Our latest report, Mobile Consumer Engagement 2020 took a deep dive into how consumers like to be 'spoken to' by businesses. Packed full of stats based on our primary research, the report packs a real punch if you're looking for insights on how to cut through the noise, increase engagements and reach customers in ways that suit them. If you've not had time to check out the full report, don't…, Want to find out even more about consumers attitudes about messaging, data privacy and mobile apps? Read the Mobile Consumer Engagement 2020 report here .,
Type: Blog Article
Have you ever been insulted on social media? , Or felt awful after reading through the comments on an online video? Maybe you’ve even received a negative text message from someone. Have you ever wondered... “Why are people online simply so horrible to each other?” You’re not alone. A recent report found that more than, 50% of social media users engage in arguments, online - even though only 3% of them actually want to see such things! And a third of people in the survey had, ended a relationship due to an online exchange, they had with someone. At the same time, multiple studies have found possible connections between our social media habits, smartphone addiction, and poor mental health. It’s no wonder we feel anxious or depressed if we’re wading through such negativity every time we look at our devices... But does it really have to be that way? Using our tech for good Here at Sinch, we know how to send messages…, 30 billion transactions every year, . We're able to reach virtually every mobile phone on the planet, in seconds or less. So we decided to use our experience handling millions of text messages to fight back against online negativity. By helping to, spread positivity instead – stranger to stranger., #TextForHumanity is the world’s first texting switchboard, connecting people from around the world to share a positive exchange. The idea is simple: Send a positive message to your local number, and we will make sure it gets delivered to a stranger somewhere in the world. And then you will receive someone else’s positive message in return. Hopefully, it will brighten your day! To do this, we…
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An updated version of this post is available here: 5 digital banking trends you should know for 2023 . In late 2019, Sinch surveyed 2,300 global consumers to understand their attitudes about messaging, and how they prefer to interact with businesses using messaging. One of the most powerful findings relates to banking-in particular, consumers are open to getting messages and notifications from…, 1. Consumers are 35x more likely to open mobile messages than emails, Mobile messages, even those quickly scanned from a home screen, are more likely to hit the mark than emails, which can be filtered into “promotional” folders or even relegated to spam. , 2. Consumers find value in being able to message their bank, Nearly 3 in 4 (70%) say they would find mobile alerts about suspicious banking activity “very useful,” and 94% say these types of alerts would be at least somewhat useful. Attitudes about personalized banking promotions delivered via messaging were a little less enthusiastic but still positive. , Measuring messaging utility, Which of these scenarios would you find useful?, 3. Younger consumers are more open to promotional messaging, According to Sinch research, nearly all banking customers welcome messaging when it comes to potential banking fraud, but attitudes about promotional messages differ widely by generation. Baby boomers are least likely to welcome these types of interactions (just 30% say they welcome it), while more than half of millennials and Gen Z say the same., Messaging attitudes by generation for the banking industry, Which of these scenarios do you welcome?, (Showing only 'welcome' responses below), 4. Consumers want more messaging options, The research shows a clear “opportunity gap” between how consumers use messaging today, versus how they would like to use it. In the banking industry, 70% want banks to message them about suspicious activity in their accounts, yet only 35% receive this today. Recent research from Facebook shows younger people’s enthusiasm for messaging will put further pressure on the banking industry. It…, 5. Consumers like chatbots as an efficient alternative, 2 out of 3 who have used a chatbot report a positive experience, citing speed and efficiency as the reason why. Most say chatbots served them as well or better than a human agent. What does this mean for the banking industry? Consumers are ready for more … if financial institutions would offer it. Among the big opportunities in banking: , Make it channel agnostic, Some of your customers will feel comfortable with in-app messaging, while others will prefer speaking to a real person on the phone. The key is ensuring you have the right channel for each of your customers-whether it’s SMS, MMS, RCS, chat apps, social apps, email or voice. All of these play a critical part in digital customer experience. , Real-time, security-focused interactions, Let your customers easily set low-balance and unusual activity notification triggers. Remember, 90% of consumers aged 18-34 say they are comfortable interacting with a bank using a messaging app. , Support secure conversations, Give customers options to chat with representatives through the banking app or using a verified phone number over messaging apps--always with an eye toward security. These messaging-based interactions are an important option for customers, who nearly always have their phone on them for a messaging exchange, but may not be in a spot to conduct a voice call or login via computer. , Automating customer service, Not all customer questions require a human touch. For more routine interactions (e.g. how late is my local branch open?), banks can deploy messaging chatbots or rich media messaging response chips (these are pre-programmed scripts and interactive features delivered automatically through messaging). And for customers that need even more support than automated conversations can provide, the app can…, Personalized solutions, A young consumer may be looking for a used car loan, while an older customer may want on-demand retirement advice. Messaging can be an important part of the conversation, giving banks the chance to engage in conversations triggered by a customer’s recent financial milestone. For example, “I noticed you recently set up a direct deposit to your savings account. Would you like to discuss money…, Push-based financial news, For customers that want to stay abreast of leading financial indicators or news, design push-based campaigns customized to the individual--whether breaking news about specific stock holdings in your customer’s portfolio, or releases of economic indicators that affect those nearing retirement. Ultimately, no matter the ecosystem of channels and features, the key is ensuring customers trust their…
