{"id":1,"group_id":1,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"A2P Messaging","slug":null,"description":"<p>A2P stands for Application to Person messaging. These are messages that are sent from an application to a person, for example <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">One Time Passwords<\/a>, bank alerts or booking confirmations by means of API or Web App.<\/p>","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-10-18T06:02:06.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4438,"group_id":65,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"AI Chatbot","slug":"what-is-ai-chatbot","description":"<p>An <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">AI chatbot<\/a> is a piece of software that interacts with a human through written language. It is often embedded in web pages or other digital applications to answer customer inquiries without the need for human agents, thus providing affordable effortless customer service.<\/p>","title":"What is an AI chatbot?","text":"<p>An AI chatbot is a computer program that simulates human communication. Chatbots are frequently used in a wide variety of online situations, from customer service to sales. One of the best-known examples of <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-conversational-ai\/\">Conversational AI<\/a> delivered through chatbots <a href=\"\/blog\/improve-ecommerce-customer-service-experience\/\">includes eCommerce sites <\/a>where bots allow customers to ask questions about a particular product and receive an instant response. As the technology underpinning AI chatbots has advanced, they have evolved from rudimentary tools to ones that can engage with consumers on a level that feels quite human and personal.<\/p><p><img alt=\"vattenfall chatbot nina conversational ai\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/large\/vattenfall-chatbot-conversational-ai.png\"> <\/p><h2>Do all chatbots use AI? <\/h2><p>Not all chatbots utilize AI. Some are rules-based, delivering tightly structured dialog based on user input. They are only able to recognize questions and comments when they match the keywords selected by the chatbot\u2019s programmer. An artificial intelligence bot, on the other hand, employs machine learning and natural language processing to respond to human input even when it deviates from a pre-programmed script. <\/p><h2>What are the benefits of an AI chatbot? <\/h2><p>When compared to a rules-based chatbot, an AI chatbot comes with several additional benefits. These include: <\/p><ul><li><strong>Availability -<\/strong> By employing an AI bot in place of a human agent, it becomes much easier for businesses to provide 24\/7 availability. Whenever a consumer has an inquiry, an AI chatbot is ready to give an instant response. Based on integrated systems and databases, it can actually help the customer. A scripted chatbot can only follow the script. <\/li><li><strong>Adaptable -<\/strong> Whether it\u2019s for customer service or HR support, lead generation, or sales assistance, AI chatbots have a variety of uses. The bot can adapt to the needs of the customer. <\/li><li><strong>Affordability - <\/strong>One of the main drivers behind the use of AI chatbots is their affordability. The total cost of ownership is low compared with employing additional human members of staff. <\/li><li><strong>Customer experience - <\/strong>By collecting a wealth of additional data, AI chatbots can greatly improve the customer experience. By fostering more interactions, they can streamline the customer journey, deliver real-time personalization, and enable companies to collect actionable data that can be used to improve products and services. With a well set up, advanced AI-powered bot, a customer can fulfil their entire customer journey within conversations. <\/li><\/ul><h2>How to build an AI chatbot?<\/h2><p>While talk of machine learning and artificial intelligence may make the idea of building your own Conversational AI chatbot sound daunting, help is available. Start by thinking carefully about what you want to achieve with your chatbot, come up with a clearly defined strategy, and then start fuelling your chatbot with the data it needs. <\/p><p><img alt=\"chatbot digitalcx conversation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/chatbot-digitalcx-conversation.png\"><\/p><p>Although it may sound challenging at first, <a href=\"\/blog\/5-tips-chatbot\/\">creating a chatbot<\/a> is surprisingly straightforward. Here\u2019s why: <\/p><ul><li><strong>Code-free - <\/strong>Many chatbot creation services offer low- or no-code options so individuals with no coding experience can create their own chatbot. <\/li><li><strong>Easy to integrate -<\/strong> Chatbots can be integrated into a variety of customer communication channels, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, Viber, Telegram, SMS, Google RCS, and Web Chat apps. <\/li><li><strong>Test and tweak - <\/strong>Once you\u2019ve built your chatbot, you can test it on a local server with friends and colleagues to identify any potential issues. These can then be resolved before a broader rollout. Data will help you improve continuously. <\/li><\/ul><p>Whether you\u2019d prefer a <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">scripted chatbot<\/a> or a more <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">conversational AI chatbot<\/a>, you can build it with the software offered by CM.com. Our team is available to provide the support you need to future-proof your customer engagements. <\/p>","meta_title":"What is AI chatbot & What Are the Benefits? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"An AI chatbot is a piece of software that interacts with a human through written language. Read more about AI chatbots in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-08-21T07:23:49.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-10T13:54:00.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":3,"group_id":3,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Alphanumeric Sender ID","slug":null,"description":"The sender ID refers to the \"from\", so who has sent the message. This can be alpha (containing characters and numbers), numeric (only numbers) or a numeric short code.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":2,"group_id":2,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"API","slug":null,"description":"An API, or Application Programming Interface, makes the functions of a computer program available to another computer program. APIs operate in the background of software applications and are invisible to users.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-15T06:07:58.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":41,"group_id":41,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Campaigns","slug":null,"description":"Within the Mobile Marketing Cloud, you'll find CM.com's Campaigns: the perfect tool to build and manage your mobile SMS campaigns, both manually and automated.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-12T05:20:41.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":7,"group_id":7,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Carrier Billing","slug":null,"description":"Direct Carrier Billing is an online payment method which allows users to make a purchase by charging payments to their mobile phone bill. Carrier Billing is available for all consumers with a mobile device containing a SIM card.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5590,"group_id":85,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"CDP","slug":"what-is-cdp-customer-data-platform","description":"<p>A <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">CDP or Customer Data Platform<\/a> is a software that collects customer touchpoints and interactions with your product or service from various channels and sources. It aggregates all this data from multiple sources to create a unified profile of each customer.<\/p>","title":"What Is a CDP or Customer Data Platform?","text":"<p>A CDP gathers and organizes data in real-time to create profiles for each customer through its centralized database.<\/p><h2>How Does a CDP Work?<\/h2><p>A CDP integrates data from various sources to form a <a href=\"\/blog\/why-unify-customer-data\/\">unified database<\/a>. This covers everything from internal customer relationship management (CRM), data management platform (DMP), and transactional systems to website and e-commerce behavioral data.<\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/blog\/crm-cdp-dmp\/\"><strong>Discover the differences between CRM, CDP, and DMP platforms ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><p>A CDP typically aggregates data from a combination of first-, second-, and third-party sources. First-party data is data collected about your own customers from your website, app, social media, surveys, and other offline sources. First-party data typically includes information such as:<\/p><ul><li>Demographics<\/li><li>Website visits and interactions<\/li><li>Purchase history<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>First-party data<\/strong> is one of the most valuable kinds of data, and most importantly, it can be collected for free. As long as you have your customers\u2019 consent, your company owns the data and can use it to <a href=\"\/blog\/the-marketing-cloud-a-toolkit-for-hyper-personalized-mobile-communication\/\">create personalized experiences<\/a> or target customers with relevant ads. <\/p><p><strong>Third-party data<\/strong> is first-party data collected by another source\u2019s customers and purchased. In comparison, third-party data is purchased from companies that don\u2019t have a direct relationship with customers, like data providers that aggregate customer information to sell on global data platforms.<\/p><p><img alt=\"customer-data-platform profiles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/customer-data-platform-profiles.svg\"><\/p><p>Although first-party data gives you the most accurate view of your customers, third-party data can help fill in the blanks in your CRM system.<\/p><p>By combining first- and third-party data in a customer data platform, your organization gains complete visibility of your customer base so you can more accurately target a specific audience. <\/p><h2>What Is a CDP Used For?<\/h2><p>Here are some key features of customer data platforms.<\/p><h3>Collects Data<\/h3><p>A customer data platform organizes several main categories of customer data, including:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Identity data, <\/strong>which uniquely identifies each customer by name, location, contact information, demographics, social media, account number, and more<\/li><li><strong>Descriptive data,<\/strong> which creates a fuller picture of the customer using information about their career, income level, lifestyle, hobbies, or family<\/li><li><strong>Quantitative data, <\/strong>which shows how the customer has interacted with your business, e.g., transactional and order data, online activity<\/li><li><strong>Qualitative data,<\/strong> which provides additional context about the customer, like their motivation and opinion about your business<\/li><li><strong>Social data,<\/strong> which is information that social media users publicly share, e.g., metadata, shared links, language<\/li><li><strong>Mobile data,<\/strong> which analyzes customer behavior through mobile channels<\/li><\/ul><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/blog\/missing-analytics-data\/\"><strong>How Much Data Are You Missing?<\/strong><\/a><\/p><h3>Creates Customer Profiles<\/h3><p>Without a customer data platform, you might not be able to track all the ways your customers interact with your business. Although this might not seem like a big deal, you could send irrelevant marketing messages to the wrong audience or lose customers before they complete their purchase.<\/p><p><img alt=\"rich profiles customer data platform\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/rich-profiles.png\"><\/p><p>The primary feature of a customer data platform is its ability to create profiles for your customers based on collected data. A CDP collects, standardizes, and connects this information to create a complete view of each individual customer and their relationship with your business.<\/p><p>Then, you can leverage that data to create marketing campaigns, provide <a href=\"\/blog\/prepare-hyper-personalization\/\">personalized customer service<\/a>, and even support the in-person shopping experience.<\/p><h3>Creates Customer Segments<\/h3><p>Once you have a complete view of your entire customer base, you can use your CDP to make informed, data-driven decisions in your marketing efforts. One of the best ways to put your customer data to work is to use audience segmentation: grouping customers based on common characteristics to create targeted marketing campaigns.<\/p><p><img alt=\"customer-data-platform-workflow\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/customer-data-platform-workflow.svg\"><\/p><p>Audience segmentation helps your organization match your products and services to customers based on their specific needs and preferences. For example, you can segment your customer base to target people who visited specific pages on your website. You could also use audience segmentation to see how many people abandoned their carts and when during the customer journey.<\/p><p>Smart customer segmentation is an invaluable part of the marketing process. It helps your business identify browsing and buying trends among your customers, enabling you to send targeted messages that grow your customer base and improve customer retention.<\/p><h3>Supports Compliance Requirements<\/h3><p>Businesses that handle customer data must comply with data privacy regulations like the <a href=\"\/blog\/mobile-marketing-in-a-gdpr-era\/\">General Data Privacy Regulation<\/a> (GDPR) in the European Union. These regulations require that your company gets consent from your customers before you start collecting it. <\/p><p>For example, regulatory requirements like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) require opt-in text messaging. The TCPA mandates that businesses must get express written consent from their customers before sending marketing messages via SMS.<\/p><h3>Eliminates Data Silos<\/h3><p>A data silo is a collection of data that is isolated from the rest of an organization, leading to a lack of transparency and efficiency. Businesses typically accrue data silos when they scale quickly without planning how to share access to data across the organization. <\/p><p>By <a href=\"\/blog\/why-unify-customer-data\/\">aggregating your customer data into a single platform<\/a> that all team members can access, you can ensure that your data is accurate and accessible. As a result, your marketing team can create targeted marketing campaigns, and finance and operations teams can better understand payment patterns, buying behavior, and more.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Using a CDP?<\/h2><p>Customer data platforms can <a href=\"\/blog\/the-value-of-mobile-marketing-cloud-technology-for-customer-centric-companies\/\">improve your overall business<\/a> by providing insights into your customer relationships with existing software and marketing campaigns. Below are some of the main benefits of adding a CDP to your marketing toolbox.<\/p><h3>Enhanced Collaboration <\/h3><p>You likely have many sources of customer data throughout your organization. Using a CDP to aggregate this information creates a centralized database that anyone on your team can use.<\/p><p>In addition to making your customer data more accessible, a CDP also ensures that there is a single, accurate source of information updated regularly. This way, your team uses the latest information without worrying about it being redundant or irrelevant.<\/p><h3>Organized Customer Data Management<\/h3><p>A customer data platform helps connect all of a customer\u2019s touchpoints, from opening a marketing email and browsing your website to comparing similar products from competitors. By gathering all this information in a customer profile, you can gain valuable insights into the customer journey that can help you drive both conversion and customer loyalty.<\/p><h3>Insightful Customer Analytics<\/h3><p>A successful marketing campaign can predict its target audience\u2019s needs better than customers. By leveraging the power of your customer data, a CDP can provide valuable insights into customer preferences, behavior, and shopping habits so you can get to know every one of your customers.<\/p><p>With this information, you can easily create a seamless experience for all your customers according to their unique profiles.<\/p><h3>Improved Systems Integration<\/h3><p>Scaling your business is always exciting, but it often leads to more software, more groups of data, and more confusion. A customer data platform integrates multiple tools or channels to create a centralized source for all your data.<\/p><h3>Unified Cross-Channel Marketing<\/h3><p>Today, nearly every business has invested in <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/omnichannel\/\">cross-channel marketing<\/a>, which distributes campaigns through multiple channels like social media, email, mobile apps, websites, and more. Although balancing numerous marketing efforts at once is more common, collecting, understanding, and sharing the data you need for these projects can be time-consuming.<\/p><p><img alt=\"automated marketing messages\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/automated-marketing-messages.png\"><\/p><p>But with a CDP, you have access to consolidate accurate data that you can update in real-time. Not only does this support collaboration across multiple campaigns, but your CDP can continue to organize incoming data for future marketing efforts. <\/p><h2>Looking for a CDP? Try CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/h2><p>Even if you have access to tons of customer data, you might not know how to collect, analyze, and utilize that data. That\u2019s where a customer data platform like <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a> comes in.<\/p><p>Our <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">built-in Customer Data Platform<\/a> connects multiple data sources into one unified customer profile, giving you real-time insights into your customer\u2019s behavior. By building 360\u00ba customer profiles, our CDP can help you segment your audience and <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/marketing-automation\/\">automate your campaigns<\/a> with workflows.<\/p>","meta_title":"What Is a CDP and What Does it Do? - CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"What is a Customer Data Platform (CDP)? Learn more about how CDPs work and how they can benefit your business in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-05-27T06:45:41.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-09T07:18:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":3838,"group_id":60,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Conversational AI","slug":"what-is-conversational-ai","description":"<p><a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">Conversational AI<\/a> (artificial intelligence) technology enables computers to engage in natural-sounding text conversations with customers. When chatbot interactions seem natural, consumers feel like they are having an organic social interaction.<\/p>","title":"What is Conversational AI?","text":"<p>Conversational AI uses data, natural language processing, and machine learning to mimic human interactions. It recognizes human communication patterns and can be programmed to understand multiple languages. Conversational AI handles routine or repetitive customer questions, freeing up support staff to solve more complex issues. Speedy problem resolution saves your company time and money and leads to happier customers.<\/p><h2>What\u2019s the Difference Between Conversational AI and Chatbots?<\/h2><p>Chatbots are transactional, utilizing steps and responses that move customers through a predetermined chain of commands. Unlike conversational AI, chatbots use IFTTT (if-this-then-that) algorithms to interpret customer inquiries. <\/p><p>Conversational artificial intelligence asks open-ended questions that are interpreted and acted upon based on a self-generating and ever-expanding knowledge database.<\/p><p><img alt=\"chatbot digitalcx conversation\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/chatbot-digitalcx-conversation.png\"><\/p><p>Conversational AI and chatbots both engage in conversations with customers to answer common questions, handle support inquiries and facilitate sales. But there are some important differences between conversational AI and chatbots:<\/p><p><a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\"><strong>Conversational AI:<\/strong><\/a><\/p><ul><li>Understands human communication patterns and responds with contextual dialog. <\/li><li>Incorporates AI algorithms and natural language processing (NLP) technology to create smooth dialog transitions.<\/li><li>Creates customer conversations that don\u2019t sound stilted or scripted and are often indistinguishable from human interactions. <\/li><li>Enables customers to resolve problems without human intervention, making customer service fast, natural, and seamless.<\/li><li>Retains context through a conversation.<\/li><\/ul><p><a href=\"\/chatbot\/\"><strong>Chatbots:<\/strong><\/a><\/p><ul><li>Require \u201ctraining\u201d to recognize keywords.<\/li><li>Necessitate customers to use exact phrasing to generate correct predetermined responses.<\/li><li>Need continuously updated scripts to remain current and helpful.<\/li><\/ul><h2>How Does Conversational AI Work?<\/h2><p>Conversational AI employs natural language understanding (NLU), machine learning (ML), and natural language processing (NLP) to engage in customer conversations. Natural language understanding helps decipher meaning from users\u2019 words (even with their quirks and mistakes!) and remembers what has been said to maintain context and continuity.<\/p><p>Once a customer\u2019s intent is understood, machine learning determines an appropriate response. This response is converted into understandable human language using natural language generation (NLG), a part of NLP.<\/p><p>NLP processes flow through a continuous feedback loop with machine learning to improve the computer\u2019s artificial intelligence algorithms. Rather than relying on keyword-sensitive scripts, NLU creates unique responses based on previous interactions. <\/p><p>AI recognizes patterns faster as data input increases. <a href=\"\/blog\/how-finding-the-right-balance-between-technology-and-humans-will-improve-customer-experience\/\">Along with human guidance<\/a>, AI uses this information to form better, natural responses to customer inquiries over time. <\/p><h2>Benefits of Conversational AI<\/h2><p>Here are a few of the many benefits of <a href=\"\/blog\/5-tips-chatbot\/\">using conversational artificial intelligence<\/a> for customer support.<\/p><ul><li><strong>1. Increased Sales<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Conversational AI can improve your conversion rate, increase revenue, and build your brand. Cross-selling, up-selling, product recommendations, and handling payment transactions are all easily managed by artificial intelligence tools.<\/p><ul><li><strong>2. Controlled Costs<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Customer service staffing can be expensive. Offering 24\/7 customer assistance via conversational AI apps reduces salary and training expenses. These savings are crucial for the survival and long-term success of SMBs. <\/p><ul><li><strong>3. Enhanced Customer Support & Engagement<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Online assistants can provide many types of customer service, from answering questions about shipping status and delivery times to product advice and FAQs. <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/\">Offering your customers 24\/7 support<\/a> (with minimal wait times) generates engagement by speaking to them when they need you most. <\/p><video muted=\"true\" oncanplay=\"this.muted=true; this.play();\" playsinline=\"true\" autoplay=\"true\" player-source=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/five-star-service.mp4\" loop=\"1\"><source src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/five-star-service.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\"><\/video><p>Artificial intelligence assistance ensures that customers receive accurate and consistent responses to their questions. Remember, if your AI app cannot sustain a rigorous customer inquiry, the request can be passed to a live agent with data generated from the automated interaction for reference. <\/p><ul><li><strong>4. Scalability<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>No need to worry about growing pains \u2014 conversational artificial intelligence applications can handle millions of conversations simultaneously. Whether you need to add resources or downsize rapidly, you can scale conversational AI applications to meet your needs and maximize operational efficiency.<\/p><ul><li><strong>5. Rich Data Insights<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>As conversational AI works to engage with customers actively, it\u2019s also feeding your business rich data that you can use to learn about customers. This can give you a competitive advantage and reveal new business opportunities to explore.<\/p><ul><li><strong>6. Improved Employee Efficiency <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Conversational AI takes the pressure off customer service agents by handling often-asked or repetitive questions for them. Live agents can focus instead on managing complex queries and building relationships with customers. <a href=\"\/blog\/myths-busted-for-automating-the-customer-service\/\">Allow automation<\/a> to address simple issues so your support staff can connect with customers, building engagement and loyalty. <\/p><ul><li><strong>7. Enhanced Accessibility<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Make your business accessible for customers who rely on assistive technologies. Conversational artificial intelligence opens the door to groups who use language translation apps and text-to-speech dictation features. <\/p>","meta_title":"Conversational AI - What Is It & How Does It Work? | CM.com","meta_description":"Conversational AI enables computers to engage in natural-sounding text conversations with customers. Learn about Conversational AI in our Glossary","created_at":"2021-04-15T06:52:36.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-08-30T16:24:53.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":3829,"group_id":57,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Conversational Commerce","slug":"what-is-conversational-commerce","description":"<p><a href=\"\/conversational-commerce\/\">Conversational commerce<\/a> is the idea of enabling consumers to shop and communicate with brands through messaging channels, voice, and chat. Brands can implement conversational commerce using technology like chatbots, social messaging or virtual assistants.<\/p>","title":"What is Conversational Commerce?","text":"<p>Conversational Commerce is the convergence between <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">messaging apps<\/a> and <a href=\"\/payments\/\">commerce<\/a>. The term Conversational Commerce really isn\u2019t all that new. Back in 2015, Uber\u2019s Chris Messina already mentioned Conversational Commerce as the \u2018intersection of messaging apps and shopping\u2019. Uber\u2019s interpretation of this was to enable their customers to find and order their Uber driver without leaving the conversation. This means integrations were made to enable conversion within the messaging channel <a href=\"\/facebook-messenger\/\">Facebook Messenger<\/a>.<\/p><h2>How Does Conversational Commerce Works?<\/h2><p>The <a href=\"\/blog\/from-conversation-to-conversion\/\">basis of Conversational Commerce<\/a> would be allowing customers to contact your business through their favorite messaging channel and finish the path-to-purchase within that same channel. Each customer has his own channel preference, which means you won\u2019t get away with just disclosing Facebook Messenger.<\/p><p><img alt=\"The Power of Conversational Commerce\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/power-of-conversational-commerce.png\"><\/p><p>You need a <a href=\"\/blog\/conversational-commerce-be-where-your-customers-are\/\">presence on all the important messaging channels<\/a>. These include -amongst others- WhatsApp, Viber, Telegram, RCS, WeChat, Apple Business Chat, Facebook Messenger and of course the always reliable SMS for those internet-scarce moments. <\/p><h2>Benefits of Conversational Commerce<\/h2><p>Conversational commerce simplifies the online shopping experience and shortens customer service response times. Consumers benefit from fast, personalized interactions while brands increase conversion rates and revenue. <\/p><p>Here are a few more ways brands and consumers can benefit from conversational commerce:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Personalize Customer Interactions at Scale<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>By leveraging <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">advanced AI chatbots<\/a>, brands can offer one-to-one customer support without increasing headcount. For example, a customer might message your business to ask for gift ideas for someone who loves the outdoors and wants to get into camping.<\/p><p>Traditionally, sales associates would need to get involved to provide personalized suggestions. With conversational commerce, AI chatbots can be programmed to deliver personalized recommendations, guiding customers toward a relevant purchase faster.<\/p><ul><li><strong>24\/7 Customer Support and Reduced Response Times<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Today\u2019s consumers expect a quick and convenient customer service experience. In fact, 79% of consumers prefer chatting with customer support because they can get near-instant responses.<\/p><video muted=\"true\" oncanplay=\"this.muted=true; this.play();\" playsinline=\"true\" autoplay=\"true\" player-source=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/chatbot-animated.mp4\" loop=\"1\"><source src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/chatbot-animated.mp4\" type=\"video\/mp4\"><\/video><p><br><\/p><p>Chatbots give customers instant answers \u2014 no long hold times required. With conversational commerce, you can quickly answer questions, resolve issues, and build a reputation for stellar customer service.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Fast, Streamlined Checkout Experience<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Nearly 70% of online shopping carts are abandoned. Conversational commerce moves customer interactions online so you can easily resolve problems that would have otherwise stopped them from purchasing.<\/p><p>One of the simplest conversational commerce integrations is the Send to Messenger option from Facebook Messenger. When you activate this feature on your website, customers have the option to connect with you via Facebook Messenger on product pages and the cart page.<\/p><p>Most eCommerce businesses only collect customer email addresses during the checkout process, so you can\u2019t connect with shoppers who didn\u2019t complete their purchase. Through conversational commerce, you can easily follow up with customers who abandoned their online carts and answer any questions they have.<\/p><ul><li><strong>More Convenient Shopping Experience<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>COVID-19 has pushed more brands and consumers toward online commerce. With this shift, consumer expectations for speed and convenience will continue to grow. Giving shoppers immediate answers to product-related questions makes for a more convenient and frictionless shopping experience.<\/p><h2>How to get started with Conversational Commerce<\/h2><p>Conversational Commerce allows you to have a natural conversation with your customer on mobile, without any technological hinder. Although conversational commerce might sound like the distant future, you can<a href=\"\/solutions\/\"> implement it for your business today<\/a> (no coding required). CM.com can facilitate all the messaging and payment channels from one single platform.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is Conversational Commerce? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"Conversational Commerce is the combination of communication between companies with their customers - and online payments. Read more in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-04-12T06:32:02.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-05T12:37:04.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5689,"group_id":90,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Cookieless Data Collection","slug":"what-is-cookieless-data-collection","description":"<p>Cookieless data collection gathers user data and insights without using website cookies (data trackers that contain personal identifiers) either because the user rejects them or because they are not permitted. This method is growing given multiple tracking restrictions and privacy regulations.<\/p><p> <\/p>","title":"What is Cookieless Data Collection?","text":"<h2>Why is Cookieless Data Collection Important?<\/h2><p>Third-party cookies are small pieces of code stored in a different domain to the website the user is visiting. They are typically used to display relevant adverts and to track the customer journey across the internet, collecting online behavior such as:<\/p><ul><li>what they clicked on,<\/li><li>their search history or<\/li><li>the time spent on a specific web page.<\/li><\/ul><p>These cookies feed into advertisement platforms and website tracking tools such as Google Analytics, providing valuable insights that allow companies to<\/p><ul><li>assess website performance,<\/li><li>compile accurate consumer profiles,<\/li><li>inform successful advertising and <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">marketing campaigns<\/a>,<\/li><li>and ultimately provide a more personalized user experience.<\/li><\/ul><p>Recognizing and tracking customers has become much more challenging over recent years as growing privacy concerns drive irreversible change in the <a href=\"\/departments\/marketing-and-sales\/\">digital marketing world<\/a>, particularly:<\/p><ul><li>Cookie regulations<\/li><li>Changes to browser restrictions<\/li><li>Increasing use of ad blockers<\/li><\/ul><h3>Cookie Regulations<\/h3><p>Legislation in Denmark (Cookie Order), Belgium (DPA Cookie Guidance), and Germany (Telecommunications Telemedia Data Protection Act) ban the use of any cookie (even functional) without consent. More than 30% of all users in these countries reject the cookie consent, meaning all <a href=\"\/blog\/missing-analytics-data\/\">data<\/a> relating to this user audience is not visible to marketers.<\/p><p>While country-specific at present, these strict regulations are widely expected to be replicated across the EU once the ePrivacy Directive comes into force. To date, GDPR has provided the main legal framework for website operators using cookies.<\/p><h3>Changes to Browser Restrictions<\/h3><p>Most major web browsers no longer support third-party cookies, and Google plans to stop supporting third-party cookies on its Chrome browser by the end of 2023. Currently, if your audience is using any browser other than Google Chrome, you are not seeing the whole picture in Google Analytics.<\/p><p>Not all cookies will become obsolete, however. Website owners will still be able to leverage first-party cookies (where cookies are collected by the website that the user visits directly with their consent), although there are now tighter restrictions on these too.<\/p><p>The release of Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP) means that all commercial first-party cookies can only be stored on browsers for 1-7 days. Within Safari, all users that return after 24 hours will be recorded as new users. This means marketers with Safari users will never know if it is taking longer than a day for their customers to convert. It is particularly important to have this data when selling higher-value items or services for which a customer will typically make several visits to your website before making the buy decision.<\/p><p>To gauge the impact of this, compare your new visitor\/returning customer ratio on Google Analytics - Chrome will show a lot more returning customers than Safari:<\/p><p>Similarly, you will no longer be able to attribute long customer journeys on Safari to the correct (paid) source. You can estimate how much revenue you are missing in your Google Analytics by opening conversions, taking an eCommerce overview, and comparing this with the revenue you report in your own backend.<\/p><h3>Increasing Use of Ad Blockers<\/h3><p>Users are increasingly using ad blockers, which block the website ads and all the data being sent to Google Analytics.<\/p><p>Improving data quality is increasingly important for <a href=\"\/blog\/why-unify-customer-data\/\">data-driven marketing strategies<\/a>. By only having access to a limited number of users that have logged in or consented to cookies, marketers are missing out on valuable marketing and performance measurement data, resulting in ill-informed decisions regarding advertising spend and website development. That\u2019s why they need to find a new way to target and segment audiences and measure performance.<\/p><h2>How Does Cookieless Tracking Work?<\/h2><p>Cookieless tracking offers a way to collect audience insights when a user rejects cookie consent or cookies are not supported. Instead of a cookie, a cookieless tracking solution enables <a href=\"\/blog\/top-5-skills-marketing-sales\/\">marketers<\/a> to track each user who visits their website by using scripts that only run when they visit a webpage. This can be done on the <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-server-side-tracking\/\">server-side<\/a> and therefore captured as privacy-friendly <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-first-party-data-collection\/\">first-party data<\/a>, meaning there is no need to store data as a cookie on the user\u2019s device. This anonymous tracker sends data directly to Google Analytics or your chosen website tracking tool to ensure you obtain a complete picture of your audience. <\/p><p>CM.com's <a href=\"\/tracedock\/\">TraceDock<\/a> solution allows marketers to unlock a complete set of insights through Google Analytics, including ad attribution and user journey data, using both first-party cookies and cookieless data collection.