Missed Call Marketing

Whether you have calling balance in your phone or no balance at all, most people are into the habit of giving missed calls. It is a widespread behavior in India where users dial a family member’s or a friend’s number and then quickly disconnect on purpose in order to signal something such as “call me back” or “I’ve reached home safely”, etc.

On observing this behavior, few companies like ZipDial, VivaConnect and others have spotted an opportunity to utilize it as a strategy for consumer engagement.

What exactly is Missed Call Marketing (MCM)?

When consumers opt into ads by dialling a number and hanging up before the call connects, a service is provided where they receive text messages and calls with ads, deals, coupons or offers in them. More importantly, the customer preferences and loyalties are recorded as to what they’re interested in and what they ask for information about. This is known as MCM.

Now you must be wondering if people really give miss calls to get some advertisement or promotional offers. Well, yes! Bangalore-based company ‘ZipDial’ started in 2010 asked the cricket fans to send a missed call and get the score of the day. The day India played Pakistan; the company got 4 million calls.  Just imagine!  With initial success in India, it expanded globally and was recently bought by Twitter.

Soon, big brands like Hindustan Unilever, RedBus, State Bank of India (SBI), TaxiForSure, etc; started to opt for the same marketing strategy to grab the attention of the customers and provide easy services.

Will it be a success in India?

In a country like India, where everybody cannot afford a smart phone or internet services, giving missed calls (free of cost) is the simplest thing anyone can do to get some service and so this type of marketing service has got a good scope.

“The wide use of missed calls in developing countries can be attributed to a multitude of factors, including: there is no cost associated with making a missed call; it’s easy and fast; it’s the simplest call to action; it’s universally understood and accepted; there is no app to install, no account to create; and, above all, it is a human-powered ecosystem that’s already in place,” says Salman Jamali, founder and CTO of the Karachi-based Flashcall Inc., Pakistan’s first MCM platform.

Here are five things you can do in India by ringing a number and hanging up.

Banking: Some banks like SBI, Federal Bank and others, let customers check their bank balance or get a mini statement on their cell phones by giving a missed call on the bank’s number. The information comes via a text message.

Voting: People can now vote for their favourite contestants in Indian reality dance shows by giving a missed call on the number associated with the contestant flashed on their screens.

Job hunting: Do not have internet access? Just give a missed call to Quikr.com on +91 1800 1033 331, and hang up. They will call back and prepare an on-the-spot resume for you. Details of jobs available, including a number to call to apply for the position is also provided.

Entertainment: Give missed calls to listen to songs, advertisements, chit-chat between anchors, etc.

Connect with the PM: Give a missed call on +91 8190 881 908, and get a call back on which you can hear a recording of PM Narendra Modi’s monthly radio talk - “Mann ki Baat”.