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Following our webinar on the suite of Sinch Verification products late last year, we caught up with Magnus Lundstedt, Verification Product Manager at Sinch, for a quick Q&A session on Sinch Verification and how easy it is to get started ! Here’s how the conversation went down... , Q: , What are the advantage, s, of using SMS Verification products over a normal SMS service, ?, , Normal SMS API service focuses only on delivery rates. Sinch SMS Verification focuses not only on delivery, but also on receiving the correct OTP code back. When we get that data back with a reporting API, we get real time statistics which enables us to monitor and then push traffic through the most appropriate route to maximize speed – ensuring OTP codes are delivered as quickly as possible…, Q: , What verification method should I use in my application?, , You should use all available verification methods in order to optimize conversion rates and secure a good user experience. We recommend using SMS Verification as the primary verification method if you’re using iOS and Flash Call Verification for Android – we can also support both for web applications. , Q: , What countries is verification available in? , , Sinch Verification products are available all over the world except in very few countries such as Antarctica or North Korea. , Q: , Should , I, integrate , verification, , using SDK or REST API, ?, , We recommend integrating using the REST API – it’s very straightforward and is supported by great documentation on the Sinch Developers website . Our SDK’s are great to use for testing, but for production purposes we would recommend using our REST API for security and performance. Adding a Callback API will also help with reporting. , Q: , Is , verification, hard to integrate? , What , does the REST API look like?, , Sinch Verification is very simple to integrate. If your current solution is REST API based it’s easy to drop in the Sinch verification product as a replacement. Here’s a quick example of what requesting and reporting a Flash Call verification looks like: , Request, , curl --user APPLICATION_KEY:APPLICATION_SECRET https://verificationapi-v1.sinch.com/verification/v1/verifications -H "Content-Type: application/json" --data "{'identity':{'type':'number','endpoint':'+1555123123'},'method':'flashcall'}" , Report, , curl -X PUT --user APPLICATION_KEY:APPLICATION_SECRET https://verificationapi-v1.sinch.com/verification/v1/verifications/id/d41281c6d5094a688371449e33a0a7e6 -H "Content-Type: application/json" --data "{'method': 'flashcall', 'flashcall': {'cli': 'OTPCODE'}}" For more information on the REST API please see our documentation . , Q: , Does Flash Call work on platforms other than Android?, , Flash Call will work on web apps and Android only. The user experience with iOS does not work due to permissions and restrictions on the iOS side. , Q: , How does , F, lash, C, all pricing compare to SMS, pricing, ?, , Flash Call and SMS Verification are priced by country. Flash Call is between 50% - 70% cheaper than SMS in each market, which means you could save up to 2/3 of your verification costs by using Flash Call as your primary verification method. For example, the average saving is over $2,000 per 100k sign ups compared to using SMS Verification. Splitting your Android traffic and using Flash Call can…
Type: Blog Article
Marketing and customer experience leaders are focused on mobile as a critical way to reach customers. And messaging has become the priority for 2020. New research from Sinch shows consumers are ready to embrace new formats and features when sending and receiving text messages. They want messaging options to interact with healthcare professionals, banks, retail and many others. (See datagraphic …
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Sinch has agreed to combine with Wavy to advance innovation globally and to build a leading position in next-generation conversational marketing in Latin America and around the world. (You can read more here ). Each company has a people-first culture that powers its success. Sinch’s guiding principle is a belief in delegating responsibilities, not tasks. This is partly based on basic Scandinavian…, Big innovation, bigger dreams , Wavy’s people and culture truly makes this combination a whole that is much larger than the sum of its parts. We are particularly taken by the “move fast and break things” ethos espoused by Wavy’s CEO, Eduardo Henrique, which he picked up during his half-dozen years as a technology leader in Silicon Valley. Under his stewardship, Wavy encourages its self-described company of “nerds” to be…
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Michael Ricci is the Master Principal Solutions Architect at Oracle. As a key contributor to Oracle's Digital Marketing Center of Excellence, Ricci works closely with enterprise customers to architect solutions to their complex digital marketing challenges, and unify customer data to deliver true one-to-one personalization across the entire digital customer experience. In this two-part series, we…, Where do you think enterprise marketers should be investing today to prepare for the future of mobile customer experience?, I’m a little bit biased, but fundamentally, I think it’s all about data — and you’re seeing that play out in real time. Marketers more and more are trying to begin to bring together data that used to be in silos — be it a mobile silo, an email silo, a web silo, an analytics silo, so on and so forth. And they’re doing that because what they’re trying to do is understand intimately the behaviors,…, What do you think the biggest hurdles are … be those financial, operational, or even shortcomings of mindset?, I think it all boils down to operational hurdles. And by “operational hurdles,” what I mean is, historically, what’s ended up happening is, marketers have embraced these best-of-breed solutions and they’ve siloed data. So in that sense, they are their own worst enemies. The process of breaking those silos