Two-Way Messaging Just Launched in France

Mobile phone adoption in France is reaching all-time highs. A recent study suggests that the French population is close to saturated and will soon even turn to wearables instead. But for now, mobile phones rule the landscape – and the good news is, the latest wearables can send and receive text messages too. There’s a huge business opportunity here. And, with Clickatell having recently introduced local long numbers that enable two-way messaging in France, businesses need to recognise and act on the opportunities that enabling customers to reply to your messages presents.

InMobi, in “France Market Overview” reported that 70.9% of the ad impressions in Q4 2016 appeared on mobile phone screens. That number has only grown since. And in a country with a population of 65 million people, that’s a fair number of people seeing your market offerings. Now imagine if these same people could respond to your promotional messages in real-time. With two-way messaging, that’s exactly what happens, opening the door for businesses to have real-time conversations with their customers.

How two-way messaging works

Long numbers are two-way numbers that enable customers to reply to any text message you send them. Usually the same length as standard local phone numbers, long numbers are far more cost effective. Any message that your customers send to you is at their expense. Thus, while having a long number allows your customers to connect with you and establish a relationship with your brand, they don’t automatically mean a huge rise in expenses.

What’s more, two-way text messaging is tailor-made for B2C and C2B communication. You can send completely personalised messages and have your offering land in the palm of your customers’ hands. And because of the opt-in, opt-out features, customers will only receive messages that they want. This is bound to lead to positive brand sentiment since they aren’t receiving spammy communication that they aren’t interested in.

The 160-character limit that text messaging offers may seem like a challenge, but businesses are learning that it’s actually a strength of the channel. It keeps your customers focused and a simple CTA tells them exactly what they need to do to engage with your offering.

Another benefit of the two-way messaging process is that it’s immediate, instant and doesn’t age. Messages can reach and be replied to regardless of the kind of phone used. With technology changing so rapidly these days and new models replacing old models faster and faster, it’s refreshing to know that your communication is reaching its intended market regardless.

How can you use two-way messaging?

Appointment bookings and confirmations: What’s more convenient: a simple SMS to book an appointment or a phone call where you must wait on hold for minutes (or hours) before speaking to someone who can help you make your booking?

Lead generation: The opportunities are endless – competitions, promotions that require a response, and getting customers to request a quote, for example, are all great ways to generate leads.

Get valuable customer feedback: Surveys are a fantastic way to gather customer feedback that can ultimately help you improve and grow your business.

Improved CRM: It’s so easy to integrate two-way messaging in your existing CRM systems and the benefits of automating workflows are aplenty.
That’s only four of the many ways that you can use two-way messaging to ramp up your customer engagement, business growth, and start meaningful dialogues with your customer base. If you’re interested in learning more, check out our latest pricings and areas of coverage using our interactive pricing estimator.