How Important Is A2P In Your Business

A2P (Application To Person) and API (Application Program Interface) may sound like very technical terms but they’re actually very practical and can be relevant to your business.

A2P Is basically the gateway that sends automated messages from a brand or a database that may update customers about different aspects of their relationship with the brand. API, on the other hand, is like a key that connects the brand or businesses’ database to the gateway.

A specific example is a customer receiving his or her updated bank balance after an ATM withdrawal, or a customer getting updated with rewards points after a transaction. When a customer withdraws money, the API is triggered to send a message via A2P which in turn sends a SMS or a text to the customer’s mobile number.

Johdel Ocampo, Head of Echo, Rising Tide’s Connectivity Business that deals with A2P and API, said that different industries can benefit from integrating A2P in their customer-facing processes.

“A2P is more of a need than a luxury to secure your business and your customers,” he said.

Here are some examples of how A2P and API can be relevant to your business and industry.

Finance and Banking

With online attacks and frauds happening left and right, a customer’s peace of mind can be assured if his or her online bank account can only be opened with two-factor verification.

One of the most popular ways to handle two-factor verification is to send one-time passwords or PINS directly to your customer’s cellphones.

Aside from two-factor verification, an added layer of protection for your bank customers is to use A2P messaging via Echo’s SMS gateway. Send transaction notification texts right after a withdrawal or credit card use for your customer’s peace of mind and satisfaction.

Rewards

If you’re having a sale or doing other marketing promotional activities for your store, whether offline or online, one of the best ways to reach out to your customers is to go directly to them.

Doing a text blast to your customer base is one way to go about it and you can also offer discounts and vouchers in your online store which they can avail by using a code that will be sent to them via a text blast or A2P messages.

If you’re doing a contest where a customer earns points, you can also notify them of their updated points by sending them SMS notifications using Echo’s SMS gateway and text message service.

Logistics

Being in the logistics industry demands executional excellence. A lot of people rely on the services of logistics company to give them what they need in a timely manner. Most of the companies in the logistics industry operate 24/7 and this requires all units to be organized and in sync to make sure deliveries and other transactions are in time.

A2P Solutions like the sending of time-sensitive, automated A2P Messages to notify deliveries, arrivals, shipments, and more, should be part of every logistics company to increase productivity and efficiency.

E-Commerce

Having an e-commerce store can be quite rewarding but you have to assure your customers, buyers, and sellers, that your website is safe enough to make their transactions.

For a worry-free online shopping experience, e-commerce stores send one-time passwords or PINs to their customers to verify that they are the real user of the account. Every time a customer logs in, Echo can be your SMS gateway to send them these passwords and PINs.  You can also send them the order status of their purchase via SMS blasts.

Whenever a buyer wants to contact a seller, the messages sent by the potential buyer can also be coursed through Echo. This way, the buyer can get an automatic and fast text notification on their phone for a faster and safer transaction.

Transportation

You need to be fast and efficient to provide a topnotch service in the transportation industry.

Some of the transportation providers in the Philippines already use SMS blasts or text blaster as part of their SMS marketing efforts.

They use Echo’s SMS Gateway to notify riders if their driver is arriving. Another SMS Solution is to send promotional codes or discounts to the customer base which they get via text.

Digital Payments

Paying online made everyone’s lives easier and it is up to digital payment providers to give their customers the security they need to make their online payments hassle-free.

Using Echo as a SMS bulk sending provider, your customers are guaranteed to get timely notifications on their payments and other transactions. They can easily get confirmation texts that their payments have pushed through.

Interested in learning more about A2P and API and how it can help your business? Feel free to contact Johdel Ocampo at johdel@13.229.113.77