A rental guided from A to Z by SMS
The mobile phone becomes the digital key, and the associated “mobile only” strategy puts the emphasis on SMS notifications.
+150 000
USERS
6 000
OWNER-DRIVEN CARS
100%
MESSAGES ARE DELIVERED
À PROPOS
SECTOR OF ACTIVITY
Automobive
COMPANY SIZE
180 employees
CREATION DATE
2016
LOCATION
France Spain & Portugal United Kingdom Germany Italy
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A key channel in the customer journey
Virtuo’s transactional SMS have many uses: account creation message including an OTP code — One Time Password — to check the validity of the mobile number, information on the start of the reservation or related to the delivery of a car to the airport terminal, instructions on how to return a car, account security verification proces , etc. The entire user journey is punctuated by these valuable notifications.
SMS messages are generally quite long and are intended to detail all the useful informations for the smooth running of the rental. For example, some informations is indicated at the start of the reservation, such as the location of the car park, the exact location of the vehicle, the number plate of the car, possibly the unlocking code, etc.
One of the major internal challenges: arbitrating between the desire of Virtuo advisers to provide as much information as possible, (and to use bullet points and other formatting characters) and the impact, particularly in terms of pricing, that this entails...
meet the challenges of message deliverability and security
Mobile messaging means trust
Virtuo relies on a multi-channel strategy that allows the company to and stay in touch continously with its users. Emails, in-app chat, voice calls, push notifications and SMS. This panel of channels is integrated intrinsically into the architecture of the mobile application. They are activated together or individually during the user journey, depending on the strengths and specificities of each channel. In this multi-channel strategy, SMS plays an essential role and is favoured — particularly over push notifications — to limit friction time at critical points.
Push notifications and SMS: we do both. Messages that are considered to be less important are sent as push notifications. The most critical ones are sent as SMS.
In the “push notification vs. SMS” battle (if there is one!), push is distinguished by its low cost and its multimedia possibilities (images, links, sounds, etc.), while SMS is simply perfect to deliver critical messages. This is an undeniable advantage, especially in a context where mobile users, sometimes drowned by push notifications, prefer to disable this functionality.
Another point where the SMS cannot be replaced: OTP authentication when an account is created. The SMS OTP sent by, Virtuo ensures both the identity of the client... and that he or she has a mobile phone, which is a prerequisite to use their exclusively application-based service!
proven project approach
The technical issues behind this mobile messaging strategy
The first technical point is adaptability to the market. For Virtuo, the product (and SMS notifications) are 95% identical for all countries. Only certain messages and functionalities are customised to take into account the specificities — such as specific regulations — of each implementation: for example, the completion of the AVL in the United Kingdom, the remote transmission of invoices in certain countries, etc.
Similarly, the technology layer is essential for a business based on a reinvented, 100% application-based experience. The product tension is materialised, on the messaging side, by the automation of notification scenarios. For this, the Virtuo technological infrastructure interfaces SMS routing via the implementation of APIs, carried out quickly and easily by a team of internal developers.
The challenge for Virtuo was not so much the interconnection, but rather the initial design of a technical architecture that had to be designed to work with multiple providers. This is a successful example of agility, scalability, robustness... and the implementation of backup solutions!
A multi-provider approach ensures that a company is agile enough to respond and cope with digital challenges and developments.
central role for notification.