It’s raining messages: our annual forecast
Let us get out our greenscreens and our doppler radar–it’s time to make our predictions for what’s coming next in messaging.
PREDICTIONS
Our forecast: your action plan
Expect climate change
There’s a cold front that’s sweeping through and threatening to put a chill on messaging across a few channels.
Consent
Consent is king for messaging. Requirements for opt-in consent to receive messages, especially in the marketing context, have been implemented and enforced around the world under the ePrivacy Directive and GDPR in Europe, PECR in the UK, and the TCPA in the United States, just to name a few. In addition, privacy and data protection laws govern how any business collects data about end users and manages their consent. Consent is a crucial consideration to keep your messaging above board.
Action plan:
- Check your process for getting clear opt-in consent from message recipients when required.
- Make sure that your messaging provider is familiar with compliance rules.
- Work with your legal counsel to review your messaging strategy for compliance.
Cookies are crumbling
Oh cookies, the deliciously easy way we used to know if any of our marketing efforts were actually working. They’re over.
Action plan:
- Invest in first party and zero party data tracking. (You can do this! Yes, it’s a pain, but it’s worth it in the long run.)
- Engage with your opted-in audience directly to grow your relationship.
“Customers expect transparency in marketing. They are smart and savvy, and they increasingly demand the brands they work with to be smart and savvy, too. A privacy-forward marketing strategy helps to earn trust and make a strong impression.”
Laura Chipman
Vice President and Deputy General Counsel,
Privacy and Marketing
Bandwidth
Increasing carrier fees
Carriers are businesses too, and they need to make profits. When text messaging first came on the scene, they were delivering messages without profiting from them. How lovely! We know you probably wish the world could continue this way forever, but it can’t. Surcharges remain the most effective way for carriers to drive adoption of the registration requirements they are using to improve the health of their messaging traffic. Messaging is getting more expensive. Just like your morning latte.
Action plan:
- Be proactive with your budgeting process. Make sure you’re being strategic with which messages you’re sending.
- Weed out inactive users to reduce list size with a number lookup tool.
- Keep calculating your ROI, you’ll likely see that messaging continues to be a great buy for your business.
From 2021 to 2023, the average cost for a brand to send an SMS internationally nearly doubled from $0.033 to $0.064.¹
Bad apples
SPAM messages, phishing scams, smishing, and other forms of bad traffic still manage to get through. This can reflect poorly on good senders and result in legitimate messages getting blocked.
Action plan:
- Do your part by making sure your traffic is 100% registered.
- Check that you have clear opt-ins from all users.
- Regularly monitor your traffic to ensure you’re complying with CTIA guidelines.
68% of respondents
reported feeling either more optimistic or the same about the regulatory ecosystem in 2023 compared to 2022.²
Security risks
2023 saw way too many large scale data breaches happening across contact centers, customer support portals, and more.
Action plan:
- Invest in security, including two-factor authentication, in every part of your system, from your internal communications platform, to your contact center, to your messaging platform.
- Make sure you have a robust vendor due diligence process in place
- Get your CTO, CIO, CISO, and CMO collaborating to find the best solutions that balance security and CX.
Phishing/smishing attacks are down 9% in the U.S.,
but up in several countries including Brazil, China, and France, according to MEF survey data³
Sunny days are ahead
AI comes to your inbox
AI will be popping up in more and more messaging use cases going forward. It’s a tool that simultaneously allows for more efficiency, and richer personalization. In fact, companies are already finding creative ways to make their messaging stronger with AI tools. Wyndham Hotels & Resorts recently launched a platform for guests to interact with hotels by text and get replies from either an AI assistant, or, for questions AI cannot yet answer, a staff member.
71% of respondents
say they’re somewhat or very optimistic about the future of text messaging²
Stepping into the future
We’re bullish on messaging because in our work we get to see how both notifications and conversations via text are benefitting both companies and consumers. We continue to expand our own global coverage in messaging, and are committed to helping our customers grow their own messaging strategies in ways that help create a healthy industry ecosystem.
“I believe text messaging will continue to be the best and most effective personal communication channel.”
Juan Vera
CEO
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1. Mobilesquared, “Sky-heigh SMS Rates Damaging Long-term Opportunity for A2P SMS; Brand Spend on Channel to Fall from 2024”
2. Bandwidth Business Survey
3. Mobile Ecosystem Forum, “General Mobile Behaviour”
“The past year in messaging has left me dizzy. We’ve essentially seen over a decade of change in the span of 12-18 months. That said, messaging had a lot of catching up to do with other communication channels, and I do think we’re getting to a place of more stabilization. I’m excited for the future of messaging because as we see stabilization, I anticipate we’ll see businesses able to dedicate more time and energy to evolving new features and more awesome and sophisticated use cases.”
Caitlin Long
Director Commercial Product Management
Bandwidth