6 reasons why you should invest in mobile marketing in 2020

If you think that SMS are just an outdated communication standard that will hardly be used in 2020, you should urgently review your data. According to recent studies, SMS is still everywhere – especially when it comes to mobile marketing. What is the reason for this? For one, SMS offers a decisive advantage over OTT apps such as WhatsApp: You can reach almost everyone worldwide. With a messaging app, communication requires that both users – sender and recipient – use the same app and have access to the Internet. SMS, on the other hand, only requires that a mobile phone is available. This does not have to be a smartphone, even the old Nokia 3310 or earlier devices can receive and send SMS.

While private users can already access initial RCS implementations in many regions of the world, there are only a few vendors that offer A2P messaging based on RCS. However, testing is already in progress. And in 2020, the number of countries where the standard will become available will continue to grow. Best of all, if a recipient does not have an RCS-enabled device, the message is delivered as an SMS or MMS. This means that the message is not lost simply because the recipient’s hardware or software does not meet the standard. This advantage sets RCS apart from all OTT apps. Mobile marketing lives on effectiveness. Therefore a channel that guarantees delivery almost 100% is a good investment.

Many companies still use e-mail or phone calls to contact their customers. The reason is obvious: cost cutting. However, customers are not really satisfied with this. Here it becomes clear that every investment under the keyword Customer Experience (CX) is valuable. There are in turn good reasons for the popularity of mobile messages among customers. Calls require that you have time to take them. In addition, there are many people who generally do not like making phone calls. E-mails, on the other hand, are often not read at all because they look like spam or because you don’t have the nerve to read them. Channels like WhatsApp, but also and especially SMS offer the advantage that they cost little time and are rarely used for spam, making them perfect for mobile marketing. Mostly they are used casually anyway. SMS also has the advantage that it naturally requires short, concise messages.

Various studies, whose forecasts extend to the middle or even the end of the decade, all predict a similar development. Although the number of private SMS sent has been declining for years – mainly because other methods are preferred for private communication – the outlook for the business sector is much rosier. Growth figures of over 4% per year and a global market volume of almost US$80 billion by 2025 are anticipated, with studies predicting continued strong growth for the SMS market, particularly in Europe and Asia. This is partly due to the fact that so far, it is mainly companies in the United States that are using RCS. Europe is also lagging far behind in the use of OTT apps, especially for mobile marketing, in 2020. This in turn means that SMS will continue to be the main player in Europe for several years to come. The Internet of Things, too, relies on SMS for the interaction of various smart devices with each other and with the user. And this market is only just emerging.

The time is past that mobile marketing only works in one direction. Good A2P providers integrate possibilities for two-way communication. To help make customer service work easier, combine the channel with a chatbot. These can answer certain questions or encourage the customer to integrate important information into his question. In this way, communication can be enhanced. This does not mean that your customers will no longer appreciate tried and tested notifications. Appointment reminders and the like are still important. But if the customer can respond to the appointment reminder immediately with queries or a postponement, this increases the quality of the service immensely.

One trend that is becoming increasingly clear is the growing importance of personal messages. In mobile marketing, generic mass messages are finally a thing of the past in 2020. Be it e-mail, SMS or WhatsApp: if a message is too generic, the customer will ignore it. A personal salutation is a good start. Better still, if the content is tailored: Use all the data you can get. Many customers are willing to give companies access to detailed data to receive more customized messages in exchange. The rule is: the more personal, the better. However, you should not forget about data protection. You should always have the customer’s consent for the data you use.