Tag: transactional sms

Missed Call Marketing: Unravelling the tale of a Sleeper Hit

Do you know that the idea for missed call marketing originates from a very general practice of ‘leaving missed calls’? A habit that millions of people have acquired ever since mobile became commonplace.

Although we all leave missed calls now and then, emerging markets like India and Africa have invented their unique codes to convey messages via missed calls.

For a significant number of the populace, talk time rates are still unaffordable and leaving missed calls is a recognized mode of communication.

However, little did we know that a purely price conscious practice would become one of the most widely-used inbound marketing tools.

In this article, we will do our best to explain what missed call marketing is, what it isn’t, its unique benefits and ways to leverage campaigns.

Let’s begin!

What is Missed Call Marketing? Understanding its Unique Advantage

Missed call marketing is an inbound marketing solution where the user leaves a missed call on an advertised number to express interest in a product or service.

It is a pull marketing strategy that draws only interested customers.

With the help of missed call marketing tools, brands can create a new inbound channel for their customers to reach out to them.

For example, Kirusa Konnect has an inbound communication tool calledSnapCallthat helps in creating successful campaigns.

As an inbound marketing medium, missed call campaigns can build high quality leads for the sales team. It enables better recognition of one’s target audience and heightens prospects for a productive brand-customer engagement.

Unlike most other channels that directly reach out to assumed buyers, missed call marketing generates interest without being intrusive. It is the ‘buyer’ who signs up for information because they are aware of your product, which is the point where consumers enter the awareness stage of your marketing funnel.

Hence, missed call marketing has the advantage of pulling a relatively more informed and decisive customer.

How does Missed Call Marketing work?

Missed call marketing is a cost-effective mechanism and starting your campaign is not difficult. One has to remember that it is not a typical brand awareness campaign. Following are the steps that you can execute on an inbound marketing platform.

  • Start by purchasing and configuring a set of numbers.

  • Advertise a specific number for people to leave a missed call which is the call-to-action. Remember that the number has to be circulated via other communication channels.

  • Set up a response SMS as an acknowledgment or confirmation of the missed call being received. Some consider this step optional, but it is highly recommended. Also, enable a mandatory feedback SMS from the customer.

  • Following these exchanges, you can measure the number of incoming calls and responses or analytics on your inbound platform. Kirusa Konnect’s SnapCall can help visualize and monitor the progress of campaigns in real-

  • You can use SnapCall as an effective communication platform to supercharge your missed call marketing campaigns. It is a versatile medium to generate awareness of the brand.

However, the utility of missed call campaigns extends beyond general commercial purposes. Following are the various uses cases:

Lead generation – Brands can implement missed call marketing as an efficient way to generate quality leads for their business. Following is a typical example of an insurance agency.

  • Agency advertises a new insurance policy across various media channels, along with a phone number (this is called the CTA or Call-To-Action).
  • People who view the advertisement can give a missed call to the number to express interest in the insurance policy.
  • As soon as the missed call is received, the insurance agency captures the phone number of the caller, which is how a lead is generated.
  • The agency sales team then reaches out to these leads to turn them into customers.
  • Examples of brands using lead generation include insurance companies (life insurance, health insurance, home, vehicle, electronics, ), loans, etc.
Contests and voting
  • During contests or elections, people can leave missed calls on a given number to vote and make their votes count.
  • Typical examples include voting for your favorite participants on a reality show.
  • Governments and regulatory bodies can use missed call marketing to gather votes, support and public opinion for socio-economic or environmental causes.
  • Simply put, missed call marketing can be used for multiple purposes-from extending support to an individual to advocating a particular cause.
App downloads
  • Brands can increase their app adoption by employing this classical marketing technique. One can leave a missed call he/she wishes to download an app, and will be sent an SMS containing a link.
Service requests
  • Customers also leave missed calls if they require some service. For example, users frequently request checkbooks from their bank by first leaving a missed call on a given number. This is usually followed by a callback in a defined period or an SMS message.
On-demand information
  • Bank balance, shipment status, flight details, personalized information, are some of the details that can be gathered via missed calls.
General Awareness

Missed call campaigns can also be applied to generate awareness campaigns against epidemics and natural disasters. Users can leave a missed call and indicate interest if they want further information. For instance, Kirusa Konnect has played a role in facilitating the Ebola Education Campaign to educate Ghanaians on the Ebola epidemic.

What does Missed Call Marketing not Mean?

Conceptualizing a missed call marketing campaign is only half the job done because the exercise is not an end in itself. One must explore and utilize various media/communication channels to generate a robust campaign, including print and electronic media.

