Communication As A Service Platform Archives - Omni-Channel Messaging Platform

Introducing Dotgo Bot Store – A Global Directory of RCS Bots

In the fast-moving ecosystem of conversational commerce over RCS, there is a need for users to be able to discover and connect to RCS bots, both from Android Messages and from Samsung Messages. Kirusa is launching Dotgo Bot Store, the first and only directory available for RBM agents globally. As RCS is gaining popularity, more and more RBM agents are being developed. Dotgo Bot Store is an easy-to-use and extremely relevant platform as it provides convenience and value to aggregators, brands and consumers. The platform can help brands attain more traction for their RBM agents and eventually witness a significant increase in engagement rate with consumers.

Our vision with Dotgo Bot Store is to have an open directory listing for RCS bots from all over the world and to facilitate a quick and easy way to search and connect to an RCS agent supported for the user – from the web, from a bot, and from the built-in client capabilities (e.g. Samsung messages).

Here are some of the advantages of listing a chatbot on Dotgo Bot Store:

Bot discovery – Users all over the world can search for RCS chatbots on Dotgo Bot Store, from the web, or from the directory bot. The search can be based on their country, carrier, name and even their use case like ‘Travel’.
‘Connect-Me’ Feature (P2A trigger) – Users can go through the bot details, screenshots and if it interests them they can connect to it directly from the directory. This will be a trigger to the enterprise to send the first RCS message to the user’s phone number.
Snapcall numbers (P2A trigger) – For each bot entered by the developer, Dotgo Bot Store assigns a unique snapcall number to the bot. Users who discover the bot can drop a missed call to this number from their phone number. This will, in turn, trigger the enterprise to send the first RCS message to the user. This feature is available only for select countries.
One place for all – Developers can always keep the users updated on what’s new in the agent, latest updates, have promotional offers, view & manage user reviews, and do a lot more.
Bot Store – A Bot for discovery. Bot Store is pushed by carriers as the default search bot, and users can search for bots using Bot Store from Android and Samsung Messages. Any user using Bot Store can discover, explore and connect to their favourite bot right within the native Messages app!

We have the Dotgo Bot Store live at www.dotgo.com and continue to enhance it with additional features in a phased manner.

Why B2B SMS Marketing is a Must

SMS Marketing is very often associated with B2C or Business to Customer strategies. As marketers, we tend to forget that business clients can sometimes share similar traits with individual customers. While their requirements may differ, let us remember that everybody is quickly accessible via mobile.

Most business professionals use SMSes for business purposes, and messaging is a popular channel of communication in the B2B space with over ninety percent open rates.

Following are some reasons to see how an enterprise can benefit from SMS marketing in the B2B space.

Inbound Marketing: Just like your regular customer, a business client would not want to spend their time reading a message that just promotes your product. A B2B client would appreciate your help or suggestions rather than being sold to. Therefore, initiate an inbound SMS marketing campaign for clients on your SMS list by offering free podcasts, e-books, training sessions, and attaching website links and URLs in the messages.
SMS List: Compile an SMS list of potential and existing clients and promote the same across social media platforms. This is because, without an updated SMS list, you will be shooting in the dark and would not know who is genuinely interested in receiving your SMSes. With a complete SMS list, you can pitch webinars and online events across your client base.
Leverage interactive messaging: While you are utilizing all channels to boost your inbound b2b campaigns, seek feedback from the clients who have signed up for your SMS list. Include short-codes, polls, questionnaires, or URLs to derive a two-way engagement.
Monitor your Messages: You also need to keep a regular check on the SMS response rates and ROI. Check out Kirusa Konnect’s Bulk SMS marketing platform offers tools to evaluate the ROI of the bulk SMS campaign.

Apart from boosting SMS marketing and keeping track of success metrics, it aDND filter provided to prevent enterprises from sending promotional SMS to people who have opted out officially.

Choosing Between Voice APIs and SMS APIs for Your Mobile App

The highly competitive atmosphere in enterprise communication calls for technologies that keep you ahead for bridging the gap between customers and relevant solutions.

Meanwhile, Application Programming Interface or APIs are on the rise, and it is essential to know how it benefits one’s customer communication channels.

What is an API?

API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of procedures that make way to develop applications which access the procured data of other applications or services. API is merely a set of communication protocols between components.

It offers you tools to build your software. A stable API would allow one to quickly develop their platform or interface by providing all the building blocks.

Understanding Voice and SMS APIs

Voice APIs serve as a bridge between enterprises and their customers. Using the power of voice technology, this tool developed using a simple API procedure understands the clients’ requirements and develops customized voice APIs. When you call a number which uses voice API, it automatically tracks the contact number of the person and saves it in its database to proceed further with outbound phone calls.

Your mobile or software application can automatically instruct the API regarding the way it wants to proceed forward with a call. Many leading businesses use voice APIs for good connectivity between its customers. For example, cab services use Voice APIs to automatically connect the person with the cab driver without providing personal information about the customer.

Similarly, Bulk SMS APIs use codes to send short messages to the customers using a software interface. It revolutionizes communication using codes and programming languages for better prospects of businesses. These voice and SMS APIs can be integrated into websites or mobile applications of the enterprises. Konnect uses Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) for connecting calls.

Following are the benefits of availing an API:

With a Bulk SMS API gateway present across all your technological networks and business platforms, you can have a unified functional core to boost seamless communication.
APIs offer flexibility and scalability, which means that you can easily integrate new features without seeking a third party’s assistance.
It is a cost-effective solution considering expandability.
You can make the most of its high transfer and delivery speed, and send hundreds of messages or make calls in the click of a button apart.
A reliable SMS or voice API ensures data security.
Enterprises can also send messages in various formats and get real-time reports on response and delivery.

