by anton | Nov 14, 2014 |
USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) is a mobile product that allows a company to use their computers to communicate with customers’ cell phones. How can this give your business an edge, you ask? Let’s find out! You get more characters Some people argue that USSD Push and Pull message could even be better for client communication than text messages. Maybe, maybe not. But what we can say for certain is that you can fit more characters into such a message than you can with a SMS. It makes you look more accessible It is also a real-time connection, which implies that the customer will experience it like that as well. It allows a brand to be more responsive and data can be exchanged in a flash. In other words, you appear more eager to help your customer because you are able to respond in the “here and now.” It provides your customers with shortcuts You can use USSD to create interactive mobile menus. For customers who don’t have the time or patience (or who are simply not comfortable) to speak to a live consultant, this can be a dream come true. Instead of explaining what they want to a person, they can choose a suitable option from a set menu. It is literally as easy as 1,2,3! It can make more of your services available Because USSD Push and Pull messages can be used for a variety of functions, it can enable you to make more of your services available on mobile. You can safely send passwords, polls, alerts, notifications, updates, promotional material etc. It can also allow you to...
by anton | Jul 16, 2014 |
A quick and easy way to do market research, is by using mobile polls and surveys. How do you initiate this? Through USSD NI! Marketers always need to think of fun and interesting ways to do customer research. The needs of your customers do change over time – as do their age, geographical location etc. Sometimes a new product/ service might attract an entirely different consumer than what you thought it would. Or maybe you just want to get your customers’ honest opinion on how they experience your brand. Whatever the case, there are loads of reasons why you would want to conduct research. Okay, so what does this have to do with USSD Ni? You can use Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) Push messages to push out real time, engaging questions to your customers in the form of mobile polls and surveys. How does it work? You can either send your customers a link to visit a website containing your poll or survey. Or, you can send the actual survey to their phone. Why can this be effective? It is a great way to connect with your customers at the drop of a hat, as people have their phones on their person at all times. It can take people hours, maybe even a few days, to actually open and read their email – especially if they receive a great number of messages on a daily basis. For that reason, consumers usually respond better on mobile messages than email. It can work on old phones as well as newer phones (e.g. smartphones.) Users don’t need to download any additional...
by anton | Jun 11, 2014 |
Network Initiated USSD is basically an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data message that is sent by a network to a mobile subscriber’s phone. This means that WASPS (like Integrat) can facilitate such a session between a company and its customers due to the relationship it has with the customer’s mobile network operator. The message can contain anything the company wishes to relate to their subscribers – usually in the form of a menu that automatically pops onto the receiver’s mobile screen. For example: it can perform the functions of a live consultant by giving the customer the opportunity to choose between product or service options. A Network Initiated USSD message can be sent regardless if the company wants the customer to respond directly on the message or not. In other words, the customer doesn’t HAVE to respond on a message in order for the system to work. This helps to make USSD a versatile marketing tool, because a company has free creative reign over the what, how and why of their content. One of the greatest uses of Unstructured Supplementary Service Data that is often overlooked, is that it is one of the easiest ways to run a competition. A business can have their customers enter a competition by: Purchasing a product with a unique phone number on it Dialling the USSD string from their mobile device And completing a form/ survey/ questionnaire The company will be able to receive a good number of entries (depending on the type of business it can amount to tens of thousands). No messy admin problems and successful brand awareness in a jiffy. USSD...