Let’s take the example of uniBank which is offering a zero percent payment plan for a comprehensive policy on motor insurance. This message is advertised in print, electronic or social media, TV radio, billboards, etc. A SnapCall number is also popularized with the content to encourage interested customers.

Through the Konnect SnapCall portal, the customer service team of uniBank can access the database of interested people. The team calls back customers to sign them up for the motor insurance policy and other UniBank bank assurance services.

Once the leads are generated, brands become aware of their audience. This is the point where one needs to watch out for conversions and ensure constant communication along with impeccable customer service.

Successful implementation of missed call marketing campaign also requires a regular tracking of metrics and the demography of users. The results can be further used to discover other channels of communication and reach out to newer prospects.

In conclusion, we have learned that missed call marketing is a unique method that assists other forms of advertising for strong marketing ROI. It is an empowering mechanism that makes use of very general practice by letting users reach out at no cost.

The combined effect of auditory/visual communication like Radio and TV with missed call campaigns can inform and educate the buyer. Consumers with limited access to data/internet can make better decisions and understand their needs.

To top it all, the possibilities are limitless, and one can discover innovative ways to further utilize the power of mobile.

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.

9 Up-and-Comers to Watch in the CPaaS Industry

Communications Platform as a Service or CPaaS has set new benchmarks for enterprise communication. Gone are the days when delivering quality customer experience required elaborate back-end infrastructure. Today, CPaaS portals allow data communication, instant messaging for business, VoIP phone system for business, etc., yet one does not need to sit around and create rigorous workflows.

In this article, we will look 20 Up-and-Comers in the CPaaS ecosystem, which are transforming the face of integrated marketing communication.

  • More businesses are competing to provide an Omni-channel Experience to their customers. While SMS is a valuable tool for enterprise engagement, brands are reaching out to users across OTT channels.

  • It has highly reduced fragmentation in the customer journey by integrating messaging, video, and voice.

  • Visual tools and media are easier to handle and are becoming crucial in targeting the audience.

  • The scalability of CPaaS allows the user to up their workflow with engagement metrics. By that, Big Data and AI are becoming critical components of communication.
  • With the advent of Augmented/Virtual Reality, CPaaS is also accommodating these features, thereby, providing an edge to the user.
  • Considering that enterprise communication has kicked off ever since the advent of Application-to-person messaging or A2I, bots (which support the A2P business model) have become commonplace.
  • Juniper Research estimates that the value of CPaaS industry has grown by fifty percent to $ 1.6 billion, and is set to quadruple by $ 6.7 billion by 2022.
  • Smaller organizations are at par in the race to provide the best communication experience to their users, owing to the increasing affordability of CPaaS portals.
  • 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.

The CPaaS space is fast-paced, and companies who do not keep up with existing trends will have a hard time catering to customer expectations.

How to Set Up Your First Marketing Campaign with Konnect

A manufacturing firm, Starlight has begun its new CSR project that seeks to sponsor the construction of dams in a nearby district. Heavy rainfalls strike the region every year, and people are in dire need of reservoirs to hold the floods and sustain agriculture.

While the company decides to contribute 5 per cent of its profits, calculations reveal that the amount would never suffice. The obvious solution is a donation drive. They begin making calls to existing customers on the database.

After a few weeks, the team realizes that people hardly show any enthusiasm during these calls. The conversations seem to make people uncomfortable, and many of them have stopped responding.

If things continue at the same pace, Starlight will never meet its target. The team decides to take a break from cold calls and brainstorm.

A few meetings and open discussions bring forth the conclusion that a strategized SMS campaign could be their hope.

What is SMS Marketing?

The Company chooses to adopt the timely tactic of SMS marketing for their donation drive instead of making cold colds.

To have a more systemized approach, they also look for an efficient SMS campaign provider for regular delivery and response. Thus, begins their first marketing campaign with Kirusa’s CPaaS portal, a versatile platform which also offers a complete set of SMS marketing services.

 Initiating the Campaign

 

Bulk SMS

After successful account activation and getting a sender mask on Konnect, Starlight uploads a list of all those to whom messages are to be sent. They also select the DND or don-not-disturb filter to avoid sending SMS to people who have unsubscribed.

The Company uploads its content or message on the platform and schedules a preferred shoot-off time. It also gets a complete metric to keep track of deliveries and response rates.

The Konnect CPaaS portal also offers tools to evaluate the ROI of the bulk SMS messaging campaign. Kirusa Konnect’s CPaaS portal provides a reliable platform for bulk SMS messaging, enabling marketers to send bulk SMS messages with just a few clicks. Konnect provides a classic SMS outreach campaign, using which promotional, informational and transactional messages can be easily communicated

Inbound SMS

Starlight makes the most of its campaign by advertising the message across social media and other forums as well.  They display the SMS codes in case people want to reach out to them for further information. Later, the audience is to receive a customized message as a response to the inbound SMS.

