Customer spotlight: Sportsnet Holidays

Australians are a diverse bunch, but if there are any two things we all have a passion for, it’s sports and travel. That’s why, back in 1998, Rob Cecconi decided to merge the two into one business idea, helping people go on holiday specifically to enjoy sports events and activities. To this day, that is exactly what Sportsnet Holidays does. They offer package deals including tickets, accommodation and flights to those who like to travel and engage in sports events.Whether it’s the AFL or NRL Grand Final, Wimbledon Tennis Championship or even the Tour de France, they can get you there!For over two years now, we’ve been helping them make people’s dream holidays achievable. Mostly using our Web SMS platform, Echo, they contact between 13,000-14,000 clients annually.SMS messages are most commonly sent as notifications, letting clients know when Sportsnet Holidays has tried to get in touch with them.However, text messaging also provides the solution to a number of communication barriers they face. For example, time differences when a client is based overseas. Instead of trying to call them at an unusual hour, they can simply schedule messages to get in touch at a time that suits the client but is not an inconvenience to Sportsnet staff.Another communication barrier which SMS has helped them overcome, is delayed communication. Clients weren’t always checking emails frequently enough, and were not always available to take a phone call. However, now Sportsnet can contact them quickly and easily regardless of that, with a simple SMS message.Sportsnet Holidays’ Digital Marketing Manager, Will Lamont, says implementing the SMS service has saved staff members hundreds of hours in unsuccessful calling attempts.In addition to saving staff valuable time, implementing our service has opened up flexibility in communication, and made the client communication process quicker and easier. “Esendex has allowed us to be infinitely more flexible in the way we communicate with our clients, and the way our clients communicate with us,” he said.In the future, Sportsnet Holidays is working towards automating the entire SMS process from Salesforce. Automating the entire SMS communication process could free up even more time for their staff to work on the more important side of things, such as organising for clients to go all over the world and enjoy great sports events!If you’d like to learn more about how SMS can help manage the communication needs of your business, give us a call today on 1300 764 946, and talk to one of our experts!