Airtel opens self-service digital marketing product Airtel IQ Reach

Bharti Airtel is launching an enterprise communications platform - Airtel IQ Reach - which will enable brands/ firms to generate targeted consumer engagement through individual communication. Launched under Airtel IQ, Airtel IQ Reach is aimed at businesses of all sizes and is currently available using WhatsApp as a messaging platform, with SMS and voice to be added in the future, Airtel added in a statement.

"Using the Airtel IQ Reach product, small and medium businesses will be able to customize messages and target audiences for better and more effective communication using the data we already have as a telco," Abhishek Biswal, head digital products & services, Airtel Business, said. The Airtel IQ Reach portal allows a brand/business to identify the reach (for example, customers within a 3 km distance of the shop) of the messaging and the message itself (the text of the message to be sent out). Once the message has been deployed (currently over WhatsApp), the business can track the effectiveness of the parameters chosen using data analytics.

"We have fine-tuned the product keeping in mind consumer privacy and consent and ensuring it does not result in spam for customers. We have gathered consent from our customers, and businesses can send messages only to those who have agreed to get commercial communication," Biswal explained. Additionally, businesses will get access to customer information only if the customer chooses to respond to the communication sent out, he added. The platform will also offer real-time insights and analytics on a centralized dashboard with the aim of enabling businesses to measure their campaign effectiveness. "The average ticket size of marketing expenses on the Airtel IQ Reach, we expect, will be in the Rs 10,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh," Biswal said.