SMS - The key communication tool of the modern era

A study recently published by ABI Research has predicted that more than 7 trillion SMS messages will be sent by consumers worldwide in 2011. When this is compared to the 1.5 trillion SMS messages that were sent in 2009 it is clear that the popularity of this method of communication is increasing rapidly.

Of course this trend brings with it huge potential for businesses, the true extent of which, many feel, is yet to be revealed.
A lot of companies already favour SMS for its speed and simplicity when communicating with employees and customers. It is true that the medium lends itself well to surveys, reminders and distributing promotional coupons, however
it is the interactive nature of the SMS that makes it such a good way to engage.

With consumers becoming more comfortable with communicating via SMS brands are likely to increasingly use the channel as a way of initiating contact with their audience.

SMS is the perfect first step, other mobile channels such as mobile internet, MMS and WAP links can then enrich the conversation, delivering powerful messages straight in to the hands of the consumer, and allowing them to respond back to your brand.

Neil Strother, practice director at ABI research is an advocate of the power of text messaging:

‘Trillions of messages are sent across billions of mobile phones annually. It is the key communication tool of the modern era.’

SMS messages can be integrated in to any area of business operations, this is particularly true in the case of gathering real-time customer feedback. Asking a customer for their thoughts via SMS is not only convenient for them but also an effective means of gathering insight at the 'moment of truth', right after service delivery. Similarly an appropriately timed text message update to staff is much more time and cost effective than individual calls to each team member.

It seems that, as in 1995, when a lot of executives did not fully understand the way in which the internet could help their business, the true power of SMS is an unknown entity to many. 2011 is the prime time for brands to explore the potential SMS communication holds for them, or else risk being left behind in its wake.

Rapide are experts in Customer and Employee engagement and have been helping over 1/3 of the FTSE 500 harness the power of SMS for over 10 years.

Every year Premier Inn use Rapide services to send interactive booking confirmations to 6 million guests, help over 2 million guests find their hotel, sell over 84,000 meals and reduce their no-show rates by 20%.

For over 2 years Ricoh have been relying on Rapide’s text to email service to support their communication with their engineers. Now when an engineer needs to relay information back to head office they simply send a text message which is automatically turned in to an email and directed to the appropriate person, saving the company both time and money.

For more information about how Rapide can help you fill out the form below or contact us on 02476011906