lead them down the funnel. This kind of multichannel strategy works today on mobile.

Imagine sending your web audience a promotional web push. Once they’re on your site, you can leverage action-triggered, in-browser messages and a personalized news feed to sweeten the deal if they’re about to leave, or remind them about discount codes at checkout.

Some brands are already using it, leveraging one of the many marketing platforms offering this tool. For instance, Photobucket, a client of ours, used a multichannel web messaging campaign announcing free shipping and a discount on prints and posters on Cyber Monday. By following promotional emails with in-browser messages appearing one minute into each user’s post-email web session, Photobucket kept its audience focused on the promotion.

Whenever a new marketing tool emerges, there’s a temptation to wait and see how it develops. In this case studies may cost you the full potential of web push. The technology for this messaging is here and ready to use. For marketers looking to stay ahead of the curve, it's time to seize the moment.

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how types of push notifications are a powerful tool for driving user engagement


"Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions with Push Notifications."

Increase engagement with your APP users and drive conversions


The whole world, as we know it, has shifted to a certain hand-held device called the smartphone so much so that we spend more time interacting with our mobiles than any other object and sometimes other humans too! So, as rightly understood by many, brands have to respond to the changing needs of the time, making themselves more accessible for users on their mobile devices.

In a world where we now decide what we should do or shouldn’t on the basis of “alerts” that we receive in the form of push notifications from our apps, brands can’t help but pour in their resources to master the art of crafting the perfect kind of push notifications for their users to consume, of course to avoid the fear of being forgotten!



These types of push notifications will help both you and your customers.
 
The encouraging ones
 
Studies show that health and fitness app have the lowest opt-in rate for push notifications, not because people are lazy and they don’t want to work out, but simply because their push notifications are a lot shameful for anyone to like them. Self-compassion and forgiveness help us correct negative attitude, so, trying to guilt your users for not doing something will only make any health app’s goal of helping users to attain perfection an impossible feat.

The solution? Consider giving your users the options to take a break, which also applies to other categories of apps like dating, online shopping or health. Instead of dropping a shameful notification commenting on their absence from the app, let them determine when they want to return. Become a positive influence for change.

The one that helps you out…just a little bit

 
This one is especially for those globetrotters who lives life in transit. As a person running errands or just being busy, it’s easy to lose track of the minute details like flight reminders, hotel check ins, check in-check out hours, etc. Personally, MakeMyTrip push notifications are simply because they remind me where we need to be and when, ahead of time, so that we do not forget it! For the creators of such push notifications, their entire focus should be on generating value for their customers.

The ones that keep us posted

 
Live order tracking has become somewhat of a trend now, especially with food ordering apps. We like to order food online, and really like to know how far the food is and let’s just assume that is the case with everyone! Swiggy with its “tasty food en route” is one such app that keeps you posted with push notifications once the live order tracking starts!

The ones the gently reminds

 
Smartphones were successful in doing one thing, reduce our attention span and thanks to that, we now can’t focus on one job at a time, not in real world or in the virtual world. Jumping in-between multiple tabs, we often forget what we came there for. Notifications that act as a gentle reminder to “pick up where you have left” are a great example for push notifications, because then you do not have to stress about things you have to do.

Today’s marketing world is all about generation user interaction with an app and these kinds of notifications will help you get there. So while creating these notifications, make sure that you stick to the basic guidelines which are:

  • They shouldn’t be disruptive to your users.
  • They keep your users informed of the things they want to know.
  • They’re thoughtful without being clingy.
  • They encourage users – and don’t shame them.

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Wednesday, September 6, 2017

how chatbot is constantly evolving and further overcoming the human resources



We are entering into a new era where technology is constantly evolving and while some technology trends can be fleeting and easily forgotten, some take hold and are destined to dominate the industry for years to come. And one such technology on the rise that we can talk about is the Chat bot. This new technology has come up and grown considerably over the last few years in the tech world.



"Chat Engage enterprises and customers in real time conversations"However, if you are wondering what are Chat bots? Well, to put in simple terms and give you an example, at times when you visit a website you would have seen a window pop up in those websites which answer your queries. Well, that is nothing but a Chat bot.

As for the comprehensive description, Chat bots are basically software programs where a user can interact with the bot through normal text messaging like carrying out a conversation with another person on the other end.

Chat bots are applied practically in customer service or information acquisition processes. Besides some of the benefits include ease of usage, reliability, reach ability of services at anywhere and at any time. All social sites, website, and blogs which can be accessed from a mobile phone could also feature Chabot services.



From Social messaging to Chat Bots, the industry has forgone revolutionary phase. These are pervasive trends. It is widely believed that overall, people now spend more time in social messaging than in social media. That is especially true for the younger millennial generation, with their all-important disposable income. In another sense, then, the increased interest in chat bots also reflects a cultural shift toward social messaging. Just as users have migrated towards SMS and messaging apps as their communications medium of choice, so they have embraced that same familiar interface for chat bots

Chat bots are bringing a cultural shift in technology, sweeping all before them in an increasingly connected and online world. And as e-commerce consumers become more comfortable interacting with machines online, chat bots will inevitably continue to dominate the online landscape

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