MWC2020 is right around the corner and we have asked Guro Røed, VP Global Sales in LINK Mobility, about her expectations for the upcoming event

What are you most excited to do and see at MWC this year?

The main theme at MWC this year is “Limitless intelligent connectivity” covering topics like; AI, 56, and customer engagement. The options to attend key note presentations, industry specific workshops and visiting booths from all over the world are massive. The innovation city is always cool as you can explore real showcases and demos of the latest innovations within the mobile industry.

What does a day at MWC look like for you?

Unfortunately, and luckily at the same time, my days at MWC are always packed with meetings and hosted events. Last year we did over 100 meetings at our booth. Therefore, my time to attend presentations and workshops is limited. But I will make sure that I have some hours to walk around the main halls to spot new trends and get inspired by new technology, companies that differentiate themselves from the competitors and motivating people.

What will be the main focus for LINK Mobility at MWC2020 this year and why?

This year we have taken a different approach to our presence and are going to host our own LINK Mobility networking garden that is tailormade for socializing and networking. I am really looking forward to engaging with customers and partners in our appealing garden. Our focus is to gather partners, customers and industry experts so we can bring real value to their customers via mobile messaging. LINK´s WhatsApp for business, conversational messaging, Google Verified SMS, SMS connectors to marketing automation, and CRM systems are really hot products that fire up enterprises’ and partners’ interest in LINK.

What are the biggest challenges for the mobile messaging industry right now?

Mobile messaging has been dominated by SMS. With the rise of new channels like WhatsApp and the new capabilities in RCS we are going from transaction to dialogue. To take the shift from pure SMS transaction to create valuable conversations via multiple channels, MNO´s, channel owners, aggregators and software vendors, we need to reduce the industry factions and business model complexity.

In this way we can make it easy for brands to start using new channels and conversational interfaces regardless of the systems they have or which industry or market they operate in.

What trends do you think we will we see in mobile messaging for 2020?

Mobile users constantly demand a better experience when they interact with companies via mobile. In this changing world, companies must move beyond a brand building and automated marketing communication strategy. Statistics show that customers prefer mobile messaging over email and calls when they interact with companies. Great user experience on mobile messaging is there for essential for B2C companies that wants to become more customer centric.

I believe mobile users want to have a more natural messaging dialogue with a company that really takes care of the whole flow. For example, I should be able to manage my total interaction with my bank on my preferred mobile messaging app, including paying invoices, bank transfer, order credit card, get saving advice, and interact on a survey. The dialogue should be just as easy as having a conversation with a friend on Facebook Messenger. To meet this need messaging needs to become smarter, more sophisticated, and more enriched – the whole industry needs to strive to bridge the gap between man and machine.

I also believe that the rising cloud trend, where we see that enterprises are having multiple and hybrid cloud strategy will affect mobile messaging. We need to make it easy for enterprises to use mobile messaging services in a multifaceted environment that includes a hybrid of on-premises, private, and public clouds from a variety of vendors.

Do you want to meet Guro or others from LINK at MWC? Book a meeting today