Digital Marketing

5 SMS marketing use cases you’ve never thought of

SMS marketing use cases

But besides sending OTPs, marketing messages or retail notifications, SMS also offers innovative business solutions you may not have thought of, like real-time auction bidding or the eradication of your customers’ biggest time-waster: the queue.

If you’re inspired to improve customer experience and business efficiency with SMS, these compelling case studies will get you thinking in new and exciting ways.

bidorbuy SMS notifications

bidorbuy is one of South Africa’s largest ecommerce websites, providing individuals and businesses with an online platform to trade with one another.  The online marketplace relied on email to notify bidders when they were outbid on an auction, but they needed a reliable way to connect with their bidders on the go. bidorbuy introduced a two-way SMS alert service, which uses Personalized Priority Messaging (PPM) via Clickatell’s HTTP API and SMTP APIs to notify bidders when they are outbid. Bidders have the option to reply to an alert to increase their bids, by simply sending an SMS to a short code number with the word BID. Not only did SMS alert subscriptions increase dramatically but it greatly enhanced the bidorbuy user experience.

QLess Customer Updates

Taking a customer-centric approach is essential for any growing business, but it is estimated that the average person spends anywhere from six months to two years of their lives standing in a queue. QLess is a queue management system designed to reduce customers’ time spent waiting in lines. Using the HTTP and SMTP APIs, it sends 2 way SMS messages with on-demand status updates. The SMS includes wait times and the number of people ahead in the line. The system can eliminate waiting times at restaurants, universities, doctors’ offices, events and more. Customers can also join the queue from anywhere, even at home, leaving them feeling empowered and valued. The system gathers data for your business, while Clickatell ensures the timely delivery of SMS messages, which assists in driving sales and increasing customer spend.

FireQ-RVS 1st Responder Updates

In the past, fire departments relied on pagers to mobilize volunteers in emergencies, but as pagers were often turned off, the system was ineffective. It’s believed that the average mobile phone user checks their phone over 150 times a day, proving that when it comes to urgent messages, SMS is a far better alternative. FireQ-RVS is a robust real-time response verification system that takes advantage of mobile phone technologies, combined with precise GPS location services. Fire departments use SMS messaging to inform duty officers of who is responding, and provides critical information to responders. With the FireQ-RVS system, all firefighters, including volunteers, are linked together via SMS messaging, thus saving time, which leads to saving lives.

Metropolitan Cover2Go Insurance for unbanked Clients

Cover2Go was among the first in the world to target those with no access to the insurance industry or experience in the purchase process. South Africans could simply send an SMS with their name and national identity number to a short code shared in Cover2Go advertising campaigns, aimed at the unbanked market. A confirmation SMS was then sent from Cover2Go, which included their policy number and a request that the client responds via SMS in order to register.  Cover2Go’s objectives were simply to generate business through new products and new distribution channels, while simultaneously keeping costs to a minimum.

Breathe new life into your SMS marketing campaign with the right Clickatell product

If you want to stand out from the competition, you need to start using SMS in innovative and engaging ways. By thinking a little differently about how to use SMS marketing, you could bring real value and benefit to your customers, increasing your market share and growing your business.

 

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