Circa December 1992, a test engineer sent a Christmas greeting SMS to his colleague. That was the first SMS sent to someone ever. Since then, SMS has become one of the most widely used forms of communication. It remains popular and continues to grow despite being there for 30 years and the advent of different messaging apps like WhatsApp. Data Bridge Market Research shows that the SMS market will grow at a CAGR of 21.26% by 2030.
While SMS is widely known for person-to-person interactions, a staggering number of enterprises use application-to-person (A2P) messaging to interact with customers for an array of important applications. They send automated messages from applications to individuals to inform or promote new offers or send transactional messages, they use it to authenticate and onboard new customers and for several other reasons.
In fact, it is so effective that enterprise communication over SMS receives 20x more read rates and 30x more call-to-actions than Emails.
No wonder, the market size of A2P messaging is predicted to become $78.2 billion by 2028.
This popularity has led to enterprises experimenting with new forms of messaging for greater customer engagement, tighter security, and easier operations.
Here are a few trends enterprises must know to unlock the full potential of messaging.
Five Trends Of Messaging Enterprises And Mobile Operators Must Know
- Customers “want” messages from enterprises
As customers become wary of the incessant barrage of app notifications, enterprises find SMS becoming even more effective in communicating with customers. They are non-intrusive and have a better response and open rates than emails and other forms of communication. Evidently, customers seem to prefer SMS messages. According to a survey, 42% of customers found messaging to be a non-intrusive form of communication with enterprises. 41% of customers thought it was a great way for enterprises to inform them about new offerings and opportunities.
As more customers and enterprises prefer messaging, businesses will continue to prioritize its use. One trend that’s likely to surge in the next year is enterprises using SMS for better lead generation and conversion.
- AI-based SMS is coming
According to an Infosys survey, 78% of customers prefer purchasing from brands with offers targeted to their interests and preferences. It helps in increasing conversions and improving customer loyalty. But typically, enterprises use the spray-and-pray method while sending bulk SMS to customers. Such messages receive sub-optimal responses from customers. To improve open rates and conversions, enterprises will begin to personalize messages. AI-powered SMS can do that.
AI-driven SMS technologies analyze customer data and help enterprises send tailored messages to customers. For example, marketers can analyze a customer’s purchasing history and use AI to send cross-sell or upsell offers over SMS to them. This will enhance content relevance, customer engagement, and response rates.
- SMS becomes a prime customer service channel
According to Gartner, 80% of customer service-focused enterprises will abandon native mobile apps in favor of messaging by 2025. No doubt, driven by the knowledge that most customers prefer using SMS and messaging apps like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp over service apps. Customers also find it more convenient than calling the customer service number.
Considering the customer’s preferences, enterprises and mobile operators will focus on using messaging to inform customers seeking service. SMS can be used to send reminders and follow-up messages to customers, get feedback, and send transactional messages in real-time.
- Authentication services are the fastest-growing segment
With the rise in fraud, enterprises, and mobile operators have been relying on authentication services to prevent fraud. They authenticate the user’s credentials through two-factor authentication (2FA) or one-time password (OTP). This provides an additional security layer and establishes secure and reliable communication with the recipient. It reduces the risks of unauthorized access, prevents data loss, and provides a safe messaging experience to customers. The Banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector is one of the most active users of authentication services due to the sensitivity of transactions. Enterprises and mobile operators will invest more in authentication services to validate customers’ identities and secure data.
- Conversational SMS is becoming popular
Although customers prefer messaging over calls, they find spam messages and one-way communication overwhelming. Sometimes, customers ignore messages where they see no scope for interaction. Conversational SMS can solve this problem. Conversational SMS mimics human conversations between people. Enterprises and mobile operators can use it to collect feedback, increase participation in quizzes, surveys, and polls, and improve engagement. It can also be used to authorize a customer’s identity.
The Growing Concerns In Messaging And How Can You Alleviate Them
The sustained popularity of SMS has also given rise to security concerns. Rising threats like grey routes and fake traffic bots erode mobile operators’ and enterprise revenue. Recently, Elon Musk revealed that X (earlier Twitter) was scammed and lost $60 million a year through SMS texts. Musk said X could ascribe about a third of its reported total losses in 2021 to these scams.
Only technologies like SMS firewalls, artificial intelligence, and machine learning (AI/ML) solutions can alleviate these issues.
At Globe Teleservices, we have been building A2P SMS communication solutions and products to help enterprises and mobile operations enhance security.
A2P SMS solutions, for instance, help enterprises and mobile operators enhance security, customer experience, and compliance.
Our products, like Armour, help mobile operators eliminate all types of SMS fraud originating from local and international market sources. It uses deep machine learning to prevent fraud like SIM farming, interconnect scams, and secure networks.
If messaging is your primary form of communication with customers, consider using these solutions. They will secure customer communication, protect revenue, and provide a great experience to your customers.
Contact us to know more about how to realize the full potential of messaging securely. We will be happy to help.