<\/p><p>It offers plug-and-play solutions that run in parallel to Google Analytics and operate in two ways, depending on cookie consent:<\/p><ol><li>When consent is given, a first-party cookie is used with a persistent ID.<\/li><li>When consent is not given, Tracedock replaces client-side cookies with <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-server-side-tracking\/\">a server-side Client ID<\/a> that can be used for first-party web analytics. This is in hash format, whereby a short string of letters and\/or numbers is generated using the user\u2019s IP address, user agent, and website URL and is stored on the server rather than with the client.<\/li><\/ol><p>This makes the process irreversible (hashing only works in one direction and cannot be decrypted) and therefore anonymous and fully compliant with privacy laws.<\/p><p><img alt=\"tracedock-service-2-cookieless-data-collection-new\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/tracedock-service-2-cookieless-data-collection-new.png\"><\/p><p>With Tracedock, there is also greater transparency for your customers. There is no black box, so all activity can be seen in the user portal.<\/p><p>Would like to know how much data are you missing? Find it out in our <a href=\"\/blog\/missing-analytics-data\/\">Missing Data Blog<\/a>.<\/p>","meta_title":"How Does Cookieless Tracking Work and What Is It?","meta_description":"Cookieless data collection gathers user data and insights without using website cookies. Learn more in our CM.com glossary!","created_at":"2022-07-06T13:15:05.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-30T12:12:06.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":6,"group_id":6,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"CPaaS","slug":"what-is-cpaas","description":"<p>CPaaS (Communications Platform as a Service) is a cloud-based communications platform that integrates <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a>, <a href=\"\/voice\/\">Voice<\/a> & <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">OTT Chat Apps<\/a> into your existing software with the use of APIs. As businesses rely more on cloud-based services, CPaaS enables a fully customizable communications infrastructure.<\/p>","title":"What is CPaaS?","text":"<p>With CPaaS, you can build front-facing applications for your customers more easily without managing the underlying communications infrastructure.<\/p><p>Communications APIs, or application programming interfaces, are the backbone of CPaaS. Instead of implementing expensive, time-consuming updates to existing applications, businesses can <a href=\"\/developers\/\">integrate CPaaS features via an API<\/a>. With APIs, organizations can easily choose which communication features they want to use, from SMS and <a href=\"\/rcs\/\">RCS messaging<\/a> to social channels and VoIP.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of CPaas?<\/h2><p>With cloud-based technology as the latest business-standard, more organizations are turning to CPaaS to gain advanced software benefits without the time and cost of creating it from scratch.<\/p><p>Companies use CPaaS within their online interfaces, for SMS verifications, <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">chatbots<\/a>, and more. CPaaS contributes to a full customer experience and ensures that your business can be reachable by your customers at any time of the day. Here are three ways that CPaaS can transform your communications infrastructure.<\/p><h3>1. Scalable<\/h3><p>One of the biggest advantages of using CPaaS is that it can grow with your business. If you\u2019ve already used CPaaS to add services to your software but decide later that you want to add other features (like <a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">SMS marketing<\/a> or other conversational channels), CPaaS makes it simple. <\/p><p>Similarly, if you find that your organization doesn\u2019t use some features as much as predicted, you can easily remove those features and streamline your budget.<\/p><p>The flexibility of CPaaS enables you to scale your communications so that they help your business grow, rather than slowing down workflows with unnecessary features. In addition, with CPaaS, you don\u2019t have to worry if you\u2019ll be able to <a href=\"\/departments\/customer-service\/\">meet changing customer expectations<\/a> because you can adjust your services practically on the fly.<\/p><h3>2. Cost-Efficient<\/h3><p>Like many as-a-service products, CPaaS operates on a subscription model that allows you to pay for only what you need. In addition to a simple monthly pricing model, CPaaS provides a cloud-based communications infrastructure so you don\u2019t have to create your own. This eliminates the added costs of hiring developers to create and maintain these features.<\/p><p><img alt=\"omnichannel mobile marketing cloud\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/omnichannel-mobile-marketing-cloud.png\"><\/p><p>After adding CPaaS to their software, businesses can discover even more operational efficiencies. For example, an organization can use CPaaS to add a support chatbot and reduce the cost of support calls with live representatives. Another common feature is <a href=\"\/blog\/10-applications-of-sms-gateway-within-one-company\/\">SMS text messaging<\/a>, which businesses can use to send appointment reminders and lower the cost of no-shows.<\/p><h3>3. Customizable<\/h3><p>There is no one-size-fits-all solution to fit your business and customers\u2019 unique needs. With CPaaS, your business can fully customize your communication channels based on your target audience, budget, desired functionalities, and marketing strategies.<\/p><p>For example, you can add SMS text messaging and social channels without committing to other service offerings you might never use. If the needs of your business change, you can simply add additional features to your software via API.<\/p><h2>What Are the Key Functions of CPaaS?<\/h2><h3>SMS<\/h3><p>Consumers want the ability to text a business to ask questions and learn more about their products. In fact, 75% of people wouldn\u2019t mind receiving a text from a brand after they opt-in to receive messages. By adding SMS text messaging to your communication channels, you can reach your customers where they spend most of their time: on their mobile devices.<\/p><p>With an <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS marketing platform<\/a>, you can enable <a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">two-way messaging<\/a> at minimal cost to have conversations with your customers at their convenience. In addition, <a href=\"\/blog\/sms-marketing-b2b-use-cases\/\">SMS offers many versatile benefits<\/a> to your organization, from responding to customer service inquiries to sharing special promotions with your customers. Just make sure you follow opt-in policies for text messaging so your business stays compliant with communications regulations.<\/p><h3>Voice<\/h3><p>With a CPaaS provider\u2019s <a href=\"\/voice\/voice-api\/\">voice API<\/a>, you can add incoming and outgoing calls to your existing software for a more unified communications stack. In addition, using CPaaS for voice calling makes it easy to scale your features up and down based on your business\u2019s needs. You can even add new phone numbers and calling features so customers reach a specific team or point of contact at your organization.<\/p><p><a href=\"\/voice\/\">Using CPaaS for voice calls<\/a> eliminates the need for expensive monthly contracts with phone service providers. In addition, the fast, simple implementation of a CPaaS API means you can add only the features you need and start using them immediately.<\/p><h3>Conversational Channels <\/h3><p>With a CPaaS provider\u2019s business messaging API, you can take your SMS marketing to the next level. Around 2 billion people globally use WhatsApp. Other messaging platforms like Apple Messages for Business and Facebook Messenger are popular alternatives to basic text messaging.<\/p><p>You can easily send a message to hundreds or even thousands of subscribers across multiple platforms by adding a <a href=\"\/business-messaging-api\/\">business messaging API<\/a> to your <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">communications channels<\/a>. For example, you can automate text message notifications for order confirmations, deliveries, and appointment reminders, so your customers receive essential information when they need it. <\/p><p>You can also engage with customers by recommending products and providing customer support, all from one easy-to-use platform.<\/p><p><img alt=\"business-messaging-api-channels\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/business-messaging-api-channels.png\"><\/p><h2>CPaaS Use Cases <\/h2><p>CPaaS solutions can meet many business needs thanks to their flexibility and versatility. Some of the most popular uses of CPaaS include the following.<\/p><h3>Marketing<\/h3><p>Because CPaaS enables better customer communication, you can use its features to take your <a href=\"\/departments\/marketing-and-sales\/\">marketing strategies<\/a> far and wide. With a CPaaS platform\u2019s communication API, you have the advantages of powerful SMS and mobile marketing features to reach new customers and retain existing ones.<\/p><p>For example, you can use CPaaS to share subscriber-only promotions or manage a loyalty program that rewards customers with special offers. Consumers abandon nearly 70% of online shopping carts, but configuring automated messages to remind customers to complete their purchases can reduce those numbers. You can even offer a special discount as an extra incentive for customers to check out.<\/p><h3>Customer Service<\/h3><p>Research shows that customers value a fast response time as one of the most important parts of a good customer service experience. With CPaaS, your business can <a href=\"\/blog\/ecommerce-channel-strategy\/\">expand its communications channels<\/a> so your customers can reach you by phone, email, text, chat, social media, and more. Rather than waiting 24 to 48 hours for a customer service inquiry response, customers can connect directly with your business.<\/p><p>CPaaS can be used to <a href=\"\/departments\/customer-service\/\">offer other types of customer support<\/a>, like transactional messaging for reminders and notifications. For example, healthcare providers can schedule automated appointment reminders for patients to reduce missed appointments, the cost of which can add up quickly. You can also create customer service message templates to respond to common inquiries and promptly resolve customer issues.<\/p><h3>Sales and Business Support<\/h3><p>As online shopping sales have increased, so have accompanying challenges such as out-of-stock items and shipping delays. In addition, the growing demand for e-commerce means businesses rely on their communication channels to process orders, respond to customer inquiries, process returns, and exchanges, and market their products and services.<\/p><p>With CPaaS, you can add communications features to your CRM system to instantly inform you about new sales leads. In addition, you can configure automated responses to reduce response times and increase customer satisfaction instead of losing possible sales to a more responsive competitor. <\/p><p>Your business can also use CPaaS for other customer communications, such as automatic order status updates or real-time customer service conversations.<\/p><h2>Choose CM.com As Your CPaas Provider<\/h2><p>With CPaaS, you can reach your customers on their favorite communication channels, from social to messaging apps, all from a single platform. <a href=\"\/communications-platform\/\">CM.com\u2019s Communications Platform<\/a> provides access to text messaging and over ten OTT channels, so you can send bulk messages worldwide with just a few clicks. <\/p><p><img alt=\"channels-platform\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/channels-platform.svg\"><\/p><p>By connecting your website or application to our API, you can access the most popular messaging platforms and stay connected with your customers.<\/p>","meta_title":"CPaaS - What Is It and How Can You Use It?","meta_description":"CM.com is a CPaaS provider (Communications Platform as a Service). A cloud based delivery platform for all communication channels.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-22T05:46:16.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5566,"group_id":74,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Customer Service Chatbot","slug":"what-is-customer-service-chatbot","description":"<p>A customer service chatbot can automatically respond to different queries and use connected databases to find the answer to more complex questions. With the right data, the bot can be very personal. It can adapt the answers based on the customer, context, and intent.<\/p>","title":"What Is a Customer Service Chatbot?","text":"<p>Automating the process of responding to customer service questions allows your team to use their time more effectively to deliver a better and more consistent experience for your customers. The customer service chatbot can automatically respond to different queries and even use connected databases to find the answer to more complex questions. With the right data, the bot can be very personal. It can adapt the answers based on the known customer data, and even make recommendations based on their preferences. <\/p><p>Additionally, advanced <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">AI chatbots<\/a> combine machine learning and Natural Language Processing (NLP) and operate on context, not just keywords. That means your chatbot can deduce intent from responses, making it seem as if the customer is speaking to a human and providing exceptional customer service. <\/p><p>Analytics help to understand your customers even better, enabling you to optimize the bot continuously. Many organizations start off their automation journey with certain topics in mind, but once they go live, the data shows the customers actually ask completely different questions. These insights help optimize not only the bot but also the live <a href=\"\/departments\/customer-service\/\">customer service<\/a>. <\/p><h2>Benefits of a Customer Service Chatbot<\/h2><p>If implemented correctly, a customer service chatbot can save you a lot of time and money. The most important benefits include: <\/p><ul><li> 24\/7 support for your customers without any waiting times<\/li><li> Faster issue resolution \u2013 even if there\u2019s a handover, agents will be armed with more data already.<\/li><\/ul><h2>Typical Customer Service Chatbot Questions<\/h2><p>1. How can I cancel my membership? <\/p><p>2. When can I expect my delivery? <\/p><p>3. Where\u2019s my nearest store? <\/p><h2>How to Get Started With a Customer Service Chatbot<\/h2><p>Whether you\u2019d prefer a <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/scripted-chatbot\/\">scripted chatbot<\/a> or an <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">AI chatbot<\/a>, you can build it with the software offered by CM.com. Our team is available to provide the support you need to future-proof your customer engagements. <\/p>","meta_title":"What is a customer service chatbot? | CM.com","meta_description":"A customer service chatbot can automatically respond to different customer queries. Read more about customer service chatbots in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-05-02T14:48:49.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-03T09:56:18.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4846,"group_id":69,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Customer Service Software","slug":"customer-service-software","description":"<p><a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/\">Customer service software<\/a> is the program or platform a business uses to manage its customer service channels. The best customer service software helps brands manage, prioritize, and handle requests and complaints from customers - from any location, at any time, via the customer\u2019s preferred channel.<\/p>","title":"What is Customer Service Software?","text":"<h2>How Does Customer Service Software Work?<\/h2><p>Customer service software provides a centralized location for all the interactions customers have with a brand. This includes email, telephone, chatbots, social media, messaging, and self-service including FAQs and knowledge bases. <\/p><p><img alt=\"mobile service cloud platform legal\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/mobile-service-cloud-platform-legal.svg\"><\/p><p><a href=\"\/blog\/choose-customer-service-software\/\">Depending on a company\u2019s requirements<\/a>, customer service software can be scalable to fit the needs of both the brand and its customers. In the case of smaller businesses, a shared inbox and phone line might suffice, but larger companies with a diverse user base may need to accommodate a wider variety of customer preferences. This could include offering <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/live-chat\/\">live chat functionality<\/a>, knowledge base software, multi-lingual and multi-brand capabilities, <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/agent-inbox\/\">inbox management<\/a>, and <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/scripted-chatbot\/\">scripted chatbots<\/a>. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Customer Service Software?<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Improve customer experience and boost customer satisfaction <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pwc.com\/future-of-cx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PWC<\/a>, 59% of customers will leave a brand after just a couple of bad experiences. By using customer service software brands can ensure they deliver a swift, seamless, professional experience to their customers, on the channels they prefer. Customers can access the information they need, exactly when they need it, resolve queries quickly, and offer feedback. They can also be alerted to offers and added value services such as guides of video demos \u2013 all from one easily accessible, integrated platform.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Improve business efficiencies<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Once integrated with a CRM or <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">CDP<\/a>, Customer Service Software users benefit from a controllable database that makes business workflows more efficient, and effective. All data and customer information are accessible from one, centralized tool so agents can access the right information more quickly, and customers can self-serve with ease. This results in <a href=\"\/blog\/17-ways-business-messaging-enhances-your-customer-satisfaction\/\">higher levels of customer satisfaction<\/a>, improved team performance, and better use of resources. Furthermore, insights from analytics and reporting tools can highlight areas where bottlenecks are occurring, or identify other areas for improvement.<\/p><p><img alt=\"data activity send messages\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/data-activity-send-messages.png\"><\/p><p>Businesses can create further efficiencies through process automation. This includes creating predefined email or text responses to common queries that are taken via the aforementioned <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">customer communication channels<\/a>. These templates are easily adapted to suit the agent\u2019s tone of voice or to reflect the requirements of a particular customer. <\/p><ul><li><strong>Assign queries to the right people<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Customer service software can be programmed so that specific queries are routed to the right agent, based on their skills, and relevancy. This approach means that queries are solved as quickly as possible, and can be prioritized, escalated, or reassigned if needed.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Improved visibility <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>When operating in a customer service solution such as Mobile Service Cloud, businesses can monitor every interaction, including SLAs, response times, number of conversations per agent, and much more. This enables CX leaders to <a href=\"\/downloads\/customer-service-kpis\/\">set KPIs<\/a> that will help agents and teams work more efficiently and effectively and continue to boost that all-important customer satisfaction.<\/p><p><img alt=\"mobile service cloud ecommerce retail\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/mobile-service-cloud-ecommerce-retail.png\"><\/p><ul><li><strong>Optimized customer service provision, from anywhere in the world<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Using customer service software enables brands to operate swift, responsive, and accurate customer service 24\/7\/365, from any location, and on a variety of devices. Businesses can build and manage a self-serve portal enabling customers to sign in at any time, access account or product information, search the knowledge base, and request a follow-up call in just a few clicks. They can also use a scripted chatbot for common queries. While not a key driver of customer satisfaction, chatbots are a useful tool for swift query resolution, and many users find them easier to search and navigate than knowledge bases.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Scalable to suit the changing needs of your business<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Ambitious businesses grow and change over time. The best customer service software has the ability to scale as your business and the needs of your customers evolve. This could mean adding SMS messaging or social media response, new payment methods, <a href=\"\/blog\/voicebots-for-customer-service\/\">or voicebots<\/a>. Whatever tools it takes to help your business thrive and keep your customers coming back for more.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is Customer Service Software? | CM.com","meta_description":"Customer service software is a program or platform to manage all service interactions with your customers. Discover the full explanation + 6 benefits.","created_at":"2021-10-06T07:00:28.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-10-08T06:26:27.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":10,"group_id":10,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Dedicated Short Code","slug":null,"description":"A dedicated short code is used to enable companies to send messages with a specific short code dedicated only for their business and enabling response for the end user to that same number (Sender ID).","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-14T05:26:22.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":3826,"group_id":56,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Digital Signature","slug":"what-is-digital-signature","description":"<p>A digital signature guarantees that an electronic document is authentic. It is an encrypted digital code appended to an electronic document to verify that it was created by a known source and has not been altered.<\/p>","title":"What is a Digital Signature?","text":"<p>A digital signature is the technology that proves the authenticity of a document. Digital signatures require a digital certificate from a certificate authority to vet a user's identity. The certificate is bound by cryptography to the signed document, creating a unique digital fingerprint. <\/p><p><img alt=\"legal signature\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/legal-signature.svg\"><\/p><p>Digital signatures also embed a public key infrastructure (PKI) into the signing process. PKIs generate two keys\u2014 one public and one private \u2014 to identify the signer and the entity requesting the signature. Both the digital certificate and PKI provide stringent identification and security for sensitive legal documents.<\/p><h2>Digital Signature Vs. Electronic Signature<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-electronic-signature\/\">Electronic signatures<\/a> are digital symbols that a signer applies to a contract while digital signatures use encryption methods to authenticate digital documents. While <a href=\"\/blog\/electronic-signature-vs-digital-signature\/\">both signatures<\/a> are legally binding, <a href=\"\/sign\/\">electronic signatures replace traditional signatures<\/a>.<\/p><p><strong>Digital Signatures:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Use sophisticated certificate-based identification methods<\/li><li>Secure document integrity<\/li><li>Are not equivalent to a handwritten signature<\/li><li>Use encryption to verify the validity of signed documents<\/li><li>Require third-party verification<\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Electronic Signatures:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Use standard methods (employee ID, email, or multi-factor authentication) to authenticate a signer\u2019s identity<\/li><li>Verify document authenticity<\/li><li>Are equivalent to a handwritten signature<\/li><li>Use audit trails to validate signed documents<\/li><li>Are easy to apply via electronic signature apps<\/li><\/ul><p><a href=\"\/sign\/\"><img alt=\"sign platform\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sign-platform.svg\"><\/a><\/p><p>Our <a href=\"\/sign\/\">Sign<\/a> electric signature solution allows you to complete contracts, agreements, and documents fast and secure without unnecessary printing and scanning.<\/p>","meta_title":"Digital Signature Explained - What Is It? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"A digital signature guarantees that an electronic document is authentic. Read more about how to use digital signatures in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-04-07T11:07:03.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-08-30T16:35:24.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":11,"group_id":11,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Direct Dial In (DDI)","slug":null,"description":"Direct Inward Dialing (DID) or Direct Dial In (DDI) is a service of a local phone company or local exchange carrier that provides a block of telephone numbers for calling into a company\u2019s private branch (PBX) or IP telephony system. Using DDI, a company can offer its customers individual phone numbers for each individual or workstation within the company without requiring a physical line into the PBX for each possible connection. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":8,"group_id":8,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"DLR","slug":null,"description":"A DLR refers to a status of a sent message. Once the message has been received (or not) within the 48-hour retry range, the sender (company or aggregator) receives a Delivery Status Report with detailed information about the processed message.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":9,"group_id":9,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"DTMF tones ","slug":null,"description":"Dual Tone Multi Frequency is a method often used in IVR systems to choose menu items or enter codes. DTMF is widely used for telecommunication signalling over analog telephone lines in voice-frequency bands, and is used in push-button telephones for tone dialling.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4417,"group_id":62,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Electronic Signature","slug":"what-is-electronic-signature","description":"<p>An <a href=\"\/sign\/electronic-signatures\/\">electronic signature<\/a>, also known as an e-signature, is a digital version of the paper-based method of signing signatures. It allows a person to electronically add a signature to a digital contract or document, thereby removing the need for ink and paper.<\/p>","title":"What Is An Electronic Signature?","text":"<p>It allows a person to electronically add a signature to a digital contract or document within a secure setting. <\/p><p>E-signatures have been officially defined by the EU regulations on e-signatures (eIDAS) as \u201c<em>data in electronic form - attached to or associated with - other data in electronic form and used by the signatory to sign<\/em>\u201d. <\/p><h2>Why Use Electronic Signatures?<\/h2><p>There are <a href=\"\/blog\/top-reasons-electronic-signatures\/\">many reasons<\/a> why e-signatures might be used in place of their traditional, handwritten counterparts. The <a href=\"\/blog\/benefits-of-electronic-signature-software\/\">key benefit is speed<\/a>. By removing physical logistics in paper methods, doing business using e-signatures is made much easier, especially when required across international waters. <\/p><p>Not only does it streamline the document signing process, making it easier to access from databases and the cloud, but it helps save on costs, breathing efficiency into tasks like long-winded audit trails. <\/p><p>Essentially, automating the validation and archiving of signed documents will save a lot of time and money. It\u2019s also very environmentally friendly as with every electronic signature you sign in place of physically putting pen to paper, you reduce your ecological footprint. <\/p><h2>E-signatures Vs Digital Signatures <\/h2><p>The term \u201ce-signature\u201d is often used as a synonym for \u201cdigital signatures\u201d but in fact, the two shouldn\u2019t be used interchangeably as <a href=\"\/blog\/electronic-signature-vs-digital-signature\/\">their meanings are not equal<\/a>.<\/p><p>The easiest way to distinguish between electronic and <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-digital-signature\/\">digital signatures<\/a> is to know that the latter can be used in other contexts than signing a document, such as SSL certificates and cookies for ad-tracking. <\/p><p><img alt=\"legal signature\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/legal-signature.svg\">This is because digital signatures embed an encrypted digital code into the signing process to verify that it was created by a known source and has not been altered. This is called a Personal Key Infrastructure or \u201cPKI\u201d and guarantees that an electronic document is authentic by identifying both the requesting party and the party providing a signature. By generating two keys (one private and one public) the PKI technology uniquely identifies the person who is signing. However, both parties involved in this process must have a digital certificate registered from an issuing certificate authority as this links the signature to its owner. <\/p><blockquote>While digital signature and electronic signature are both equally capable of capturing legal signatures and identifying signees, it is the above process of identification within digital signatories that differentiates it from electronic signatures. Especially since many consumers do not have a digital signature certificate. <\/blockquote><p>At CM.com, we use the term electronic signature as that is the specific form of a digital signature we offer. However, we use \u201cdigital signature\u201d as an umbrella term in the context of signing a document.<\/p><p><img alt=\"sign platform\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sign-platform.svg\"><\/p><p>Our <a href=\"\/sign\/\">Sign<\/a> electric signature solution allows you to complete contracts, agreements, and documents fast and secure without unnecessary printing and scanning.<\/p>","meta_title":"Electronic Signature - What Is It & Why Use It? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"An electronic signature is a digital version of the paper-based method of signing signatures. Read more about electronic signing in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-07-30T08:42:10.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-10-25T12:39:21.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":14,"group_id":14,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Email Campaigns","slug":null,"description":"<p>Within the <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a>, you'll find CM.com's <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">Email Campaigns<\/a>: the perfect tool to create and personalize emails, easily A\/B-test those emails and send email campaigns in bulk.<\/p>","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-10-18T05:41:11.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5842,"group_id":96,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Email Marketing","slug":"what-is-email-marketing","description":"<p><a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">Email marketing<\/a> is a form of marketing that uses email to send, analyze, and manage personalized and customized marketing campaigns to audiences worldwide. It\u2019s an effective way to engage with target audiences that complements other channels like website and video content.<\/p>","title":"What Is Email Marketing?","text":"<p>Email marketing has been used for several decades now to reach out to prospects and customers with offers and news of products and services. Every day, over 100 billion messages are sent, with some estimates reaching 300 billion. It\u2019s simple and low-cost \u2013 almost every web user has an email account \u2013 and can be very effective: each dollar spent on email marketing leads to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barilliance.com\/email-marketing-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$42 in total returns<\/a>. <\/p><h2>What is Email Spam?<\/h2><p>While once plagued with UCE \u2013 Unsolicited Commercial Email, also known as \u201cspam\u201d \u2013 these problems have largely been solved, from both technological and legal perspectives. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) have become very sensitive to spam and successfully block millions of email addresses each day; end-user email applications (like Microsoft Outlook and Google\u2019s Gmail) also give users the option to whitelist and blacklist individual senders. <\/p><p><img alt=\"email-campaigns\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/email-campaigns.svg\">This means that to make sure marketing emails are received and read, email marketers need to respect both user privacy and maximize deliverability, by making sure commercial emails comply with all local laws and ISP protocols. This becomes more difficult at scale, since sending thousands of emails at once often alerts spam filters. Accordingly, email marketing is most effective with an established platform that pre-empts problems.<\/p><h2>How Does Email Marketing Work? <\/h2><h3>Obtain a User Opt-In<\/h3><p>All legitimate email marketers use opt-in: gaining the recipient\u2019s approval to email them. This usually starts with the users themselves. They sign up for a marketing list, subscribe to a content feed, or give their permission to receive marketing emails when making a purchase. <\/p><p>The best practice is \u201cdouble opt-in\u201d: the first marketing email simply asks the user to confirm they wish to receive emails. On clicking Yes, the user\u2019s details are added to the marketing list (often in a CRM database). It\u2019s equally important to respect Unsubscribe requests; all legitimate marketers do so, and many countries require an unsubscribe link to be added to every marketing email. This means an email should not be used for marketing to cold suspects (people who\u2019ve never heard from the sender before). <\/p><h3>Customize a Marketing Email<\/h3><p>The best marketing emails are customized for the recipient\u2019s interests, with their purchasing history and activity on the marketer\u2019s website used to select content they\u2019re likely to respond to. (For instance, someone who recently bought a power tool may receive emails containing special offers on batteries, adaptors, and drill bits.) And even if the email content is the same for all recipients, most email marketers at least personalize the email with the user\u2019s name. <\/p><h3>Track Responses in CRM Software<\/h3><p>The most important part of email marketing happens after the email is sent: using email marketing software to see how many in the audience received the email, how many email addresses weren\u2019t valid (known as \u201cbounces\u201d), how many opened the email (often detected by whether a single-pixel image in the email being downloaded) and how many times, and how many clicked on a link within it. This lets marketers assess the success of each email marketing campaign and offers insights for improving the next one.<\/p><p><img alt=\"email-campaigns-editor\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/email-campaigns-editor.svg\"><\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Email Marketing? <\/h2><h3>A Common Channel With a Large User Base<\/h3><p>While everyday conversations between friends and colleagues have largely moved to other channels (like <a href=\"\/whatsapp\/\">WhatsApp<\/a>, <a href=\"\/facebook-messenger\/\">Facebook Messenger<\/a>, and so on) the average user still <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/markmurphy\/2016\/09\/18\/the-way-you-check-email-is-making-you-less-productive\/?sh=c4ecf0337e38\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">checks their email 15 times a day.<\/a> They\u2019re also checking email in more places: many now use their phones rather than desktops or laptops. Making email the ideal channel for regular contact with customers.<\/p><h3>Privacy Legislation Gives Users Confidence<\/h3><p>Legal frameworks like <a href=\"\/blog\/mobile-marketing-in-a-gdpr-era\/\">Europe\u2019s GDPR<\/a> set strict guidelines on how marketers can use email when communicating with consumers. This has reduced spam, and given consumers more confidence that a marketer is legitimate. While problems still exist, in general, email marketing today is trusted.