There’s lots to look forward to in 2018 – here’s our pick of the top three developments in the telecoms industry:
1. SMS landing pages
We love SMS for its simplicity and brevity, but there are times when you want to provide more details, show images, or simply add a bit more excitement. That’s where SMS landing pages come in.These are single page, mobile-first websites with one goal: encouraging your customers to take action. That might be to click through to your main website to buy a product; it might be to make a reservation, or confirm an appointment or booking. It could be to visit your store, sign up to a mailing list, request a quote, download further information, or provide feedback.As the above example shows, customers receive the link to the landing page via SMS.Esendex’s landing page editor (our messaging studio) will allow you to create your own SMS landing pages quickly and easily, from scratch or by customising a template. You’ll be able to upload customer details in order to personalise the message, and send your messages straight from the messaging studio.
Expected: Q1, 2018
![Example of RCS message on phone.]()
2. RCS
Rich Communication Services, (RCS), is anticipated to be the next generation of SMS. It has been 25 years since the first text message was sent, and it hasn’t evolved much since then – which probably accounts for the rise in popularity of Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.These apps support interactive maps, document and image sharing, video content and more – and they’re slowly being opened up to brands wishing to leverage this functionality to communicate with customers.However, they share the major limitation of not being universally adopted, and that’s where RCS has the advantage. RCS is intended to replace the default messaging app on all Android devices, so brands aren’t left guessing which of their customers will have been able to receive the message correctly.RCS has some other key advantages:
- Brands will need to be verified before sending messages, and then be able to customise their message with their logo, colours, font and designs. This will reduce the likelihood of fraudsters trying to pass themselves off as recognised brands, and should lead to more users trusting the sender.
- Companies will be able to see how each user interacted with their message – delivered and read receipts, clicks and interactions – allowing them to measure ROI and take steps to improve engagement.
- Customers will be able to complete most actions within the RCS platform – whether that’s changing or confirming an appointment, booking a taxi, making a purchase or re-arranging a delivery.
Esendex is part of Google’s Early Access Program, helping to shape the platform’s capabilities – with the added benefit that Esendex’s customers will be among the very first companies to be able to send RCS messages using the messaging studio or via an API.
Expected: this will depend on when the Australian mobile network operators decide to adopt RCS – hopefully mid-2018
3. Secure file uploads for Mobile Journeys
Letters are still the staple communication channel when you need to send confidential or sensitive information – but that’s set to change with the ability to send fast and secure attachments via Esendex’s Mobile Journey application.Prescriptions or the outcome of healthcare checkups could be delivered cost-effectively and quickly by sending the patient an SMS with a link to a Mobile Journey. After verifying their identity, the patient would be able to access their documentation via their smartphone.Insurance claims can be processed more efficiently by using Mobile Journeys to allow the claimant to upload photos and witness statements to a secure area, and in turn, receive updates via SMS prompts.Mortgages, rental agreements, recruitment and contracts can similarly be managed using secure file uploads, so this is a great opportunity to save costs, reduce delays and improve service.
Expected: H1, 2018
If you’d like more information on any or all of these developments, please contact us.
