Dubai : Getinfo, a Dubai-based company, has launched a first-of-its-kind mobile-based service in the UAE that allows users to get relevant information on lifestyle, travel, tourism, fashion, restaurants, bars, spas, salons and stores through short messaging service (SMS).
Marketed as the Magic of 2, the new service may be accessed by sending an SMS query to 4727. Users need not subscribe to the service to use it. The user can search by category, name of establishment, type of establishment, location, product or service, sales categories. The name, contact details, location and short review will be provided by the search service.
Mobile users can also opt in and find location-based promotions and search for great deals using SMS. Merchants and enterprises, on the other hand, can use the new platform to market their products and services. getinfo also offers merchants an alert functionality to stimulate consumer demand.
"The UAE, and Dubai in particular, has been chosen as the launch pad of getinfo as it enjoys the highest mobile penetration rate as well as one of the best organised retail market in the region," Mukkul Shyam, CEO of getinfo, said in an interview with Gulf News.
"The UAE has over 10 million mobile users, with mobile penetration rate growth at over 200 per cent in the last four years. The solution also has green value and will help companies reduce their carbon footprint in the region."
Benefit
Shyam also pointed out that they expect the service to figure well with small and medium enterprises (SMEs). He said: "SMEs need a marketing platform like this since traditional media is quite expensive for them to tap on."
The service is compatible with etisalat and du. While there is a standard minimum fee of 30 fils per SMS, getinfo offers users a reward programme to sign up and use the service.
"Both consumers and merchants can benefit from the services of getinfo. We are optimistic that this will be a success and we are planning in the future to expand our services to other countries like India, South Africa and other GCC countries. We are confident that the getinfo service will have huge takers in the UAE as well as in other countries in the region as it is the first of its kind," said Shyam.
Getinfo has forged a partnership with vMobo, a Silicon Valley, California, company that has developed the solution, to deliver the unique service in the UAE, GCC and North African countries. getinfo also revealed that SPI Group, a media and marketing company based in Dubai, will exclusively market and sell the service in the UAE.
"We realise that the launch of this service in the UAE will bring the potential of our solution to a wider audience. getinfo is a unique service that will take relationship marketing communications between merchants and consumers to a higher level where results are real time, targeted and measurable," Vinu Sundaresan, CEO of vMobo, told Gulf News.
Complementary
Shantanu Phansalker, CEO of SPI, for his part said: "Getinfo complements and does not compete with conventional marketing applications. For people who are always on the go and don't have smartphones or WiFi and don't have time to check through the internet, they can get the information they want right there and then.
"We understand the market and its needs. This service will change the ecosystem of direct marketing and bring merchants and consumers together and drive value to all."