<\/p><h3>Email Creates a Managed Conversation Over Time<\/h3><p>More so than some other channels, email is viewed as a \u201cthread\u201d \u2013 not individual messages, but parts of a connected conversation. This lets marketers build deeper, more detailed, and longer-term relationships with customers. And as the customer responds in different ways over time, their statistics \u2013 opens, clicks, subsequent behavior \u2013 can be built into a meaningful picture of that customer, with opportunities for customized responses and tailored offers. <\/p><h2>Email Marketing Statistics<\/h2><h3>Average Open Rates for Email Marketing<\/h3><p>For several years, <a href=\"\/blog\/skyrocket-email-open-rates\/\">the average rate of opening for all emails<\/a> has been around 15%, with around 85% never opened or deleted. But for compliant marketing emails, it\u2019s much higher \u00ad\u00ad\u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barilliance.com\/email-marketing-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">over 40%<\/a>! This is because marketers are reaching out to people who\u2019ve made an active decision to receive their emails, and are genuinely interested in their content. <\/p><p>Again, this compares well to other channels like physical direct mail \u2013 and of course, with email, it\u2019s possible to detect whether the recipient received the mail or not. <\/p><p><img alt=\"email-campaigns-overview\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/email-campaigns-overview.svg\"><\/p><h3>Average Click-Through (CTR) Rates for Email Marketing<\/h3><p>A successful email marketing campaign will enjoy clickthrough rates (the percentage of recipients who clicked on a link) of 2-5%. Again, this compares well to physical channels like TV shopping channels and direct mail.<\/p><h3>Average Conversion Rates for Email Marketing<\/h3><p>Conversion rate (CR) is used ambiguously, so it\u2019s harder to estimate \u2013 some figures define CR as simply CTR, while others classify a conversion as a sale. But most reliable statistics put the CR statistic at around 15%, which again compares well to other channels. <\/p><h2>How to Send Email Marketing Campaigns<\/h2><p>Email marketing campaigns are best used to build long-term, ongoing relationships with customers who\u2019ve actively agreed to your outreach and are existing customers of your products and services. It should never be used to approach a \u201ccold list\u201d (people you\u2019ve never had contact with), a \u201cconstructed list\u201d (emails guessed at by format, such as [email protected]), or to \u201chammer\u201d random email addresses in the hope of finding an email in use \u2013 all these count as UCE and are illegal in many jurisdictions. <\/p><p>With the web and email now visual media, it\u2019s also useful to design each email in a graphical format \u2013 today virtually all web users read email as formatted HTML, like web pages. A good <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">email marketing platform<\/a> will let you design colorful templates with simple dragging-and-dropping. <\/p><p>It's also best to send your email marketing campaigns from a platform, such as CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud, rather than your personal email. This lets you send thousands of (opted-in) emails a day and track openings and other statistics on a dashboard, giving you a bird\u2019s-eye-view of what\u2019s happening with your campaign. <\/p><p>Another best practice is to connect your email marketing platform to your existing customer database (such as your CRM system) so you\u2019re using a \u201csingle version of the truth\u201d about customer data, with each customer record updated as you send and respond to emails. This prevents your view of each customer fragmenting. <\/p><p>It\u2019s also a good idea to use email in combination with other channels, such as <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a>, <a href=\"\/rcs\/\">RCS<\/a>, <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">chatbots<\/a>, Messenger, and WhatsApp. In today\u2019s world, customers want to engage with you on the channels they prefer \u2013 and the right platform lets you switch channels without losing the context (or content) of each conversation. <\/p><h2>How to Get Started With Email Marketing <\/h2><p>The ideal way to add email marketing to your channels is a platform like <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a>, which lets you customize email templates, plan and create content, send to segmented lists of opted-in customers, and analyze results later to improve performance over time.<\/p><p><img alt=\"email-campaigns-ab-testing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/email-campaigns-ab-testing.svg\"><\/p><p>CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud offers many approaches for using email as part of your marketing mix, with easy ways to integrate with other channels like SMS and WhatsApp plus existing applications like your CRM database. <\/p>","meta_title":"Email Marketing: What Is It and How Does It Work? - CM.com","meta_description":"Email marketing is a type of marketing that uses email to send, analyze and manage marketing campaigns to large audiences. Read more in our Glossary \u00bb","created_at":"2022-09-05T08:07:15.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-09-05T09:21:22.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":27,"group_id":27,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Email to SMS","slug":null,"description":"Mail SMS is an email to SMS app that converts standard emails into text messages. By using your own email client, turning email into SMS is as easy as sending an email. You can use every email program to send SMS messages from your Online SMS Gateway account.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-12T06:18:08.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":13,"group_id":13,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"ESMEs","slug":null,"description":"External Short Messaging Entities or ESMEs are external applications that connect to an SMS service for sending and receiving SMS messages. Examples of ESME\u2019s are voting systems or automated marketing messages. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":15,"group_id":15,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Fake DLR\u2019s","slug":null,"description":"Fake DLR\u2019s are a known problem amongst aggregators. In a fake DLR, the supplier of a connection falsely reports a successful delivery to an end-user device. This results in loss of money, because companies pay for messages that are never delivered on a handset. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5527,"group_id":76,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"FAQ Chatbot","slug":"what-is-faq-chatbot","description":"<p>A FAQ chatbot can be used to automate answers to some of the more common questions your organization may be asked. These types of questions can be a huge drain on your customer service team and often involve repetitive, copy & paste answers that are more easily and efficiently managed by a machine.<\/p>","title":"What is a FAQ chatbot?","text":"<p>FAQ (frequently asked questions) chatbots are effective because they allow customers to get rapid access to the information they need without having to scroll through pages and pages of FAQs. Not only do they allow customers to self-serve and access answers to their questions without the need for human interaction, they also mean you can offer 24\/7 customer service without the need to increase your staffing overheads. <\/p><p>Chatbots answering FAQs can take the form of either an AI or scripted chatbot, although scripted chatbots are more common in customer support and marketing settings. Scripted bots can carry out simple conversations with customers based on a predefined script. When a user sends a customer service query, the bot can reply with a predefined answer based on its script programming. As with other types of chatbots, the FAQ variant can escalate a query to a human agent if it\u2019s unable to resolve it to the customer\u2019s satisfaction.<\/p><p>With more advanced AI chatbot technology, you can create a Dynamic FAQ Module, where new FAQs are shown dynamically, with the best possible answer available. As a bot, it can determine the answers to more complex questions based on the format of the question and information held within your organization. For example, customers can ask the question in any form and the bot will search for the best answer in every database connected (whether this is the website, your catalog, or previously asked questions). It can recognize questions based on entities and intent. <\/p><h2>What are the benefits of a FAQ chatbot?<\/h2><p>FAQ chatbots save customers valuable time, ensuring they\u2019re not on hold for hours on end or spending large chunks of their day trawling through reams of FAQ pages. Allowing your customers to self-serve has two major benefits:<\/p><p>It means your customer service team can focus on providing quality customer care, rather than dealing with repetitive queries and means they can take time off out of hours.<\/p><p>Customers can get the information they need with minimal effort and without needing to speak to a customer service agent, which some people can find intimidating. <\/p><h2>How to get started with a FAQ chatbot<\/h2><p>Whether you\u2019d prefer a <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/scripted-chatbot\/\">scripted chatbot<\/a> or an <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">AI chatbot<\/a>, you can build it with the software offered by CM.com. Our team is available to provide the support you need to future-proof your customer engagements.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is a FAQ chatbot? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"A FAQ chatbot can be used to automate answers to frequently asked customer questions. Read more about FAQ chatbots in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-03-30T13:42:03.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-03-30T13:47:16.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5692,"group_id":91,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"First-Party Data Collection","slug":"what-is-first-party-data-collection","description":"<p>First-party data is customer data collected with consent and owned directly by your company (the data controller). It is a valuable source of customer insight in the age of data privacy, as regulations and security measures now make other types of data less secure, accurate, and reliable.<\/p><p><br><\/p>","title":"What Is First-Party Data Collection?","text":"<h2>Examples of First-Party Data<\/h2><p>First-party data is any information collected directly from your customer (online or offline) with their consent. For example:<\/p><ul><li>Account creation<\/li><li>Newsletter signups<\/li><li>Signups for a free trial or download<\/li><li>Surveys and feedback<\/li><li>Direct chats (chatbots, customer service, social media messages)<\/li><li>Online behavioral data (from customers who opt-in to sharing their data when using your app or visiting your site)<\/li><li>CRM data (collected with consent during signups or customer service interactions)<\/li><li>Loyalty\/retention (purchase history, presales\/upgrade queries)<\/li><\/ul><h2>Why Is First-Party Data Important?<\/h2><p>First-party data is important because, compared to other data types, it is: <\/p><ul><li>More secure (more transparent and compliant with privacy protection regulations\u2014unlike third-party data, which is increasingly blocked by ad blockers, first-party data is not blocked)<\/li><li><a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/sanitairwinkel\/\">More accurate<\/a> (providing a more reliable, detailed view of customer preferences and behavior)<\/li><li>More cost-effective (can be collected for free)<\/li><li><a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/rvshare\/\">More profitable<\/a> (enabling companies to boost conversion with an enhanced customer experience and successful targeting efforts)<\/li><\/ul><p>First-party data is a privacy-oriented, ethical data collection method that enables <a href=\"\/departments\/marketing-and-sales\/\">marketers<\/a> to gain a clear view of their customers, control costs more effectively, and significantly impact their campaigns. For these reasons, <a href=\"\/downloads\/partner-story-merkle\/\">many digital marketers<\/a> consider first-party data to be the most valuable customer data at their disposal.<\/p><p><img alt=\"tracedock-marketer-missing-out-on-data-new\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/tracedock-marketer-missing-out-on-data-new.png\"><\/p><h2>Why Is First-Party Data More Accurate than Third-Party Data?<\/h2><p>In the past, digital marketers could rely on third-party cookies to collect data from websites, apps, and other channels. This data enabled marketers to target audiences and measure engagement.<\/p><p>Today, many popular browsers have introduced privacy measures that <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-cookieless-data-collection\/\">limit or prevent cookies<\/a> and prevent customer data from being forwarded to Google Analytics. This includes measures like Intelligent Tracking Prevention (ITP 2.3) in Safari and Enhanced Tracking Protection (ETP) in Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Brave, and other browsers. Ad blockers have also become a standard feature of many web browsers.<\/p><p>Nearly 40% of users now use a browser with built-in tracking prevention and ad blockers. As a result, marketers get an incomplete picture of their marketing data in Google Analytics and Meta. That means you have no accurate way of analyzing the performance of your online content and campaigns or calculating Return on Advertising Spend (ROAS).<\/p><p>In addition, data privacy regulations such as the <a href=\"\/blog\/mobile-marketing-in-a-gdpr-era\/\">GDPR<\/a>, CCPA, Denmark Cookie Order, and Belgium Cookie Guidance make capturing reliable data using third-party cookies increasingly challenging. <\/p><p>In response to this trend, many companies focus on collecting first-party data. This data is more secure, more reliable, and far more profitable. <\/p><p>A study by Google and Boston Consulting Group found that companies using first-party data in key <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">marketing campaigns<\/a> increased revenues by up to 290% while reducing their advertising spend by up to 150%, compared to companies that did not use first-party data.<\/p><h2>How to Use First-Party Data<\/h2><p>To get the greatest benefit, successful marketers use first-party data for various activities, such as:<\/p><ul><li>Personalizing the customer experience and displaying relevant ads and content<\/li><li>Retargeting through ads and <a href=\"\/blog\/how-apples-ios-15-update-will-change-email-marketing\/\">email messages<\/a><\/li><li>Identifying new audiences<\/li><li>Segmenting the customer base more accurately<\/li><li>Enhancing brand equity and creating a better fit with customers<\/li><li><a href=\"\/blog\/why-unify-customer-data\/\">Creating rich data sets<\/a> that can also be monetized<\/li><\/ul><h2>How to Collect First-Party Data?<\/h2><p>Common first-party data collection methods include:<\/p><ul><li><strong>Permission marketing:<\/strong> This involves simply asking customers for information about themselves in return for a benefit such as a discount, free trial, free download, webinar, or informative newsletter. You can also include data collected via offline interactions.<\/li><li><strong>Software integrations:<\/strong> With the help of the right software tools, marketers can track and identify users and collect their data in a privacy-friendly way. This enriches your data, giving you a fuller view of your customers and what they want. <\/li><\/ul><p><img alt=\"tracedock-service-1-first-party-data-collection-new\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/tracedock-service-1-first-party-data-collection-new.png\"><\/p><p>You can track users through Google Analytics (third-party data collection) and integrate a first-party tracking tool like <a href=\"\/tracedock\/\">TraceDock<\/a> into your website. You get the most out of your data by combining both first- and third-party data collection.<\/p><p>Using CM.com\u2019s TraceDock offers many first-party data collection advantages because it:<\/p><ul><li>Extends cookie duration in Safari from 1 day to 180+ days with the user\u2019s consent;<\/li><li>Forwards the data anonymously on the <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-server-side-tracking\/\">server-side<\/a>, which increases the visibility of customers using ad blockers and privacy-focused browsers;<\/li><li>Works alongside your Google Analytics or Tag Manager implementation;<\/li><li>Enriches the platforms you already use without ever storing any data;<\/li><li>Complies fully with GDPR, CCPA, the Denmark Cookie Order, and the Belgium Cookie Guidance.<\/li><\/ul>","meta_title":"Why First-Party Data, What Is It and How to Collect It? - CM.com","meta_description":"First-party data is customer data collected with consent and owned directly by your company (the data controller). Learn more in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-07-06T14:06:37.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-30T12:11:27.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":16,"group_id":16,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"GDPR","slug":null,"description":"The General Data Protection Regulation is a EU-regulation that prescribes what precautionary measures companies must take to protect citizens from privacy and data breaches, including how to handle breach notifications. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4927,"group_id":71,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"General Admission Ticketing","slug":"what-is-general-admission-ticketing","description":"<p>General Admission Ticketing simply refers to the act of allocating <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">tickets<\/a> for events with no assigned seat or specific area. Often referred to as \u2018standing tickets\u2019, event organizers are likely to make use of General Admission Ticketing, mainly thanks to its easy \u201cscan and go\u201d nature.<\/p>","title":"What Is General Admission Ticketing?","text":"<p>This is opposed to a \u2018<a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-seated-ticketing\/\">seated ticketing<\/a>\u2019 booking, which refers to the act of allocating tickets for events with an assigned seat, for instance, where spectators have a dedicated place to observe the game. General Admission Ticketing is also more straightforward. As a self-service solution, you don\u2019t need any help arranging seating plans. <\/p><p>The <a href=\"\/ticketing\/festivals-events\/\">festival and live event market<\/a> are one of the main focuses for General Admission Ticketing due to the logistics and venues such events are held at, for example, large outdoor spaces and fields with multiple stages or \u2018tents\u2019 and a high capacity of event-goers.<\/p><h2>The Benefits of General Admission Ticketing<\/h2><p>The main <a href=\"\/blog\/e-ticketing-5-benefits\/\">benefits of using General Admission Ticketing<\/a> for your events are the simplicity, <a href=\"\/blog\/custom-is-the-new-standard-in-ticketing\/\">customization<\/a>, and flexibility on offer.<\/p><p>While it might sound like a time-consuming and complex process, designing your ticket shop with your branding and flow is a straightforward process. And that\u2019s all thanks to CM.com\u2019s software. Our user-friendly dashboard doesn\u2019t require any coding skills or the dexterity of developers, and there are no complicated APIs; everything is laid out and easy to follow. <\/p><h2>The Ticket Shop: More than Just Ticketing<\/h2><p>The CM.com ticket shop offers a variety of valuable features. First, it is very easy to <a href=\"\/blog\/custom-is-the-new-standard-in-ticketing\/\">customize the ticket shop<\/a> to your preference. This can be done by applying personalized designs and logos to pretty much anything throughout the ticket management process, including both the printed variety and mobile template of the ticket itself. For example, customize it by adding logos, uploading relevant images per ticket type or category, and even design your shop header and overall color themes. <\/p><p><img alt=\"ticketing branding identity\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/ticketing-branding-identity.svg\"><\/p><p>This high level of customization also applies to event scheduling. For example, if an organizer is running an event that is split over different days - they have the option to create different ticket types and set pricing and availability depending on the date and time. Besides adding ticket types, you can also easily add other products in the shop, for example, merchandise, tokens, camping, and even parking tickets. If you add any of these extra products, you can easily structure and organize this by using a ticket flow. This refers to the extra available, which can provide ample opportunity for upselling and cross-sale.<\/p><p><img alt=\"Upselling & Cross Selling ticketing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/ticketing-upselling-cross-selling.svg\"><\/p><p>Equally, the addition of CM.com\u2019s real-time ticket sales insights can offer massive advantages in helping businesses see current revenues, sales figures and thus better strategize ahead of an event. <\/p><p>Another beneficial feature is the option to generate discount codes and voucher campaigns. Discount codes refer to the possibility to offer discounts as percentages and are tailored to specific individuals, for instance, if they\u2019ve purchased their tickets as a \u2018Friends and Family\u2019 customer. Voucher Campaigns refer to a fixed amount of discount and are relevant in the rare event of a delay or cancellation of a show or festival and customers are offered vouchers for their purchases. <\/p><p>These features are just the tip of the iceberg, but there are way more features in the ticket shop to fulfill the needs of organizers. You can discover them by <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">visiting the website<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/login.cm.com\/?returnUrl=https:\/\/www.cm.com\/app\/ticketing\/\">starting your shop<\/a>, or <a href=\"\/contact\/sales\/\">contacting sales<\/a>. <\/p><h2>Why Use CM.com\u2019s General Admission Ticketing Software<\/h2><p>CM.com\u2019s General Admission Ticketing software isn\u2019t just a stand-alone platform. What makes this product unique is that it works in conjunction with a suite of CM.com tools that integrate seamlessly. Together, they offer an experience you can\u2019t find anywhere else on the market. A valuable add-on is the <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a>. This enables organizers to gather data of their visitors via the <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">Customer Data Platform<\/a>. <\/p><p><img alt=\"rich-profile-ticketing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/rich-profile-ticketing.png\"><\/p><p>Once this customer data has been collected, it is this platform that can be utilized to send automated and personalized messages via <a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">SMS<\/a>, <a href=\"\/whatsapp\/\">WhatsApp<\/a> or <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">e-mail<\/a>.<\/p><p>At CM.com, you only need one platform and one login. You can add more <a href=\"\/products\/\">products<\/a> as and when you need them to enrich your offering of services. Whether that\u2019s ticket sales, email campaigns, or gathering and analyzing the data of your customers for better engagement, it can be done easily, and from one place. <\/p><p>If you want to learn more about CM.com\u2019s General Admission Ticketing product and how it can work for your business, head over to our <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">Ticketing page<\/a>.<\/p>","meta_title":"General Admission Ticketing - What Is it? | CM.com","meta_description":"General Admission Ticketing refers to the act of allocating tickets for events with no assigned seat or specific area. Read more in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-10-18T14:43:23.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-10-19T08:11:53.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":18,"group_id":18,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"HLR","slug":null,"description":"Home Location Register (HLR) is an MNO database containing all information related to a mobile subscriber\u2019s device. CM.com uses HLR for its Number Lookup feature, allowing you to verify number information and prevent fraud.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-13T15:29:17.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":19,"group_id":19,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Hybrid (Hybrid Messaging)","slug":null,"description":"Hybrid messaging enables you to send push messages with SMS as fall-back. Mobile messages will be sent via the cost-effective push messaging. If the receiver doesn\u2019t have your app installed or is offline, the message is sent via SMS. This way you\u2019ll realise the highest reach at the lowest cost. If you don't have your own app, you can use CM's Notifire app. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":20,"group_id":20,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"IMSI","slug":null,"description":"International mobile subscriber identity, unique for every SIM card. The IMSI code is related to one SIM card, so even if the phone number is used again by another user, the sim card will be printed again and with that it will receive a new IMSI Code.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5557,"group_id":75,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Internal Knowledge Base Chatbot","slug":"what-is-internal-knowledge-base-chatbot","description":"<p>An internal knowledge base chatbot allows you to hold a vast amount of internal company information in one place. This single source of truth is oftentimes based on the input of your customer-facing chatbot and will be optimized continuously by experts and customer service agents.<\/p>","title":"What Is an Internal Knowledge Base Chatbot?","text":"<p>With an internal knowledge base chatbot your entire company can find up-to-date information in one place. This dynamic database helps to always have the best possible answers available.<\/p><p>One of the prime benefits of an internal knowledge base chatbot is that it can fast track new employee training and allow new starters to become more effective more quickly. The knock-on effect of that is it frees up more experienced staff to focus on quality customer care rather than line management and training.<\/p><p>But internal knowledge bases are not only for new starters - experienced colleagues can benefit from the depth of information they provide. It\u2019s virtually impossible for one employee to hold all of the information at all times that they need to do their job, so an internal chatbot is a useful reference tool.<\/p><p>Knowledge leaving your business is also a concern, particularly in high-churn environments such as customer service. A dynamic internal knowledge base solves the issue of knowledge retention by keeping vital information at the fingertips of all team members. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of an Internal Knowledge Base Chatbot?<\/h2><p>A knowledge base chatbot can <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">support employees in ways humans can\u2019t<\/a>, giving them the information they need to do their job effectively from day one. Some of the benefits include:<\/p><ul><li>Boost efficiency for new starters and experienced employees<\/li><li>Empowers teams to find correct responses fast<\/li><li>More consistent, unified customer experiences<\/li><\/ul><h2>How to Use an Internal Knowledge Base Chatbot?<\/h2><p>Many areas of your business could benefit from an internal knowledge base chatbot. Here are just a few:<\/p><p><strong>Internal Processes<\/strong><\/p><p>Sometimes the chatbot functionality is more intelligent than some internal systems. A dynamic internal knowledge base can improve legacy systems. Use it as one single source of truth to break down siloes. Improve your employee experience while improving customer experience. Every employee can look for an answer, check if it\u2019s correct, and get instructed on how to use this in their work \u2013 all from one system. This leads to the best answer - in any situation.<\/p><p><strong>Customer Service<\/strong><\/p><p>Looking up data in multiple systems is history \u2013 you can find everything in your knowledge base. Make sure your company starts working and updating the content in the knowledge base, then your agents and the bot will always have the best answer available. Both use the same data, leading to a more consistent, unified customer experience. Your customers and your <a href=\"\/departments\/customer-service\/\">customer service team<\/a> will be happy.<\/p><p><strong>Cross-functional Collaboration <\/strong><\/p><p>A dynamic knowledge base is not just for knowledge sharing; it can also improve cross-team collaboration. Give employees across departments one location to find, share, and update information. This will improve the visibility of what other teams are doing, leading to better understanding, greater collaboration, and new perspectives. <\/p><p><strong>HR & Onboarding<\/strong><\/p><p>Your chatbot can contain valuable internal information for your employees to access alongside external-facing information. Doing away with an oldfashioned employee handbook will drag your HR processes kicking and screaming into the 21st century.<\/p><h2>Examples of Internal Knowledge Base Success<\/h2><p>Many of our customers are using Conversational AI Cloud to build a chatbot for internal purposes. <a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/vattenfall\/\">Vattenfall<\/a> and <a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/vivid\/\">VIVID<\/a> have shared their experiences:<\/p><p><a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/vattenfall\/\"><img alt=\"vattenfall customer story\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/vattenfall-customer-story.png\"><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/vivid\/\"><img alt=\"CAIC vivid\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/caic-customerstory-image-vivid.png\"><\/a><\/p><h2>How to Get Started With a Dynamic Internal Knowledge Base<\/h2><p><span style=\"color: var(--text-color); background-color: var(--input-bg);\">The best way to get started is to find out what your customers are currently asking. Are you already using a chatbot? Check those conversations. Otherwise, ask your customer service team. The most important step is to build your knowledge base. Get everyone working in it, and make it a fluid database - with always the most up-to-date information in there.<\/span><\/p><p>With Conversational AI Cloud you can build your own internal knowledge base chatbot. You can use the same database your consumer-facing chatbot is using.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is an internal knowledge base chatbot? | CM.com","meta_description":"An internal knowledge base chatbot allows you to hold information in one place. Read more about dynamic internal knowledge bases in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-04-29T13:22:49.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-03T09:59:35.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5611,"group_id":87,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"IVR","slug":"what-is-ivr","description":"<p>IVR or Interactive Voice Response is an automated phone system with call routing capabilities. It answers incoming calls and prompts customers to interact with a pre-recorded message or series of messages, taking them to the appropriate business department based on their response.<\/p>","title":"What Is IVR?","text":"<p>IVR also has an important self-service function for relatively straightforward processes such as checking an account balance or paying rent and parking fines \u2013 all without waiting to be put through to a human agent (who may or may not be the right person to handle the call). <\/p><p>Whether the caller is routed through to an agent or not, IVR shortens hold times and enhances customer satisfaction. The immediate advantage for businesses is that they need fewer call agents to handle customer inquiries. <\/p><h2>How Does IVR Work? <\/h2><p>Customers are greeted with a pre-recorded voice menu once on the line. After navigating the prompts either verbally through voice recognition or manually with the phone\u2019s touch-tone keypad, the caller is automatically transferred to an agent who can help with their inquiry. A major source of customer discontent is to be put through to the wrong person, or even a succession of agents who are ill-prepared to address their specific issue; one of the functions of IVR is to make this problem disappear with a triage system of questions. <\/p><p><img alt=\"voice solutions sip trunk\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/voice-sip-trunk.jpg\"><\/p><p>There are two types of IVR: single-level IVR and multi-level IVR. A single-level message might ask the caller to press 1 for customer service, press 2 for payments, press 3 for technical support, and so on. A multi-level IVR will drill down to the specific issue by asking further questions based on the caller\u2019s successive responses to the prompts in the multi-level menu. The challenge for multi-level IVR is to keep the \u201cphone tree\u201d as simple and direct as possible while probing as deeply as the needs of the business require. <\/p><h2>What Is Conversational IVR?<\/h2><p>Advances in speech-to-text capabilities, Artificial Intelligence and Natural Language Processing are making it increasingly feasible to phase out multi-level <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/voicebots\/\">IVR menus with voicebot conversations<\/a>. The technology in this space is progressing at an astonishing pace, making voicebot interventions much more versatile and effective. With the help of Machine Learning, businesses can continuously analyze and optimize Conversational IVR to improve customer interactions. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><strong>Download Free Guide: <\/strong><a href=\"\/downloads\/voicebots-force-in-customer-service\/\"><strong>Voicebots - The Emerging Force in Customer Service<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p>As people familiarize themselves with the question-and-answer protocols used by smart speakers in the home, they will increasingly welcome and expect to interact with <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-a-voicebot\/\">voicebots<\/a> in their customer inquiries. <\/p><p><img alt=\"human handover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/caic-humanhandover-left.png\"><\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of IVR for the Customer?<\/h2><p> <\/p><p>The biggest advantages of IVR from a customer\u2019s point of view is reduced holding time and higher first-contact resolution. Simple queries such as a bank balance can be resolved almost immediately, and at any time of day. IVR does not keep office hours but is helpful 24\/7. <\/p><p>Customers also appreciate personalization such as a level 1 menu question about the language they wish to speak. Integrations with customer relation management systems can help <a href=\"\/blog\/prepare-hyper-personalization\/\">push personalization to the next level<\/a>. <\/p><p>With each technological advance, the bar is set higher for customer expectations. IVR menus that are poorly designed, repetitive, or have unsatisfactory outcomes will lead to customer frustration and therefore damage your brand. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of IVR for the Business? <\/h2><p> <\/p><p>A professionally executed IVR system will reflect well on the business and reinforce customer loyalty. Businesses need fewer call center staff while the money saved can be reinvested to upskill existing agents. IVR is not there to cut corners but to increase customer satisfaction. <\/p><p>IVR gives call center staff the time to resolve more complex customer issues, even when call volumes are peaking. This improves staff performance and morale. <\/p><p>IVR also <a href=\"\/blog\/benefits-of-chatbots\/\">reduces human error<\/a>. A receptionist or call agent might be overwhelmed with high call volumes, or simply make a manual error in routing a call. An IVR system handles every call with the same logical sequence, eliminating the need for judgment calls which are at the roots of many handling errors.<\/p><p>The only judgment calls essential in IVR are those involved in setting up the system and constructing the sequence of prompts. <\/p>","meta_title":"Interactive Voice Response (IVR) - What Is It & How Does It Work","meta_description":"IVR answers incoming calls and prompts customers to interact with a pre-recorded message or series of messages. Read more in our Glossary","created_at":"2022-06-09T10:13:01.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-10T07:56:07.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":21,"group_id":21,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"JSON","slug":null,"description":"JSON or JavaScript Object Notation is a standard text-based format for representing structured data based on JavaScript object syntax.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-22T05:45:16.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5569,"group_id":77,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Live Event Chatbot","slug":"what-is-live-event-chatbot","description":"<p>A live event chatbot allows customers to get quick answers to their questions before, during, and after a live event. Moreover, it can enhance the experience of your visitors. Offer support, exclusive content, deals, entertainment, or notifications to not miss out on must-sees at the event.<\/p>","title":"What Is a Live Event Chatbot?","text":"<p>Event chatbots can have multiple purposes. Use it for customer service, purely informational, or enhance the event experience with added entertainment. Create a consistent experience across marketing, service, and sales conversations. <\/p><p>Live event chatbots can respond quickly and easily to all sorts of questions visitors ask about live events, giving agents more time to respond to complex questions or issues. <\/p><p>As well as automatically responding to frequently asked questions, an AI-powered chatbot can understand the context and recall detailed information in order to answer broader questions, creating a more conversational experience for consumers. It can use real-time data to give the best, personal responses \u2013 such as directing visitors to the stage where their favorite artist or speaker will perform, or to the toilets without queues. <\/p><p>Moreover, you can also make your bot transactional - enabling customers to buy tickets and merchandise or to change their data.