Kirusa Konnect’s inbound SMS solution can be availed to create a dedicated SMS communication channel for its users. One has to simply SMS a predefined message to a short code to connect. It has multiple applications ranging from lead generation campaigns to voting contests and information on-demand services.

SMS Tagging

Transactional SMS tend to have a higher click-through rate (CTR) compared to promotional SMS because they contain personalized information about the client’s account and transactions. What if there was a solution enterprise could use to leverage higher impression and mindshare of transactional SMS and use them for promotional messaging?

Similarly, the company inserts its message and codes within transaction SMS or billing details to its customers.

In conclusion, the company starts getting impressive leads in a couple of months. Apart from SMS marketing, the team also utilizes other communication platforms for an omnichannel experience. Several people find resonance with the cause and start contributing to the fund.

Related Pages-

SnapCall | Missed Call Marketing for Voting and Elections | Missed Call Marketing for Lead Generation | Missed Call Marketing

 

The Top 5 Tactics to Engage Customers with SMS Marketing

It was a nice balmy evening and time to get off from work. Mohor decided to scroll through his phone and find something interesting to eat. He soon found himself spoilt for choice after flipping through lip-smacking images and irresistible discounts. The hoard of tabs, social media accounts, and food delivery apps did not help either.

Our boy was already giving up when a notification startled him. It was an SMS from a Pizza place 500 meters away from where he lived. The SMS offered an “after-office” discount coupon that he could avail between 5 pm-7 pm. Without further ado, Mohor dashed out of the office and placed an order when his home was 15 minutes away. By the time he got there, a piping hot mushroom cheese-burst was waiting at the doorstep.

What is SMS Marketing?

It feels like Mohor could be any of us. We may get a similar coupon code this evening, tonight or the day after. This is because the codes, promotions, discounts, and offers are elements of an organized strategy called SMS marketing. It ensures that offers arrive at the most appropriate time when we need them.

Mobile SMS marketing is a timely technique that works favourably for brands. The number of mobile subscribers is estimated to reach around 5 billion by 2019 (source: https://goo.gl/nQZT9s). No wonder SMS has open rates as high as 98 per cent compared to other forms of advertising.  (Source: https://goo.gl/mRfw3E). A promotional SMS speaks directly to the user and can be read in less than a minute.

Despite the allegation that promotional SMSes spam our inboxes, brands must never shy away from having an SMS marketing strategy. If implemented well, mobile SMS marketing can work wonders.

Let us help you make the most of your SMS marketing campaigns with the following tactics:

Keep a Clock

While hundreds of companies send endless promotional and deals via SMS, the frequency of these messages can ultimately put off the user.  A lot of promotional messages reach the user irrespective of time and context.  A lunch coupon at 9   in the morning is irrelevant to the customer, whereas the same message would get more attention if it were to reach him an hour before lunch. Remember Mohor’s story.

Don’t Forget the USP

It is wise to be different and think beforehand why the user would be interested in your deal. Is it worth their time? The offer must be exclusive, personalized and relevant to your audience (perhaps it’s time to work on your client-database). Do you think the ‘after-office’ discount would be popular with housewives? Last but not the least, avoid copying other brands as much as possible when it comes to discounts and offers. Be original.

Piggybank on Transactional SMS

Companies that regularly send billing or transaction details to customers can add shorter promotional messages to their transactional SMSes. It is an excellent opportunity to initiate a clear call-to-action with the extra codes. Just make sure that the codes, keywords or offers blend well with the transactional message and do not lose their importance. You may even look up quite a few SMS marketing services that enable this.

Do not Isolate your SMS Marketing Campaign

Remember how Mohor made a point to scroll through food delivery apps and social media accounts before noticing the SMS. That’s true for most of us. Social media trends and updates significantly influence our buying decision and promotional SMSes act like a ‘final push.’ Hence, it is a great idea to integrate WAP links into your SMS that direct people to your site or app. The next time somebody needs service, they will perhaps browse through your website first.

Location

Mentioning your location is extremely important. A lot of brands forget to mention this, resulting in a confused customer who does not know where to redeem the offer. If you have customers worldwide, it is all the more important to have a good track of locations and time zones. International SMS marketing services are an excellent way to figure this out.

In conclusion, having an SMS marketing strategy is effective if you do not consider it in silos. The social media can get overwhelming for a buyer with its unending images and options. Treat it as the sweet spot for SMS marketing. A to-the-point, short, relevant and timely SMS can score where social media lags.

Related Pages-

SnapCall | Missed Call Marketing for Voting and Elections | Missed Call Marketing for Lead Generation | Missed Call Marketing