Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD)
A Hard working communication tool – straight forward without the glam of pretty pictures or elevator-type music. Because it is so cheap and versatile, you can rest assured that you will get more bang for your buck.
Clients aren’t always interested in unnecessary bells and whistles, but rather in a service or product that actually delivers on its promises. Companies often stick to SMS messaging when doing something “PLAIN” for a promotion or customer service, because a few realise the true potential of USSD.
The latter works great for customer service activities. It allows a customer to interact with a business in real time and purchase items or obtain help via an easy-to-use menu. While using one of these menu’s aren’t the same as talking to a live person, t is close enough to facilitate effective customer service.
It can be used for a variety of services, for example: banking notifications, prepaid airtime purchases, answers to general FAQ s, checking a statement or balance, voting, polls, new services etc.
You don’t need an army of customer care consultants at the helm. In fact, Unstructured Supplementary Service Data menus are available 24/7 which means no overtime costs and no struggle with employee absenteeism. Also, a great amount of callers can be serviced at once – your clients don’t have to wait in line for a consultant.
BENEFITS OF USING USSD
- It’s so cheap and versatile
- Allows for Interaction with clients
- Run servey’s
- Cheaper than SMS for 2-way Transactions
You can also send approximately 182 alphanumeric characters using USSD, while a SMS only allows for 1400 x 8-bit, or 160 x 7-bit characters.
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