#p2psms

Probably much to your surprise, SMS messages remain popular for meeting individual and corporate requirements. The technology that surrounds Short Message Service firstly appeared in 1984 and maintains its relevance until today.

German engineer Friedhelm Hillebrand with his fellow researcher Bernard Ghillebaert experimented with a system that would enable message delivery through the telephone network using GSM standards. Six years later, their research succeeded, breeding the SMS technology that has been operational until today. GSM network under United Kingdom’s Vodafone became the first that delivered the first-ever SMS in history.

How SMS still prevalent for individuals

Today’s individuals become busier and more dynamic than ever. With smartphones at their hands, they can perform various tasks at once. SMS messages or technically termed as Person-to-Person (P2P) messaging remains popular for two reasons.

Firstly, SMS messages offer concise and straight-to-the-point messages. The rise of Over the Top (OTT) does breed significant growths for apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram. However, the extreme message volumes may tire some types of people that prefer SMS messages that value a message's importance.

Secondly, SMS doesn’t require Internet connection. The fact helps those living in remote areas to keep in touch with the latest trends. They, too, can still communicate with their friends or family members anywhere in the world.

In terms of brand communication, consumers prefer to receive SMS messages to emails. SMS messages have lower spam rates as compared to emails. In addition, subscribers will find the messages more personal. The Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association conducted a study which revealed SMS texts have a 2.8% spam rate, much below email’s 53%.

How enterprises can tap into the potentials

Application-to-Person (A2P) technology allows brands and organizations to create a better and richer customer communication. The nature of SMS messages creates personal and instant impressions for the subscribers. The brand voice can reach out to their subscribers regardless of their residence and cellular phone types.

SMS remains the most effective communication tool because it can be read anytime. On the other hand, people don’t find email reading as part of their daily lives. Phone calls can annoy some of the subscribers.

To create a complete customer journey, companies need to form interesting and effective SMS messages. Make one that best delivers the brand value while at the same time respects the subscriber’s privacy. Group the subscribers into several levels of brand experiences. Companies can start by classifying them into potential, new, medium and long-term buyers. Compose business texts accordingly.

Understanding differences under the umbrella of A2P Vs P2P is an integral part for deploying SMS as a source of revenue. This article is disclosing some elements that differentiate the two along with the practices in the business world.

A2P Vs P2P is the derivative of the SMS technology. It has been an old-fashioned platform for individual and business communications. The SMS technology enables people sharing information in concise and effective ways. The future of SMS remains profitable despite the growing of free chatting apps, such as WhatsApp and Telegram.

P2P SMS

P2P is the abbreviation of Person-to-Person which clearly defines that it facilitates information exchange between two end-users. The information is shared via their mobile phones. They have to subscribe to a mobile operator to perform the message delivery.

P2P messaging accommodates for human-to-human interaction. As recipients, you can reply back to the senders. Examples of the technology are 1-to-1 customer service and messages to and from a delivery or rideshare driver.

A2P SMS

The second part of this A2P Vs P2P article is on the A2P messaging. Unlike the previous mean, the A2P SMS utilizes an application, typically a web-based platform. Companies select this method for sending bulk SMS for subscribers not from mobile device. The broad work system is what differentiates the two from the technology point of view.

Another difference lies in the type of communication itself. While the P2P SMS enables for give-and-reply messaging, the A2P SMS doesn’t work that way. Companies usually use the A2P SMS as one-way communication. They don’t wish the subscribers to response.

Brands or organizations can use the A2P technology for delivering various business texts. For example, product promotions, appointment reminders, and real-time notifications. Given so, the A2P technology best suits all business lines. Banking and financial institutions can utilize the platform for sending information on latest transactions and due dates. Hospital and insurance companies can utilize the A2P platform for delivering news on doctor appointments and insurance payment reminders.

Brands need to determine their business goals before selecting which that will work the best. The A2P technology is recommended for reaching out a huge number of customers who demand real-time business interaction. The A2P technology will better help the brands given its technology with an operational expense that is up for negotiation.

The topic on A2P vs P2P SMS is always worthy of discussion before you determine which of the two that will work best. Each of them carries a distinctive work method although the two stem from Short Message Service (SMS) broad function.

A2P is the abbreviation of Application to Person whilst P2P stands for Person to Person. Both of them accommodate business text delivery. As the name suggests, you can roughly understand what each of them work out.

P2P Messaging Connects Human Beings

P2P messaging enables back-and-forth conversations between two human beings. For example, two friends exchange texts via their mobile phones. In this platform, the message is delivered slowly, roughly one message per second. Usually, the platform uses local, ten-digital phone numbers.

Given the fact, the P2P messaging applies best for delivering personal matters, such as conversations. Your company will spend unnecessary operating expenses if it selects this method for reaching out to customers.

A2P Messaging Supports Customer Relationship Management

A2P messaging suits best for sending a large amount of business texts at once. The platform means delivering business texts from applications, usually websites, to subscribers. As an end-user, you may probably receive texts from contact centres or central applications. You can also send texts to a bulk of recipient numbers at the same time regardless of their current locations.

Many enterprises turn to A2P messaging for kicking off more personalized and deeper customer relationship management. They can send business texts on alerts, PIN numbers, discounts, and many more. In addition, they can deliver one-time passwords (OTPs) for verification.

Usually, A2P messages utilize short codes, and toll-free numbers for sending the high-volume traffic. This method benefits companies because it is a cost-effective and powerful communication tool.