The ‘mantra’ to any successful business is obviously customer satisfaction and top-quality product delivery. When it comes to customer satisfaction, SaaS providers are ensuring that their clients are supplied with world-class innovative solutions to help them satisfy and retain clients. While there are several solutions in the market to address customer satisfaction and engagement, interactive SMS services are gaining prominence and such solutions are in great demand.

In an exclusive interaction with VoicenData, Rajdip Gupta, MD and Group CEO at Route Mobile Limited, shared few industry-related perspectives on 2-Way SMS and its functional advantage.

How SMS was viewed then and now?

An important aspect for businesses dealing in products and services is customer feedback and engagement. It helps to plan targeted marketing campaigns and also to receive suggestions that can be used to enhance products/services. Traditionally, feedback calls often led to an incomplete and unauthentic response. Calls were an added expense to businesses/enterprises involving infrastructure and resource management. SMS wasn’t considered an appropriate feedback mechanism then.

Enterprise messaging or application-to-person messaging (A2P) slowly gained momentum, as SMS messages were effective mobile marketing tools. Branching from the enterprise messaging portfolio is the two-way messaging service. This interaction-based messaging creates a lasting impact on your target audience.

Multifold approach of 2-Way SMS keep customers happy

Two-way SMS messaging uses predetermined keywords and shortcodes to deliver text messages to mobile users. It requires end users to send a keyword to a short code, like 23232, to receive an automatic reply.

Benefits of a two-way messaging solution are manifold. It helps numerous organizations, from large-scale multinationals, businesses, and enterprises to sole traders, all driven by the same goal — engagement. It can not only generate feedback, but also look at employing surveys, subscription services, tracking, and even secondary sales services. Two-way messaging finds use in various business functions such as sales, operational communication, customer retention, etc. The solution also doesn’t require any additional apps or software.

Rajdip Gupta says, “Interestingly, two-way messaging lets one deliver conversational style messages to the respective audience instead to just trying to chase them for feedback. The most effective benefit to a company is to receive the quality of information and measurable feedback. Imagine your dipstick study states that around 60% of your customers are happy with your service, but there are 40% of those untouched and may be unhappy. Now you need to improve your communication to attract and retain those 40% customers. Messaging could prove to be that elusive connecting medium to your unhappy customers.

Overall, two-way messaging minimizes the need for the user to call customer care or to log in to web portals. Customer interaction is simplified by sending an SMS containing a single keyword to a number (shortcode). By applying this service, you can integrate CRM, build an opt-in customer database, and promotion tactics.”

Published in Voice And Data: Route Mobile’s Rajdip Gupta indicates increased momentum in 2-Way SMS