Voice Calls: Simple Yet Effective

You are at a retail/wholesale shop, trying to gain some relevant information about a certain Brand over the Internet but couldn’t, due to Internet unavailability or incapability of your feature phone handset. What could you do, other than asking the shopkeeper about the particular product? However, it is quite possible that the shopkeeper is preoccupied with other customers or he may not have the relevant and detailed information. In that case wouldn’t it be great if you could just ask the product itself? Sounds fascinating, isn’t it?

With the feature phone occupying more than 70% of Indian pockets, it is irrefutable to think of such ideas/products which could make the consumer independent from the capability of his handset. As the Internet penetration is still very low in India, user should be able to access the information without the Internet as much as possible. You might think that it isn't applicable to metro cities, but Mobile Internet reliability is still a big question.

The limitations of online mediums can be effectively addressed by offline services such as Voice Calls and SMS. Imagine a Missed Call number printed on the product itself. A Missed Call, which is followed by a Voice Call in return, describing the benefits of the product. Whether it is good for weight loss or dieting; whether it could keep the cockroaches or mosquitoes at bay; whether the cream is suitable for your skin type or not; or any such query. It would be like asking the product to tell about itself.

According to TRAI, the telephone subscriber base of India was around 996.49 million at the end of March 2015, whereas the number of Mobile Internet users in India is estimated to reach 213 million by June 2015. This huge difference in user base clearly demonstrates the potential that offline services hold in India. One of our products, LiveTalk, brought a huge change in people’s lifestyles. We made them independent from relying on traditional media alone to hear important news such as Budgets or PM Speech. Now they can hear it Live on their Mobile Phones through a simple phone call.

The recent upsurge in Social Media channels has changed the picture of Digital Marketing altogether. Many brands have started utilising Social platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for customer engagement and re-targeting campaigns. But again, its effectiveness is dependent on Internet availability, which as I said earlier, is not uniform throughout the country. So the question arises, how can you generate a Brand Recall for your product if the users are unable to access their Social Media accounts?

Recently, we did “Bolt 1 Minute Voice Race Challenge" campaign for Bolt from Tata Motors, to generate a buzz and main print recall for the Brand. As it was based on OBD (Voice Call), it reached the targeted audience with an amazing success ratio. Not only, we saw a better customer engagement as the campaign progressed, but the word of mouth publicity made the campaign even bigger.

According to a report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG), India would have more than 500 million Internet users by 2018, and the use of Social Media channels would also see a rise due to mitigation towards smartphones. But still, the effectiveness of offline services could not be undermined. They can reach any user anywhere, even when he is not online. That’s what innovation is all about, “Simple yet Effective.”

About the Author-

Mr. Vikram Raichura is an entrepreneur with more than 11 years of experience in Managing and Growing VivaConnect as a formidable player in the Enterprise Communication Segment. He defines the road map to revolutionize the communication experience through a blend of technology and innovation. 

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not reflect in any way of Adgully.