Kirusa’s Konnect’s API offers both inbound and outbound messaging/call services to its users. Using the interface, one can execute robust marketing campaigns with reliable metrics and response rates.

It is effortless to use Konnect’s API services with the following steps:

All you need to do is create an account on Kirusa Konnect’s website and log in.
Konnect has a vast number of codes loaded in its code snippet among which one will be provided to you.
You need to paste the code snippet provided by Konnect in your code base and proceed to pay for your API pack.

Well now you know how a voice API works, but you still may be in a dilemma as to what are the benefits of using these Voice APIs or SMS APIs?

Send alerts and notifications

You can use voice API or SMS API to send account-related alerts automatically. Customers can be sent a reminder about a product, event, discount, etc.

Call tracking and lead generation

By using APIs, enterprises can track and find the route of the customers in their marketing campaigns.

Masked phone numbers

Enterprises can choose masked phone numbers where the buyer and the seller will be connected without disclosing their identities. Use Interactive Voice Response to generate sales by targeting the prospective customers’ list stored in the database using API.

Products of Konnect using its API are:

API call Snapcall

For example, Jumia is an online shopping app which uses Konnect’s API to get closer with its customers by solving their queries and requests.

When customers figure out a flash-call ad on the Jumia app and as and when they flash the number, it gets connected to Konnect’s Snapcall API, and their number gets stored. This process continues for every customer whenever they dial the flash-call number, and all these numbers are stored as leads. With Konnect, you can trigger voice calling using apps efficiently.

API call outbound SMS

When an API call is initiated to Konnect’s outbound SMS, an SMS is delivered to the user with a link to download the app.

API call voice OBD

To check the authenticity of the user, the Konnect API call sends an OTP number by calling instead of an SMS API. This happens when the user selects the OTP by call option. Now an API call is carried out to Konnect’s voice OBD (Outbound Dialer) to generate OTP through a call. Thereby, the user receives an outbound call.

API call Inbound SMS

Right after a few months of installing the app, the user is sent a customer SMS to draw the feedback of the user for making the required changes. The collected feedback from the user is stored in Customer Relation Management or Database for further decision making.

Now that you know about Konnect’s API services and its benefits, it would be a good idea to combine and use the Voice and SMS API tools. Sign up for a 30-day free trial and avail further.

Watch Out: How CPaaS is Taking Over and What to do About It?

Communications Platform as a Service or CPaaS is taking over the industry with new benchmarks for enterprise communication. More businesses are competing to provide an Omni-channel Experience via robust cloud infrastructure and secure communication.

In the fast-paced business space, companies who do not keep up with existing trends will have a hard time catering to customer expectations. Hence, you must steer along the following lines-

Check if your vendor has partnerships with enough network carriers so that it is easier to carry out inbound and outbound communications. For example, Kirusa’s Konnect CPaaS Portal which offers a comprehensive suite of inbound and outbound communication tools enables you to connect with the target audience via mobile phones through its partnership with several network carriers.
Assess the scalability of the API that your vendor offers. Its length, breadth, and depth should be able to accommodate your organization’s evolving needs. For example, if you have to include touch-to-video-chat features, data communication, or VoIP phone system in a customer-facing smartphone app within a year, you don’t want to go to another vendor.
An Omnichannel experience is sought-after by many enterprises for gaining a competitive advantage. But with most large businesses now operating across multiple channels (online and mobile), customer service has become the key factor that influences a buyer’s decision to choose one provider over another.
Secure communication has become a significant concern because accessing CPaaS vendor APIs requires the use of credentials. If not handled with care, exposed credentials allow third-parties to access the company’s infrastructure.
There has to be constant interaction between the vendor-developers and those who use it, one that surpasses traditional support channels. An active user/developer community thrives on shared practices, codes, tools, and skills. Developers who are more willing to share the same with their users are more capable of implementing their features well.

In the fast-paced and evolving cpaas market, and opportunities are numerous but one needs to keep track of the most recent updates. It is also a battleground for companies to keep up with existing trends and engage in the best possible manner with customers.

The Anatomy of a Great CPaaS

As we know, Communications Platform as a Service or CPaaS is a cloud-based delivery model that allows organizations to add real-time capabilities such as voice, video, APIs, etc.

However, choosing the most effective CPaaS for your business is a challenge. You must remember to look for the following while making that decision:

Wide Variety of APIs: Assess the scalability of the API that your vendor offers. Its length, breadth, and depth should be able to accommodate your organization’s evolving needs. For example, if you have to include touch-to-video-chat features in a customer-facing smartphone app within a year, you don’t want to go to another vendor.

Cloud Infrastructure: A consistent network along with robust cloud infrastructure is a must. Check if your vendor has partnerships with enough network carriers so that it is easier to carry out inbound and outbound communications. For example, Kirusa’s Konnect CPaaS Portal which offers a comprehensive suite of inbound and outbound communication tools enables you to connect with the target audience via mobile phones through its partnership with several network carriers.

User/Developer Community: There has to be constant interaction between the vendor-developers and those who use it, one that surpasses traditional support channels. An active user/developer community thrives on shared practices, codes, tools, and skills. Developers who are more willing to share the same with their users are more capable of implementing their features well.

Presence in the CPaaS Market: The CPaaS market has seen accelerating growth over the last few years. Naturally, we have several big and small players with vibrant API tools and cloud services who claim to be “disruptors.” While making your decision, examine the longevity of a potential vendor because it determines whether they have been adaptive or not.

The above factors are sufficient indicators of what is cpaas and how that has reliable anatomy. Pricing and affordability also play their part, but that’s not something users continuously worry about because CPaaS has a competitive market.