Mark Smith
We provide application-to-person SMS marketing services for SMBs in the US, Canada, UK, Europe and Australia.
Our vision is to facilitate simple, reliable communication between brands and their customers, whatever the purpose is. It’s about more than providing a platform though. We view ourselves as a communications partner. Our mission is to help our clients achieve their commercial goals – whatever they may be.
Tell us about yourself?
My entire professional life has been dedicated to improving the way companies interact with the world around them. Before I acquired TextMagic, I worked for Modera – an automotive CRM solution. I suppose I’ve always been a communications geek at heart! The Internet started as a communications tool, and for me, that’s where its greatest strengths lie. I’m fascinated by the ways in which human beings use technology to interact with one another on a daily basis.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
IPOs are more stressful than you think! I’d probably show myself a bill for the legal fees as a starting point, and when my past-self had gotten over that, I’d start on how much planning is required. It was all worth it though – We broke many IPO records by being oversubscribed almost 20 times! Everyone did a great job and we had a fantastic time.
What problem does your business solve?
Marketing operation, as a concept, is a multi-headed beast. Think about the different ways in which a company is able to manage information, and communicate with its customer base. Our clients are looking for simplicity above everything else, and that’s what we provide them.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Innovation, plain and simple. We didn’t get to where we are today by standing still. When I joined TextMagic in 2007, SMS marketing was a standalone function with quite a limited operational scope. I’m constantly trying to anticipate which direction the market for A2P services will go in. It’s why I come to work every day.
What is your magic sauce?
There’s a great fish restaurant in Tallinn that does trout from the Gulf of Finland, with this awesome fermented potato sauce. You have to try it!
In all honesty, there’s no secret ingredient to what we do. Building an effective communications platform means doing lots of little things right – from the interface to the back-end infrastructure, our integration features. It all needs to work together in harmony.
If I had to pick one thing that makes us a success, it’s employing good people and trusting them to do a good job. If you can get that right, you’re on the right track.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
A large chunk of my time at the moment is dedicated to overseeing the development of our next-gen A2P platform, Touchpoint. It’s scheduled for release next year. Once it’s out there, we need to be laser-focused on making sure we don’t take our foot off the gas pedal and listen to customer feedback, to make sure it’s an ongoing success. 5 years is a long, long time in the SaaS industry though, so who knows?!
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
Going public was a monumental event in our company’s history, but unless we move with the times, we run the risk of becoming obsolete. Developing Touchpoint represents a huge step forward for TextMagic and our customers, and we have to get it absolutely spot on. It’s also a major technological challenge. We’re building a whole new platform from scratch. It’s a daunting task, but who said any of this was going to be easy?
How do people get involved/buy into your vision?
We’ve built up a solid bank of informational content on our website, for anyone who wants to get to know a bit more about our services and what we can help them achieve. There are ‘How To’ articles, video tutorials, and a lengthy FAQ section. We’ve also got testimonials, case studies, and reviews for people to look at.
A2P SMS marketing has so much to offer a company, and it’s often not utilized to its full potential. We’re always happy to show brands how we can make a difference.