<\/p><p><a href=\"\/chatbot\/\"><img alt=\"chatbot transactional\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/chatbot-transactional.png\"><\/a><\/p><p>The event bot can deal with the whole experience, only handing off to customer service agents when a query is escalated to a level the virtual assistant can no longer manage or when the customer requests human support. <\/p><p>A <a href=\"\/nl-nl\/over-cm\/onze-klanten\/formula1-dutch-grand-prix\/\">successful example of a live event chatbot<\/a> is the Race Engineer of the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix.<\/p><h2>Typical Live Event Chatbot Questions <\/h2><p>How can I travel to the event? <\/p><p>Where can I find my tickets? <\/p><p>Which stage should I go right now?<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of a Live Event Chatbot?<\/h2><p>A chatbot can surprise your visitors before, during, and after the event; offering exclusive content, deals, entertainment, or notifications to not miss out on must-sees at the event. A bot can also save you and your visitors a lot of time. With personalized conversations, you can support your visitors and gather instant feedback \u2013 without having to wait for the event to wrap up. <\/p><p>An enhanced experience benefits your event in the long-term, creating positive sentiment and encouraging your visitors to buy tickets again. <\/p><p>Save Time, Effort, and Resources. A chatbot helps visitors, taking work off your hands. It can also gather data and insights. <\/p><h2>How to Get Started With a Live Event Chatbot<\/h2><p>Start thinking about how a virtual assistant can enhance your event experience. What should the bot be able to do? Next question: where can visitors find it? You can deploy the same bot on any channel: in your event app, on the website, or via WhatsApp for example. Or <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/voicebots\/\">deploy it on your IVR as a voicebot<\/a> to take the strain off your call center. <\/p><p>By answering these questions, you create your event bot strategy. Then you can start building. <\/p><p>Whether you\u2019d prefer a <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/scripted-chatbot\/\">simple bot<\/a> or a <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">smart AI chatbot<\/a>, you can build it with the software of CM.com. Our team is available to provide the support you need to future-proof your customer engagements at live events.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is a live event chatbot? | CM.com","meta_description":"A live event chatbot allows customers to get quick answers before, during and after events. Read more about live events chatbots in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-05-03T08:29:29.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-03T09:47:15.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":22,"group_id":22,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Long Code (Long Number)","slug":"what-is-long-code-long-number","description":"<p>A Long Code or Long Number is a standard-length (10-digits) virtual phone number that can be used by businesses to <a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">send and receive SMS<\/a> and MMS messages, or to make and receive voice calls. They are cheaper to use than short codes.<\/p>","title":"What is a Long Code or Long Number?","text":"<p>Unlike Short Codes, <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-between-short-code-or-long-number-the-5-main-differences\/\">the biggest differentiator of a Long Number<\/a> is the ability to use it for communicating internationally. Whereas Short Codes are limited to domestic\/national communications via messaging.<\/p><p>Long Numbers are typically 10+ digits long and are much more challenging to memorize\/recognize than <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">short codes<\/a>. However, long numbers still provide brands with increased visibility and reputation in other ways:<\/p><ol><li>Long numbers are more realistic and engaging to recipients who evaluate the validity of a business message vs. short code numbers that often get associated with automation.<\/li><li>Users are more likely to reach and engage with a Long Number as they are standard length phone numbers and appear more credible and humanized\/personal.<\/li><\/ol><h2>Who Uses Long Codes?<\/h2><p>Long numbers enable businesses to own their own unique number, <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">unlike short codes<\/a> which are commonly purchased as a shared short code vs dedicated short code, which are used among many other businesses.<\/p><p>Long numbers provide businesses throughout a vast range of different sectors and industries to collect and generate large volumes of mobile-originated (MO) <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS text messages<\/a> from subscribers, including wireless application service providers, mobile virtual network operators, mobile virtual network enablers, SMS aggregators, e-sellers, advertising agencies, media channels, and mobile infrastructure providers.<\/p><h2>When To Use A Long Code or Long Number?<\/h2><ul><li>Competitions & Voting<\/li><li>Product & Service Feedback<\/li><li>Campaigns & Promotions<\/li><li>Global Company Availability<\/li><li>International Events Updates & Alerts<\/li><li>Reception Channel for SMS Messages for Business to Consumer Conversations<\/li><li>Direct Response\/Reply Channel<\/li><li>2-way communications businesses and suppliers<\/li><li>SMS-to-email applications<\/li><li>SMS multi-party chat services<\/li><li>Dedicated Channel for Mass Mail Campaigns<\/li><li>Promotional Activities<\/li><li>and much more!<\/li><\/ul><h2>What Are the Benefits of Using A Long Number?<\/h2><p>Long codes are meant for person-to-person communications and can send only 1 message per second. Long codes have content restrictions that allow carriers to block traffic. Long codes are strictly intended for person-to-person interaction.<\/p><p><img alt=\"delivery alert messaging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/delivery-alert-sms.svg\"><\/p><p>Another benefit and feature of a long code is that they offer the same abilities as any 10-digit phone number:<\/p><ol><li>Send and receive SMS text messages<\/li><li>and both inbound and outbound<a href=\"\/voice\/\"> voice\/calling<\/a>.<\/li><\/ol><p>Alternatively, Long Numbers he<a href=\"\/voice\/\">\ufeff<\/a>lp your business to scale and expand reach to people no matter where they are. A Long Number is the only type of text messaging code that allows your business to <a href=\"\/blog\/sending-international-sms-country-specific-rules-regulations-and-habits\/\">send and receive messages around the world<\/a>, whether it's to a few different countries or internationally.<\/p><p>Short codes, on the other hand, do not have the capability of inbound or outbound calling. Instead, short codes are more advantageous as they are designed and intended to use when your text messaging campaign requires a high volume of messages that get sent and received daily.<\/p><h2>How To Obtain A Long Number?<\/h2><p>CM.com has <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-sms-gateway-api-direct-operator-connections\/\">direct connections to hundreds of networks worldwide<\/a>. Our vast global reach helps us get the most competitive pricing in the short code marketplace for our customers. <\/p><p><a href=\"\/register\/\"><strong>Create a free platform account and easily request your Number in our Dasboard<\/strong><\/a><\/p>","meta_title":"What is a Long Code and How Should You Use it? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"A Long Code is a standard-length virtual phone number that can be used to send and receive SMS and MMS messages, or to make and receive voice calls.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-16T05:41:24.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4840,"group_id":68,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Marketing Automation","slug":"what-is-marketing-automation","description":"<p>Marketing automation refers to the use of software and technology to automate and enhance marketing activities, such as <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">email campaigns<\/a>, <a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">SMS campaigns<\/a>, social media ad campaigns, chatbot conversations, tracking, <a href=\"\/blog\/a-b-testing-emails\/\">A\/B testing<\/a>, and more.<\/p>","title":"What is Marketing Automation?","text":"<p>How many brands already use marketing automation to drive their success? <a href=\"https:\/\/findstack.com\/marketing-automation-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">51% of companies<\/a> currently use marketing automation, while 58% of B2B companies plan to adopt it. In addition, <a href=\"https:\/\/neilpatel.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Neil Patel<\/a> notes that by 2023, the industry will be worth 25 billion dollars. <\/p><h2>Marketing Automation in Action <\/h2><p>Marketing automation software allows you to <a href=\"\/blog\/automate-marketing-activities-workflows\/\">successfully execute your marketing strategies<\/a> while you focus on more complex tasks. As an example, you can use marketing automation technology to trigger a pre-written abandoned cart email after a visitor exits your site with a full cart. <\/p><p><img alt=\"marketing notification\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/marketing-notification.png\"><\/p><p>When you use marketing automation software in this way, you can tap into behavioral data to make sure that your leads and customers get the messages they need based on their current stage in the marketing funnel. In the case of a cart abandonment email, you don\u2019t need to be there to jump in to send across an email just as they exit your site. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Marketing Automation? <\/h2><p>There are several benefits to automating your everyday marketing processes, including: <\/p><ul><li><strong>Save time:<\/strong> you no longer have to spend hours of your day manually sending emails, updating social, and racing to meet your response-time targets by instantly replying to customers on live chat. By automating the more dull and repetitive marketing tasks, you can focus on higher-level strategy \u2013 something that most marketers find a lot more rewarding. <\/li><li><strong>Meet lead and customer needs 24\/7:<\/strong> there\u2019s only so many hours in the working day, you can\u2019t always be there to immediately respond to customers or nurture leads and customers as and when you need to. You can use marketing automation software to craft trigger-based messages to ensure you engage leads at the right time. For example, you can trigger an exit-intent popup that offers a personalized discount to visitors about to leave your site without buying. <\/li><li><strong>Get deeper insights into your prospects and customers: <\/strong>from bounce rates to <a href=\"\/blog\/skyrocket-email-open-rates\/\">open rates<\/a>, <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/marketing-automation\/\">marketing automation software<\/a> allows you to closely track people across the entire customer journey. This gives you a detailed picture of who they are, their level of intent and stage of awareness, their site and purchase activity, and the kinds of content, channels, and campaigns they respond best to. You can use this knowledge to create more targeted and personalized marketing messages and initiatives in the future. <\/li><li><strong>Generate a higher return on investment:<\/strong> with data-driven insights into your customers, there\u2019s a lot less guesswork involved in creating effective marketing campaigns that boost your revenue and ROI. <\/li><\/ul><h2>How to Get Started With Marketing Automation <\/h2><p>Marketing automation allows you to save time ordinarily spent on repetitive marketing tasks, gain deeper insights into your customers to create more effective marketing campaigns, and command a greater ROI in your marketing initiatives. <\/p><p><img alt=\"data activity send messages\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/data-activity-send-messages.png\"><\/p><p>Start seeing similar results with <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a> for Marketing Automation. Currently, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.broadbandsearch.net\/blog\/mobile-desktop-internet-usage-statistics\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">56% of all web traffic<\/a> comes from mobile phones. With the marketing automation abilities of Mobile Marketing Cloud, you can unlock and centralize data on leads and customers and create personalized, <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/omnichannel\/\">omnichannel marketing campaigns<\/a> that target your customers across their favorite mobile channels.<\/p>","meta_title":"Marketing Automation - What Is It and What Are the Benefits?","meta_description":"Marketing automation refers to the use of software and technology to automate and enhance marketing activities. Read more about it in our glossary.","created_at":"2021-09-21T09:07:58.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-11-01T07:41:56.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":23,"group_id":23,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"MCCMNC","slug":null,"description":"The dedicated code with which particular mobile operators are identified. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":24,"group_id":24,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"MNO","slug":null,"description":"Mobile Network Operators such as Vodafone, China Mobile and Airtel. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":25,"group_id":25,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"MNP","slug":null,"description":"MNP stands for Mobile number portability. A phone number registered on one network, moves the same number service to another Network (T-mobile to Vodafone NL). During the transferring process, the end user gets a new SIM card printed containing an IMSI code from the new network, which helps Telco companies do proper routing for traffic in voice, SMS, etc.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":3835,"group_id":59,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Mobile Commerce","slug":"what-is-mobile-commerce","description":"<p>Mobile commerce (also known as mcommerce or m-commerce) refers to shopping, banking, or making payments online through mobile devices like smartphones or tablets. Mobile commerce is the new form of ecommerce (electronic commerce), which refers to sales transactions conducted online via the internet.<\/p>","title":"What is Mobile Commerce?","text":"<h2>Why Use Mobile Commerce?<\/h2><p>Once retailers and industries started marketing online, mobile devices' widespread use demanded that mobile-friendly transactions be possible anytime and anywhere. As consumers became more attached to their smart devices and more comfortable shopping online, it was only a matter of time before mobile commerce growth reflected these trends in consumer behavior.<\/p><p>Mobile commerce is on the rise, and businesses worldwide are embracing it to boost sales and reach customers where they're most active and engaged. <\/p><p><img alt=\"mobile payment methods\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/mobile-payment-methods.png\"><\/p><h2>Types of Mobile Commerce<\/h2><p>Let\u2019s review the three types of mobile commerce: <\/p><ol><li>Mobile shopping<\/li><li>Mobile payments<\/li><li>Mobile banking<\/li><\/ol><p><strong>1. Mobile Shopping<\/strong><\/p><p>Shopping is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think of mobile commerce. Mobile shopping is eCommerce shopping from your mobile device. <\/p><p>Companies that succeed in mobile shopping focus on mobile-friendly websites with lightning-fast page speed and image load time. They feature responsive designs that adapt to various screen sizes and resolutions for the best customer experience.<\/p><p>In addition to eCommerce websites, mobile shopping is now possible through dedicated apps and social media platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. The rise of social media influencers has also contributed to the popularity of shopping through social media platforms.<\/p><p><strong>2. Mobile Payments<\/strong><\/p><p>Mobile payments include any money transaction made via a mobile device. Mobile payments allow people to make purchases and transfer money conveniently using a credit or debit card linked to their mobile phones. Mobile wallets closed-loop mobile payments, and money transfer apps are three common types of mobile payments.<\/p><p><img alt=\"payment links\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/payment-links.svg\"><\/p><p><u>Mobile Wallets<\/u><\/p><p>A <a href=\"\/payments\/payment-methods\/#fc43ae19\">mobile wallet<\/a> is like a digital wallet that allows you to make purchases on your mobile device without using cash or swiping a credit card. A mobile wallet app safely stores your credit and debit card information, and purchases are authenticated via a PIN or touch ID.<\/p><p><u>Closed-Loop Mobile Payments<\/u><\/p><p>Closed-loop mobile payments resemble mobile wallets, but use a dedicated mobile app to link to a single brand or store. <a href=\"\/payments\/payment-methods\/credit-cards\/\">Credit cards<\/a> like American Express, Mastercard, and Visa, which are accepted at various retailers, are called open-loop cards.<\/p><p><u>Money Transfer Apps<\/u><\/p><p>Money transfer apps allow you to send and receive money via your mobile device. Users link their bank accounts or debit cards directly to the app. Financial transactions happen between users, with bank information remaining transparent. <\/p><p><strong>3. Mobile Banking<\/strong><\/p><p>Mobile banking enables you to make bank or financial transactions on a mobile device. Mobile banking apps allow you to pay bills, transfer money between accounts, send money, or even deposit checks remotely. <\/p><p>Most routine transactions can be accomplished quickly, sometimes with the use of messaging apps and conversational chatbots. Banks can use mobile banking apps to alert customers to suspicious activity via text, short-circuiting fraudulent behavior, and identity theft attempts.<\/p><h2>Advantages of Mobile Commerce<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Offer 24\/7 Convenience<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Customers can shop anytime and from anywhere. With mobile commerce, your online store never closes. The rise of <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">conversational chatbots<\/a> means brands can engage in conversations with customers at any time, even when the business is not online. <\/p><ul><li><strong>Speed Customers to Checkout<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Mcommerce sites often load faster than standard eCommerce sites due to mobile optimization measures, increasing conversions, and speeding customers through the checkout process. You can also easily add calls to action and \u201cBuy Now\u201d buttons on all your <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">various mobile channels<\/a> to entice customers to buy with a single click.<\/p><ul><li><strong>Personalize Your Customer Experience <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Through location tracking and <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-push-notification\/\">personalized push notifications<\/a>, brands can send curated offers and discounts to customers based on their location, purchase history, or mobile interactions. Of people who open a <a href=\"\/push\/\">push notification<\/a>, 54% of users convert from segmented notifications, while only 15% convert from generalized broadcast messages. <\/p><ul><li><strong>Keep Customers Informed<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Email isn\u2019t always the most effective way to reach customers. Mobile commerce lets you leverage popular chat apps like Facebook Messenger, Apple Business Chat, and WhatsApp Business to engage in one-on-one conversations with customers. <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">Mobile messaging<\/a> enables you to send notifications directly to mobile devices, promote products and services, and facilitate the entire transaction process without interruption.<\/p><p><img alt=\"messaging channels\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/blog\/content\/omni-channel.png\"><\/p><ul><li><strong>Embrace Omnichannel Marketing<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Does your business sell online and offline? If you sell on your own website in addition to selling on Amazon, social media, and in brick-and-mortar stores, omnichannel marketing opportunities abound. Mobile commerce capitalizes on SMS messaging, push notifications, social media, and more to reach your customers wherever they are spending their time.<\/p><p>With an <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/omnichannel\/\">omnichannel marketing strategy<\/a>, users can flow effortlessly from a chat conversation to browsing products to checking out - all without leaving their phone screen. <\/p>","meta_title":"What is Mobile Commerce? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"Mobile commerce is the new form of eCommerce and refers to sales transactions through mobile devices. Read more about Mobile Commerce in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-04-15T06:34:51.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-08-30T16:11:25.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5845,"group_id":97,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Mobile Marketing","slug":"what-is-mobile-marketing","description":"<p>Mobile marketing applies the principles of marketing with a focus on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Mobile Marketing aims to attract, engage, and communicate with customers via content, campaigns, and managed conversations via <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">email<\/a>, <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a>, MMS, social media, and <a href=\"\/conversational-channels\/\">messaging channels<\/a>.<\/p>","title":"What Is Mobile Marketing?","text":"<p>Mobile marketing isn\u2019t a separate field from conventional marketing. It uses the same marketing principles, like AIDA (attraction, interest, desire, action), and the same metrics, like conversion rates. And it has the same goals of engaging customers in sustained profitable relationships. Where it differs is the channels. <\/p><h2>Mobile Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing<\/h2><p>Traditional marketing ranges from large-format media like posters to smaller formats like desktop screens. Mobile marketing, however, assumes smaller real estate \u2013 the screens of phones, tablets, even watches \u2013 and customizes its approach and methods for mobile-focused channels like <a href=\"\/sms\/\">Short Message Services (SMS)<\/a>, Multimedia Message Service (MMS), mobile-optimized web pages and email inboxes, and communications platforms like <a href=\"\/whatsapp\/\">WhatsApp<\/a> and <a href=\"\/facebook-messenger\/\">Facebook Messenger<\/a>. <\/p><p><img alt=\"automated marketing messages\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/automated-marketing-messages.png\"><\/p><p>Mobile marketing also looks to engage the consumer across whatever channels they prefer (multichannel communication) and to connect all touchpoints across all channels into a single omnichannel customer experience.<\/p><p>Since these channels rely on different infrastructures (mobile networks, the internet, email services) connecting them into a unified messaging experience can be hard. To manage this, many mobile marketers use a mobile marketing platform such as <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a>.<\/p><h2>Why Is Mobile Marketing Important?<\/h2><h3>Smartphone Use Is Now Universal<\/h3><p>From zero a few decades ago, the number of active mobile devices in the world today far exceeds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/245501\/multiple-mobile-device-ownership-worldwide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the number of people, at over 15bn<\/a> \u2013 and growing at a billion a year. For many people, their phone is the primary device for interacting online across all channels. <\/p><h3>A Broadening of Channel Choices<\/h3><p>And with the proliferation of channels, the traditional use of a phone \u2013 voice \u2013 is fading. In the UK total <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-britain-telecommunications\/everything-but-the-voice-britons-mobile-calls-fall-for-first-time-idUSKBN1KM6AW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">voice minutes consumed per month<\/a> started falling in 2018; the same picture is emerging worldwide. In addition, voice itself is spreading into other channels: both WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger (among others) let people chat to each other using voice as well as text, with such calls not showing up as voice on the consumer\u2019s monthly bill. <\/p><p><img alt=\"mobile-push-interactive button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/mobile-push-interactive-button.svg\"><\/p><p>The Mobile Phone Is the Primary Device<\/p><p>With smartphone use now at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bankmycell.com\/blog\/how-many-phones-are-in-the-world\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">83% even among the over-55s<\/a>, and over 6bn smartphones in circulation, this means any marketer today must use mobile \u2013 or miss a vast section of their audience.<\/p><h2>What Are the Different Types of Mobile Marketing?<\/h2><p>As with traditional marketing, mobile marketing can answer different roles. <\/p><ul><li><strong>Maintaining brand awareness,<\/strong> by engaging customers in regular interactions<\/li><li><strong>Building stronger customer relationships,<\/strong> with personalized and targeted content<\/li><li><strong>Offering after sales service, <\/strong>with chatbots and customer service systems that maintain a brand\u2019s reputation<\/li><li><strong>Communicating special offers and promotions, <\/strong>with mobile vouchers, coupons, and discount codes<\/li><li><strong>Offering location-based services, <\/strong>when customers are in a position to use a product or service now<\/li><li><strong>Prompting and reminding, <\/strong>with messages that nudge consumers to complete a purchase or take up an offer<\/li><li><strong>Cross-selling and up-selling, <\/strong>to maximize the value of each customer over his\/her lifetime<\/li><li><strong>Running membership programs, <\/strong>with apps or mobile-based content<\/li><\/ul><p>Mobile form factors enable marketers to take advantage of opportunities not available on the desktop, such as scannable QR codes that make it easy to take up an offer, <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">SMS Short Codes<\/a> that respond with instant offers or benefits, and the ability to offer instant customer service from any location, with <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">chatbots<\/a>, <a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">two-way SMS<\/a>, and links to location-based content.<\/p><h2>What Are the Advantages of Mobile Marketing?<\/h2><h3>Mobile Devices are Always at Hand<\/h3><p>A consumer\u2019s phone is typically within 2m of them at all times, consulted <a href=\"https:\/\/elitecontentmarketer.com\/screen-time-statistics\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">58 times a day on average<\/a>; engagement with mobile devices is also high, averaging over 3hrs\/day. This makes mobile marketing an effective means to contact, connect, and engage in conversations with consumers.<\/p><h3>Privacy Legislation Reduces Abuse<\/h3><p>With <a href=\"\/blog\/mobile-marketing-in-a-gdpr-era\/\">legislation like GDPR<\/a> in use across Europe and its principles adopted worldwide, all legitimate marketers follow a code of conduct requiring opt-in to marketing messages (often double opt-in) and limits on the number of messages per day. This makes mobile marketing generally trusted and effective, useful to marketers without annoying their target audiences.<\/p><h3>The Smartphone Is a Lean-Forward Device<\/h3><p>Channels like TV and radio are \u201clean-back\u201d; the consumer is passively absorbing content rather than interacting with it. The mobile phone and other mobile devices, however, are \u201clean-forward\u201d: the consumer is goal-driven and actively engaged with a process. This makes mobile marketing ideal for goal-centric campaigns like driving sales or boosting audience participation.<\/p><h3>Consumers Feel in Control<\/h3><p>As a deeply personal device, consumers like to feel in control of their experience and choose how to respond. By offering a choice of communications channels \u2013 from simple text messages to full conversations mediated by AI \u2013 mobile marketers can address such customer desires, allowing them to build sustained relationships with personalized one-to-one content.<\/p><p><img alt=\"mobile marketing cloud platform\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/mobile-marketing-cloud-dashboard.svg\"><\/p><h3>Interactions Can Be Tracked and Analyzed<\/h3><p>Since each smartphone is generally owned by a single person (and rarely shared) the quality of data when tracking receives, opens, clicks, and actions across the customer journey can be very high. Mobile marketers make use of this data to customize communications for each individual and improve response rates to future marketing campaigns.<\/p><h2>What Are Mobile Marketing Examples?<\/h2><p>The best mobile marketing uses mobile channels and devices in ways a larger device (such as a desktop PC) cannot. This often means marketing campaigns make use of proximity, immediacy, and interaction. <\/p><ul><li>A real-world ad can contain a scannable QR code that opens a mobile web page in the consumer\u2019s phone<\/li><li>A customer service interaction started by SMS can cross channels into a chatbot window or WhatsApp conversation<\/li><li>An email can offer links to a phone support line or other voice option<\/li><li>Different locations in the real world can make different offers to the same consumer as he\/she moves around, tailoring the offer to the situation<\/li><\/ul><p><a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-get-more-leads-with-sms-and-email-marketing\/\">Successful mobile marketing campaigns<\/a> make use of all these factors, stitching the customer experience together across channels while communicating with each customer individually. This is only possible, however, if the marketer treats all communications as part of a whole, using a mobile marketing software platform like CM.com. <\/p><h2>How to Get Started With Mobile Marketing<\/h2><p>CM.com offers many options to mobile marketers with the <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">CM.com Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a>, a platform for omnichannel mobile marketing worldwide. It lets marketers unify their SMS, email, voice, and other mobile channels to offer consumers a seamless customer experience, whatever channel they prefer \u00ad\u2013 and provides tracking and analysis tools that enable insights from their behavior.<\/p>","meta_title":"Mobile Marketing Definition - What Is it and Why Is it Important?","meta_description":"Mobile marketing applies the principles of marketing with a focus on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Read more in our Glossary \u00bb","created_at":"2022-09-07T09:11:05.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-09-07T09:39:18.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4414,"group_id":61,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Mobile Marketing Cloud","slug":null,"description":"<p>CM.com's <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a> is an omnichannel customer engagement solution build for B2C marketers. It's the only solution that includes all mobile messaging channels like WhatsApp. This empowers marketers to create superior customer experiences that increase conversion rates and sales.<\/p>","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-07-19T12:30:04.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-08-30T12:22:52.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":28,"group_id":28,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Mobile Originated (MO)","slug":null,"description":"Mobile communication where the message is sent from an end user to an application.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":29,"group_id":29,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Mobile Terminated (MT)","slug":null,"description":"Mobile communications where the message is sent from an application to an end user.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":26,"group_id":26,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"MSISDN","slug":null,"description":"The Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number is a number used to identify mobile subscribers, and maps the mobile telephone number to a SIM card in a mobile phone. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":30,"group_id":30,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Number Verifier","slug":null,"description":"An HLR based solution to help you optimise routing, to clean up a database of numbers for improved accuracy or to prevent ATM card cloning fraud.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":31,"group_id":31,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Numeric Sender ID","slug":null,"description":"These sender IDs consist of solely numeric characters. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4423,"group_id":63,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Omnichannel Marketing","slug":"what-is-omnichannel-marketing","description":"<p><a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/omnichannel\/\">Omnichannel marketing<\/a> is the integration and cooperation of the various channels that an organization uses to interact with consumers, with the goal of creating a consistent brand experience and interacting with consumers in a seamless way.<\/p>","title":"What Is Omnichannel Marketing?","text":"<p>Omnichannel marketing includes physical (like stores) and digital channels (such as websites and social media) and a combination thereof - such as \u201cbuy online and pick up in-store\u201d. <\/p><h2>What is the Purpose of Omnichannel Marketing?<\/h2><p>The goal of omnichannel marketing is to empower the customer to shop or interact with a brand from any device or platform. It allows them to engage on their own terms, while still offering many opportunities for fulfillment, such as convenience and a completely seamless experience. This, it is believed, will lead to an improved experience overall and thus drive better relationships across all possible channels and touchpoints. This includes traditional and digital channels, point-of-sale, and physical and online experiences. <\/p><p><img alt=\"omnichannel mobile marketing cloud\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/omnichannel-mobile-marketing-cloud.png\"> <\/p><p><strong>An example of omnichannel marketing could be: <\/strong><\/p><ul><li>A visitor receiving an <a href=\"\/blog\/voice-campaigns-top-marketing-use-cases\/\">automated voice message<\/a> of their favorite artist telling the ticket sale of his concert has started after subscribing to the presale online; <\/li><li>a <a href=\"\/blog\/why-event-organizers-should-own-and-manage-their-data\/\">visitor of a festival<\/a> receiving a WhatsApp message regarding the start of the happy hour of their favorite drink; <\/li><li>or <a href=\"\/blog\/sms-marketing-b2b-use-cases\/\">a person receiving an SMS<\/a> with a coupon for their next in-store purchase. <\/li><\/ul><h2>Why Might You Need An Omnichannel Marketing Strategy? <\/h2><p>In order for a brand to launch an omnichannel marketing campaign successfully, it must have a strategy in place. This includes, but is not limited to, an integrated, multi-channel approach that creates a unified customer experience (CX) while <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">eliminating siloed interactions<\/a>. <\/p><p>The integration of a strategy is vital in order to meet the expectations of customers, who anticipate a seamless and consistent experience in every channel. <\/p><p>In fact, a unified experience is the number one expectation of customers today. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cxtoday.com\/contact-centre\/delivering-an-excellent-omni-channel-experience\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">According to CX Today<\/a>,\u202f9 out of 10 consumers expect an omnichannel experience\u202fwith seamless service between communication methods. This isn\u2019t going to change any time soon. As the number of touchpoints increases, so does the need for seamless integration between them. Whether that\u2019s a targeted ad on social media, a desktop interaction with a chatbot or a real-life chat with an in-store representative. <\/p><p>Another example is through a brand\u2019s social media. In an omnichannel approach, this is used to carry out both customer service operations and marketing strategies. This means it\u2019s essential that teams from each of these departments collaborate to create a consistent experience for the customer.