down is tough work. And it requires a different mindset and a partnership with IT. The last…, What would you say are the indicators of companies that are on the path to growth, innovation versus those that aren’t?, We’ve become an internet-centric culture and consumer, if you will. You and I, today, shop on Amazon. We’ve become very reliant on the notion of going, finding the best price, getting that item shipped directly to our doorstep. That’s fundamentally changed the nature of brick-and-mortar retail. Look around you. We’re seeing malls close. We’re seeing brick-and-mortar retailers downsize their…, You mentioned earlier that mobile is a very personal experience: It’s in your pocket; you’re looking at it all day., Can you talk a little bit about the challenges companies face, given that very personal connection? What are the “must dos,” and well as the bright lines companies should not cross?, It’s fascinating to me, working for a company that delivers email, social and mobile experiences. The vast majority of marketers we see don’t have a mobile strategy. They treat mobile as a channel. They treat it almost as an extension of their email messaging program, and they approach it the same way — meaning that the same failed technique that’s been in play with email for eons, which is this…
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Michael Ricci is the Master Principal Solutions Architect at Oracle. As a key contributor to Oracle's Digital Marketing Center of Excellence, Ricci works closely with enterprise customers to architect solutions to their complex digital marketing challenges, and unify customer data to deliver true one-to-one personalization across the entire digital customer experience. In this two-part series, we…, Can you talk about how culture plays into digital innovation? What type of organizational culture might support the right approach — or is that the wrong question?, No, it’s a good question. I think that those organizations that have gotten their minds around the need to bring together this data are invariably the ones that are switching onto the notion that mobile’s not just an extension of email; mobile’s not just another messaging channel. Mobile is the future. Mobile’s where consumers are going to transact, and therefore we need a mobile-specific…, In the first part of this interview, , you mentioned the big players like Uber and Amazon. These are brands all of us agree are innovative., Can you think of any companies that surprise you, in a good way, at how they’re using mobile? Maybe brands we don’t immediately think about as mobile innovators. , One of them that I would applaud is Sephora. I think that they’ve done a really, really good job of marshaling data and creating personalized experiences. Also, they’re amazingly bright in how they mine transactional history and behavioral analytics to create personalized relevance. When I think of brands like Sephora, I think they get it. When I think of brands like CVS, and the way in which…, Sinch recently sponsored research that shows consumers say they want to interact with brands on their phones. They want things like alerts about their bank accounts, delivery notifications, message-based prescription refills … but even though they say they want these things, they aren’t using them to that same degree., What do you think accounts for that gap? Is it a consumer adoption problem or an enterprise problem?, I think it’s more of an enterprise problem. The consumer has low tolerance for impersonalized experiences. And the vast majority of enterprises are not using data to create personalized relevance. I think it’s a matter of rethinking mobile, and I think a lot of enterprises are switching on and starting to rethink how they approach mobile and get outside this notion that it’s all about the mobile…, One other finding from the research was that nearly 9 in 10 consumers say they’d rather all messaging takes place in the native phone messaging app, rather than separated out through Messenger, WhatsApp, branded apps, etc., Does that finding surprise you?, No, not at all. Honestly, we live in a complex world — and consumers are in search of simplicity. Many consumers, especially millennials, use that messaging app to communicate with the outside world. Why wouldn’t you want to consolidate it? Why do I need Line and WhatsApp and all the rest of these messaging apps in order to communicate? I think people are looking for more simplicity in their…, I’m going to turn the tables on you and ask you to put yourself in my shoes. What question should I be asking you?, What’s a really hard-hitting question that a leader in customer experience should be asking themselves?, That’s a good question. I guess the question would probably be more in the nature of: Given that we’ve seen all this disruption taking place with brands like the Amazons of the world that are mining all this data, that are succeeding wildly, why aren’t more brands embracing that? I think that’s an interesting question. And the answer, as you can expect, is elegantly simple: This is hard work. It…, What’s a skill that you think customer experience leaders lack today that they should be developing?, Data centricity. When you think about it, invariably customer experience is all about using data smarter. And there’s a lot of people who are CX professionals who don’t have necessary data backgrounds. I think it’s about data and analytics going forward. And the people who understand that and who are able to mine insights from data and use data, marshal it to create these personalized experiences…, Want to find out more about what inspires Ricci? We asked him what book has changed his thinking over the last six months. He says, Digital Transformation,, by Tom Siebel of Siebel Systems, “focuses on this notion of what’s happening from a digital transformation standpoint, what tomorrow looks like.” , Want to learn more about how messaging is reshaping the consumer experience? Read our Mobile Consumer Engagement 2020 report here .
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Today we’ve got very exciting news – not just for us, but for all businesses invested in offering the best customer experience possible. We’ve teamed up with Adobe on the new Journey Optimizer platform, making it easier than ever for you to send conversational messaging campaigns to your customers! We're a long-time partner of Adobe, and we’re honored and proud to be involved with this…
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