Just like any other successful recipe, SMS is being promoted from a personal, day-to-day feature to a marketing tool. SMS is shifting to a more business oriented end. Economic activity turns from traditional industries towards technology and media. This brings bulk SMS services to the front line of this evolution. Aside from the fact that SMS is old technology, it is still a very effective communication channel between business and customers, especially in developing countries. 3 out of 4 smartphone owners are located in a developing country. However, not all users can access internet. Bulk SMS is the business alternative in order to reach potential clients with restricted or no internet access. Marketing is direct and engaging.

To send Bulk SMS is not any longer considered to be an intrusive approach. On the contrary, it is expected. This is why branded SMS marketing is already thriving on emerging markets such as Nigeria , South Africa, India, Brazil, Kenya & Mexico to name a few. While e-mail anti spam filters block almost every attempt of distributing a high volume of information, Bulk SMS remains the only effective option in order to reach out to unpenetrated markets. Another factor contributing to the wide-spread of bulk SMS as a means of advertising, is the relatively low cost. Especially for the developing countries. It is to be expected that quality and delivery rate are also to influence the overall cost to send bulk SMS. They prove to be the main reasons, that emerging markets have such low prices when they send Bulk SMS.

Bulk SMS applies to so many sectors from agriculture to politics and healthcare to commercial. Particularly in countries in the course of development, mostly African and South American, the SMS industry assists in enhancing both education and crime prevention. The aspect of emergency communication has also been commercialised to a certain degree, with innovative features serving to a Bulk SMS delivery in cases of emergency, such as natural disasters.

Even when the Internet and the social media do penetrate the developing markets to their entirety, SMS will not cease to produce a fair amount of revenue for businesses.

So far, no other means matches the directness and the effectiveness of Bulk SMS.

Written by: Apostolos Michailidis

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