A note from our CEO, Richard Hanscott

Our ability to change has perhaps never been so important. Every organisation is having to think fast and make changes to cope with the severe challenges that the coronavirus pandemic has created. I am reaching out today to reiterate our commitment to you, our customers, and to provide a few examples of different industry responses to this situation and how we are helping to keep their customers engaged.

While this remains a developing situation, Esendex continues to operate as normal. We are fortunate to be a cloud-based business with a strong Business Continuity Plan, and as such, we have been able to quickly change the way we work in response to the situation. This means that all of our staff can work effectively and safely from home, while providing you with the quality service that you expect and deserve.  

We believe that the role of communication is more essential now than it has ever been. Everything that has gone before has now changed and people are having to adapt to this new normal. The role that your business can play in this new life, very much depends on your ability to communicate. While many businesses and organisations are understandably focused on continuity, this moment is also about innovation. To adapt to an unprecedented and highly changeable environment, businesses need to be thinking in new and different ways – communicate in formats that they have never before considered. 

Over the past few weeks we have worked with a wide range of organisations and businesses to communicate with their staff and customers. To share not only that they are still operating, but how they have innovated and changed to continue to provide value to their customers.

Healthcare

As one of the most important industries to support us through COVID-19, healthcare providers have to ensure they are meeting the increasing demands of their services as well as communicating with all their staff, patients and family members on any changes of policies and services. 

An example includes healthcare and aged care providers using SMS to communicate the changes of visitors policies. From changes of visitors hours, limitation on numbers of people and duration to new cautionary measures, most of the times these measures are implemented with very short notice. With 90% of messages being read within 3 minutes, SMS gave healthcare providers the reassurance that their messages will get read in time. The added ability to attach a PDF file to the SMS message using our Messaging Studio platform also means that they can maintain the formality of an official document and communicate detailed and complicated messages, while still benefit from the fast and wide reach of SMS.

Logistics

As new social distancing measures and lockdown are implemented, many consumers turn to e-commerce and opt for home delivery for their shopping needs. Logistics companies have to move quickly to adapt their delivery processes to be in-line with the government regulations and to keep their staff safe. 

An example of how logistics companies use SMS is around communicating the contactless delivery procedure to the customers. A text message can be sent to alert customers that a delivery is on their way and that it will be left on their doorstep. This ensures that the customer remains fully informed of the state of the delivery. SMS has a 94% open rate, meaning that the customer will be alerted almost immediately to their delivery’s imminent arrival.

Internal communications

With new rules and regulations being put in place to fight the spread of the coronavirus, many businesses and organisations need their staff members to react swiftly in order to adapt to the changes and to ensure business continuity at the same time. 

A great example includes businesses and organisations using SMS to communicate with their staff members to ensure they are healthy and understand the most up to date regulations that are in place. Since most of these staff members are employed on the casual basis and do not have a group email address, sending bulk SMS is the quickest way to get in touch with them all and to keep everyone up to date with any new policies. By organising employees into different contact groups also means that group texting can be used to only message those that are relevant, minimising employees being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of messages.  

We hope that these examples can provide some inspiration, support and confidence in your own business and understand how you too can continue to navigate this changing situation. 

Before signing off, I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our real-life heroes in the healthcare sector. Never has our healthcare system needed more help than right now and we are grateful to be able to support their work, if even in a small way. As such, we are offering all healthcare providers free access to our Messaging Studio platform and full account management support. So if this affects you, please contact us and we will work alongside you to get your messages up and running. 

I reiterate that we are here for you all and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to get in touch with one of our many communication experts at [email protected].  

Stay safe

Richard Hanscott

CEO, Esendex