<\/p><p><img alt=\"customer contact channels\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/blog\/content\/customer-contact-channels.png\"> <\/p><p>However, <a href=\"\/blog\/mult-channel-or-omni-channel-differences\/\">omnichannel must not be confused with multichannel marketing<\/a>, which addresses different issues. While omnichannel marketing is all about ensuring a customer\u2019s interaction with a brand is consistent, no matter the channel, multichannel marketing concentrates on the channel strategy, from social to mobile, with each channel having its own goals. <\/p><h2>Why Is Omnichannel Marketing Important? <\/h2><p>Omnichannel marketing has become somewhat essential to most modern-day businesses as it can help them create a positive experience for their customers at every stage of their lifecycle while building a positive brand reputation. <\/p><p>By connecting with customers through a more personalized experience, omnichannel marketing can not only keep businesses relevant and competitive in a crowded market, but<a href=\"\/blog\/the-8020-rule-who-are-your-loyal-customers\/\"> create loyal and - in some cases - lifelong customers<\/a>. It can also help reach new customer segments, which is key to growth, especially in sales. <\/p><blockquote>Another benefit is increased operational efficiency and lower costs. With an omnichannel marketing strategy in place, businesses only need to collect a customer\u2019s data once (instead of at every touchpoint) meaning they don\u2019t need to create and implement a strategy for every channel. <\/blockquote><p>With the <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a> from CM.com, it's easy to set up complex, multi-channel communication streams that build lasting customer relationships. By using one platform for all your customer interactions, you can save time and be more efficient. <\/p><p>You can also send hyper-personalized campaigns anytime, anywhere with our <a href=\"\/blog\/automate-marketing-activities-workflows\/\">marketing automation solution<\/a>. <\/p>","meta_title":"Omnichannel Marketing - What Is It and Why Do You Need It?","meta_description":"Omnichannel marketing is the integration of various channels to interact with consumers. Read more about Omnichannel Marketing in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-08-03T06:25:04.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-27T05:55:38.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":32,"group_id":32,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"One Time Password","slug":"what-is-one-time-password","description":"<p>A <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">One Time Password or OTP<\/a> is a security code designed to be used for a single login attempt, to minimize the risk of fraudulent login attempts and maintain high security. It\u2019s a string of characters or numbers automatically generated and sent to the user\u2019s phone via SMS, Voice, or Push message.<\/p>","title":"What Is a One Time Password?","text":"<p>The OTP has become the standard method worldwide of enabling a login when special circumstances apply, such as validating a new account or confirming a transaction is legitimate. Also known as a one-time PIN, one-time authorization code (OTAC), or dynamic password, it\u2019s most commonly a six-digit number sent to a customer\u2019s phone via SMS text message, then entered by the customer into the site or app they\u2019re attempting to log into.<\/p><h2>Why Would You Use One Time Passwords?<\/h2><p>Millions of OTPs are sent every day around the world\u2014and a large proportion of those are sent via SMS. With good reason: people keep their cellphones close at hand 24 hours a day, and\u2014as a valued personal possession\u2014a phone is generally used by a single individual, making it an excellent channel to confirm someone is who they say they are.<\/p><p>The general idea of a One Time Password is to add a second layer of authentication in order to stay ahead of cybercrime and protect your organization against the catastrophic effects of fraud on your business.<\/p><p>The risk of fraud is drastically reduced if the user doesn\u2019t only have to fill in his username and password (something he knows) but also needs something he \u201chas\u201d to complete the login. This \u2018something\u2019 can be the user\u2019s phone. OTP\u2019s come in all shapes and sizes, but always add an extra layer of authentication.<\/p><h2>How Does a One-Time Password Work?<\/h2><p>OTPs are used when a transaction needs additional security or an alternative method of proving a customer\u2019s identity. When a recognized situation arises\u2014a customer needing a password reminder, a bank confirming an out-of-pattern transaction, and many other cases (see below)\u2014a request for an OTP is made, either by the customer him\/herself or the institution they\u2019re dealing with. <\/p><p>The OTP is generated automatically as a semi-random number or string of characters. There is no way to predict what the OTP will be ahead of time; also, OTPs are usually time-limited, usable only for a few minutes. <\/p><p>There are several ways to send an OTP. Some give the option of receiving OTPs by email, although this tends to be less secure. Other providers even enable OTPs as voicemails, stating the PIN aloud when the customer checks the mailbox. But by far the most common way to send OTPs is by mobile messaging, typically an SMS text to the customer\u2019s cellphone.<\/p><h2>One Time Password Examples<\/h2><h3>One Time Password as SMS Message<\/h3><p>Originally, most OTP\u2019s were sent as <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS messages<\/a>. Once the user has begun his login attempt, filling in his username and the correct password, an SMS OTP is sent to the mobile number connected to his account. The user then enters this code shown on this phone in the login screen, completing the authentication process. <\/p><h3><img alt=\"sms-one-time-password\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-one-time-password.svg\">One Time Password as Voice Message<\/h3><p>An alternative to a One Time Password via SMS is <a href=\"\/voice\/\">Voice<\/a>. With Voice, the spoken password is received as a phone call on the user's mobile. The password will not be stored on the user's phone and Voice allows you to reach users with limited sight. You can also implement Voice as a backup in case your SMS is not delivered. <\/p><h3>One Time Password as Push Notification<\/h3><p>The Two-factor Authentication process using One Time Passwords via <a href=\"\/push\/\">Push<\/a> is similar to SMS OTP. In the login procedure to your online environment, an automated generated code is sent as a push notification to your App on the user\u2019s phone. Then the user has to copy that code to the login screen to verify his identity. This does mean you\u2019ll need a dedicated app. <\/p><h2>Why Is a One-Time Password Safe?<\/h2><p>While they seem simple, a surprising depth of technology goes into sending an OTP to a customer\u2019s cellphone. While OTPs sent by SMS aren\u2019t encrypted in transit, they use other methods to ensure only the authorized person can use them. <\/p><h3>OTPs Use Proven Best Practices <\/h3><p>Common models for login security, like Two Factor Authentication (TFA) and Strong Customer Authentication (SCA), take the approach that multiple factors, each insecure by themselves, can combine to enable much higher security. These practices aren\u2019t unique to OTP\u2014they\u2019re standard methods in use across the entire security industry. <\/p><h3>The Factors in Multi-Factor Authentication<\/h3><p> At its most basic, these models combine what someone has (such as a personal cellphone) with what someone knows (such as their own email address) and\/or what someone is, including challenge questions like a parent\u2019s place of birth. Taken together, the combination of a personal device, a semi-random access code (the OTP) and a short \u201cwindow\u201d to enter it <a href=\"\/blog\/multi-factor-authentication-use-cases\/\">satisfies many use cases for secure login<\/a>. <\/p><h3>Encrypted OTP Code Generation<\/h3><p> The PIN that arrives on a customer\u2019s phone isn\u2019t from a list and is not stored for any length of time. It\u2019s generated in the same way as the cryptographic keys that protect bank accounts: a \u201cone-way hash function\u201d involving the generation and multiplication of large prime numbers. This method has a useful quality: such codes are relatively easy to generate but virtually impossible to \u201cbacktrack\u201d, or discover how the code was generated by looking at the result. <\/p><p>This means the OTP the customer sees is genuinely unpredictable: even if a bad actor had lists of millions of OTPs, there\u2019s no \u201cpattern\u201d that would let him gain knowledge of what OTP will be generated for a given customer in future. <\/p><h3>OTPs Have Time-Limited Usability<\/h3><p>Adding to the security stance, the shelf life of an OTP is very short: rarely longer than half an hour, and sometimes just a few minutes. In other words, the situation they answer is very time-limited. It\u2019s the customer sitting at his desk trying to log into his account, or the customer standing at the sales counter confirming her payment is legitimate. <\/p><p>This is another plus for using SMS over other channels. While SMS wasn\u2019t originally designed as an instant messaging technology, in practice most global mobile networks will convey a text message from origin to recipient in just a few seconds. <\/p><h3>And OTPs Are One Use Only!<\/h3><p> Furthermore, OTPs can only be used on a single occasion. Once expired, they\u2019re useless, and the same OTP cannot be used to log in more than once even within its usable time window: this is known as \u201cnon-replay\u201d. Even if OTPs could be easily hacked, this time factor makes hacking of OTPs a near-valueless exercise.<\/p><h2>How to Send One-Time Passwords?<\/h2><p>It\u2019s not necessary to be a mobile network to make use of OTPs. Providers like CM.com offer OTPs as a service, with a secure platform for receiving or initiating OTP requests, sending the OTP as a text or other channel, and verifying the OTP was entered correctly, so the transaction can go ahead. <\/p><p>The infrastructure for making use of one-time passwords integrates with your website or application using an API. This is how a site \u201cknows\u201d whether an entered OTP is correct or not, with safeguards like checking it\u2019s within the time window. When you receive an OTP to log into your bank account or make a transaction, the organization isn\u2019t using software it developed inhouse\u2014it\u2019s using an OTP service provider like CM.com. <\/p><h2>Benefits of Using One-Time Passwords<\/h2><h3>OTPs Enjoy Widespread Customer Familiarity<\/h3><p>Very few people need to be taught how to use an OTP; one-time codes are common practice for everything from activating a bank card to resetting a password. And, of course, in a world with nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.statista.com\/statistics\/245501\/multiple-mobile-device-ownership-worldwide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">twice as many mobile devices as people<\/a>, nearly everyone needing an OTP has access to a cellphone. <\/p><h3>Proven Technology Ensures High Reliability<\/h3><p>One Time Passwords sent via SMS aren\u2019t foolproof\u2014OTPs can sometimes be lost in transit\u2014but the vast majority are delivered as expected, in minutes or less. And even in the rare event of a failed delivery, the customer can simply ask for another OTP. <\/p><h3>OTPs Satisfy a Wide Number of Scenarios<\/h3><p>What\u2019s more, the uses of OTPs are manifold. While most common in the financial sector, they\u2019re increasingly common on websites and applications of all types, wherever a user\u2019s identity or access rights need to be verified. The general principle of OTPs is that they add an additional layer of security to an already secure process\u2014the \u201cmultiple factors\u201d of TFA and SCA.<\/p><p>Adding such multi-factor authentication to an individual\u2019s account means that even if email address and password are compromised (i.e. a bad actor learns them) other crimes would need to be committed before any successful login attempt could be made\u2014such as stealing the customer\u2019s cellphone. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><strong>Read more: <\/strong><a href=\"\/blog\/benefits-of-using-multi-factor-authentication\/\"><strong>7 Benefits of Using Multi-Factor Authentication ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><h2>Use Cases of OTPs<\/h2><h3>Activating Bank Payment Cards<\/h3><p>Millions of plastic cards are issued every year. Each card needs \u201cactivation\u201d\u2014confirming that the new card is in the possession of its rightful owner. This activation is commonly carried out with an OTP code, often sent as an SMS to the customer\u2019s phone. <\/p><h3>Noting Out-of-Pattern Transactions<\/h3><p>Fraud recognition software relies on patterns: people tend to act in similar ways again and again, such as spending a predictable amount on the same day each week in a grocery store. <\/p><p>If a transaction has unusual characteristics\u2014such as being in a different country, for an unusual amount, or simply at a strange time of day\u2014the transaction will be flagged as \u201cout of pattern\u201d. An OTP can often resolve such situations, by confirming the individual making that transaction is the authorized one. <\/p><h3>Confirming High-Value Transactions<\/h3><p>When a transaction\u2019s sticker price is above a certain level, an OTP can be used to confirm everything\u2019s going as intended\u2014in principle no different to entering your PIN when your contactless payment is above a set figure (such as \u00a3100 in the UK). Many users appreciate the extra assurance an OTP gives in such situations.<\/p><h3>Dealing With Lost Passwords<\/h3><p>A very common use case for OTPs is, of course, lost passwords. On the web today, password reminders are increasingly rare\u2014since email isn\u2019t fully secure. Instead, users are usually asked to reset the password. The One Time Password, generated and sent at the user\u2019s request, enables the user to set up a fresh password for whatever site or app they\u2019re visiting.<\/p><h3>Accessing Government Services<\/h3><p>With government departments often far from integrated\u2014giving a citizen separate accounts for personal taxes, business taxes, healthcare records, motoring licenses, passport applications, and so on\u2014OTPs can be a unifying factor, helping citizens access different government services without too much pain. <\/p><h3>Recognizing Unfamiliar Devices<\/h3><p>The average consumer today owns more than one device, and many of those devices are connected to mobile networks\u2014which creates a problem for site and app operators, since many security processes check the credentials of the device (known or not) as well as the user. <\/p><p>Typical scenarios are streaming services where many devices share a login, and devices on public WiFi. An OTP confirms a new device is legitimate\u2014or not. <\/p><h3>Onboarding for Services<\/h3><p>Not all use cases for SMS OTPs revolve around the web and finance. \u201cOnboarding\u201d\u2014introducing a new user to a service of any kind, from security badges for buildings to ticket holders at festivals\u2014increasingly use OTPs to confirm someone\u2019s identity. <\/p><h3>Limiting Access to Private Information<\/h3><p>Some datasets contain sensitive information\u2014such as someone\u2019s health records\u2014but need to be accessible to a range of users, such as their doctors. OTPs satisfy several conditions here: not only can they grant access to the right people, but also record who accessed that data and how often.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is a One Time Password? OTP Explained (With Examples)","meta_description":"A One Time Password is a string of characters or numbers automatically generated to be used for one single login attempt. Read more in our Glossary >","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-14T06:57:20.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4831,"group_id":66,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Online Identification","slug":"what-is-online-identification","description":"<p>Online identification refers to any bit of information associated with a specific individual found on the internet. While online identification is most often connected with entire personal accounts, such as banking profiles, it can consist of any personally identifiable information.<\/p>","title":"What is Online Identification?","text":"<p>With the number of online services growing notably in recent years, online identification has become increasingly important. Previously, an individual may only have provided personal information for something like an email account. Today, however, online identification plays a key role in the delivery of age-dependent services like gambling sites, as well as allowing individuals to safely manage data relating to financial, medical, and many other industries. <\/p><h2>What Types of Online Identification Are There? <\/h2><p>Today, online identification is well established and an essential component for many businesses that need to be able to verify the identity of their customers, clients, or employees. <\/p><p><img alt=\"online verification\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/online-verification.png\"><\/p><p>Although the terms identification, verification, and authentication are sometimes used interchangeably, they are actually slightly different. Identification simply refers to the act of claiming an identity. Verification, meanwhile, goes a step further and looks for a high degree of confidence in a person\u2019s identity - perhaps through government-issued documents. Finally, authentication looks to re-validate an individual\u2019s identity each time they use a particular service. <\/p><p>As new digital identification solutions have been developed, organizations have gained access to an increasingly diverse collection of tools with which to check the identities of particular individuals. These include the following: <\/p><ul><li><strong>Knowledge-based authentication<\/strong> - The simplest form of online identification, knowledge-based authentication asks users for a password or the answer to a security question in order to prove their identity. However, although this method of identification is the simplest for users, it is increasingly easy to falsify. Social engineering can be used by bad actors to acquire the sensitive information required to answer the relevant security questions and gain unauthorized access to a user\u2019s account. <\/li><li><strong>Two-factor authentication <\/strong>- All methods used for online identification have weaknesses that cyberattackers may look to exploit. As a result, some businesses have opted to employ <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">two-factor authentication<\/a> to verify an individual\u2019s identity. Unlike digital solutions that only require a username-password pair in order to confirm a user\u2019s identity, two-factor authentication, or 2FA, requires at least two pieces of \u201cevidence\u201d before online identification is confirmed. Generally, this evidence includes a combination of something a user knows, something a user has, and something a user is. <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-one-time-password\/\">One-time passwords<\/a>, strings of characters or numbers automatically generated to be used for one single login attempt, are sometimes employed as <a href=\"\/blog\/two-factor-authentication-how-does-it-work-why-do-we-need-it\/\">part of a two-factor authentication approach<\/a>. <\/li><\/ul><p><img alt=\"one time password mobile phone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/large\/one-time-password.svg\"><\/p><ul><li><strong>iDIN<\/strong> - Some approaches to online identification leverage login methods used by other services to deliver robust security while streamlining the user journey. This is the case with <a href=\"\/idin\/\">iDIN<\/a>, a service available in the Netherlands that allows individuals to use their bank\u2019s login methods to access digital services provided by other organizations. For example, if a <a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/nederlandse-loterij-idin\/\">user wants to play the Dutch Lottery<\/a>, they can select iDIN as a login method and use the trusted and secure credentials of their bank to provide substantial reliability about their identity. Once iDIN completes the online identification process, users are returned to their original online environment. <\/li><\/ul><p><img alt=\"idin logo\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/icon\/idin.svg\"><\/p><ul><li><strong>Biometric identification<\/strong> - Biometric identification uses an individual\u2019s physical characteristics to verify their identity. Although it may sound slightly futuristic, biometric identification is already being used by some online services to authenticate online users by asking them for a photo of their face, a voice recording, or an image of their fingerprints. However, biometrics still comes with weaknesses and fraudsters are increasingly looking for ways of acquiring biometric information for malicious purposes. <\/li><\/ul><h2>Why Is Online Identification Important? <\/h2><p>Online identification is the bedrock that underpins the modern digital economy. Being able to reliably authenticate users means businesses and consumers can trust that the individuals they are engaging with are who they say they are. Without this trust, banks, <a href=\"\/industries\/healthcare\/\">healthcare providers<\/a>, social networks, forums, and a whole host of other online services could not guarantee privacy or security. Cybercrime continues to plague the online world, costing the global economy $6 trillion. Robust online identification can help bring this figure down. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Online Identification? <\/h2><p>As well as solidifying trust in online services, online identification provides <a href=\"\/blog\/benefits-of-using-multi-factor-authentication\/\">several other benefits<\/a>. For example, some incorporate age verification tools for businesses that only sell products to consumers above a certain age. What\u2019s more, by employing a user-friendly, one-click verification tool, online identification can provide more certainty for businesses and increase conversion rates. <\/p><p>At CM.com, we use <a href=\"\/idin\/\">iDIN<\/a>, and a number of other <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">online identification tools<\/a> to ensure businesses and consumers can enjoy the benefits of the digital economy in a simple and secure manner. <\/p>","meta_title":"Online Identification - What Is It and Why Is It Important?","meta_description":"Online identification can consist of any personally identifiable information, from an individual\u2019s online search activity to their medical records.","created_at":"2021-09-20T07:32:00.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-09-20T08:57:55.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":33,"group_id":33,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"OTT","slug":null,"description":"OTT or Over The Top refers to third party content that is sent directly to the end user, where the ISP facilitates the transport of the IP packets. Examples are Skype, WhatsApp and FaceTime.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":34,"group_id":34,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"P2P Messaging","slug":null,"description":"Person to Person Messaging is SMS messaging between two people, including traffic that connects two people through an API. P2P messaging is used for, amongst others, customer care or order delivery messages. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":35,"group_id":35,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Payment Service Provider","slug":"what-is-payment-service-provider","description":"<p>A payment service provider (PSP) refers to a third-party solution that enables businesses to accept a variety of <a href=\"\/payments\/payment-methods\/\">online payment methods<\/a> by connecting them to the broader financial system. <\/p>","title":"What is a Payment Service Provider","text":"<p><a href=\"\/payments\/\">Payment service providers<\/a> facilitate payment transactions between eCommerce and mCommerce merchants and their customers. From the moment a customer enters their payment details to the second the funds clear in the merchants\u2019 account, the payment service provider works on their behalf with banks, card schemes, and payment platforms to make sure the payment is processed, and the transaction goes through successfully.<\/p><p>Payment service providers bring each party in the chain together, including the merchants, customers, banks, card networks, and payment platforms. This helps ensure a fast, seamless, and secure payment experience for businesses and their customers.<\/p><p><br><\/p><p><img alt=\"payments acceptance process CM.com\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/payments-acceptance-process-cm.png\"><\/p><p><br><\/p><p>A payment service provider manages the payment process in its entirety:<\/p><ul><li>A customer attempts to pay for an item or service online (for example with a credit card)<\/li><li>Transaction details are sent to the acquiring bank (merchants bank), its role is to exchange funds with the issuing bank (customers bank) and ensure that the merchant receives their payment<\/li><li>The transaction details are then passed over to the credit card network \u2013 such as MasterCard, Visa, or iDEAL<\/li><li>These transaction details are sent to the issuing bank, which decides whether to approve the payment based on e.g. the buyer\u2019s financial status and 3DS consent<\/li><li>The issuing bank passes on their decision to the credit card network, which passes it onto the acquiring bank<\/li><li>Following payment authorization, the issuing bank sends funds to the card network<\/li><li>The card network then passes funds to the acquiring bank, which then deposits them into the payment service provider\u2019s merchant account<\/li><li>The payment service provider then notifies the business and customer that the payment has been completed<\/li><li>Finally the payment service provider pays the amounts received towards their merchant<\/li><\/ul><h2>Why Use a Payment Service Provider?<\/h2><p>You can use a payment service provider to accept a range of payments from your customers via one gateway including debit cards, credit cards, mobile wallet payments, and more. The majority of payment service providers provide both local and global payment methods and accept payments in a range of currencies \u2013 making them a secure and effective way to <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-optimize-your-cross-border-payments-experience\/\">accept payments from customers around the world<\/a>.<\/p><p><br><\/p><p><img alt=\"mobile payment methods\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/mobile-payment-methods.png\"><\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of a Payment Service Provider?<\/h2><p>Additional benefits you\u2019ll experience when using payment service providers: <\/p><ul><li>Online payment transactions are swift, secure, and efficient <\/li><li>Payment service providers are cost-effective, they typically offer affordable rates to merchants<\/li><li>Simplicity: you have one basic contract and access to a wide variety of payment methods<\/li><li>Customers have a range of online payment methods to choose from, making it easier for them to find the ideal way to pay for them<\/li><li>Payment service providers cut admin time for businesses<\/li><li>They offer cost-efficient security (such as PCI compliance)<\/li><li>Payment service providers also identify any potential instances of fraud<\/li><li>The ability to accept global payments in a range of currencies<\/li><\/ul><h2>Get Started<\/h2><p>Get access to a range of online payment methods and solutions and ensure secure, fast, and affordable payment transactions with a payment service provider. Payment service providers dial back your admin time, making them a no-brainer for your payment transactions.<\/p><p>Read how to <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-payment-service-provider\/\">choose the right payment service provider<\/a> for your business.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is a Payment Service Provider (PSP)","meta_description":"A payment service provider (PSP) refers to a third-party solution that enables businesses to accept a variety of online payment methods.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-10-27T14:59:12.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":36,"group_id":36,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Push Notification","slug":"what-is-push-notification","description":"<p><a href=\"\/push\/\">Push notifications<\/a> are brief alerts triggered by an application. They are an effective way to communicate important information to customers. You can still deliver push notifications, even when the customer doesn\u2019t have your app open.<\/p>","title":"What is a Push Notification?","text":"<p>With customers so invested in downloading and using retail apps, push notifications are a relatively easy way to start getting your message in front of the right eyes. As soon as a customer has downloaded your app and enabled alerts, you\u2019re in! <\/p><h2>When to Send a Push Notification?<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/push\/\">Push notifications<\/a> tend to work well for sales and marketing offers, as well as notifications that are not particularly time-sensitive. These include:<\/p><ul><li>New product offers<\/li><li>Bringing users back to your app with a timely message<\/li><li>Customer feedback requests<\/li><li>Message alerts<\/li><li>Reminders<\/li><\/ul><p>You can still deliver push notifications, even when the customer doesn\u2019t have your app open. And you can easily integrate other technology (such as geo-targeting) to make sure you\u2019re reaching them at a relevant time and through their preferred method. <\/p><h2>Differences Between Push Notification and SMS Message<\/h2><p>While push notifications and <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS messaging<\/a> are two highly effective tools in your marketing toolkit, they are two completely separate tactics that should be executed strategically and thoughtfully. Each has a time and place! <\/p><p>Push notifications are cheaper, but SMS reaches pretty much every type of handset. Push messaging requires Internet, but text messages are more static.<\/p><p>It turns out, this isn\u2019t a competition. There are pros and cons to both tactics. For instance, SMS gives you more flexibility in your message. You can add links, and <a href=\"\/blog\/go-beyond-160-characters-in-sms-marketing\/\">character limits are longer<\/a>. Delivery is reliable, and customers are practically guaranteed to see your message (remember the 98% open rate from above?). It\u2019s easier to miss a push notification that might only be visible for a few seconds.<\/p><p><img alt=\"push vs sms\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/blog\/content\/push-vs-sms.svg\"><\/p><p>That said, push notifications are easier to manage from an opt-in standpoint. <\/p><p>You can start sending push notifications without recipients providing express written consent. Plus, recipients manage app permissions from their mobile devices, and they\u2019re less likely to take the time to go into their settings to tweak the frequency and type of notifications. <\/p><p>With SMS, recipients must provide express <a href=\"\/blog\/opt-in-text-messaging\/\">written consent and opt-in<\/a> before your business can send them SMS messages. That\u2019s a huge barrier to entry.<\/p><p>Still confused? We\u2019ve put all the advantages and disadvantages clearly in line.<\/p><p><strong>Advantages Push Notifications:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Faster<\/li><li>Low costs<\/li><li>Encryption possible<\/li><li>Interactive<\/li><li>Retry within 72 hours<\/li><li>Works without cell coverage (but with WiFi) <\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Disadvantages Push Notifications:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>No delivery guarantee<\/li><li>No delivery reports<\/li><li>Needs Internet <\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Advantages SMS:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Delivery reports<\/li><li>High delivery rate<\/li><li>No Internet needed<\/li><li>High open rate<\/li><li>Safe sending to telephone numbers. <\/li><\/ul><p><strong>Disadvantages SMS:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li>Costly<\/li><li>Needs cell coverage<\/li><li>Slow<\/li><li>Statically<\/li><\/ul><p>SMS messages and push notifications are both powerful tools, depending on your use case and specific company goals. <\/p>","meta_title":"What is a Push Notification? How is it Different from SMS?","meta_description":"Push notifications are brief alerts triggered by an application while SMS messages are electronic messages sent between phones. Learn the difference.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-06T09:23:00.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5530,"group_id":81,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Returns & Where Is My Order (WISMO) Chatbots","slug":"what-are-returns-wismo-chatbots","description":"<p>Returns and WISMO chatbots allow customers to easily self-serve and find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). The process enables customers to seamlessly and quickly handle the laborious task of returning items or tracking orders without the need to speak to a human service agent.<\/p>","title":"What Are Returns and Wismo Chatbots?","text":"<p>Returns are about making the best of a bad situation. No-one is making money from the returns process except your logistics service, but it\u2019s important to make sure your customer comes away from the process with a good impression of your company. After all, the ideal situation in <a href=\"\/industries\/retail-ecommerce\/\">eCommerce<\/a> after any returns process is that the customer comes back the following week and spends twice as much. <\/p><p>Keeping things simple here is key. A chatbot that can handle the full returns process including logistics, tracking, and refunds by interrogating your back-end systems for information, will save your customer services team valuable time and let them focus their efforts on more important tasks. <\/p><p>Talking of logistics, customer expectations are higher than ever and knowing where their order is comes fairly high up the list. Manually tracking individual orders over chat, email, or phone would be an enormous drain on your customer service team, but there\u2019s a chatbot solution for that. A Where Is My Order (WISMO) chatbot can communicate with your data storage, or 3rd party courier systems to track down orders fast and then return the information on a map, or in text form if you prefer.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Returns and Wismo Chatbots?<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/blog\/six-ways-chatbots-can-revolutionize-retail-ecommerce\/\">Returns and WISMO chatbots<\/a> allow customers to easily self-serve and find answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs). The process enables customers to seamlessly and quickly handle the laborious task of returning items or tracking orders without the need to speak to a human service agent. Automating the returns and WISMO process enables customer service agents to focus on the more urgent and complex customer issues.<\/p><h2>How to Get Started With Returns and Wismo Chatbots<\/h2><p>Whether you\u2019d prefer a <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/scripted-chatbot\/\">scripted chatbot<\/a> or an <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">AI chatbot<\/a>, you can build it with the software offered by CM.com. Our team is available to provide the support you need to future-proof your customers\u2019 returns and WISMO requests. <\/p>","meta_title":"What are returns and WISMO chatbots? | CM.com","meta_description":"Returns and WISMO chatbots allow customers to easily self-serve and find answers to FAQs. Read more about returns and WISMO chatbots in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-03-30T13:54:09.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-03T10:02:23.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":38,"group_id":38,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SDK","slug":null,"description":"A Software Development Kit (SDK) is a collection of tools that allow you to build your own software with implemented CM.com.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-14T05:27:20.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4834,"group_id":67,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Seated Ticketing","slug":"what-is-seated-ticketing","description":"<p>Seated Ticketing simply refers to the act of allocating <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">tickets<\/a> for events with an assigned seat, for example, at a football stadium or tennis championship so that spectators have a dedicated place to observe the game. This is opposed to a \u2018general admission\u2019 booking.<\/p>","title":"What Is Seated Ticketing?","text":"<p>For instance, which would usually be referred to as a \u2018standing ticket\u2019 \u2013 especially at a concert, or when accessing an event like a festival where event-goers wouldn\u2019t be allocated a specific seat. <\/p><p>The <a href=\"\/industries\/leisure-travel\/sport\/\">sports industry<\/a> is the biggest focus for Seated Ticketing due to <a href=\"\/blog\/sports-clubs-further-digitize\/\">the nature of sporting events<\/a>, the capacity they require, and the venues in which they are held, for example, stadiums, where the only type of allocation available is seated. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Seated Ticketing <\/h2><p>The main benefits associated with Seated Ticketing boil down to the level of customization, control, and flexibility on offer. Whether that\u2019s mostly related to capacity, logistics, or pricing, it\u2019s about delivering experiences for visitors with as little disappointment as possible. <\/p><p><img alt=\"seated ticketing platform\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/seated-ticketing-platform.svg\"><\/p><p>With CM.com\u2019s Seated Ticketing product, organizers can sell tickets for their events based on a seat map, which they can create themselves and personalize to their specific needs. For example, it may be required to set different pricing for the seating at a venue depending on their location and view of the event. This can be customized, too, with the option to set tiered pricing or charge the same price for all seats, if preferred. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-ticketing\/\"><strong>What is Ticketing? Read it here<\/strong><\/a><\/p><p>Such personalization also applies to event scheduling. If an event takes place over the course of multiple days, pricing and availability can be determined for seating allocation depending on the day or time, with the option to publish different ticket sales pages on the organizer\u2019s shop website, accordingly. <\/p><p>Organizers can opt for automatic placements - meaning those purchasing tickets are allocated a seat at random - or decide to let them choose their own from the seat map. They can also <a href=\"\/blog\/custom-is-the-new-standard-in-ticketing\/\">add their own branding to their ticket shop<\/a>, adding color, logos, or any relevant images. <\/p><h2>Why Use CM.com\u2019s Seated Ticketing Software? <\/h2><p>Seated Ticketing software isn\u2019t just about customizing seat maps, pricing, and allocation. <\/p><p>What makes this product unique is that it works in conjunction with a suite of CM.com tools that integrate together seamlessly to offer an experience that competitors cannot. The integration of <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">CM.com\u2019s Customer Data Platform<\/a> (CDP) enables you to <a href=\"\/blog\/why-event-organizers-should-own-and-manage-their-data\/\">gather the data of your supporters<\/a>. This can be utilized to send automated, personalized messages. This way, you are able to keep supporters up-to-date thanks to <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a> via for example <a href=\"\/whatsapp\/\">WhatsApp Business<\/a>, <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a>, and <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">Email<\/a>. Event organizers can set up a flow so that spectators are kept up-to-date and sent relevant information before, on, and after the day of the event. <\/p><p><img alt=\"ticketing sport seated ticketing\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sport-seated-ticketing.png\"><\/p><p>At CM.com, you only need <a href=\"\/register\/\">one platform and one login<\/a>. You can add more products as and when you need them to enrich your offering of services. Whether that\u2019s ticket sales, email campaigns, or gathering and analyzing the data of your customers for better engagement, it can be done easily, and from one place. <\/p><p>If you want to learn more about CM.com\u2019s Seated Ticketing product and how it works, head over to our <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">Ticketing page<\/a>. Or, if you\u2019re specifically interested in ticketing for sporting events, visit our Ticketing page for sport, events & unions.<\/p>","meta_title":"Seated Ticketing - What Is it and What Are the Benefits? | CM.com","meta_description":"Seated Ticketing simply refers to the act of allocating tickets for events with an assigned seat. Read more about Seated Ticketing in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-09-20T09:01:11.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-25T06:08:04.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":44,"group_id":44,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Send\/Receive apps","slug":null,"description":"This is an easy to use web app to send SMS\/Hybrid messages to individuals or lists, and allow them to send replies.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5686,"group_id":89,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Server-Side Tracking","slug":"what-is-server-side-tracking","description":"<p>Client and server-side tracking are two routes to collecting audience data. With client-side tracking, the user\u2019s browser (client) sends data to the tracking platform\u2019s server. Server-side tracking sends the user data to your website server first before being transferred to the tracking platform. <\/p>","title":"What is Server-Side Tracking?","text":"<p>Examples of the tracking platform\u2019s servers are Google Analytics or social media platforms such as Facebook. This is typically achieved using small pieces of code (cookies, tags, or pixels) embedded in the website. <\/p><h2>Why is Server-side Tracking Important?<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/departments\/marketing-and-sales\/\">Marketers<\/a> have traditionally relied on analytics and audience data gathered through third-party cookies on the client-side to inform their <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">marketing and advertising campaigns<\/a> and to assess website performance. But growing privacy concerns among consumers, increasingly stringent regulations, and browser restrictions limit the ability to collect data in this way. Marketers are <a href=\"\/blog\/missing-analytics-data\/\">losing 10-30% of tracking data<\/a> due to Ad Blockers and intelligent tracking prevention (ITP) imposed by the browser. <\/p><p>Current methods to track <a href=\"\/industries\/retail-ecommerce\/\">eCommerce<\/a> transactions using these client-side events result in significant measurement errors and broken customer journeys. This means the <a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/sanitairwinkel\/\">revenue attributable to your paid marketing efforts is underestimated<\/a>:<\/p><p> <\/p><h3>1. Default and In-app Safari Browsers Analyzed Separately<\/h3><ul><li>A user clicks an advert on a social media platform such as Facebook or Instagram;<\/li><li>They are directed to a pop-up page using the in-app Safari browser;<\/li><li>They are sent to the <a href=\"\/payments\/\">payment platform<\/a> or banking app to complete the transaction;<\/li><li>It is only on the thank-you page that the conversion is registered, and this is on the default browser on the user\u2019s device;<\/li><li>Because the cookie IDs are not the same in the app and the default browser, they are analyzed as a new user;<\/li><li>This means the purchase is <a href=\"\/about-cm\/our-customers\/sanitairwinkel\/\">attributed to the thank-you page<\/a> instead of the relevant ad campaign.<\/li><\/ul><p><img alt=\"tracedock-serverside-1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/tracedock-serverside-1.png\"><\/p><h3>2. User\u2019s Choice of Browser App Differs From the Default Browser<\/h3><ul><li>Many users choose a different browser app on their device than the default browser;<\/li><li>For example, the user might initiate a purchase in the Google Chrome browser on a Samsung Galaxy;<\/li><li>On completing payment in the banking environment, the user is redirected to the default (Samsung internet) browser;<\/li><li>Again, the transaction is attributed to the thank-you page, not the ad campaign.<\/li><\/ul><p><img alt=\"tracedock-serverside-2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/tracedock-serverside-2.png\"><\/p><p>Server-side transaction tracking (or cloud delivery) does not rely on the client-side thank-you page and therefore provides <a href=\"\/downloads\/partner-story-merkle\/\">more accurate attribution data<\/a>.<\/p><p>What percentage of your transactions have the thank-you page as a landing page? Visit our blog to find out <a href=\"\/blog\/missing-analytics-data\/\">what data you are missing<\/a>. <\/p><h2>How Does Server-Side Tracking Work?<\/h2><p>Server-side tracking is where one central cloud-based repository collects all the audience data and forwards that data to third-party platforms. When tracking users in the browser, a website typically has multiple tracking scripts running simultaneously with cookies in first-party or third-party format. Moving to server-side tracking means capturing all behavioral events in a single stream and then distributing them to the end data collection platforms.<\/p><p>CM.com\u2019s <a href=\"\/tracedock\/\">TraceDock<\/a> solution offers a server-side tracking service that tracks each user using scripts that only run when they visit a webpage. It matches transaction data with session data resulting in accurate attribution in Google Analytics and Meta. Performing this on the server-side means it is captured as privacy-friendly <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-first-party-data-collection\/\">first-party data<\/a>, so storing data as a cookie on the user\u2019s device is unnecessary. This anonymous tracker sends data directly to Google Analytics or your chosen website tracking tool to ensure you obtain a complete picture of your audience. <\/p><p>To achieve this, TraceDock creates a server-side Client ID that can be used for first-party web analytics. This is in hash format, whereby a short string of letters and\/or numbers is generated using the user\u2019s IP address, user agent, and website URL and is stored on the server rather than with the client. This makes the process irreversible (hashing only works in one direction and cannot be decrypted) and therefore anonymous and fully compliant with GDPR and privacy laws.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Server-Side Tracking?<\/h2><p>The main benefits of server-side tracking versus client-side tracking are that it:<\/p><ul><li>Bypasses browser restrictions, ad blockers, and intelligent tracking prevention (ITP), resulting in more accurate data collection<\/li><li>Brings greater ownership and control: adding this extra layer (your server) makes this first-party data collection and affords you greater control and ownership. You decide which data to track and where to send it.<\/li><li>It makes the process privacy-friendly (because it is first-party data collection, it is GDPR-compliant)<\/li><li>For example, marketers can enrich the data by adding relevant CRM data. This means you can build improved customer relationships and deliver better user experiences.<\/li><\/ul><p> <\/p><p>If you still rely on traditional browser-based web analytics, you are not getting a complete and accurate picture of your audience\u2019s online behavior and preferences. It\u2019s time to explore <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-cookieless-data-collection\/\">cookieless<\/a>, first-party data collection, and server-side tracking strategies.<\/p>","meta_title":"Why is Server-Side Tracking Important and What Is It? - CM.com","meta_description":"Server-side tracking sends the user data to your website server first before being transferred to tracking platforms. Learn more in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-07-06T12:32:13.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-07-07T10:11:29.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":45,"group_id":45,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Short Code","slug":"what-is-short-code","description":"<p>A short code is a specialized 5 or 6-digit number ideal for marketing campaigns, lead generation, and promotions where you want people to easily remember your number. Short codes are used for <a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">sending and receiving SMS<\/a> (and MMS) messages to mobile phones.<\/p>","title":"What Is a Short Code?","text":"<h2>How to Use Short Codes?<\/h2><p>Short code (also called short numbers, Common Short Code, or CSC) messaging is commonly used to send business text messages and marketing campaigns to a user\u2019s mobile device. A short code is a specialized five to six-digit phone number used in <a href=\"\/sms\/\">one-way SMS<\/a> and MMS messaging. Short code messages convey information to a customer that doesn\u2019t require a response. A customer can text a keyword to a business to opt in to marketing messages, vote, or enter a contest.<\/p><p><img alt=\"two way messaging short codes\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/two-way-messaging-short-codes.svg\"><\/p><p>Short codes are leased monthly, their cost varies depending on the type of short code you choose. Short codes are an alternative to <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-long-code-long-number\/\">long numbers<\/a>, full-length phone numbers used to send and receive text messages and calls. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-between-short-code-or-long-number-the-5-main-differences\/\"><strong>How to Choose Between Short Code or Long Number? The 5 Main Differences ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><h2>Different Types of Short Codes<\/h2><p>There are two types of short codes: shared short codes and dedicated short codes. <\/p><h3>Shared Short Code<\/h3><blockquote>\u201cText PIZZA to 13131\u201d<\/blockquote><blockquote>\u201cText BACON to 13131\u201d<\/blockquote><blockquote>\u201cText COOL to 13131\u201d<\/blockquote><p>These are all examples of shared short codes. Even though each of these text messages shares a numeric code, they would be routed to separate businesses. Shared short codes are used and shared between thousands of businesses, making their monthly cost more affordable. Traffic coming into each short code is separated by the use of unique keywords, which enables mobile carriers to distribute short codes among businesses in the same industry.<\/p><h3>Dedicated Short Code<\/h3><blockquote>\u201cText PIZZA to 13131\u201d<\/blockquote><blockquote>\u201cText PIZZA to 12345\u201d<\/blockquote><blockquote>\u201cText PIZZA to 54321\u201d<\/blockquote><p>These are all examples of dedicated short codes. They all use the keyword PIZZA, but texts would be routed to each business based on their short code, not their keyword. Dedicated short codes are assigned to specific businesses. Since one company absorbs the entire cost of the code, dedicated short codes are more expensive than shared short codes. If you sign up for a shared short code and want to use a keyword that has already been taken, you would have to change to a dedicated short code service.<\/p><p><strong>Within dedicated short codes, there are two subsets: random short codes and vanity short codes.<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>Random short codes<\/strong> are generic and issued randomly, like a license plate. You have no control over what short code number you are assigned.<\/li><li><strong>Vanity short codes<\/strong> are customized and are the most expensive of all dedicated short codes. The advantage of vanity short codes is that they are the most memorable and can be segmented for your business. You could select a short code that numerically spells the name of your business.<\/li><\/ul><h2>What Are The Benefits of Using Short Codes?<\/h2><ul><li>Short codes are pre-approved by carriers to avoid spam flags, giving them higher delivery rates than long numbers.<\/li><li>Short codes are easy for customers to remember.<\/li><li>Shared short codes are cost-effective for mass communications.<\/li><li>Shared short codes are fast and easy to set up and have no setup fees.<\/li><\/ul><h2>When To Use A Short Code?<\/h2><ul><li><a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">Mobile marketing campaigns<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">Two-Factor Authentication<\/a> (2FA)<\/li><li>Notifications and alerts<\/li><li>Voting and polling <\/li><li>Surveys <\/li><li>Subscriber opt-ins<\/li><li>Sales promotions and special offers<\/li><li>Newsletter and content subscriptions<\/li><li>Contests and giveaways<\/li><\/ul><h2>How To Obtain A Short Code?<\/h2><p>CM.com has <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-sms-gateway-api-direct-operator-connections\/\">direct connections to hundreds of networks worldwide<\/a>. Our vast global reach helps us get the most competitive pricing in the short code marketplace for our customers. <\/p><p><a href=\"\/register\/\"><strong>Create a free platform account and easily request your Number or Keyword in our Dasboard<\/strong><\/a><\/p>","meta_title":"Short Code - What Is It, How Should You Use It? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"A short code is a 5 to 6-digit phone number used in one-way SMS and MMS messaging. Learn more about short codes in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-16T05:37:59.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":39,"group_id":39,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SIM","slug":null,"description":"The Subscriber Identity Module presents the SIM card used to enable communication over a telecommunication network for a device (smartphone, tablet, etc.) ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":40,"group_id":40,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SIP Trunking","slug":"what-is-sip-trunk","description":"<p><a href=\"\/voice\/sip-trunk\/\">SIP trunking<\/a> is a type of <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-voip\/\">Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP)<\/a> technology that lets businesses make calls over a data connection rather than a traditional phone line.<\/p>","title":"What Is SIP Trunking?","text":"<p>Essentially, a <a href=\"\/voice\/sip-trunk\/\">SIP trunk<\/a> is the virtual version of an ISDN phone line and enables organizations to upgrade their existing PBX infrastructure to use VoIP functionalities. This technology is becoming increasingly popular as the need for analog lines becomes redundant for many businesses who have migrated their traditional office telephony setup to a more flexible, scalable environment.<\/p><p>\u2018SIP\u2019, which is short for Session Initiation Protocol, is an application layer protocol that lets you run your phone system over an internet connection as opposed to legacy systems and traditional phone lines. A \"trunk\" is a line or link that carries signals and connects nodes in a communications system \u2013 in other words, a pipe that carries the data channels inside it to connect two locations. <\/p><p><img alt=\"SIP Trunking\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sip-trunking-cm.svg\"><\/p><h2>How Does SIP Trunking Work<\/h2><p>A SIP trunk is, in essence, a digital alternative to the analog phone line that many businesses historically used to make phone calls. SIP allows organizations to connect one, twenty, up to thousands of concurrent channels directly to an IP-enabled Private Branch Exchange (PBX), enabling those within the company to make long-distance phone calls via the internet. SIP trunks utilize a packet switch network, in which voice calls are broken down into digital packets and sent across a network to the final destination.<\/p><p>While for landlines a session simply consists of voice signals, SIP allows companies to transmit and receive different types of data such as voice, images, videos, documents, and other forms of media. <\/p><h2>What Is a SIP Trunk Provider<\/h2><p>A <a href=\"\/voice\/sip-trunk\/\">SIP Trunk provider<\/a> allows businesses to connect their in-house IP PBX systems to the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). Company\u2019s use SIP Trunk Providers to make outbound calls and receive inbound calls. Many providers offer much more than that. CM.com\u2019s Voice Management app, for example, lets you scale up whenever you want using a convenient cloud interface, easily manage and monitor your outbound and inbound calls, and observe real-time insight into your voice data, including volume, destinations, cost, and quality statistics.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of SIP Trunking<\/h2><p><strong>Low Call Charges<\/strong><\/p><p>SIP trunking allows telephone calls to be made over the internet. The most efficient route is chosen and there is no need to set up a dedicated line over the PSTN for the duration of the call. Compared to calls made over traditional telephone lines, this approach saves resources and significantly reduces call charges.<\/p><p><strong>Quick and Easy Implementation of VoIP <\/strong><\/p><p>SIP trunks are easy to install and configure. Companies can benefit from VoIP advantages such as flexibility and cost savings - without restrictions or cuts to their business processes.<\/p><p><strong>Maximum Investment of Existing Infrastructure<\/strong><\/p><p>SIP trunking allows businesses to use their existing non-IP infrastructure - including PBX equipment - for as long as possible, in turn enabling them to maximize their investment.<\/p><p><strong>Lower Infrastructure Requirements and Costs<\/strong><\/p><p>SIP trunking makes it possible to move to cloud-based PBXs, which reduces the need for in-house hardware, software, and support.<\/p><p><strong>Future-Proof Telephony<\/strong><\/p><p>With SIP trunking, the upcoming ISDN switch-off can't hurt businesses because they have the option to upgrade their infrastructure from ISDN-dependent PBXs to VoIP-enabled systems. By making your telephone system fit for VoIP today, you can ensure that you will be able to maintain your usual work processes even after ISDN is switched off.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is SIP Trunking and How Does it Work? - CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"SIP trunking is a type of Voice over Internet Protocol technology that lets businesses make calls over a data connection. Read more in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-02T06:08:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5608,"group_id":86,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SMS","slug":"what-is-sms","description":"<p><a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a> \u2013 Short Message Service \u2013 is a long-established messaging service, allowing mobile phones to exchange <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-convince-consumers-in-a-maximum-of-160-characters\/\">text messages of up to 160 characters<\/a>. Any mobile phone, anywhere in the world can send and receive texts with SMS, making it incredibly useful as a marketing and customer service channel. <\/p>","title":"What is SMS?","text":"<p>Despite being one of the earliest mobile messaging technologies, <a href=\"\/blog\/why-sms-is-just-as-relevant-as-ever\/\">SMS remains useful today<\/a> due to its installed base in the billions.<\/p><h2>What SMS Means?<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a> stands for Short Message Service. It provides an easy and reliable way to exchange messages with practically anyone who owns a phone, worldwide. And <a href=\"\/blog\/go-beyond-160-characters-in-sms-marketing\/\">SMS messages are no longer limited to text<\/a>; MMS extends the standard with images, while emoticons and other language symbols have extended the original ASCII Latin character set. And with the right software (and subject to regulatory compliance) marketers can send whole campaigns, customer service communications, and special offers to thousands of people a minute. <\/p><p><img alt=\"sms-examples-messaging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-examples-messaging.png\"><\/p><p>While a smartphone user can never be certain an email or similar message will be readable on the recipient\u2019s phone \u2013 they may not have the right app installed, or simply not use their phone for that purpose \u2013 there\u2019s a very high chance that an SMS message will be successfully delivered, and <a href=\"\/blog\/open-rate-marketing-campaigns\/\">successfully read<\/a>.<\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-make-your-sms-strategy-succeed\/\"><strong>How to Make Your SMS Strategy Succeed? Read More ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><h2>How Does SMS Work?<\/h2><p>Surprisingly, SMS didn\u2019t start with communication between phone users in mind. The original idea was to give network providers a way to send updates of events to their customers \u2013 one-way only, such as voicemail notifications. And the first text message, back in 1992, was sent from a desktop PC because most phones at the time didn\u2019t have alphanumeric keyboards.<\/p><p>Limits were set because network capacities were far lower than today (SMS was designed in the pre-digital world). The specification had to put as little load as possible on global telephony networks. So its creators designed it to use \u201csignaling paths\u201d (technology on a phone network that sets up and ends a voice call) at times those paths weren\u2019t in use (this is why an SMS is fast but not instant).<\/p><p>Because all global telephony networks used similar signaling paths \u2013 without them, international calls would have been impossible \u2013 this choice enabled <a href=\"\/blog\/sending-international-sms-country-specific-rules-regulations-and-habits\/\">SMS to be adopted worldwide<\/a>, with the \u201crules\u201d for building a device that could receive, display, and send SMS messages widely understood. So instead of confusion about national standards, the whole world knew how to build SMS functionality into their networks. <\/p><p>Importantly, the SMS standard was open. Any network or hardware provider could implement SMS functionality in their products and services, and be sure it would interoperate with other networks and devices. Another bonus: a mobile phone does not need an internet connection to use SMS \u2013 messages are sent over the mobile infrastructure, not the web or email.<\/p><p>Mobile phone users started becoming aware of SMS around the time GSM networks started to roll out around the world. The specifications for GSM included three forms of SMS: SMS-MT (network notifications by the network provider) SMS-CB (\u201cbroadcasts\u201d to all devices on a network) and \u2013 most importantly \u2013 SMS-MO (messages between mobile phones). <\/p><p>Even in today\u2019s web-connected world of 5G, there are still regions where <a href=\"\/blog\/why-sms-is-just-as-relevant-as-ever\/\">SMS is the principal form of text-based communication<\/a> \u2013 and many where it\u2019s still the only one available.<\/p><h2>What is an SMS Service Provider?<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS service providers<\/a> are often technology companies with a deep understanding of Short Message Services, buying rights to send large volumes of text messages from the networks and building their own services on top, such as software that makes it easy to <a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">create and manage SMS marketing campaigns<\/a>. <\/p><p><img alt=\"messaging api\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/messaging-api.svg\"><\/p><p>These providers (like CM.com) are the ideal first stop for any company interested in SMS as a communications channel with customers. Many levels of service are available, and providers compete fiercely to give the best customer service and extended functionality.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of SMS Messaging?<\/h2><h3>Immediate and High Readership<\/h3><p>While our laptops and desktops aren\u2019t always on our side, mobile phones are. In fact, they tend to remain within two meters of us, 24 hours a day! That means <a href=\"\/blog\/open-rate-marketing-campaigns\/\">SMS messages tend to be read quickly<\/a>, often within minutes. That gives SMS an advantage over email marketing or telephone outreach. <\/p><h3>Time and Location Sensitivity<\/h3><p>Working through a wireless device almost everyone carries, SMS is ideal for delivering timely content such as reservation confirmations and <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">PIN codes for two-factor security<\/a>. And with most phones now internet-capable, SMS can interoperate with the web \u00ad \u2013 for example, a clickable URL in a text message can lead to the location of a business on Google Maps. <\/p><h3>Universal Interoperability<\/h3><p>Essentially any mobile phone ever made can send and receive SMS messages, even if they\u2019re over 25 years old. With no internet coverage required. The technology is simple, robust, and well-understood by all network providers \u2013 making SMS extremely reliable. <\/p><h3>Bulk SMS Messaging<\/h3><p>SMS broadcast makes it possible for a marketer to \u201cburst\u201d thousands of <a href=\"\/blog\/opt-in-text-messaging\/\">messages to an opted-in customer base<\/a>, providing a cheap and simple way to offer news, updates, and sales promotions. It doesn\u2019t need anyone to tap the message into a phone \u2013 campaigns are run through a purpose-built dashboard often linked to CRM applications in the cloud, bringing SMS alongside email, video messaging, and the web as a customer communications channel. <\/p><h3>Commercial Options<\/h3><p>In addition to the original business model of charging customers to send texts, an <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">SMS Short Code <\/a>lets marketers earn a fee from people messaging a special number. Uses include voting in TV talent shows and charitable giving. <\/p><p><img alt=\"two-way-messaging-short-codes\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/two-way-messaging-short-codes.svg\"><\/p><h3>Multiple Technological Extensions<\/h3><p>SMS hasn\u2019t stopped development. A text message is <a href=\"\/blog\/go-beyond-160-characters-in-sms-marketing\/\">no longer limited to 160 characters<\/a> by most providers; software on the phone automatically \u201cconcatenates\u201d (joins together) longer messages for easy readability. MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) uses the same underlying technology to send images, too. While in parts of Africa, SMS is used as a form of currency, mobile-to-mobile payments are possible even in remote areas and between older hardware. Even today new applications are being developed using SMS as the base. <\/p><h2>What is the Difference Between SMS and MMS?<\/h2><p>MMS stands for Multimedia Messaging Service. It\u2019s an evolution of SMS, based on the same technical infrastructure and standards \u2013 which means it carries many of the same advantages as SMS, namely that billions of phones worldwide can use it! <\/p><p>First, MMS answers SMS\u2019s most fundamental limitation: the 160-character maximum. (Yes, you can send a text message with MMS, even if you\u2019re not sending a picture!) While MMS can send a broader range of richer content: an image, a gallery of images, short videos of up to 40 seconds, or even an audio message. <\/p><p>The main technical difference with MMS is that it handles these MIME (non-text) extensions, such as images and video. There are also workarounds that apply if you send an MMS message to a non-MMS capable device or region: workflows can be built that convert an MMS into an SMS containing a link to the multimedia content on an HTTP (web) server. But while MMS has greater capabilities than SMS, they\u2019re part of the same family. <\/p><h2>What Are SMS Use Cases?<\/h2><p>All this makes <a href=\"\/blog\/10-applications-of-sms-gateway-within-one-company\/\">SMS useful in a wide variety of business situations<\/a>. Anywhere you need to message customers with reliable delivery, and high readability, and where information is time-sensitive, SMS is an option. <\/p><p>SMS also provides a jumping-off point to richer and more colorful services like web pages and streaming media. Possibilities include: <\/p><h3>Urgent Notifications to Individuals and Groups<\/h3><p>SMS is ideal for the <a href=\"\/industries\/leisure-travel\/\">travel and hospitality sector.<\/a> A timely SMS \u201cguide\u201d a customer through an unfamiliar airport, or provide booking details shortly before check-in opens. While time-limited sales and promotions can offer deals to selected customer groups for set periods, driving sales. <\/p><h3><strong><img alt=\"send SMS notifications\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/send-sms-notifications.png\"><\/strong>Broadcast Messages to a User Base<\/h3><p>With <a href=\"\/sms\/sms-gateway-api\/\">CM.com\u2019s API connecting SMS services<\/a> to others like a cloud-based CRM via the SMS API, you can message sections of your customer base with personalized messages \u2013 relevant to their geography, sector, or anything else you know about them. SMS messages tend to be seen and opened faster than other channels such as email, increasing your chances of a positive response. <\/p><h3>Lead Customers to a Landing Page<\/h3><p>Value-adds like<a href=\"\/pages\/\"> CM.com Pages<\/a> extend the functionality of SMS, providing a link in a text message to <a href=\"\/blog\/drive-conversion-with-sms-landing-pages\/\">customized and personalized mobile web pages<\/a>. These can be used for everything from online sales promotions to form-filling surveys and product step-throughs and demonstrations. Even vouchers and coupons can be offered and redeemed with an SMS campaign. <\/p><p><img alt=\"pages-real-estate\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/pages-real-estate.png\"><\/p><h3>Offer Omni-Channel Customer Service<\/h3><p>True omnichannel doesn\u2019t mean \u201coffering all channels\u201d; it means connecting those channels too, letting the customer switch from one to another without losing context. <a href=\"\/business-messaging-api\/\">SMS can connect different channels<\/a>, allowing the customer to choose their preferred option. A trouble ticket confirmation can contain a link to more interactive channels, such as <a href=\"\/whatsapp\/\">WhatsApp<\/a> or a chat window, without the user having to switch to another device. It\u2019s true <a href=\"\/conversational-commerce\/\">conversational commerce<\/a>. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/blog\/chat-apps-choosing-between-channels\/\"><strong>How to Choose Between Messaging Channels > <\/strong><\/a><\/p><h3>Predictable and Competitive Pricing<\/h3><p>As a long-established technology with settled billing processes, SMS isn\u2019t just effective \u2013 it\u2019s cheap. While the <a href=\"\/pricing\/sms\/\">cost per SMS varies by country<\/a>, providers like CM.com enjoy global arrangements with network providers in all markets. This enables Worldwide SMS Pricing \u2013 one price per country, for all operators, with no extra fees.<\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/pricing\/sms\/\"><strong>See Our SMS Prices ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><p>This ensures your SMS communications and campaigns carry a predictable cost, letting you set budgets for each market in advance and calculate ROI easily later on. <\/p><h2>SMS as Option in a Cloud-Based World<\/h2><p>Perhaps <a href=\"\/blog\/why-sms-is-just-as-relevant-as-ever\/\">the greatest benefit of SMS today<\/a> is the way it interacts and integrates with both global populations and market landscapes. The universal market acceptance of SMS combines with its ongoing technological evolution to stay deeply relevant in today\u2019s world, a plus for both consumers and marketers. <\/p><p>SMS messaging is expected by consumers across a vast range of services; no airline, hotel chain, or delivery firm can do without it. While it remains a trusted channel due to widespread familiarity: SMS is used by all age groups and income bands, as possibly the only truly demographic-agnostic communications channel. <\/p><p>As an SMS provider, CM.com offers SMS as a seamless part of the <a href=\"\/communications-platform\/\">CM.com Communications Platform<\/a>, bringing text messaging, voice communication, and conversational channels like WhatsApp together in one integrated solution.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is Text Messaging or SMS Messaging? - CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"SMS \u2013 Short Message Service \u2013 is a messaging service, allowing mobile phones to send and receive text messages of up to 160 characters. Read more >","created_at":"2022-06-06T14:48:48.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-08T11:47:09.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":3832,"group_id":58,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SMS API","slug":"what-is-sms-api","description":"<p>An <a href=\"\/sms\/sms-gateway-api\/\">SMS API<\/a> is a type of API that allows your business to integrate SMS (Short Message Service) messaging into your existing software platforms. SMS APIs enable you to send or receive SMS messages quickly and easily through <a href=\"\/blog\/sms-api-integration\/\">any website or application<\/a>.<\/p>","title":"What is an SMS API?","text":"<p>An SMS API makes it possible for your business to operate 24\/7, providing <a href=\"\/blog\/how-sms-improves-customer-experience-digital-services\/\">customer notifications and information<\/a> even outside business hours. <\/p><p>Manual systems like email often require hands-on operations, slowing you down and making your business communications seem inconvenient and antiquated to customers. Relying on human intervention to handle routine transactions increases the likelihood of unnecessary errors and drains resources better used elsewhere.<\/p><h2>How Does an SMS API Work?<\/h2><p>SMS APIs <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-sms-gateway-api-direct-operator-connections\/\">connect telecom carriers<\/a> to the internet, avoiding the necessity of using a platform or software \u201cmiddleman\u201d to affect this functionality. After you integrate an SMS API, logging in manually to send SMS messages becomes a thing of the past. API protocols enable you to send <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS messages<\/a> automatically, saving time and money.<\/p><p><img alt=\"api vs webapp\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/api-vs-webapp.svg\"><\/p><p>The advantage of using an SMS API over web-based applications is that they don\u2019t require an internet connection. As long as a user has cell phone access, they can receive your messages. <\/p><p>Remember, a user must <a href=\"\/blog\/opt-in-text-messaging\/\">opt-in to receive any SMS message<\/a>s from you. Be sure to obtain your customers\u2019 express written consent or risk being penalized or fined for TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) infractions.<\/p><h2>How to Use SMS APIs?<\/h2><p>SMS APIs enable you to send thousands of text messages in seconds, automatically. Using an SMS API allows for <a href=\"\/blog\/why-sms-is-just-as-relevant-as-ever\/\">efficient, professional, and safe omnichannel communications<\/a> that improve customer experience and support. <\/p><h2>What Are SMS Use Cases?<\/h2><ul><li>Enabling <a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">two-way communication<\/a> with customers <\/li><li>Customizing messages, including personalized bulk SMS messages<\/li><li>Sending <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-one-time-password\/\">one-time passwords<\/a> (OTPs)<\/li><li>Confirming appointments or bookings<\/li><li>Tracking message deliveries to provide feedback on customer service efforts<\/li><li>Promoting sales and discounts<\/li><li>Providing flexibility with segmented marketing campaigns<\/li><li>Sending shipment tracking notifications<\/li><li>Automating simple tasks to free up staff<\/li><li>Scheduling time-sensitive messages at set intervals<\/li><li>Using two-factor authentication (2FA) for account security <\/li><\/ul><h2>How to Get Started With an SMS API?