Clickatell gets closer to key clients

By Anna Rooke, OurWorld Editor

This was the challenge facing Clickatell, a global provider of bulk SMS services, with headquarters in the USA.

In recent years the company has seen growth in its European customer base but up until now has had no European presence to service this rapidly developing market.

The firm has just opened its new European office in London, appointing successful entrepreneur and management consultant Deon van Heerden to lead the UK operation and a European expansion.

Van Heerden spoke to OurWorld to explain the reasons behind the UK move.

Added security features drive company growth

One of Clickatell’s biggest growth opportunities is the financial services sector.

As van Heerden explains, international firms are turning to its products because of the additional security benefits:

"With identity theft and financial fraud severely impacting on consumer and business banking, leading financial companies around the world are harnessing Clickatell's messaging services as a solution."

“Both personal and corporate banks are looking to introduce text messaging as an added layer of security,” he adds.

Servicing the European market requires a UK presence

Clickatell’s European client base is rapidly growing thanks to a growing demand for its security alert services.

But up until now all Clickatell’s customer services for European clients have been managed through its call centres in Cape Town, South Africa.

While a high proportion of Clickatell’s international business is currently conducted online, some clients require a face-to-face service.

“Financial services institutions and government organisations don’t generally buy over the internet,” says van Heerden.

For this reason, the company needed a European office to meet the demands of its customers.

Financial hub draws Clickatell to UK

According to van Heerden, London was the obvious location to set up its new office owing to the size of its financial services hub.

“The presence of so many large financial services institutions was behind our decision to locate our main European office in the UK,” he explains.

As an experienced entrepreneur who has set up several companies, van Heerden is enthusiastic about procedures in the UK.

“The processes put in place by Companies House and other government organisations make it easy to set up in the UK,” he says.

UK networks will enable European expansion

Clickatell aims to develop a network of contacts with UK companies that are also located in other parts of Europe.

“Many of the London-based banks have a presence in other European countries,” says van Heerden.

“We will use the internal networks we build up in London to expand our business into mainland Europe.”