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If you’re just joining us for this series, here’s the ground we’ve covered so far:
In part one, you learned about the leads we’ve seen come through FranFunnel, based on time, geography and email address.
In part two, you learned about average contact rate, with uses cases with a range of examples of text and emails
In part three, you learned about what has (or hasn’t) changed since January 2017 in the world of texting.
With that, let’s look at the road ahead.
Far and away, the most important shoe to drop in the coming years in the texting world is all about the law. As we’ve written about time and time again, using a 30-year-old law to govern a new and evolving technology is dumb.
Congress needs to get their act together and get it together as quickly as possible. Watching courts around the country bicker about what is and is not an automated dialer system is not only maddening, it’s sad.
There is an incredibly built-out understanding of what should be allowed and what should not be allowed. Just put it down on paper. Allow those who want to use these tools for good to do so unencumbered.
Sadly, my prediction is that 1,000 days from now, things will be even worse. We’re one 9th circuit decision away from having to completely change our understanding of what it means to be compliant. That will be a sad day when it comes.
FranFunnel continues to do 100% of our messaging in the SMS protocol. Why? Because the two most important data based messengers are both owned by Facebook and are not open for use cases like ours.
Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp have 2.5b and 1.5b active monthly users respectively in the world. We would absolutely love to tap into their platforms to enable our customers to send messages on these platforms to their leads. However, Facebook has made very little movement toward making that a reality. And part of the reason is that they control the entire market.
Debates are raging as to whether or not Facebook constitutes a monopoly. If they’re not deemed to be one, then the status quo will likely continue for some time to come. However, if Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are operated separately, it’s significantly more likely that businesses will get access to the platforms. That’s the benefit of competition.
It’s hard to believe that WhatsApp would be owned by a different company, but it certainly would be healthy for us in the messaging world.
It’s certainly the elephant in the room. Right as FranFunnel turns 1,000 days old, the global economy comes to a screeching halt. Anyone who tells you that they know how the world is going to rebound from the pandemic is a liar. There are a number of various scenarios that we see as possible:
We tend to believe that the middle case will be the most likely to occur. Some companies, either due to strategy, capital, or luck are well positioned to take advantage of the new economy.
The one thing that we see most people overlooking, however, is the role of demand in the scheme of things. Much has been made of supply, or the firms’ abilities to provide goods and services into the market i.e. opening the economy again.
However, I think the much bigger question is who is going to buy what and how much of it. The American consumer was the strongest consumer in the history of the world from 2016-2019. Will they return? I’m not so sure any time soon.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past decade, the most common theme written about in the American workplace is without a doubt -- MILLENNIALS! Yes, those annoying, entitled youngins that have ruined the world as you know it.
Well if you were tired of them being in the headlines, then I have some gilded news for you -- we’re not interesting anymore. Rather, here comes generation Z. Yes, that’s right, those born between the years 1997-2016 are hitting the workforce and certainly becoming a focus of businesses.
What’s so important to remember about this generation is that they are the first to grow up with a smartphone in their hand. They are not only tech-savvy and connected but they don’t know any other way. If you were to try and sell them on the value of the old way of doing business, they may actually have trouble relating to what you’re speaking about.
Very, very quickly this new crop is going to be taking over. And if you’re not ready, then don’t say I didn’t warn you!
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As you’ve read these past few weeks, much has changed at Franfunnel since its inception in early 2017, from our platform to our customer base to our opinions to our overall strategy. It’s not uncommon for a tech startup like ourselves.
But what has not changed, according to our extensive data, is the critical importance of delivering the right message at the right time to the right customer, via the right channel.
Without that overarching strategy, your brand is losing sales every day.
FranFunnel has spent the last 1000+ days taking text messaging to another level, and our clients are as ecstatic as we are. And by the way, we’re just getting warmed up. We plan to be around for a long time, evolving alongside with the technology, helping teach our users how easy and efficient text messaging should be.
Here’s a toast to the road ahead!
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Did you read all the articles in this series!
FranFunnel’s First 1000 Days, Part 1: The Leads
FranFunnel’s First 1000 Days, Part 2: Contacting Leads
FranFunnel’s First 1000 Days, Part 3: Revisiting Our Original Learnings
FranFunnel’s First 1000 Days, Part 4: The Road Ahead
