Southeast Asia is a flourishing hotbed of mobile activity. According to the latest report from Google & Temasek, 90% of Southeast Asians connect to the internet primarily through their smartphones and spend four hours in mobile apps every day. On average, that’s an hour more than elsewhere in the world.

Mobile is at the heart of economic transformation in the region. BCG cites rising affluence, urbanization, and growing demand for convenience as the key drivers of consumer behavior in Southeast Asia.

The Philippines in particular has over 110 million mobile subscribers with the ability to send and receive text messages. It’s time for businesses to adjust their mobile strategies accordingly to meet the demands of this tech-savvy generation. An increasing number of companies in the Philippines leverage innovative digital tools to provide meaningful customer engagements.

SMS is the most valuable tool for audience communications and engagements, given its widespread popularity among Filipinos. In a market where mobile plays a central role one’s lifestyle, businesses must provide personalized, contextually relevant communications in real-time for successful customer engagements.

Here are some essential tips that will help leverage SMS to engage Filipino customers in the texting capital of the world:

Enhance customer service through SMS

SMS messaging enables businesses to offer personalized customer services and seamless customer experiences. From notifications to customer support, companies can leverage SMS marketing solutions to offer real-time notifications and services to Filipino customers.

Generic promotional messages are often ignored by customers due to their spammy nature. Personalized messaging is imperative for businesses to cultivate meaningful relationships with customers, which in turn creates customer loyalty and boosts sales. Personalization means exchanging communications with individual customers based on their interests, propensities, and purchasing behavior. Omnichannel data platforms utilize machine learning and AI to sustain continuous, relevant conversations across the entire user journey from first impression to conversion.

SMS can also be used as a valuable customer support tool. Traditional customer support is provided over a phone or video call, which usually involves placing customers on hold and wasting valuable time. Businesses can help their customers save time by presenting them with the option to send support requests and interact through SMS. SMS provides a versatile and expedient medium for ongoing customer support, as it allows customers to exchange support messages anytime and anywhere.

Marketers must recognize and address brand sentiment to improve customer engagement. Feedback forms are the perfect channel for customers to give honest feedback and opinions. These forms allow businesses to identify and correct issues and provide a better experience for customers.

SMS notifications and reminders play an impactful role in customer satisfaction. These messages include delivery progress updates, successful purchase notifications, and payment reminders. Keeping customers regularly updated on important information provides them with a sense of control and security, which improves their overall experience.

Leverage chat apps

While SMS still remains the most popular choice of communication in the Philippines with more than 73 percent of people still preferring SMS, chat apps like WhatsApp, LINE, and Facebook Messenger are growing in popularity and should not be overlooked.

Studies suggest that 33 percent of Filipinos prefer using Messenger for engagement and communication, and these numbers are expected to increase in the coming years. Instant customer support provided by chat apps can improve customer engagement, loyalty and satisfaction, while also establishing brand credibility.

There are many chat app channels and it would be almost impossible to reach all customers through the chat app channel they prefer without a unified audience data solution. Consider utilizing a chat apps API provider that allows you to manage all of your communications across channels in one place.

Build a Brand App

Brand apps will enable your business to cultivate a mobile presence with tech-savvy consumers across the Philippines. Mobile apps fundamentally enhance customer engagement by taking your brand identity to the forefront of their digital lives and provide convenience, accessibility, and seamless user journeys.
Brand apps are an essential component of a well-rounded omnichannel marketing strategy. Consider implementing app-based promotional deals, point-based rewards and loyalty programs to stimulate engagement and increase customer affinity for your brand. Our Omnichannel Imperative report cites, “a meaningful presence across multiple channels, whether online, email, mobile apps, SMS messaging, social media” as crucial for omnichannel readiness. Be sure to create a brand app to utilize a fully integrated approach to customer engagement.

Conclusion

SMS and apps are an invaluable marketing tools for enterprises looking to expand business in the Philippines. Your business cannot afford to miss out on the potential market of mobile customer engagement. The key is rich and contextually relevant customer engagements that convey valuable information across every stage of the consumer journey. SMS solutions can improve the efficiency and productivity of your business, making you a key player in the texting capital of the world.