BizText heralds new era of cost-effective SMS communication

Bringing down communication costs in the current economic climate is just one way of managing cash flow, especially for the small and medium enterprise market. It is for this reason that MTN has developed a cost-effective SMS communication solution which not only saves money but also ensures the small and medium enterprise market remains competitive and stays in touch with its customers, suppliers and employees. According to Natasha Basson, MTN senior manager: SME, the launch of MTN BizText heralds a new era of costeffective communication for the small business. “It has been designed specifically for the individual and business that needs to communicate often with clients and allows complete control. It is not just cost-effective, but also simple and easy to use. It can also be tailored to suit your specific business needs.” Scheduling appointments and sending reminders or promotional messages can now be done simply by pushing a button, says Basson. Lauren Crosson from Core Solutions, the software company that developed the BizText programme for MTN, says what makes it such a valuable business tool is that it has been developed to be bi-directional. “Not only can you send your client an SMS, but they can reply to that SMS and all your communication is archived by the programme. Every SMS is date- and time-stamped so you have a legal record with clients.” Basson says BizText can be integrated with one’s existing database on a computer or one can develop a new database. SMSes can be personalised and sent to only one person or to the entire database. “BizText not only cuts down on the communication budget as it is cheaper (an SMS on this system only costs 19 cents) but is also more time-efficient and has an immediate impact on the business.” Meghann Carlisle, owner of Skin & Body Matters in Fourways, implemented the system and has already seen a major impact on her communication bill. “Because we are a small business, our margins are so much smaller. We have seen a drastic reduction in the cost of our communication with our clients.”