As with all successful businesses, the ability to adapt to external circumstances and customer behaviour is vital. When it comes to emergency communications, there are two main criteria that need to be considered; speed and reach. These two elements very much play to the strengths of SMS.
Our products are designed to help your business to effectively and efficiently communicate during a crisis.
Why choose SMS for critical communication?
95%
open rate
Keep recipients up-to-date with a channel which boasts a 95% open rate
90% of messages
read within 3 minutes
Ensure your time critical messages are received and read by recipients almost immediately
Internet connection
not required
Messages can be sent to all handsets, regardless of whether they have an internet connection
Reliable messages
sent using direct connections
Ensure messages are sent securely and direct to intended recipients
Two-way
communication option
Use SMS to communicate with staff and customers in real-time
No spam folder
directly into message boxes
Messages received direct to mobile handset
Personalise
your messages
Use data to personalise your messages with names or employee numbers
Ubiquitous
channel
Contact employees or customers within minutes
Seamless integration
All of our platforms can be seamlessly integrated into your business software using our APIs. This enables your message to be automatically sent via SMS as soon as an incident occur.
It is also possible to create rules that push or route an automated SMS when an alert is required. This means that your time critical information can be sent immediately, via the most effective channel.
SMS – Effective, time critical communication
SMS is one of the oldest yet most effective digital channels available. According to Bank My Cell there are 4.78 billion mobile phone users in the world, all of which have the SMS messaging app automatically installed. This means that no matter the location or time of day, your message will be delivered to it’s intended recipient. With an open rate of 95% and 90% of all messages read within 3 minutes, there is no better channel for delivering time critical messages to a large group of people.
Two-way SMS
A great way to improve the open rate of your business critical communications is by using your brand name for outgoing messages. By displaying your company’s name, your employees will instantly know who is contacting them, resulting in faster interaction rates.
Alternatively, using long numbers or short codes enables your recipients to reply directly. This will open up a two-way communication channel and thus enable you to gain feedback in a quicker and more structured format. It could be that you require your team to send a quick reply to acknowledge that they have received and understood your emergency message.
Messaging Studio: Ideal for communicating more complex messages
Many crisis situations might require a more detailed message than is possible with a single SMS. This is where our Messaging Studio platform can help. Messaging Studio offers a range of functions that can help users to send a more in-depth communication to recipients.
SMS with PDF attachment
This function offers users the option of sending a PDF attachment within their text message. This means that a business can send comprehensive information or instruction en-masse, while still benefiting from the impressive open rate of SMS.
SMS with Landing Pages
Messaging Studio also enables users to send a mobile optimised web page to recipients, which can house more detailed information. It also has CTA buttons which can be used to either link off to further information, on your own website for example, or as a way to track a response.
For example, you might require confirmation from your team that they have read your emergency communication.
“Within seconds our security control centre gets a copy of the text as an email. Stewards and security are dispatched to bring the situation under control – all without anyone knowing who complained”
NOTTINGHAM FOREST FOOTBALL CLUB
Multichannel approach for intelligent alerts
In times of crisis, it’s vital that all recipients quickly receive your communication. When time is of the essence, the best channel is the most effective for your type of message and individual recipients. This is why we recommend using a combination, such as SMS, Voice and Email. This means that your message will be received and understood, no matter the channel.
For example, you could broadcast a Voice message the moment an incident occurs, followed-up by a progress update via SMS and send authorised and encrypted Emails where required.
Track & report delivery & response communications
A situation can rapidly change during an emergency, so having the ability to quickly and accurately monitor your business critical communication campaigns is vital. Our platforms enable you to monitor SMS delivery and response rates in real time, enabling your business to react immediately to any change in status regarding your crisis situation.
It’s also possible to receive push notifications, which will immediately alert you to the status of your SMS campaigns such as sent, delivered or failed delivery.
Disaster planning
A disaster can affect any type of business at any time and so having a robust business continuity plan is of paramount importance.
Continuity planning is all about identifying the most vulnerable parts of your business and implementing a strategy that helps you to resume operations as soon as possible and contact those at risk.
Our variety of products aim to support you during a crisis and enable you to send critical communications at the touch of a button.
- Ensure staff are safe
- Keep staff informed during a crisis
- Improve disaster recovery communications
- Monitor systems 24/7 via auto SMS
- Manage security
- Improve customer communications
- Keep teams connected
- Send business critical alerts
We’d love to hear from you
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