Harnessing the Power of SMS
February 26, 2004 The latest research [www.gsmworld.com] has found that there are far more mobile handsets in the world than the number of fixed lines, and that the mobile penetration rate is much higher than that of the Internet. Mobile communication has become the most widely used communication medium in the world. With each passing day, our lives are made easier in the delivery of services and products straight into the palms of our hands. The latest estimates are that over a billion SMS messages are sent every day around the world, and the figure keeps growing. Although the use of SMS for business purposes only makes up a smaller portion of the total SMS market, it has increased dramatically over the past year, and it's still growing. With more and more staff spending time out of the office or working at home-based offices, it's a cost effective and immediate way to communicate with them. It has also increased the level of relationships between companies and their customers, especially in the financial, retail and business service sectors. As a communications medium, SMS is the most cost-effective way of communicating to any mobile audience. Data is transmitted via different mobile channels than voice, and can be delivered to a handset at a fraction of a voice call. The fact that SMS can be sent out in bulk to large groups of recipients in a manual or automated manner further means that fewer resources are required to action the communication. As a micro-billing solution, SMS, and specifically premium rated SMS, has changed the way in which content and service providers interact with the consumer. Premium rated SMS has the advantage of opening up endless opportunities as a wide variety of new content and applications become available to consumers. The principle on which it is built is that a charge is levied to the mobile phone user who sends a message to a service provider. It is widely used for content delivery such as logos and ringtones, and subscription-based services such as stock quotes, sport and news alerts, etc. It can all sound very simple, but companies can find themselves getting totally bewildered by it all. Different mobile operators will obviously have different policies based on message volumes, and all have different connection interfaces. So without the technical and commercial know-how, connecting directly with mobile operators can be a daunting task. But by connecting through to service providers, who already have the technical and commercial relationships with the mobile operators themselves, can make it a whole lot easier. So what should a business be looking for when choosing this type of communication medium and service provider? "A definite answer would be value for money," comments Don Lange, Sales Manager for Clickatell. "With Clickatell there are no hidden costs, our messages are priced aggressively and you only pay per message sent. All our software is free to download, so there are no setup fees or license fees involved. Plus we offer a global coverage to over 550 mobile networks." Clickatell's experience in the SMS field has allowed them to quickly advance to the status of a first-tier mobile messaging provider. They have repeatedly been the first choice for companies who believe in quality, and who prefer to deal with specialists when it comes to message delivery. Offering simple integration through multiple protocols, rapid delivery of messages, real-time message reporting and superior service levels, means that mobilising your business through Clickatell is far from a complex task.
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