Making Money from Inbound SMS
January 24, 2003 Two-way SMS has been around for some time in South Africa, allowing bi-directional mobile text conversations. This has, however, mostly been confined to mobile originated (MO) SMS, with predominantly younger mobile users sending large amounts of peer-to-peer text messages each day. On the other hand, sending 2-way messages from or to an application is more complex, as it requires more planning and integration of specific numbers to a server-based process or system. Local SMS solutions provider Clickatell has been offering application-based bi-directional SMS messaging for some time now, with a number of Clickatell’s South African clients utilising this for a variety of applications ranging from selling pre-paid airtime, to marketing polls, to requesting clients to update their account details via SMS. According to Clickatell’s two-way SMS product manager, Bruce Watermeyer, market adoption in South Africa is rapidly increasing for these kinds of applications. Says Watermeyer: “Historically most of Clickatell’s clients across all continents have pushed messages to their audiences, but we have seen increasing demand from both local and international clients for bi-directional SMS. In South Africa specifically, we have various clients utilising 2-way with great effect. I believe that the consumer in South Africa is by now getting used to the idea of responding to a server-originated message from their handset (eg: Dear Bruce, you are due for an eye examination. It has been 18 months since your previous visit, would you like us to schedule an appoinmtment?). Certainly the response rates to campaigns are higher, on average, than with any other communications medium.” Bi-directional SMS in South Africa as a commercial service opens up new avenues for businesses to obtain valuable market knowledge, roll out new services and incorporate transactions into mobile messaging. It also adds a valuable dimension to measuring audience response to a campaign. But this is just the start, it would seem. One of the new facets of two-way SMS, which Clickatell is in the process of launching, is Premium-rated SMS. This will allow Clickatell’s clients to publish a premium-rated number to consumers for competition entries, value-added services, content, or a host of other applications, and charge the sender an increased rate for sending the SMS. The client or content provider will at the same time receive a share of the revenue that the network charges the consumer, thereby providing a method of micro-billing for such services and content. “The introduction of Premium-rated SMS into the South African market will allow our clients to adjust revenue models to suit their content. Where in the past it was only feasible to bill for items such as operator logo’s and ringtones through IVR lines, variable priced Premium-rated services (R1.00, R2.00, etc) will allow for much more flexibility and rapid market adoption,” Watermeyer comments. “The fact that micro-billing will be simple for any kind of content provider to roll out through Clickatell will be the main reason for the success of the service.” Whatever Premium-rated and bi-directional SMS will be used for in the South African context remains to be seen, but it is sure to change the way you interact with your handset in the near future!
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