Messaging opportunities for business

COVID-19 has challenged the entire world. Businesses have felt this very acutely: customer behavior has changed, online purchases have increased, offline shopping has plummeted, and the demand for OTT applications has grown significantly. The online retail market in the United States has already shown 60% growth in 2020 compared to 2019.

People spend much more time online, communicate with each other, order groceries, clothes, gifts and much more. The online world is a comfortable and understandable environment for the majority. It simply cannot be ignored. Therefore, one cannot deny that without effective online communication with customers, it is impossible to achieve success in most areas of business today. After all, you usually no longer see your customer in person and cannot resolve all issues with them “face to face”. Messaging is the premier tool for solving this problem.

In this article, we want to discuss in detail how Messaging helps businesses communicate with customers, cut costs and increase engagement. Let’s talk about the types of messages, platforms (their pros and cons) and consider real cases.

Let’s start with Messaging features:

1. Promote 

• grab customer attention 
• convince that your product is good 
• show that the price is fair 

2. Verify 

• OTP 
• 2FA 

3. Inform 

• order number 
• transaction details 
• order tracking and much more 

4. Support 

• share the location of your store 
• make use of a chatbot to answer FAQ, etc.
• help in solving issues

These 4 points are the ecosystem (funnel) between the company and the client: Promote → Verify → Inform → Support → Promote again

Now for the fun part: Messaging types.

• SMS 

SMS performs all four messaging functions at once: promote (A2P), verify (A2P or P2A), inform (A2P), support (A2P & P2A).

Pros: the widest coverage among all other messaging channels, minimum requirements for user phones, no need for 3G, immense reliability (most messages can be delivered even if the client is not online).

Cons: High cost, spam/fraud, regulatory restrictions (160 characters per message limit).

• WhatsApp Business

WhatsApp has over 2 billion active users, most of whom are based in India, Brazil, the United States, Western Europe, Russia and the Middle East.

This platform covers three important functions: promote, inform, support.

In addition, it allows for a branded channel with a logo, website and contacts.

Pros: branded and trusted channel, no spam, ability to send media, cheaper than SMS, chat with a client (two-way communication), user-friendly interface.

Cons: no opportunity to advertise your product or service on this platform, monthly fee, customers need Internet access.

•  Viber

Viber is widely used in the CIS countries, Europe and Asia. According to statista.com, the number of registered users has reached 1.17 billion.

This platform serves all 4 functions: promote, verify, inform, support.

Pros: branded and verified channel, less spam than SMS, cheaper than SMS in many countries, 1000 characters per message, the ability to send images and links, a convenient channel interface for many users, ability to track when a message was delivered and viewed, two-way communication.

Cons: clients need internet access, minimum usage per month.

• RCS 

Rich Communication Services are considered to be the next evolutionary stage of SMS.

This technology supports text messages (no limit on the number of characters), video calls, group chats (up to 100 users) and uncompressed image transmission – all the functions that are available in standard instant messengers. Another advantage of the Rich Communication Services standard is the fast interaction between companies and customers. The technology allows you to quickly see the current status of an order (when purchasing goods or services), and companies can receive prompt feedback from customers.

RCS will take over 3 functions: promote, inform, support.

Pros: messaging via the user’s native phone messenger (the same that we now use for SMS), wider coverage in the future than any other OTT, rich multimedia content capabilities, two-way communication with the client, integration with payment systems, high conversion rates.

Cons: the service is not available in most countries, not all mobile operators support RCS, only works on new smartphones with 5G.

• Text2Speech

Text-to-speech refers to a service that enables applications, tools, or devices to convert text into synthesized human speech and transmit it to a user during a telephone conversation. It can be used to remind your clients to visit a doctor or hairdresser, to inform them about the latest deals and promotions, etc.

This technology will be useful for: promote, inform.

Pros: you can transfer more information than one SMS for the same money, clients do not need Internet access, fewer regulatory restrictions than SMS.

Cons: customers can refuse a call, unlike SMS, distrust of a call from an unknown number, one-way communication channel.

• Pin2Speech

Pin-to-Speech is a phone call that contains a voice message with a set of numbers. 

This technology is used solely for: verify.

Pros: usually not limited to mobile operators, wide coverage, customers don’t need an internet connection.

Cons: manual code entry may not be accurate, more expensive than a Flash Call.

• FlashCalls

Flashcall is a missed call that delivers a code in the last 4-6 digits of a phone number. This call ends before the user picks up.

This technology is excellent to perform “verify”  function.

Pros: cheaper than SMS in most countries, wide coverage.

Cons: restrictions on missed calls by mobile operators, manual code entry may be inaccurate.

Omnichannel Business Messaging

We reviewed 7 types of messaging and now you are probably wondering: which channel is the best? Unfortunately, there is no such thing. Multiple channels must complement each other to create a working ecosystem for your business.

This is the best solution to communicate with your customers, attract new ones around the world, optimize your costs and increase conversion.

LANCK Telecom’s platform supports all major communication channels and can be easily integrated with any CRM.

Let’s consider some examples:

Example 1

Message type: Promo

Delivery methods order:

• 1st choice — Messengers
• 2nd choice — Text-2-Speech
• 3rd choice — SMS

Delivery schedule: Single attempt every method. The next method is activated if the previous one receives a “Not delivered” status after a certain amount of time.

Example 2 

Message type: Transactional 

Delivery methods order: 

• 1st choice — Push notification 
• 2nd choice — Messengers 
• 3rd choice — SMS

Delivery schedule: Push notification is attempted first. If no delivery confirmation is received in 30 seconds, a messenger notification or SMS is sent. Optionally, an email can also be added to the method cascade.

Example 3

Message type: OTP

Delivery methods order: 

• 1st choice — Push notification 
• 2nd choice — OTP via Voice 
• 3rd choice — SMS

Delivery schedule: Single try for each method. Next method is activated if the previous one receives a “Not delivered” status after a certain amount of time.

The more channels you use to communicate with a client, the better the interaction, the higher the engagement/loyalty, and the higher your financial savings. Furthermore, clients appreciate that you are communicating them in a time and method that is most convenient to them. Here are some examples from our experiences:

Client A

Registered users receiving a Flash Call: 2 975 000. Spent: 11 900 euros.

The same volume of users receiving an SMS would have cost 83 725 euros.

This saves us 71 825 euros.

Client B

Registered users receiving Pin-to-Speech: 435 000. Spent: 31 175 euros.

The same volume of users receiving an SMS would have cost 47 125 euros.

Savings: 15 950 euros.

If you are ready to take your business to the next level, we are here to help. We offer unparalleled services with world-class support:

• Pricing → choose the most price-effective channel flow
• Quality of service → best quality guarantee: get use of LANCK Telecom’s direct connections with MNOs in SMS & Voice
• Technology → ready-to-use platform with simple APIs and SDKs
• Security → LANCK Telecom customers are protected by LANCK FMS and make use of HLR & 2FA
• Stop customer churn & increase conversion rates → use the most efficient communication channels and talk to your customers through a branded & verified channel in an application they like.

If you want to set up communication with clients through messaging or if you have any questions, we are happy to help! Contact us via the form on our website https://lancktele.com/ or send an email to  contact@lancktele.com

Watch our webinar “Messaging opportunities for business”