By Nicholas Greene
A new survey by SAP has found that consumers are feeling increasing ‘icon overload’ when it comes to their mobile devices, with eight out of 10 expressing a preference for communications via SMS from brands rather than having to use a mobile app.
The research found that after a wave of application use, consumers are now looking to simplify how they interact with enterprises and brands. Nearly three-quarters (74 per cent) of respondents said they should remove unused apps from their phones, and 68 per cent said they have more apps than necessary.
By contrast, 70 per cent of the survey’s respondents said receiving SMS messages from a company is a good way to get their attention, and a further 64 per cent said that companies should use SMS messaging more often.
The survey concluded that the opportunity is there for companies to widen their multichannel approach to communication to included SMS communications, for the purpose of both attracting and retaining customers.
The survey studied 2700 adults ages 18 and up from 12 different countries, focusing on how consumers respond to mobile engagement with enterprises and the mobile technologies that are most effective across the ‘Three A’s’ of customer engagement – Acquisition, Activation and Assurance (Engagement).
“We are seeing a clear maturity in the way consumers are using their mobile phones,” said Sethu M., president, SAP Mobile Services. “We are moving away from customers asking, ‘Is there an app for that?’, to asking ‘Is there an SMS for that?’ Consumers want to engage with brands and enterprises on their own terms. They want simplicity and to use the mobile channel that best meets their needs at that time. As this study shows, in many situations SMS wins out and this is a clear opportunity for enterprises to make use of the SMS advantage.”
