22962: Bizna SMS Marketing Platform

The biggest challenge that small businesses face is access to market. Buyers do not buy from them because they do not who they are, what they have to offer or where they can find them. As such, buyers are condemned to the a defined product offering simply because that is all they know. Further, buying is perception based and thus buyers tend to gravitate towards the products that they know or are familiar to them. Consequently, new or little-known products experience slow uptake and in most cases, they die despite the fact that they offer similar or more superior quality to existing products and services.

BIZNA Online Directory

Bizna, being an enterprise development and marketing portal seeks to reverse this worrying trend by giving emerging enterprises an opportunity to access viable market by creating awareness of available products and services. Buyers will be able to query specific companies and get to know: who they are, the products or services they offer as well as getting their contacts and related company information. To ensure that businesses live up to their billing, Bizna has provided a rating and feedback mechanism where buyers can rate and comment on the services they have received: whether good or bad. This ensures that businesses have a fair chance: good businesses get positive reviews and more businesses and those with negative reviews are shunned.

SMS BIZNA  SMS Marketing Platform

Bizna has created an SMS platform that makes it easy and convenient for businesses to publicize their businesses and well as the products and services they offer. They will also have opportunities to market their products and services via SMS and reach thousands of clients at the click of a button. The service can be accessed via the 22962 short code is available to Safaricom subscribers only at the moment. The service will be available to Airtel and Orange subscribers shortly. Services on offer include:

1. Business Directory Query

Users can query via SMS details of any listed business. Business details include:

• Name of business
• Detailed description of products and services
• Images of the business/products/Services
• Contacts (phone, website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube etc.)
• Google map location pin

2. Product or Service Providers Query

Users can query providers of specified products or services and get contacts of 10 providers who match their query. For instance, if a user queries “Accommodation – Isiolo – 3,000″, they will get 10 responses of accommodation providers in Isiolo town who charge up to 3,000 giving their precise location. The user can then call the establishments to get more details on the provider or the desired service. This reduces time wasted visiting every establishment only to find they do not meet his/her requirement or find there are no rooms available.

3. Free Bizna Alerts and Tips

Bizna subscribers get free alerts of articles published on Bizna as well as business news, quotes, inspiration messages and tips. Users have the option of signing up to get alerts on articles for the categories they are interested in. Once an article is published on BIZNA in that category, they will get a free SMS with the heading and a live link of the post on their phone to read at a convenient time. Further, they can share it with their friends and business colleagues.

4. Business Leads

Subscribers will get free SMS alerts of tenders, business opportunities and prospective ventures to keep them ahead of the game.

5. Paid SMS Services

Subscribers will have an option to subscribe for to-pay classified alerts. Paid up subscription services include:

• Targetted business Tips/Information
• Marketing SMS – Sellers purchase bulk SMSs to be send out to prospective buyers for marketing or promotion services
• Directory Quey – Subscriber is charged for the query while the responses are charged to the businesses
• Sikika: Customer feedback (Compliments/Complaints)