INDUSTRY WATCH
THE WORK WE HAVE DONE WITH CLICKATELL ON THE ENAIRA USSD CHANNEL IS SO EXCITING . WE ARE ALSO LOOKING TO THE ENAIRA TO LOWER THE COSTS OF REMITTANCES AS WELL AS BRING DOWN THE HIGH COSTS OF CASH MANAGEMENT .
Clickatell , a chat commerce and business messaging provider , discussed with attendees at its Connect Interact and Transact ( CIT ) annual event last month how they could drive financial inclusion and reach their revenue goals by adopting Chat Commerce . The event took place at the Radisson Blu , Anchorage in Lagos with industry experts from Clickatell , Ecobank and the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) shared insight and tips with an audience of business and technology leaders .
Werner Lindemann , Senior Vice President of Enterprise Sales , Growth Markets , Clickatell , kicked off by pointing out how global brands , like Amazon and Uber , have built their entire business model on convenience commerce – where businesses find ways to deliver services and products to their customers wherever they are and at a time that works for them .
Lindemann said the best way to reach customers where they are is on their phone . However , he said apps have a very limited shelf life , adding that the average customer regularly uses just five apps on their phone . He advised instead of focusing on building apps , brands should be looking to leverage the power of chat , especially since WhatsApp is the most used social media platform in Nigeria . What ’ s more , when combined with USSD , companies will be able to reach almost every person in the country .
African businesses engaged with their customers , these included :
• How a national retailer was able to cut their broadsheet print production and distribution fromUS $ 5 to just three cents
• How that retailer now has a 40 % to 70 % engagement rate on their product specials using WhatsApp , compared to 3 % on SMS
• How a national retailer now uses WhatsApp to enable self-service for their loyalty programme and has eliminated more than 20,000 call centre calls per month to block or replace loyalty cards
• How a national healthcare chain now allows customers to order and arrange collection of their chronic medication at their nearest outlet , no matter where they are in the country
• How a Southern African low-cost airline allows travellers to check in and receive their boarding pass on the WhatsApp channel
An engaging panel discussion followed the keynote , introduced by Samson Isa , Managing Director , Clickatells West Africa and facilitated by Uzo Nwani , Commercial Director , Clickatell .
Opening the discussion , panelists highlighted how their organisation had used technology to boost inclusivity . For CBN , this was achieved by its introduction of the
The power of Chat Commerce is especially relevant for the Nigerian banking industry and Lindemann shared that banks can now onboard new clients and conduct know your customer ( KYC ) standards using chat , meaning banks can serve customers anywhere in the country , in real time .
Left – right : Uzo Nwani , Commercial Director , Clickatell and Samson Isa , Managing Director , Clickatell West Africa
Lindemann shared other use cases where Clickatell had radically changed how Southern
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