The Key Role of International SMS After the World Cup

Bafana’s recent loss is regrettable, but businesses are still able to win by using international SMS to keep newfound business relations alive.

Last night (16/06) saw the South African national soccer team, Bafana Bafana, beat by Uruguay. Nevertheless, keep in mind that business opportunities are forged everyday as a result of these 4-week festivities, and most of it with customers foreign to our shores. Once they return to their home countries, businesses should be prepared to maintain communication in a cost-efficient yet effective way using international SMS.

The figures related to the World Cup vary, but according to a number of reports an estimated impact of R93 billion awaits the South African economy. Visitors, on average, will be spending in the region of around R30,200 each. That’s a fair amount by average South African standards for a period that spans four weeks, in many cases even less. The benefit here is that it indicates an increasingly positive change for businesses, especially for a country that emerged from the recession in the third quarter of 2009 and sported a real GDP growth of 4.6% in Q1 2010.

But the evident challenge for South African businesses will be, not be to keep driving the sales of products and services during this time, but afterwards to ensure continual growth and (hopefully) the resulting signs of spreading prosperity. Few communication tools offer the benefits of international SMS, both in terms of technological ubiquity and response rates.

Why International SMS and not Smartphone Web/Apps?

The global mobile penetration rate is edging toward 74%. In most parts of Europe and in Australia, mobile penetration has already exceeded 100%. In the U.S. the uptake is a little slower, with penetration rates currently hovering in the 90% region and expected to be 100% by 2013. These penetration rates refer to both Smartphones and Feature phones. However contrary to all the media hype, Smartphone penetration in developed countries are nowhere near to their Feature phone counterparts. This makes the mobile web and/or applications a viable first point of contact only for specific types of target audiences. In contrast, international SMS is a technology that can be both sent and received by every mobile device.

Does This Negate the Need for Sophisticated Mobile Applications?

The benefit of SMS technology is that it is capable of delivering a 160-character message to a mobile device capable of receiving one, wherever there is coverage. This means that the recipient doesn’t have to be in front of a computer screen, connected to the internet or spend time and/or money on a telephone call. It’s instantaneous and has the ability to solicit immediate reaction. But it’s not a feature-rich technology and, when used too casually, could cause the target audience to discard it as yet another type of ‘SPAM’. International SMS should therefore be used in moderation parallel to other technologies such as websites, apps, blogs, etc., and in instances that merit a high response rate, such as campaigns, competitions, polls, etc.

As the final match draws ever closer and tourists are gearing up for the long flight home, South African businesses will do well to invest in an easy-to-use and cost-effective technology that has the potential to easily deliver an acceptable ROI within a relatively short amount of time.

For more information, go to our international SMS page now!

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