What has SMS done for you lately?

Since the late 1990s, the short message services (SMS) market has adapted quickly to consumer and business demands. These market forces have spurred SMS providers to innovate and ensure that on-demand communications and access to information meet the needs of mobile users.

Recent research released by the Mobile Data Association (MDA) indicates that over 2 billion SMS messages were sent for the sixth successive month in the UK. The report also highlights that the most common business use of text messaging is meeting or appointment scheduling followed by customer relationship management. 47% of the sample group received text messages from a co-worker and 36% from a client or customer. In June 2004, MDA reported that 2.10 billion text messages were sent in the UK, and that messaging between persons increased by 28% compared to June 2003 figures. The global average for text messaging is 36 messages per person per month.

South Africans are reported to send 17 text messages per person per month. The current mobile market size in SA is 24 million, according to independent research by BulkSMS. The local messaging market is therefore poised to gain from businesses using SMS as a communication tool.

The content industry is changing due to SMS technology used in new ways in the business sector.

Pieter Streicher, MD, BulkSMS

The content industry is changing due to SMS technology used in new ways in the business sector. No longer do marketing managers need to be dependent on the large content providers for costly above-the-line advertising. SMS provides an alternative content provider model and has the benefit of relationship marketing at a low cost. This means that any business can become a content provider supplying information directly to its target market. Of course, the main challenge for organisations is to secure a database of consumers or clients.

Armed with a database of contact details, a client relationship management or marketing campaign can be launched.

The democratisation of content provision can also be seen in the financial services industry. Brokerages have come under pressure from clients demanding access to daily market prices. SMS alerts provide a cheap means for clients to access this information. The result is that clients are more educated about market trends than in the past and demand higher levels of service from brokerages. Client demand has led to SMS services becoming a competitive advantage in the industry, especially for small brokerage firms.

Last year saw the proliferation of premium rate services as the most significant commercial use of SMS. This service provides on-demand content to users, a platform for direct marketing, and allows users to enter competitions or vote by sending text messages via a short code (eg 34010).

Premium rate services provide audiences with a means to interact with television and radio media. For example, users across the African continent voted by text messages for their favourite housemate on the Big Brother Africa and Project Fame reality TV shows. Surf and weather reports for local areas as well as sports information illustrate the use of on-demand content available via short codes. Notifications by late night venues, restaurants and below-the-line brand campaigns are examples of pushing information to targeted consumers.

A third category of providing information using bulk SMS are public benefit services. These services range from community safety alerts from local police stations to key members of the public, to ensuring that sports club members are notified of venue and times of events. Health services have also adopted SMS. In one documented case, personalised messages are sent to remind tuberculosis patients to take their medication.

The growth of niche information services via SMS has ensured that text messaging is becoming an accepted business communication tool. In SA it is estimated that banks are responsible for one out of every six corporate SMS messages sent and several banks are already sending out more SMS messages to clients than e-mail messages. Some banks alert their customers each time a transaction is effected, and some verify the authenticity of online banking users via SMS.

In the area of business support services, call centres provide customers with reference numbers and status updates via SMS. Some car maintenance providers have begun reminding customers that their vehicle is due for servicing or provide SMS alerts when the vehicle is ready for collection.

The application of SMS for business purposes leverages the key benefit of SMS messaging - it is instantaneous and the information provided succinct. SMS is also more readily accessible than e-mail as a communications tool as more people have access to mobile phones than e-mail.

Although most South African businesses still send more e-mail messages than SMS messages, this is rapidly changing. I have no doubt that SMS messaging will soon surpass e-mail as the most used business communication tool.

BulkSMS co-sponsors ITWeb`s mobile and wireless portal. The high costs of cabling, limited office space, and the advent and ensuing popularity of mobile devices is driving the wireless market at a furious pace. Whether it`s Bluetooth, GPRS, GSM, WiFi or any other of the emerging or established wireless technologies, it will be covered in this portal.