<\/h2><p>If you want to send and receive SMS messages, an <a href=\"\/blog\/sms-gateway-comparison\/\">SMS gateway operator<\/a> will help you to organize and manage your processes. <\/p><p><a href=\"\/sms\/sms-gateway-api\/\">CM.com's SMS gateway<\/a> allows you to easily send bulk text messages across the globe and <a href=\"\/blog\/10-applications-of-sms-gateway-within-one-company\/\">can be used in a variety of ways<\/a>.<\/p><p>Our SMS API code allows you to send and receive SMS messages in minutes and is fully supported with detailed documentation and complete codes for developers. Whether you use <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">short codes<\/a> or <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-long-code-long-number\/\">long codes<\/a>, our SMS API helps start meaningful two-way customer conversations at a low cost.<\/p>","meta_title":"SMS API - What Is It and How Does It Work? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"An SMS API is a type of API that allows your business to integrate SMS text messaging into your existing software platform. Read more in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-04-15T06:09:18.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-16T05:53:15.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":42,"group_id":42,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SMS Gateway","slug":null,"description":"<p>AnSMS Gateway enables you to send text messages to mobile phones all around the world. To integrate this functionality into your application, you (or your developers) should implement communication with our API.<\/p>","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-06T14:39:44.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5812,"group_id":94,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SMS marketing","slug":"what-is-sms-marketing","description":"<p>SMS marketing combines the <a href=\"\/blog\/why-sms-is-just-as-relevant-as-ever\/\">oldest and simplest channels<\/a> available to any marketer - <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a> - with marketing platforms and software to send timely, personalized, and interactive messages and campaigns at scale while staying compliant with privacy legislation.<\/p>","title":"What Is SMS Marketing?","text":"<p>Just as a PPC campaign shows ads to people searching the web, a YouTube campaign shows ads to people watching videos, and a direct marketing campaign sends letters to individuals, an <a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">SMS marketing campaign<\/a> sends ads by text message to people using mobile phones. <\/p><h2>What Are SMS Campaigns Features?<\/h2><ul><li>SMS campaigns are sent to an individual (not a mass market broadcast audience like TV); <\/li><li>That person has consented to such communications, usually by double opt-in; <\/li><li>The message is often tailored to that person, based on what the marketer knows about them; <\/li><li>SMS campaigns usually contain a call to action that lets the recipient act on the message, such as clicking on a URL or redeeming a voucher; and <\/li><li>SMS campaigns can be tracked and monitored, so the recipient\u2019s response can be noted and used for further customization and personalization.<\/li><\/ul><p>While the messages in SMS marketing campaigns are short and text-only (in keeping with <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-convince-consumers-in-a-maximum-of-160-characters\/\">SMS\u2019s original 160-character<\/a> limit) they often include links to richer content such as <a href=\"\/blog\/drive-conversion-with-sms-landing-pages\/\">mobile web pages<\/a>, interactive content, or other channels such as WhatsApp. This is possible thanks to SMS marketing platforms that bring different channels together and let marketers send, analyze, and manage campaigns involving multiple audiences and thousands of people. <\/p><p><img alt=\"sms-examples-messaging\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-examples-messaging.png\"><\/p><p><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-sms\/\">SMS<\/a> takes advantage of proximity and immediacy. A mobile phone is usually within two meters of its owner at all times; messages are usually read and answered in minutes rather than hours; the mobile nature of a phone means messages can even be sent to customers in a specific geographical area, such as within a few miles of a store offering a sale. This makes <a href=\"\/blog\/sms-marketing-b2b-use-cases\/\">SMS marketing ideal<\/a> for short-term promotions, real-time updates and offers and add-on campaigns up-selling and cross-selling other products and services. <\/p><h2>How Does SMS Marketing Work?<\/h2><p>To use SMS marketing, marketers need the ability to send out large numbers of legally compliant text messages to a database of customers, with dashboard functionality that lets them see metrics such as successful deliveries, <a href=\"\/blog\/open-rate-marketing-campaigns\/\">open rates<\/a>, response rates, and so on. <\/p><h3>An SMS Platform Enables Complete Campaigns<\/h3><p>Such applications let them schedule SMS messages for delivery to different audience segments (such as during daylight hours if a campaign is global) and customize for different legislative environments, such as whether the receiving country requires <a href=\"\/blog\/opt-in-text-messaging\/\">double opt-in<\/a> before messages can be sent. This is the difference between a simple SMS send and what\u2019s needed for a complete campaign. <\/p><h3>SMS Can Be Combined With Others<\/h3><p>SMS marketing software also provides a way to link SMS messages to other channels. A custom URL isn\u2019t limited to opening a mobile web page; it can also open another application (such as WhatsApp) or a chat window so a one-to-one conversation with the recipient can begin. <\/p><h3>Accurate Data Lets the Marketer Improve Each Campaign<\/h3><p>SMS marketing software lets marketers see statistics from each campaign as intuitive charts and graphs, showing how each campaign performed. Useful metrics include number of successful deliveries versus fails, number of opens, and what users did next, such as respond to a <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">Short Code<\/a> or click a link. These insights help marketers to plan future campaigns and improve ones in progress. <\/p><p><img alt=\"sms-gateway-analytics\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-gateway-analytics.svg\"><\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of SMS Marketing? <\/h2><h3>SMS is Universal<\/h3><p>The key advantage of SMS marketing is universal deliverability. All mobile phones in use today, however old, can receive and respond to SMS messages, using well-established technology and protocols standardized across the world. <\/p><h3>SMS Covers the Planet<\/h3><p>This also means the audience is huge: many billions of mobile phone accounts are active worldwide, with people of all cultures and income levels having access to a phone. With the right platform, marketers can roll out a single campaign for multiple countries and languages, with messaging tailored for different segments. <\/p><h3>SMS is Customizable <\/h3><p>The mobile phone is a personal device, and the ads in SMS marketing campaigns can be personalized to take advantage \u2013 even spanning the gap between online and offline. Individual ads can contain personalized voucher codes that identify the user when redeemed elsewhere; the messages can address the user by name, boosting response rates and strengthening relationships; delivery times can be customized to the user\u2019s known behavior, such as only sending after 6 pm. <\/p><p><img alt=\"sms appointment reminder healthcare\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-appointment-reminder-healthcare.png\"><\/p><h3>SMS Is Instant<\/h3><p>SMS marketing can use a variety of proven technologies to let users acknowledge, respond, and take action. Short codes supply an easy-to-remember number to send inquiries or answer questions; <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-two-way-messaging\/\">two-way SMS<\/a> allows a conversation of multiple-choice or guided answers (from Y\/N to \u201cScore out of 10\u201d); coupons and vouchers can be applied with a click. All these SMS services can be used as part of an SMS marketing campaign. <\/p><h2>How to Use SMS Marketing Campaigns<\/h2><p>SMS marketing campaigns work best for campaigns with a known audience, a clear offer, and a <a href=\"\/blog\/timing-is-key-when-is-the-best-time-to-reach-your-audience\/\">time factor<\/a> such as a short-term promotion. <\/p><h3>Double Opt-In<\/h3><p>The first part of any SMS campaign is to remain legally compliant. Most countries require double opt-in. This means the user agrees to receive your SMS communications (for example, by sending an inquiry to a Short Code) and secondly confirms their choice by responding to your first message (\u201cAgree Y\/N?\u201d) <\/p><h3>Offers and Promotions<\/h3><p>Short and easily-understood offers (\u201cGet 10% off by ordering before 4 pm!\u201d) are ideal for SMS marketing since individual responses can be tracked and followed up. With so many businesses using SMS for confirmations (bookings, appointments, and so on) it\u2019s also easy to offer add-on promotions to customers already buying from you, such as a hotel chain offering a night free if you extend your booking by two nights. <\/p><h3>Managed Conversations With CRM<\/h3><p>A <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">true SMS marketing platform<\/a> should connect seamlessly to sources of data like your CRM (Customer Relationship Management) application, so your bots and agents can understand the customer in more depth (including what he\/she has been doing on other channels.) This builds stronger bonds with the customer and lets an SMS message be used to prompt action on other channels (\u201cCheck your email Inbox for your special offer\u201d.) <\/p><h3>Combined Email and SMS Marketing <\/h3><p>The easy integration of channels an SMS marketing platform provides allows true multichannel and omnichannel communication with the customer. Deliveries and bookings can be confirmed via SMS after emails are sent; identities of new sign-ups can be authenticated by text; responses to a web offer can be streamlined and encouraged with Short Codes and <a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">two-way SMS<\/a>. <\/p><h2>How to Get Started With SMS Marketing<\/h2><p>The ideal way to add SMS marketing to your channels is a platform like <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a>, which lets you plan, create, schedule, send, and monitor SMS messages personalized for thousands of recipients with ease. It lets you use SMS as a channel in combination with email, <a href=\"\/whatsapp\/\">WhatsApp<\/a>, and others, with integrated campaign management across all.<\/p><p>CM.com\u2019s Mobile Marketing Cloud offers many approaches for using SMS as part of your marketing mix, with easy ways to integrate SMS with other channels and existing applications like your CRM database. <\/p>","meta_title":"SMS Marketing - What Is It and How Does It Work? - CM.com","meta_description":"With SMS marketing you can send timely, personalized, and interactive messages and campaigns via SMS. Read more about SMS marketing in our glossary \u00bb","created_at":"2022-08-30T06:49:23.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-30T08:31:15.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":43,"group_id":43,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"SMSC","slug":null,"description":"The SMS Center, usually the end party, that delivered the message to the handset.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":46,"group_id":46,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Texter","slug":null,"description":"An SMS test tool which lets SMS aggregators, MNO`s and MVNO`s check the quality of SMS routes, using live nodes, limiting the risk of whitelisting and grey routes.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4435,"group_id":64,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Ticketing","slug":"what-is-ticketing","description":"<p><a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">Ticketing<\/a> is an integrated technology used by event organizers, venues, and promoters. Ticketing provides brands with a centralized platform where they can optimize the online customer experience, and enhance the transaction process; end-to-end.<\/p>","title":"What is Ticketing?","text":"<p>This includes registration, ticket sales, updates, reminders and invitations, entry validation, and additional purchases. <\/p><h2>How Does Ticketing Work?<\/h2><p>The <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">best ticketing apps<\/a> work by allowing your customers to book a ticket in seconds, enter any discount codes, select additional products, add contact details and marketing preferences and pay securely. All from one convenient secure platform.<\/p><p><img alt=\"ticketing platform analytics\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/ticketing-platform-analytics.svg\"><\/p><p>Once the booking process has been completed, the customer receives a scannable e-ticket. On arrival at the event, they can check in instantly using their phone, saving time and hassle and reducing the risk of lost tickets or receipts. <\/p><h2>How Does Ticketing Benefit Businesses and Consumers?<\/h2><p>Ticketing streamlines and automates the entire process of booking a ticket and attending an event or visiting a venue. Whether you\u2019re organizing a sports event, or selling tickets for a nightclub, museum, or theater, ticketing removes unnecessary admin, reduces errors, improves the customer experience, and increases loyalty.<\/p><p><strong>Here are four of the key benefits of ticketing for businesses and consumers:<\/strong><\/p><ul><li><strong>Deliver a Seamless Customer Experience <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Every touchpoint your customer has with your brand can be managed through the ticketing app. All bookings, payments, and marketing communications are handled in one centralized location, so your customer can complete purchases, receive useful updates and promotions, and manage all their tickets in a few clicks. The tickets are easily accessible at all times and long queues at events are a thing of the past. <\/p><p><img alt=\"ticketing branding identity\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/ticketing-branding-identity.svg\"><\/p><ul><li><strong>Boost Sales and Conversions<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Customers expect a swift and smooth user journey. Ticketing makes the whole process of booking and attending events easier, helping you increase sales and identify opportunities for remarketing. For example, you can send groups or individuals targeted promotions based on their interests and encourage them to make additional purchases relating to their event. <\/p><ul><li><strong>Get a Better Understanding of Your Customers <\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Ticketing gives you real-time insights into your customer behavior, including their interests and preferences. This valuable data can be used for marketing and promotional activities, such as sending personalized offers to loyal customers and alerting them to related events \u2013 all in their favorite mobile channel.<\/p><p><img alt=\"ticketing rich profiles\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/ticketing-rich-profiles.png\"><\/p><p>You can also use the data to get detailed information about visitor spending, popular or unpopular entry times, demographics, devices, payment methods, and much more. This helps you control costs, improve the user journey, identify potential partners (additional drinks providers, for example), and generally understand how to keep your customers loyal and engaged. <\/p><ul><li><strong>Increase Attendance and Reattendance<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>The best way to get visitors to return to your venue or event \u2013 and recommend it to others - is by showing them a great time. Visitors can scan their tickets at the door in seconds, helping to reduce queuing times. Furthermore, by ordering food and drink in advance, your customers will have more time to spend enjoying the event \u2013 and you\u2019re likely to increase sales too. <\/p><h2>How To Get Started With Ticketing <\/h2><p><a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">Getting started with ticketing<\/a> is simple and straightforward. In a matter of minutes, you can register an event, start taking bookings, processing payments, and communicating with your customers. If you want to<a href=\"\/app\/docs\/api\/ticket-shop-api\/2.0\/index\/\"> integrate Ticketing<\/a> with third parties or other suppliers, no problem.<\/p><p>So why stand by and let your competitors benefit from all that increased revenue and valuable audience data? <\/p><p>Join thousands of major events and sports clubs in 20 countries worldwide, and choose CM.com Ticketing to sell and promote your events.<\/p>","meta_title":"Ticketing - What is it & How does it Work? | CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"Ticketing is an integrated technology used by event organizers, venues, and promoters. Read more about Ticketing in our Glossary.","created_at":"2021-08-19T08:30:21.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-04-19T08:10:35.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4966,"group_id":73,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Time Slots","slug":"what-are-time-slots","description":"<p>Time Slots simply refers to the act of allocating dedicated windows of time to a ticketed event. <\/p>","title":"What Are Time Slots?","text":"<p>Also known as a calendar shop, Time Slots work by allowing customers to choose a specific date and duration of time from those available in a calendar menu when booking tickets for an event. This could be anything from five minutes to four hours and is completely customizable for the organizer.<\/p><p>This type of allocation is most commonly used at venues such as <a href=\"\/industries\/leisure-travel\/parks-museums\/\">museums, zoos, and parks<\/a> to allow visitors to choose when they want to visit or see a specific exhibition and helps to manage visitor flow throughout the day. Once all time slot options are gone, the event will be shown as sold out.<\/p><p>This isn\u2019t the only application, however. Time Slots can also be used by organizers of l<a href=\"\/industries\/leisure-travel\/festival-events\/\">arge-scale events such as festivals<\/a>, to control the arrival time of guests before the start of a show. In some instances, time slots can be used to manage smaller events within larger ones, such as booking spaces for workshops at conferences. This ensures they don\u2019t become over-subscribed.<\/p><p>Time Slots were especially useful when restrictions were imposed due to COVID-19, as they could be utilized as a means to effectively limit visitor numbers and more easily maintain social distancing for a safer environment.<\/p><h2>What Are The Benefits Of Time Slots?<\/h2><p>One of the main advantages of using Times Slots is that they allow organizers to have more control over visit numbers and thus more efficiently regulate visitor flow - keeping logistics in accordance with the guidelines of the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment. On the other side of the spectrum, they significantly impact how attendees <a href=\"\/blog\/facebook-conversion-api-for-ticketing\/\">experience<\/a> an event. <\/p><p>Combining flexibility and control, Time Slots present a turnover guarantee and reduction of no-shows as event organizers are more aware of visitor numbers, which they can better plan for. This insight into how many guests are present during certain time slots is hugely useful. It produces <a href=\"\/blog\/why-event-organizers-should-own-and-manage-their-data\/\">data<\/a> that can be used in the future, such as knowing which times of day are more popular depending on the event type, and when an organizer should allocate more tickets and assign more staff.<\/p><p><img alt=\"customer data platform music live\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/customer-data-platform-music-live.png\"><\/p><p>It\u2019s not only the organizer who benefits from Time Slots, however. Customers making use of the booking technique are presented with more flexible options for different times and dates, meaning they can better arrange their day around the event with peace of mind that they won\u2019t have to wait in line. With visitor numbers more efficiently managed, the event itself will also be less crowded and therefore less stressful for attendees. <\/p><p>Safety is another benefit. By managing visitor numbers, Time Slots means there will be better safety measures in place both in terms of social distancing and general overcrowding. <\/p><h2>Why Use CM.com\u2019s Time Slots Software?<\/h2><p>Time Slots aren\u2019t just about allocating tickets for specific dates and times. They offer an experience that competitors cannot by working in conjunction with a suite of <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">CM.com ticketing<\/a> tools that integrate together, seamlessly. It can keep <a href=\"\/blog\/supporter-data-sports-marketing\/\">supporters<\/a> up-to-date thanks to <a href=\"\/mobile-marketing-cloud\/\">Mobile Marketing Cloud<\/a> via <a href=\"\/campaigns\/\">SMS<\/a>, for example, so when they book a slot at an event they immediately get an SMS. Organizers can set up a flow so that buyers are kept up to date and sent relevant event information on the day.<\/p><p><img alt=\"campaigns recipients\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/campaigns-recipients.svg\"><\/p><p>CM.com software is based on one platform and so only requires one login. The advantage here is that users can add more products as and when they need to enrich how they offer their services. Whether that\u2019s <a href=\"\/ticketing\/\">ticket sales<\/a>, <a href=\"\/email-campaigns\/\">email campaigns<\/a>, or gathering and <a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">analyzing the data of your customers<\/a> to ensure better engagement, more easily, and all from one place. <\/p><p>If you want to learn more about CM.com\u2019s Time Slots product and how it works, check out our related products and solutions.<\/p>","meta_title":"What are Time Slots? | CM.com","meta_description":"Time Slots simply refers to the act of allocating dedicated windows of time to a ticketed event. Check out our glossary for more information.","created_at":"2021-12-14T15:56:16.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-08T11:46:16.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":47,"group_id":47,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)","slug":"what-is-two-factor-authentication","description":"<p>Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) protects online accounts by imposing two methods of user identification when a log-in is attempted. In addition to the traditional username and password, another piece of evidence \u2013 or factor \u2013 is required for verification, usually <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">a passcode from a personal device<\/a>.<\/p>","title":null,"text":"<p>Two-Factor Authentication is a better way to protect online accounts. Besides entering the password into your account you also have to enter an additional code that you generate through a personal device.<\/p><p>When you have to enter only your username and one password, that's considered a single-factor authentication. 2FA requires the user to have two out of three types of credentials before being able to access an account.<\/p><p>Two-Factor Authentication is the most effective and common type of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) for businesses to protect their systems and customers\u2019 online accounts from hacking, spamming, data theft, and more. It was pioneered by financial institutions \u2013 and for good reason. Every day, cybercriminals make millions of attempts to exploit weak or stolen credentials such as usernames and passwords, but MFA can block <a href=\"https:\/\/www.microsoft.com\/security\/blog\/2019\/08\/20\/one-simple-action-you-can-take-to-prevent-99-9-percent-of-account-attacks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">99.9%<\/a> of these compromise attacks. <\/p><h2>What Is an Example of 2FA?<\/h2><p>The <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-one-time-password\/\">One-Time Password (OTP)<\/a> is the best-known form of Two-Factor Authentication \u2013 and the terms are often used synonymously. As the name suggests, OTPs are security codes generated for single log-in attempts. <\/p><p><img alt=\"sms-one-time-password\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-one-time-password.svg\"><\/p><p>The first generation of OTPs were six-digit numbers sent as <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS messages<\/a>, but other types have emerged. The most widespread of these are <a href=\"\/push\/\">push notifications<\/a> sent to an app on a personal device. <\/p><p>OTPs can also be used beyond Two-Factor Authentication as an autonomous security mechanism where the traditional password is obsolete. Instead, an OTP is triggered every time a known user presents himself. This approach removes the risk involved in storing a password with the web service provider. In the event of a security breach, attackers go home empty-handed.<\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of 2FA?<\/h2><p>Reducing fraud and identity theft are not<a href=\"\/blog\/benefits-of-using-multi-factor-authentication\/\"> the only benefits of 2FA<\/a>. The additional layer of security increases customer trust; most people understand that the minor effort and occasional irritation of having to present an OTP are outweighed by the peace of mind that comes from knowing that your details are secure. <\/p><p>2FA also secures compliance with industry standards in <a href=\"\/blog\/multi-factor-authentication-use-cases\/\">health, ,ecommerce, education, finance, and government bodies<\/a>. <\/p><p>The increased security gained from 2FA bears down on operating costs because there is a cost in notifying customers that fraud may have occurred, and in dealing with cases of actual malfeasance and identity theft. The upfront investment in Two-Factor Authentication, whether mandated or not, soon pays for itself in reduced instances of suspected or real fraud. <\/p><h2>How Does Two-Factor Authentication Work?<\/h2><p>We are all familiar with 2FA systems through our banks, tax authorities, and eCommerce transactions. But how does the business that is verifying our identity \u201ctalk\u201d to the platform orchestrating passcodes and push notifications? <\/p><p>Two-Factor authentication works according to the same principle on almost every website: After typing your login name and password you need to enter an additional code or text that you receive via SMS or an additional app. Only after entering this extra code, you get access to the secure part of the site. <\/p><p>Two-factor authentication infrastructures use an API to integrate with business apps or websites. Through the API interface, the app or site \u201cknows\u201d whether an entered OTP is correct or not. Additional safeguards verify that the password had not elapsed before it was entered. <\/p><h2>How Can I set up 2FA for my business?<\/h2><p>Digital giants such as Microsoft or Google have their proprietary systems of Two-Factor Authentication, but the vast majority of businesses that want to secure account logins use 2FA service providers. These offer secure platforms for receiving or initiating OTP requests, sending the OTP as a text or through another channel, and verifying the OTP was entered correctly through the API as we described. <\/p><h2>Two-Factor Authentication via CM.com<\/h2><p>With CM.com\u2019s Two-Factor Authentication API, you can easily add an additional security layer beyond a username and password combination, making user credentials much more difficult to crack. <\/p><p>Our 2FA solution uses <a href=\"\/one-time-password\/\">one-time passwords (OTPs)<\/a> to authenticate users, secure account logins, and safeguard transactions via SMS (text message) or voice (phone call). SMS messages have an average <a href=\"\/blog\/open-rate-marketing-campaigns\/\">open rate of 98%<\/a> in less than 30 seconds, making them reliable and easily accessible for users. With OTPs, our two-factor authentication platform can improve the customer login experience in just one click.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is Two-Factor Authentication? And How does 2FA Work?","meta_description":"Two-factor authentication, or 2FA, is one of the most effective ways for businesses to protect their systems and customers\u2019 accounts from hacking.","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-07-13T06:17:22.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":48,"group_id":48,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Two-Way Messaging","slug":"what-is-two-way-messaging","description":"<p><a href=\"\/two-way-messaging\/\">Two-Way Messaging<\/a> is an SMS service that allows businesses to send and receive SMS, to give their customers an easy way to respond. Two-Way SMS can be sent from a <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">short code<\/a> or <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-long-code-long-number\/\">long number<\/a> via a <a href=\"\/developers\/\">messaging platform with the use of APIs<\/a>, to communicate with large numbers of customers effectively.<\/p>","title":"What Is Two-Way Messaging?","text":"<p>Two-Way SMS turns the simplest and best-known channel for mobile messaging into a channel for customer conversations. It massively expands the functionality of text messaging by giving users a platform for two-way communication with customers. Instead of treating <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a> as an outbound channel, it lets businesses send SMS messages and receive a reply on the same number at a minimum cost. <\/p><h3>Two Way SMS Combines Inbound and Outbound Text Messaging<\/h3><p>Such a messaging platform solves a major problem for businesses reaching out to customers: scaling up. By letting businesses both send SMS messages to thousands of people at once and reply near-instantly with a satisfactory response, it enables marketers to engage customers in goal-driven, service-focused conversations by text message.<\/p><p>Two-Way SMS Messaging brings you the specific tools and methods to make those communications truly interactive, inviting customers into back-and-forth exchanges using keywords, offer codes, choices of response, and even natural-language conversation. Like a chat window or instant messaging application, it lets marketers and customers talk to each other with simple text messages\u2014and does so by using the one method of mobile communication almost everyone on the planet is familiar with: SMS.<\/p><h2>How Does Two-Way SMS Work?<\/h2><p> <\/p><p>Two-Way SMS offers several options, each satisfying a different business case. You\u2019ve seen the short codes in common use, easier to remember than a phone number, but even short codes come in several variants. While Long Numbers look like traditional phone numbers, and are useful if you\u2019re reaching out to a more global audience. What matters here: setting up your Two-Way SMS with an <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-the-right-sms-gateway-api-direct-operator-connections\/\">expert SMS Gateway provider<\/a> means you won\u2019t have to deal with the complexities of market-by-market SMS messaging. <\/p><h3><img alt=\"two way sms reply\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/two-way-sms-reply.png\">SMS Short Codes <\/h3><p><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">SMS Short Codes<\/a> are the go-to method of voting in TV competitions, expressing interest in a special offer, or taking part in some customer service interactions like opening a trouble ticket. Offering a Short Code as a way for customers to contact you has a bonus: at just four or five digits long, it\u2019s far more memorable than a phone number. Most people won\u2019t even need to write it down first. <\/p><p>There are two flavors of short code SMS. The first\u2014and priciest!\u2014option is a Dedicated Short Code: your own private SMS channel. Everything texted to that code goes straight to your company, and no other company can use that number; it\u2019s even possible to customize the number to something your customers will remember, known as a Vanity Short Code. If you don\u2019t want a vanity, you\u2019ll be assigned a random five-digit number by your provider. <\/p><p>Answering a slightly different business scenario is the Shared Short Code. While messages to your company can stay just as private as with a dedicated code (see keywords, below) the actual five-digit number may be used by many companies. Since the provider is able to amortize the costs of that code between many customers, costs can be very competitive. <\/p><h3>SMS Long Numbers<\/h3><p>There\u2019s one issue with short codes: they tend to operate within a single country, set up for customers in that market and nowhere else. There\u2019s a reason for this: each SMS costs money, and enabling a short code worldwide opens up the risk of high-cost inbound and outbound communications with low- or no-value customers. Long numbers solve this. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><strong>Read more: <\/strong><a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-choose-between-short-code-or-long-number-the-5-main-differences\/\"><strong>How to Choose Between Short Code or Long Number? ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><p><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-long-code-long-number\/\">Long numbers<\/a> work in the same way as short codes\u2014text to the number, get a reply back\u2014but they\u2019re set up as normal phone numbers, letting customers send and receive wherever they are in the world (and also giving them a clue of the costs of doing so, since international customers will need to use an international dialing code).<\/p><p>Experienced providers such as CM.com go even further: offering customers a choice of local numbers in many countries, so each marketer feels in-market to its audience. This can make a huge positive difference to response rates and conversions. <\/p><h3>SMS Keywords<\/h3><p>If many marketers are sharing the same Short Code, how does the SMS infrastructure \u201csort\u201d the inbound text messages to make sure each goes to the right company? With SMS keywords. <\/p><p><img alt=\"two-way-messaging-short-codes\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/two-way-messaging-short-codes.svg\"><\/p><p>SMS keywords are the instructions you see when you receive an outbound marketing communication from a company whose list you\u2019ve opted into. A fast food company using a shared short code may make offers like \u201cReply FREEBURGER for your $5 voucher\u201d; an auto showroom using the same code will say \u201cReply USEDCARS\u201d. This keyword identifies which company the inbound text is for, and the messaging provider routes it accordingly. <\/p><h3>Automated Actions <\/h3><p>Of course, once a customer texts you back a response, you need to do something with it\u2014and that\u2019s where automated actions come in. This is how Two-Way SMS turns simple text messaging into something more like a conversation, even when thousands of people are doing it: the keywords they use to trigger an automatic sequence of actions that take the interaction further, without needing human involvement like a Customer Service Agent. <\/p><p><a href=\"\/customer-data-platform\/\">Automated actions<\/a> combine a fixed set of input data with precise rules governing what to do with it. For example, customers texting back YES2OFFER may all want your voucher\u2014but you may want to treat new customers (cellphone numbers not in your database) differently from those you already know. You may want to test several offers against each other in a single campaign\u2014does 50%OFF work better than 2FOR1? <\/p><p>Such data can help marketers plan campaigns and streamline offers to the ones that work best. And, of course, they can gather customer intelligence too\u2014if the keyword you put on billboards is OFFER99 while you put OFFER66 on your web ads, you can work out which advertising channel is performing best. <\/p><h3>Opt-In and Double Opt-In <\/h3><p>Of course, with the different business models incurring costs to one or both sides\u2014some Short Codes allow the marketer to debit $5 or more from the customer\u2014it\u2019s important to have safeguards. <a href=\"\/blog\/opt-in-text-messaging\/\">Opt-in<\/a> is the method of confirming a customer is happy to receive your outbound SMS messages, often by texting YES or SUB to a Short Code. <\/p><p>All reputable SMS messaging providers today use opt-in to confirm a customer genuinely wants to receive communications; <a href=\"\/blog\/sending-international-sms-country-specific-rules-regulations-and-habits\/\">many national regulations<\/a> legally require double opt-in, where a specific text response is needed before they\u2019re added to the database. If a provider approaches you offering non-opted-in lists: beware. <\/p><h2>Use Cases of Two-Way Messaging<\/h2><p>Combining different keywords and automated actions opens up a limitless set of possibilities for customer interaction\u2014and marketers can be very creative. Here are some common use cases for Two-Way SMS. <\/p><h3>Send Out Special Offers and Vouchers<\/h3><p>Among the most common is the simplest: outbound messages informing customers how to take advantage of offers, and incentivizing them by offering discounts and vouchers. If the customer responds with a YES, the next outbound SMS is a custom code that can be used when shopping. Ultra-savvy marketers even personalize these codes for the individual, so they know which customers redeemed it. <\/p><h3>Targeting Offers by Business Unit <\/h3><p>A useful feature of keywords is the way they can be combined. Businesses from SME size up will have many BUs offering different services: for example, a construction firm may have different departments for kitchen, bathroom, and furnace repairs. That firm can use a main keyword like REPAIR in several response variants\u2014like REPAIR BATH, REPAIR KIT, and REPAIR HEAT. <\/p><h3>A\/B Testing Offers<\/h3><p>A\/B testing is as old as marketing itself; word the same offer differently to two halves of a customer base, and see which version gains the highest conversion rate. Two-Way SMS Messaging makes it very easy\u2014and automatable.