GOAT Interactive: Enhanced customer engagement with 2-way SMS and OTP

47.3m

messages

87%

delivery rate

Challenge

Lack of effective customer engagement solutions and immaturity of the market

The African Betting and Gaming marketplace is growing at an unprecedented rate due to constantly improving connectivity on the continent.

With the prime objective to increase its footprint on the continent, GOAT Interactive is committed to the digital enhancement of companies in the African online gaming and betting space. They knew how important it is to effectively communicate the right messages at the right time.

It’s crucial for them to keep customers informed about upcoming sports events and resulting betting opportunities. Due to the limited penetration of smartphones on the continent, SMS is the most optimal channel for customer communication.

However, a few factors stood in the way of the businesses’ plans for growth:

  • Lack of communication infrastructure
  • Immaturity of the market compared to Europe and the U.S.
  • Costly network delays
  • Risk of lost messages or shifts in transmission/reception

The group worked with various solutions providers, including telecommunications companies, but their geographical coverage remained limited. It was necessary to deliver rapid, efficient, and reactive communication to benefit their existing client base.

GOAT Interactive needed the highest quality of service, a high delivery rate, and a unique partner to ease day-to-day operations for practical reasons.

Solution

Effective and secure 2-way SMS messaging and OTP solutions

GOAT Interactive identified Infobip SMS as an ideal communication solution to engage customers and inform them about gaming and betting space developments. They had very particular criteria in their search for a suitable SMS solution provider. The service needed to be reliable and compatible with different mobile networks.

GOAT Interactive started exploring the possibility of signing up for our 2-way SMS messaging and switching providers for SMS OTP solutions in 2019. The 2-way messaging service would cover more than ten countries in Africa, allowing customers to subscribe, verify balances and reset PINs.

Thanks to our established and extensive global mobile network, GOAT Interactive is able to reach their potential and existing customer base through a holistic customer journey.

We extended our marketing activities with GOAT Interactive throughout the collaboration in 2020. Having become the partner of choice, we were thoroughly acquainted with the company’s aspiration to increase its market share in Africa.

Result

Increased market share with 47.3 million messages exchanged

Goat Interactive is using Infobip’s A2P SMS to notify customers about upcoming game events while allowing them to place bets on their favourite teams. Using SMS for two-factor authentication also prevents fraud, and protects customers’ personal information when setting up their accounts.

The implementation of our solution was a major success for the business. Between 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, Goat Interactive sent 47.3 million messages with a delivery rate of 87%.

Since implementing these solutions, GOAT Interactive started seeing gains in its market share. Through Infobip’s responsive support, their customers’ requests were answered immediately, and technical challenges were significantly reduced.

After being equipped to reach its target market, GOAT Interactive will start focusing on expanding its business and improving their customer engagement and automation rate further.

For us it is vital to ensure that all our of communications are delivered in a timely fashion so that customers our can react to them accordingly. Deliverability and scale have always been the biggest challenge for us working in the African market . Infobip have been able to support us in finding a resolution to this challenge. They have the best delivery rates in the marketplace, including in some countries where networks do not have the strongest coverage. As well as finding routes to deliverability that others could not unlock. Infobip’s support has enabled Goat Interactive to find that deliverability and ensure that all are communications are getting to our customers in timely and relevant fashion. Infobip has ensured that we are able to get our messaging in front of the right players at the right time to cause the right action that fundamentally increases revenue in the business.

Richard Lee

Director of Online Marketing and Sales