Concept:
Clickatell, an online SMS mobile messaging gateway, is designed to enable retailers to send SMS text messages relevant to customers’ locations, situations and needs, based on customer preference and previous shopping data. Retailers can send out high volumes of text messages in real time to notify customers of deals, promotions and events. SMS provides a number of benefits for retailers including the ability to promote, remind, attract, up sell, cross sell, engage, reactivate, gather, understand or expand their customer bases.
Team:
Currently headquartered in Redwood City, CA, Clickatell was founded in South Africa in 2000 by CEO Pieter de Villiers, Casper de Villiers, Patrick Lawson and Danie du Toit. Clickatell covers 869 networks in 223 countries and territories, and has the ability to reach 5 billion mobile phone users.
Market Relevance:
Because SMS messages can be targeted directly to individual mobile phones, retailers have the opportunity to reach consumers anywhere and anytime. Additionally, the channel draws a higher direct response rate (26%) than telemarketing (10.4%), email (6.6%) and direct mail (3.4%), according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
Advertisement
SMS also saves money in printing and distribution of traditional media. Additionally, Clickatell reported that actual penetration of printed leaflets into the target audience often is less than 1%.
By contrast, SMS messages are targeted directly to the mobile phone of the customer and therefore have a penetration into the target audience of 90%. This can translate to cost savings between 50% and 60% in production and distribution of key messages using SMS as a delivery system, according to Clickatell.
Delivery:
Clickatell offers a variety of Application Program Interfaces (APIs), and third party applications can integrate to enable mobile couponing, auto responses to SMS queries, and integration with point-of-sale (POS) or customer relationship management (CRM) systems.
Clickatell’s APIs support several protocols including SMPP, HTTP/s, SMTP (email to SMS), FTP, XML and .Com Object. Clickatell’s SMS Gateway manages the sending, receipt and detailed reporting of messages for a retailer. Required hardware components for the retailer include a laptop, netbook, tablet or PC with an Internet connection and a browser.
Proof Points:
Clickatell works with a number of retail chains worldwide. Today Clickatell has more than 22,000 customers utilizing its service from government to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to Fortune 500 companies including Shell, Barclays and BP, among others.
Clickatell also was named to the Lead411 “Hottest Companies in Silicon Valley” awards for 2011. Additionally, the company was honored as a Mobile Star Awards winner in 2009 and 2010.
Working with Clickatell recently, Cold Stone Creamery of central Florida merged the use of SMS with a Living Social campaign and reported great success. Focused on customer acquisition and retention, Cold Stone utilizes SMS campaigns to stay in touch with customers and communicate special offers. In previous SMS campaigns the company struggled to get mobile users to subscribe.
The initial Clickatell offer included a $20 coupon with a $10 purchase and was delivered to 250,000 email addresses.
Of the 250,000 that received the original offer, 600 responded and purchased the Living Social coupon. From the base of 600, 100 entered their mobile number into the page to sign up for the mobile offer and follow-up offers via SMS. Cold Stone Creamery brought in 600 customers with the initial offer, and subsequently compounded the return on investment (ROI) from the Living Social campaign by including a call to action for follow-up offers via SMS.