<\/p><h3>Gathering Timely Customer Feedback <\/h3><p><a href=\"\/departments\/marketing-and-sales\/\">Many marketers<\/a> use the directness of Two-Way SMS to find out what their customers think of them, often asking the \u201cUltimate Question\u201d of whether you\u2019d recommend the company to your friends and family. Responses can be rated in a range of ways\u2014for example, asking customers to text back on a scale of 0-10, where 0 is \u201cyour service was terrible\u201d and 10 means \u201cyour service was amazing\u201d. <\/p><p>This use case, finding the marketer\u2019s NPS or \u201cNet Promoter Score\u201d, illustrates how basic single-digit points can give extremely accurate data about customer attitudes\u2014while taking up very little of their time. <\/p><h3>Raising Funds for Good Causes<\/h3><p>For <a href=\"\/industries\/charities\/\">charities<\/a> in many countries, texted responses can do more than act as pledges to donate\u2014they\u2019re the donation itself, debited to the customer\u2019s phone bill. Of course, stringent legal conditions apply to any provider offering this\u2014make sure the provider you choose offers the service levels you want. <\/p><h3>Opening Customer Service Tickets<\/h3><p>Two-Way SMS can also act as a jumping-off point to a deeper interaction with a human, using a keyword such as TROUBLE that instantly alerts the Helpdesk. It\u2019s especially effective for existing customers\u2014by recognizing the number the text is coming from, the correct CSA for that customer can be instructed to act. If a customer\u2019s feeling stressed, a friendly phone call within two minutes can turn a negative experience positive again. <\/p><h3>Appointment Setting and Confirmation <\/h3><p>When meetings are booked, it\u2019s useful to confirm that appointment instantly, giving data like address, booking number, and even a link to a map. Because phones are personal items, carried everywhere, mobile messaging is the ideal way to make sure that information reaches customers at the right time. <\/p><h2>How to Improve Customer Engagement With Two-Way SMS?<\/h2><p>Perhaps the greatest advantage of Two-Way Messaging\u2014even more so than mobile messaging in general\u2014is its immediacy of impact. Almost everyone knows how to text; almost every phone in the world can use it. And research suggests the average text message is read within minutes of receipt, unlike email or voicemails. <\/p><p>This immediacy makes it great for building and deepening customer relationships\u2014not as a brand-building method in itself, but as support, reminding customers you\u2019re always there and always reachable. <\/p><h2>Why Use Two-Way Messaging?<\/h2><p>By giving consumers the possibility to receive SMS messages from a business, with the ability to send an immediate response, businesses can create meaningful conversations and build a strong customer experience. And because the applications used to manage those campaigns and responses are unified, with all your codes and keywords integrated into dashboards and other software like your CRM, Two Way Messaging goes beyond simple text messaging.<\/p><p><img alt=\"sms-gateway-analytics\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/sms-gateway-analytics.svg\"><\/p><p>With all the data and tools gathered together, managers can see metrics about large numbers of customers and set up actions (like callback, forward call, or send email) that answer their needs in the way they prefer. It\u2019s a way to leverage the simplest of all messaging channels into a sustained advantage for your organization. <\/p><h2>Benefits of Two-Way Messaging<\/h2><p>SMS is a long-established technology with a huge user base. As such, it opens you up to a large audience\u2014including, perhaps, people who haven\u2019t seen you on the web. Which is great for your acquisition and retention goals. <\/p><p>Offering SMS as a channel carries another advantage: whether you\u2019re blasting out offers or soliciting feedback, you\u2019ll often collect the bulk of data in mere minutes, as thousands of people respond to your text the moment they feel their phone buzz. <\/p><p>Two-Way SMS can also be very cost-effective. With a Shared Short Code and multiple keywords, many customer care pathways can be created and automated\u2014taking customers through even multi-stage service processes without requiring any human involvement. <\/p>","meta_title":"What Is Two-Way SMS and How Does It Work? CM.com Glossary","meta_description":"Two-Way Messaging is an SMS service to send large amounts of text messages to customers and enable them to reply. Read more in our Glossary >","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-14T06:19:59.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5572,"group_id":78,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Verification Chatbot","slug":"what-is-verification-chatbot","description":"<p>Verification chatbots are a simple and secure way to verify the identity of customers, allowing them to access and update their information online without the need to contact customer service teams directly.<\/p>","title":"What Is a Verification Chatbot?","text":"<p>Chatbots focusing on verification provide organizations and customers with a secure way of self-service. They allow customers to correct payment or contact information in a secure way, guarding against fraudulent access. If, for example, you need to verify a customer's identity before connecting them to a customer service team in order to discuss sensitive details of their account, a verification chatbot can provide a layer of security without requiring customer services to go through the time-intensive task of asking a series of security questions.<\/p><p>These types of bots can make life easier for your customer service team. If, for example, you need to verify a customer\u2019s identity before connecting them to a live agent in order to discuss sensitive details of their account, a verification <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">chatbot can provide a layer of security<\/a> without requiring customer services to go through the time-intensive task of asking a series of security questions. <\/p><p>Verification chatbots are particularly useful where financial information needs to be disclosed. For example, to update payment details for standing orders, to correct financial information, or to apply for a financial product online. By utilizing technologies such as <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-two-factor-authentication\/\">Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) <\/a>your chatbot can securely identify customers using their mobile numbers. It\u2019s simple to use: a customer is sent a code via <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a> or <a href=\"\/voice\/\">voice<\/a> \u2013 potentially after asking a security question for an added layer of protection \u2013 and is then asked to enter the code into the chatbot to verify their identity. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of a Verification Chatbot?<\/h2><p>Verification chatbots allow organizations to quickly verify that customers are who they say they are. This means customers can self-serve and update even sensitive financial and personal information with the knowledge their details are secure. Many people prefer to divulge sensitive information to a machine rather than a human, so a verification chatbot avoids any embarrassment on the part of the customer. <\/p><ul><li>Secure way of self-service. Customers can update their details in a secure way <\/li><li>Customers can share sensitive information without human interference. People tend to provide more honest answers to a machine <\/li><li>Organizations can quickly verify customers, saving customer service agents time <\/li><\/ul><h2>How to Get Started With a Verification Chatbot?<\/h2><p>Identify customers and secure online information with <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">chatbots<\/a> and <a href=\"\/sms\/\">SMS<\/a>, build it today with the software offered by CM.com. Our team is available to provide the support you need to future-proof your customer engagements.<\/p>","meta_title":"What is a verification chatbot? | CM.com","meta_description":"Verification chatbots are a simple and secure way to verify the identity of customers. Read more about verification chatbots in our Glossary.","created_at":"2022-05-03T09:20:01.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-05-03T09:45:05.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5671,"group_id":88,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Verified SMS","slug":"what-is-verified-sms","description":"<p><a href=\"\/sms\/verified-sms\/\">Verified SMS<\/a> adds a layer of authentication to <a href=\"\/sms\/\">regular SMS messages<\/a> by displaying your business name, logo, and verification badge in your business messages. Verified SMS is a Google product, and is only available to users of its Messages\u200b app for Android.<\/p>","title":"What Is Verified SMS?","text":"<p>Worldwide, over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/forbestechcouncil\/2021\/01\/06\/the-past-present-and-future-of-messaging\/?sh=4fea84fc9f17\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">23 billion SMS messages are sent each day<\/a>, so it is difficult for businesses to differentiate themselves in this space. This is where Google Verified SMS comes in; customers are much more likely to pay attention to a message from a trusted source, and that is not \u201cjunk SMS\u201d.<\/p><h2>Where is Verified SMS Available?<\/h2><p>Verified SMS has so far been launched in 10 countries: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, India, and the Philippines. Google intends to roll out the feature to other markets in the near future.<\/p><p><img alt=\"verified sms\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/verified-sms.png\"><\/p><p>Google has <a href=\"\/press\/cmcom-partners-with-google-for-verified-sms\/\">partnered with a range of SMS providers<\/a> to roll out Verified SMS. While most of these providers operate internationally, Verified SMS will not work in jurisdictions outside those sanctioned by Google. The system is watertight, and that is the point of the technology.<\/p><h2>How Does Verified SMS Work?<\/h2><p>When an eligible user receives an SMS message from a business registered with Verified SMS, Google translates the message into an unreadable, irreversible authenticity code, all on the user\u2019s device. Google then compares this code with unreadable, irreversible authenticity codes sent to Google by the business (or their SMS aggregator). If these codes match, Google confirms that the message is verified and applies branding and a verification badge to the message thread, as well as previewing any embedded URLs.<\/p><p>Google does not have access to the message content; its security protocol uses unreadable, irreversible authenticity codes which are automatically deleted when matched or after seven days \u2013 whichever comes first. <\/p><h2>What Are the Advantages of Using Verified SMS?<\/h2><p>Verified SMS helps businesses enhance their conversations with users, build trust, and prevent scams. Messaging services do not have spam filters as has long been common in email, and Google research has found that businesses greatly prefer receiving Verified SMS, largely for this reason.<\/p><h3>1. Security <\/h3><p>With Verified SMS companies add a security layer that enables them to be sure that their clients won`t experience issues with SMS fraud.<\/p><h3>2. Trust <\/h3><p>Verified SMS enables companies to build trust with their end-users, protect them from spoofing (<a href=\"\/blog\/what-is-smishing-and-how-do-you-prevent-it\/\">fraudulent SMS Messages<\/a>) and have a branded SMS inbox as proof of identity.<\/p><h3>3. Branded Inbox <\/h3><p>Companies can add a description of 100 character, logo and brand name (regardless if they use a <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-long-code-long-number\/\">long code<\/a> or <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-short-code\/\">short code<\/a>) to your profile. <\/p><h2><img alt=\"regular-sms-verified--sms-comparison\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/regular-sms-verified-sms-comparison.png\">What Is the Difference Between Verified SMS & RCS Business Messaging?<\/h2><p><a href=\"\/rcs\/\">RCS or Rich Communication Services<\/a> is the protocol that supports Android\u2019s Chat service. In many ways, RCS Business Messaging is a step up from Verified SMS as it offers a richer, more interactive experience. It is not restricted to users of Google\u2019s Messages app but can also be deployed on RCS-enabled users of Samsung's Messages.<\/p><p>Apart from the cost (RCS Business Messages is more expensive), the main difference is the service provider. Whereas Google provides Verified SMS in collaboration with its SMS aggregator partners, the lead partner for RCS Business Messaging is generally the mobile network operators. <\/p><h2>What Is the Difference Between Verified SMS & Google\u2019s Business Messages?<\/h2><p>These solutions have <a href=\"\/blog\/how-to-use-googles-business-messages\/\">different use cases<\/a> and are complementary to each other. <a href=\"\/googles-business-messages\/\">Google\u2019s Business Messages<\/a> \u200bis a mobile conversational channel with entry points on Google Maps, Search, and brand websites. These conversations are initiated by consumers and exist across Android devices, and through Maps on iOS. Conversely, Verified SMS messages are generally initiated by brands and exist within Google\u2019s Messages app. <\/p><h2>How Can I Start Verifying Business Messages?<\/h2><p>Businesses have to sign up to the platform of <a href=\"\/press\/cmcom-partners-with-google-for-verified-sms\/\">one of Google\u2019s SMS aggregator partners<\/a>. If you already use a mobile technology platform for other services, you can <a href=\"\/register\/\">register for Verified SMS<\/a> through its portal. After you have submitted the requested information, your brand will be verified \u2013 the process takes no longer than three days.<\/p><h3>Integrate CM.com's Business Messaging API<\/h3><p>Register for a postpaid contract on our platform to use our <a href=\"\/business-messaging-api\/\">Business Messaging API<\/a> and activate Verified SMS. Once we receive all additional information to get your business onboarded, we register your brand for Verified SMS on the Google Cloud Platform.<\/p><p>After approval by Google we will configure it in your account. Every time a message comes in, we hash it and send it to Googles Verified SMS Platform. Once Google verifies and processes the request, the inbox of the receiver updates and the message shows up in the Verified SMS inbox with a security check. <\/p>","meta_title":"Google Verified SMS - What Is It and How Can You Use it?","meta_description":"Verified SMS is a service enabled by Google, a product for Android users and Android Messages and Samsung Messages App. Read more in our glossary >","created_at":"2022-06-19T08:03:25.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-21T11:06:29.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":50,"group_id":50,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Virtual Phone Number","slug":null,"description":"Virtual phone numbers are not directly terminated, but rather forwarded to another number. With a Virtual phone number you can have a Dutch number which forwards to a US one, so a US company has a \"virtual\" number in the Netherlands.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-14T05:27:46.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":51,"group_id":51,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Voice API","slug":null,"description":"With a Voice API, any developer can create and maintain call flows. You won\u2019t need to integrate voice systems yourself to build IVR applications.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-14T05:28:14.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":52,"group_id":52,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Voice Notification API","slug":null,"description":"This voice API converts text to speech and is much used for notifications and Two-factor Authentication. Voice notification is available through API and our platform and consists of notifications (call, play and hang up), OTP and Get DTMF apps. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":53,"group_id":53,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Voice Wizard","slug":null,"description":"The CM Webtool to create simple IVR Inbound campaigns. Upload and sort voice prompts, design scenarios and get reporting.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":4948,"group_id":72,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Voicebot","slug":"what-is-a-voicebot","description":"<p>A voicebot is a conversational agent that uses artificial intelligence and natural language understanding (NLU) to interpret the intent and meaning in the speech of its conversational partner. We also refer to this technology as 'Conversational IVR'.<\/p>","title":"What Is a Voicebot?","text":"<p><a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/voicebots\/\">Voicebots<\/a> use input voice recognition and translation (commonly referred to as speech-to-text or STT) alongside a text-to-speech (TTS) engine to understand human speech and respond using everyday language. <\/p><p>When you think of voicebots, your mind may instantly jump to the likes of AI voice assistants like Alexa or Siri. But in the customer service world, conversational interactive voice response (IVR) is quickly becoming one of the most utilized forms of conversational AI. <\/p><p>In simple terms, conversational IVR is the technology behind a voicebot, allowing callers to engage with a self-service solution with their voice. In contrast to traditional IVR, there is no static menu and callers don't have to dial in numbers. Conversational IVR can understand full sentences in voice and can even understand context. The voicebot will then reply in full sentences, allowing callers to lead the conversation.<\/p><p><img alt=\"human handover\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/caic-humanhandover-left.png\"><\/p><p>With a voicebot, you can not only route customers to the right agent, but also facilitate service. For example, you can use conversational IVR to answer customer queries, to update customers on the status of an order, or to assist customers in updating personal information like an address or telephone number. <\/p><p>Traditionally with <a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-ivr\/\">IVR<\/a>, callers would have to dial in numbers (referred to as touch-tone user inputs) in order to be redirected to the right person or department. Conversational IVR offers a faster, smoother, and more personal experience for customers. <\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><strong>Read more: <\/strong><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-ivr\/\"><strong>What is IVR? ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><h2>Voicebots vs Chatbots <\/h2><p>Like a voicebot, a <a href=\"\/chatbot\/\">chatbot<\/a> is an automated conversational interface powered by artificial AI, which you can use to automate and streamline your early-stage customer service interactions. <\/p><p>While voicebots can interpret the spoken voice and communicate in kind, chatbots are text-based messaging solutions that interpret written text and respond using text \u2013 facilitating a conversation between bot and user that mimics person-to-person messaging conversations. Since a voicebot converts speech to text and text to speech to communicate, it can use the exact same database as your AI chatbot is using. <\/p><p>Voicebots and chatbots both have their advantages, and you can use both to help provide customers with channels that suit their communication preferences. <\/p><h2>What Are the Benefits of Voicebots? <\/h2><p><a href=\"\/blog\/voicebots-for-customer-service\/\">Voicebots can provide several benefits to customer service teams<\/a>. Let\u2019s look at a handful of some of the biggest. <\/p><h3>Provide a Smoother Customer Support Experience <\/h3><p>The touch-tone method, where callers must press specific numbers in order to be connected to the right department or agent, can be irritating and time-consuming for customers. <\/p><p>In contrast, conversational IVR offers a more fluid form of communication, seamlessly connecting callers to the right agent or department and providing the information they need. <\/p><p>Since you can use the same database and dialogs as for all your other <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/\">Conversational AI solutions<\/a>, you guarantee the same answer on any channel. Whether a customer asks a question to your chatbot, looks it up on your dynamic FAQ page, or asks it to the voicebot; the answer will be the same. If you want to change an answer, such as opening hours, you only have to change it once and all your bots will be up-to-date. <\/p><h3>Offer 24\/7 Customer Support <\/h3><p>Customers hate to wait. But your customer service representatives can\u2019t always be available. Whether agents are overwhelmed by high call volumes or customers call outside of working hours, your agents\u2019 availability and customer needs don\u2019t always align. <\/p><p>Luckily, conversational IVR can offer fast, round-the-clock self-service support to customers. This ensures customers can get a response to their customer queries and issues 24\/7 \u2013 without having to wait on holds for hours. <\/p><h3>Enable Self-Service Options <\/h3><p>Autonomous customers are happy customers. You can put conversational IVR to good use, helping customers to source information and make their own changes \u2013 such as updating an old password or canceling a subscription to a service. This helps customers feel empowered and self-sufficient and helps them swerve time-consuming conversations with customer service representatives. <\/p><h3>Improve Employee Satisfaction Rates <\/h3><p>In addition, voicebots can help reduce customer service teams\u2019 workloads, reduce stress levels, and improve employee satisfaction levels. Conversational IVR takes the stress and pressure off your customer service agents by handling a high number of customer questions. This frees your agents up to focus on more complex and less tedious aspects of customer service. <\/p><h3>Scale Without the Expense <\/h3><p>It\u2019s expensive to recruit and train a large number of customer service agents and ensure that there are enough people on staff to answer customer queries around the clock. In addition, voicebots help with call reduction by addressing customer questions and issues \u2013 reducing the number of lengthy and costly calls between customers and agents. <\/p><p>Moreover, in comparison to conversational IVR, maintaining legacy IVR systems can be expensive. Voicebots offer companies the ability to scale and meet customer support needs cost-effectively. <\/p><h2>How to Get Started with Voicebots <\/h2><p>Voicebots provide a more seamless, natural way for customers to communicate with technology. By reducing workloads for customer service representatives, offering 24\/7 customer support, and allowing you to scale without the expense, voicebots are a smart way to address your front-line customer service needs. Head here to <a href=\"\/conversational-ai-cloud\/voicebots\/\">get started with voicebots<\/a> for your business. <\/p>","meta_title":"What Are Voicebots? Conversational IVR Benefits & More | CM.com","meta_description":"A voicebot is based on Conversational IVR technology; able to understand human speech and respond in a natural way. Discover what it is & the benefits","created_at":"2021-11-10T14:39:43.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-10T07:48:08.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":49,"group_id":49,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"VoIP","slug":"what-is-voip","description":"<p><a href=\"\/voice\/\">Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP<\/a> is a technology that allows people to make phone calls over the internet, instead of a legacy analog phone line. With VoIP you can make calls using your laptop, tablet, smartphone or VoIP-compatible office phone hardware.<\/p>","title":"What is VoIP?","text":"<p>VoIP was originally <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/VocalTec\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">developed in 1995 by VocalTec Communications<\/a>, and has soared in popularity in recent years thanks to the stability and reliability of up-to-date broadband connectivity and the mass shift to remote and hybrid working brought about by the pandemic. It\u2019s now the number one choice for most modern businesses when upgrading their phone systems. <\/p><h2>How Does VoIP Work?<\/h2><p> <\/p><p>VoIP is a phone system that uses the internet to make and receive phone calls, rather than the regular landline network. Traditional phone systems carry voice signals using analog phone lines, which requires legacy technologies such as <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Public_switched_telephone_network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Integrated_Services_Digital_Network\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)<\/a>, both of which are set to be decommissioned.<\/p><p><img alt=\"worldwide sip trunking\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/worldwide-sip-trunking.png\">VoIP, on the other hand, converts your voice into digital signals, which are then sent to a business phone service provider using your internet connection before it\u2019s routed to your customer\u2019s phone. This process happens nearly instantly which is why VoIP sound quality is often better than traditional phone calls.<\/p><h2>What is a VoIP Phone?<\/h2><p>A VoIP phone is a dedicated piece of office hardware that uses IP technology to transmit calls. While it might look and perform like a traditional telephone, a VoIP phone makes calls over the internet - converting your voice into packed data that is pushed out over the internet and played back for the other person to hear.<\/p><p>Unlike legacy phone hardware, a VoIP phone will work no matter where you are, and as long as you have internet, you\u2019ll be able to make and receive calls. You don\u2019t need a physical phone in order to make calls either, as these can also be made via an app installed on your smartphone or computer.<\/p><h2>What Are Examples of VoIP?<\/h2><p>There are numerous examples of VoIP, including Unified Communications (UC), Over the Top Communications applications such as Skype, Voice over Wi-Fi, Voice of LTE, and <a href=\"\/voice\/sip-trunk\/\">SIP Trunking<\/a>. <\/p><p>Unified communications (UC) is a term for the integration of multiple enterprise communication tools, such as voice calling, video conferencing on Zoom and <a href=\"\/voice\/microsoft-teams\/\">Microsoft Teams<\/a>, instant messaging (IM), and content sharing, into a single, streamlined interface, with the goal of improving user experience (UX) and productivity. <\/p><p>SIP Trunking, on the other hand, is a digital alternative to the analog phone. This technology allows organizations to connect multiple channels directly to an <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/IP_PBX\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IP-enabled Private Branch Exchange (PBX)<\/a>, enabling employees to make long-distance phone calls via the internet.<\/p><p class=\"ql-align-right\"><a href=\"\/glossary\/what-is-sip-trunk\/\"><strong>What is SIP Trunking? ><\/strong><\/a><\/p><h2>What is a VoIP Number?<\/h2><p> A <a href=\"\/numbers\/\">VoIP number<\/a> is simply a conventional telephone number that is assigned to a user, rather than a specific telephone line. Virtual telephone numbers look and work the same as any other number, and take the form of a string of digitals that can be entered on the dial pad to connect a call.<\/p><h2>Why Use a VoIP Provider?<\/h2><p> A <a href=\"\/voice\/\">VoIP provider<\/a> is an entity that offers VoIP services directly to consumers or businesses, and if you want to enjoy all of the benefits that the technology has to offer, it\u2019s crucial that you have one for your business.<\/p><p><img alt=\"voice-management\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/voice-management.svg\"><\/p><p>A VoIP provider will help you ensure that your employees understand how to use the technology, and will ensure you\u2019re on the right plan for you and your business. Most modern <a href=\"\/blog\/the-benefits-of-voip-for-business\/\">VoIP providers will also offer additional benefits beyond VoIP<\/a>, such as entire business communications solutions that enable your business to send files over the internet, manage and route all incoming calls, and host and join video conferences no matter where you are.<\/p><h2>What are VoIP benefits?<\/h2><ul><li><strong>Cost savings: <\/strong>One of the biggest advantages of VoIP is that it\u2019s far more affordable than traditional telephony. Most VoIP providers will offer unlimited domestic calls for free while offering deals on international calls that make calling abroad cheaper than if using a legacy phone system. VoIP is also cheaper when it comes to maintenance and repairs.<\/li><li><strong>Flexibility:<\/strong> Most businesses have embraced a hybrid way of working, which means employees no longer have to be in an office on a full-time basis. VoIP supports this new way of working as it doesn\u2019t require you to be sat by your desk phone in order to make and receive calls. Rather, you can make and receive calls wherever you are using your laptop, smartphone, or tablet device, which also makes it a great solution for frequent travelers.<\/li><li><strong>Improved scalability:<\/strong> VoIP has the added benefit of being able to grow with your business. If you\u2019re expanding your team or opening a new office, you can add new members to your VoIP system with just a few clicks. This can also save costs on having to buy new equipment, as you can simply have new employees install an app on their phones.<\/li><li><strong>Advanced features: <\/strong><a href=\"\/voice\/voice-api\/\">VoIP offers much more functionality<\/a> than traditional phone systems. For example, most VoIP providers make it easy to set up conference calls, offer a virtual receptionist and call waiting, and enable you to add video conferencing support.<\/li><\/ul>","meta_title":"What Is Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and How Does It Work","meta_description":"Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP is a technology to make phone calls over the internet instead of a phone line. Read more in our glossary","created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-06-02T15:48:24.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":54,"group_id":54,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Web app","slug":null,"description":"Besides API and SDK integration, CM offers most products as web apps as well. By using the web apps on our platform, you\u2019ll gain easy access to all CM\u2019s products for messaging, payments, voice and authentication. ","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":5791,"group_id":93,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"What is CCaaS?","slug":"what-is-ccaas","description":"<p>Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS) solutions describe SaaS applications that provide the functionality to replicate a traditional, fully-fledged contact center. CCaaS software contains a host of communication features, enabling companies to communicate with customers via one solution.<\/p>","title":"What is Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)?","text":"<p>CCaaS solutions are usually designed to work with a company\u2019s existing technology stack, simplifying the process of creating a future-proof contact center. It's hosted by the provider - not the end user. <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/\">CCaaS software<\/a> contains a wide range of features, including all those that are likely to serve modern contact center operations, including call routing, recording, analytics, CRM integrations, and more. <\/p><p>Instead of building their own contact center, businesses can choose CCaaS software, opting for ongoing OpEx subscription fees over substantial, one-off CapEx costs. This means you don\u2019t have to commit to multiple subscriptions for inbound and outbound communication channels, or even hardware telephony solutions. CCaaS offerings are all-in-one cloud-based solutions, with all tools you need as a contact center. These offer a number of advantages that are likely to suit many businesses. <\/p><h2>CCaaS vs CPaaS vs UCaaS: What\u2019s the difference?<\/h2><p>CCaaS is just one of several different approaches that businesses are taking to their communication strategies. Two other popular solutions are <a href=\"\/communications-platform\/\">Communication Platform as a Service<\/a> (CPaaS) and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS). All three approaches are cloud-based, provider-hosted, and offer benefits in terms of affordability, scalability, and flexibility. There are, however, key differences between the three forms of software. <\/p><p>CCaaS is primarily concerned with external communications, facilitating interactions with consumers. This is in contrast with UCaaS solutions, which have a much greater focus on internal collaboration, and CPaaS, which is more developer-focused. UCaaS provides a centralized, omnichannel interface for both internal and external communication. CPaaS provides standards-based APIs so organizations can create their own bespoke communication channels by either building apps from scratch or adding communication features to existing software. CCaaS, on the other hand, is often still multi-channel but is always geared towards improving the customer experience. <\/p><p><a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/\"><img alt=\"Mobile Service Cloud channel agnostic\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cm.com\/cdn\/web\/channels-for-ecommerce-human.png\"><\/a><\/p><h2>The benefits of CCaaS<\/h2><p>The reason for the growing popularity of CCaaS software - the global CCaaS market is predicted to reach <a href=\"https:\/\/www.juniperresearch.com\/press\/ccaas-market-value-to-near-16bn-by-2027\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">$15.6 billion<\/a> by 2027 - is the number of advantages it grants business, These include: <\/p><ul><li><strong>Affordability: <\/strong>Managing your own contact center - both in terms of hardware and software can be expensive. With CCaaS solutions, these costs are covered by a third-party cloud provider, with businesses paying a recurring subscription fee. As well as reducing costs, this can also simplify them.<\/li><li><strong>Scalability:<\/strong> When businesses expand, they must ensure that their communication solutions can manage their increased needs in terms of bandwidth, storage, and connectivity. This growth can create an administrative burden when handled in-house but a cloud CCaaS solution can scale up and down rapidly to meet company needs.<\/li><li><strong>More detailed customer insights: <\/strong>The built-in analytics tools accompanying CCaaS solutions can help businesses gain a greater understanding of their customers - when they were last contacted, what their preferred communication channel is, and track voice sentiment. More advanced solutions can even employ predictive analytics to forecast future customer behavior.<\/li><li><strong>Higher quality service:<\/strong> Instead of simply posting a contact number online, a CCaaS solution offers customers a more responsive experience. Businesses can ensure that calls are returned wherever their employees are based, while integrated CRM tools support the creation of more positive customer relationships.<\/li><\/ul><h2>What's the best CCaaS solution?<\/h2><p>There are a number of different CCaaS solutions on the market, each claiming different strengths that will take company communication to new heights. At CM.com, our <a href=\"\/mobile-service-cloud\/\">Mobile Service Cloud<\/a> solution is an all-in-one CCaaS offering that provides everything a modern customer service team could possibly need. <\/p><p>Mobile Service Cloud allows businesses to interact with their customers via any channel and social media platform from one inbox, or automate their conversations using a chatbot. Our recent addition of native telephony demonstrates our commitment to continually improving the omnichannel customer experience offered by Mobile Service Cloud. That\u2019s part of the reason why it was named <a href=\"\/press\/best-ccaas-solution-and-best-conversational-commerce-solution-juniper-research\/\">Best CCaaS Solution by Juniper Research<\/a>. <\/p><p>We will continue to focus on adding new features and channels to Mobile Service Cloud, ensuring that it meets - and exceeds - the evolving communication needs of our clients.<\/p>","meta_title":"CCaaS explained: CCaaS meaning, benefits & best CCaaS solution","meta_description":"What is CCaaS? In this article, you'll find what Contact Center as a Service is, the benefits, and the differences between CCaaS, CPaaS & UCaaS.","created_at":"2022-08-16T09:46:29.000000Z","updated_at":"2022-08-16T14:56:10.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
{"id":55,"group_id":55,"localisations_l10n":"en","status":"active","name":"Whitelisting","slug":null,"description":"Testing SMS routes with the same numbers, as done with SIM boxes, results in Whitelisting. This means that algorithms will determine these numbers as priority numbers. Whitelisting of mobile numbers gives a distorted view of messaging delivery rates and route quality.","title":null,"text":null,"meta_title":null,"meta_description":null,"created_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","updated_at":"2021-04-07T08:25:45.000000Z","deleted_at":null}
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