This is how you get SMS alerts of each and every online deal without any delay!

The festive season is knocking at our doorsteps and the e-commerce space is almost done planning about all kinds of deals to lure consumers with. We sure don’t want to miss out on any deal and hence have registered our mobile number on their databases. But have you ever wondered how millions of customers get the alerts within a specific time slots? Sure regular messaging can’t do that.

It is done fully via cloud messaging. Cloud messaging platforms are helping enterprises to stay connected with their customers as surely regular messaging platforms and whatsapp like apps become cluttered when client base increases. Currently there is an immense growth around cloud based SMS/USSD, Voice and Data APIs including IP and IOT messaging. The whole industry is a Rs.1000 crore platform and 30 per cent revenue comes from social media and e-commerce.

So how is cloud messaging helping in the e-commerce boom? Let’s hear it from Ravi Sundararajan, COO of GupShup, a leading player in the market with leading companies, e-commerce brands and social media players using their solutions to engage and retain their customers and enjoys 36 per cent share in the market.

1. Acquire: One of the main challenge of e-commerce is to form the customer base. Attracting millions of consumers out there is sure not an easy task. And with India, the main target would be rural India as that consists of a major part of India. By being interactive through API, cloud messaging platforms help e-commerce industry achieve their target reach. They offer various services under SMS, voice and email like Transactional Messaging, Promotional Messaging, 2-way Messaging, 10 Digit Missed Call Number, Toll Free Number, and Call Forwarding etc. The company’s platform enables users to integrate messaging into the business flow; manage customer communications through a single dashboard; and deliver messages on a massive scale.

“We give APIs to our customers. If the message is going to rural India where they don’t know how to answer in web form, it would be a missed call, where they can click on the missed call and IVR comes and they can answer the question. Also via APIs e-commerce players communicate with their consumers in vernacular languages by features like voice embedded instructions,” said Ravi.

SnapDeal uses GupShup’s solutions to send regular updates and offers to all their existing customers via SMS ensuring consistent delivery within specified time slots. The promotion of their deals via SMS to their opt-in profiles, increased the usage of the discount coupons on their website. This also increased awareness and traffic to SnapDeal’s website thus increasing online sales and customer engagement.

2. Engage: Through innovation and by being programmable, cloud messaging platforms help to engage customers by instantly updating them about all the services, discounts and new deals, not just by simply sending a text message but by sending links, embedded interactive sessions etc.

“Suppose we want to buy a handbag online, we can just send one message and all the information about the sites, their products, price range is available at our fingertips in just one click,” he said.

Through cloud messaging e-commerce sites have also been able to engage better by conducting hassle-free fun contests and also to get valuable feedbacks from the consumers.

GupShup helped Quikr use Missed call and USSD to enable consumers to post and browse classified Ads by various categories instantaneously using their mobile phones. This resulted in increased customer engagement for Quikr through cost-effective mobile engagement using SMS, Data and Voice channels.

3. Retain: It is extremely important for an e-commerce site to retain customers. Time lag associated with regular messaging is one of the biggest enemies of the sector. Cloud messaging not only decreases this, also enables secured transactions through OTP generators via APIs.

Ravi predicted that as mobile market becomes huge, cloud messaging is going to be the number one app wherein we can get all our work done through messages, thus giving us a one-step solution from the headache of managing dozens of apps each with a different purpose.
(Image credits: carsonmarain.deviantart)