AI Issue 4 2017

56 Acquisition International - April 2017 The company (and brand) that Samantha van Putten represents is BulkSMS.com, founded in a garage in Cape Town, South Africa, in the year 2000. It was one of the first SMS messaging platforms started in the early days of SMS marketing. In this Prominent Women in Business series, Samantha tells us about her own career and the growing strength of the BulkSMS.com brand. ulkSMS.com has grown from strength to strength over the last 17 years and now offers SMS delivery to over 800 mobile networks in more than 200 countries. They started by offering a very basic web to SMS service, where customers could log on to the website and send SMS messages directly from the web platform. They very soon created an SMS API, which gave their customers the ability to SMS enable their own websites or applications. In 2005, they developed their very own desktop application (now available on Windows and Mac), which naturally led to the creation of their BulkSMS iPhone App. Samantha then explains in more detail what the firm offers. “We provide, offer and support application-to- person (A2P) messaging services to large and small businesses, public benefit organisations and individuals. The types of messages being sent through our SMS gateway range from automated machine to machine communications, two factor authentication or verification codes, transactional SMS messages, enhanced marketing and sales campaigns to simple appointment reminders”. “SMS is available on all mobile handsets (there are currently over 4 billion mobile phone users worldwide, expected to exceed 5 billion before July this year), making it an ideal channel for short and important business communications.” Current job role and career path Samantha started off her career doing software support for a financial services software provider. One of Samantha’s clients hired her to do their administration work, and from there she was approached internally to become a personal assistant to one of the company’s directors. It was at this stage that she was encouraged to study. It took her 5 years, and 3 role changes to complete her BCom, through part time studies. She then tells us more about what her next career steps were. “Each role I entered into during this time added to my marketing exposure, aiding me in my studies Company: BulkSMS.com Name: Samantha van Putten Email: [email protected] Web: www.bulksms.com Phone: +27 21 528 3420 IncomingMessage B 1704AI33 and life experiences. For the most part, I worked as a marketing assistant at a joint venture (MTN Banking) between one of South Africa’s mobile network providers (MTN) and one of the big four South African banks (Standard Bank)”. “I was tasked with ensuring the corporate brand identity of the network provider was upheld, as well as making certain that the financial regulations were adhered to when it came to the advertising of a financial product. It is a tricky task ensuring adherence to two major brands, from very different perspectives, but I believe it gave me a very solid understanding of the importance of brand identity and brand consistency. These are lessons that I continue to draw from in my daily role”. “In 2008, as a fresh graduate, I started at BulkSMS. com. Initially as a copywriter, but with the branding experience from my marketing role at MTN Banking, I was soon tasked with heading up all of the marketing and communications initiatives for the BulkSMS.com brand, both locally in South Africa and worldwide. Within two years of joining BulkSMS I was responsible for the full marketing budget.” Samantha adds that over the last 9 years, she has built on and grown the existing brand, including an extensive re brand in early 2010. She has been responsible for two iterations of the firm’s website, (as she believes it is important to stay up to date with current web trends). Her current responsibilities cover everything from brand, marketing and communications strategy creation to the implementation of all things brand and marketing related. “My role and responsibilities at BulkSMS.com continue to grow as the company does, and the challenges faced each year, as we understand more about our customers and as the market changes, can, at times, be very daunting but we have always managed to exceed our own expectations of what is possible” Samantha continues. She then tells us about the role of the employees of BulkSMS.com, saying that they play a very important role indeed. “Without the support, knowledge and enthusiasm they contain, our company would not run as smoothly as it does. Our staff turnover rate is incredibly low, therefore the innate understanding of our products and processes becomes second nature to our staff” she explains. “If we look at the Instant Messaging space, it is constantly changing, and in 5 years might look very different to today .”