In March, SIMSme, the messenger from Deutsche Post published in August 2014, celebrated the 1 millionth download of its app. In an interview with inside-digital.de, Marco Hauprich, Senior Vice President Mobile & New Media at Deutsche Post, comments on the current number of users, the highly competitive messenger market, the new Windows Phone app, new functions and business models and explains why there won’t be a Blackberry app.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 The post as a secure message transmitter against WhatsApp and Co.
2 The next update brings the distribution lists and content channels
3 SimsMe is now also available for Windows Phone
4th Continue to invest heavily in communication and marketing
5 “We cannot and do not want Voice over IP”
inside-digital.de: Herr Hauptrich, the Post’s chat messenger, SimsMe, was presented in August 2014 and has now cracked the 1 million download limit in March. How satisfied are you with this result?
Marco Hauptrich: “We are very satisfied with this result. Especially when you consider that we started SIMSme in August last year with an initial goal of 50,000 users, which we achieved after just two days. “
inside-digital.de: In the press release from March you speak of 1 million downloads of the messenger. What is the number of actually active users?
Marco Hauptrich: “We now have 1.1 million downloads and of these 1.1 million, many have actually created an account.”
inside-digital.de: Is it possible to see how many of these 700,000 account holders actually use it every day? In a test in the inside-digital.de editorial team, for example, an editor reached 13 of his 300 contacts via SIMSme, but only received the surprised answer from one active user that he was the first to have written to him about SIMSme for months .
Marco Hauptrich: “That is not surprising, because there is always a certain discrepancy between downloads and active users. But here I ask for your understanding that we do not want to give more detailed figures for reasons of competition. “
inside-digital.de: In your opinion, what properties has SIMSme been able to win over its users so far?
THE POST AS A SECURE MESSAGE TRANSMITTER AGAINST WHATSAPP AND CO.
Marco Hauptrich: “The self-destruct feature was very well received, thanks to which I can send a message and determine for myself how many seconds it takes for the recipient to destroy it by itself. It is also not possible to take a screenshot of such a message. In general, however, the issue of security and Deutsche Post as a strong brand also play a very important role. Since we as Swiss Post have been sending messages securely for 500 years, we are also trusted to do this very well in the mobile business. After all the data protection scandals in recent times, there is interest in a secure messenger and that of course increases the use of SIMSme extremely. “
inside-digital.de: With which measures does SIMSme try to guarantee the data protection of its users?
Marco Hauptrich: “First of all, we save everything on German servers in data centers with basic protection certification. The strict German data protection rules apply to us. Means: We have end-to-end encryption, we do not save any data except for a telephone number, but not even the name. In this respect, we know nothing about the user and cannot publish anything. Everything is absolutely private. “
inside-digital.de: How exactly are the messages encrypted so that they remain private?
Marco Hauptrich: “When I log into SIMSme, a private key is automatically generated that remains on the device. I can only open a publicly encrypted message with this private key. Even if someone were to crack the server on which messages are stored until the recipient has retrieved them, they would not be able to open them without the private key provided. “
inside-digital.de: Does that mean that nothing is saved in the log or temp on Android devices, as is the case with WhatsApp, for example?
Marco Hauptrich: “No, neither in the log, nor in the temp, nor anywhere else.”
THE NEXT UPDATE BRINGS THE DISTRIBUTION LISTS AND CONTENT CHANNELS
inside-digital.de: The topic of security certainly plays a central role for many users. However, other messengers, such as the market leader WhatsApp, offer numerous other functions such as a web version and the recently introduced telephone function. Swiss Post is also planning to add new functions to its messenger?
Marco Hauptrich: “Indeed, some new functions are still being planned. Basically, with SIMSme you can already send everything that is also possible with WhatsApp. In addition, the number of possible group members at SimsMe is greater. We’ll be bringing out another update soon. “
inside-digital.de: How far are you specifically with the update?
Marco Hauptrich: “We are currently uploading the update to the app stores; however, it usually still takes a few days before it is also available to users. In any case, it contains many good features, as we are already aware that we have to be quick with the functions and should be at least one step better than the competition. “
inside-digital.de: What exactly are these features?
Marco Hauptrich: “On the one hand, the update includes content channels from some well-known partners. Within a SimsMe chat, the user can then subscribe to content from partners so that he or she is always kept up to date. This takes place in the form of real-time messages in which an image, a teaser and a link are always displayed. This link then leads to the content provider’s mobile offer, so that the latter is also happy about increased access. SIMSme itself increases active usage and the number of users. On the other hand, the update also includes a distribution list. So far, you have to open a group at SIMSme if you want to write to many users at the same time. With the new distribution list, this works just like an SMS. “
inside-digital.de: So the distribution list corresponds to the WhatsApp broadcast function?
Marco Hauptrich: “Yes, that’s basically the same as with the broadcast function. The update also includes a completely revised design, the usability has been improved and the performance works even better. But this year we also have many more exciting features planned. But I can’t tell you yet. “(Laughs)
SIMSME IS NOW ALSO AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS PHONE
inside-digital.de : Not even a little allusion?
Marco Hauptrich: “No, but what is also completely new: We now also have a Windows client for Windows Phone 8.1. This app is also available again free of charge and ad-free and in ten languages in the App Store. Of course we are also planning to optimize the
app for Windows 10 so that SIMSme can also be used directly on the PC and tablet . “
inside-digital.de: When exactly will the Windows Phone app be available for download?
Marco Hauptrich: “It is available immediately.”
inside-digital.de: With the Windows Phone app now available, the only thing missing is a Blackberry . Is such an app also planned?
Marco Hauptrich: “No, that’s not planned.”
CONTINUE TO INVEST HEAVILY IN COMMUNICATION AND MARKETING
inside-digital.de: Presumably, SIMSme will gain a few new users again with the new Windows Phone app. Nevertheless, one of the main criticisms of SIMSme users is that they only reach a fraction of their friends and acquaintances via the messenger due to the relatively small number of users. How do you try to counteract this dilemma situation?
Marco Hauptrich: “That is actually a chicken and egg problem that we are of course very aware of. A messenger like SIMSme lives from the network effect, which only occurs when a certain number of users can actually be reached. In that regard, we can just keep investing in communication and marketing. Band advertising in soccer always brings us a high four-digit number of registrations per day “
inside-digital.de: A survey by inside-digital.de among 100 smartphone users between the ages of 10 and 70 has shown that 99 percent of users are familiar with WhatsApp and 94 percent of users are familiar with Facebook Messenger. However, SIMSme was only known to 10 percent of those surveyed. How will you try to increase awareness of the messenger in the future?
Marco Hauptrich: “Well, 10 percent is something. If you assume 80 million German citizens and we have 8 million users, that would be great. But of course, Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp are of course the top dogs that have been on the market for a long time. And this is really a very competitive and occupied market, so you actually have to acquire users through marketing and simply be better than the others. At some point the network effect will also occur and then SIMSme will continue to spread, I’m very sure. Especially with the features that are coming this year. “
inside-digital.de: Messenger was particularly unknown in the over 40 age group. How do you explain that younger people are more likely to know SIMSme?
Marco Hauptrich: “Well, I can’t really explain that because I’ve personally experienced it differently up to now. We tend to invest in youth communication and want to attract new
young people to us. Since we only have the telephone number of our users, we do not have any user data. So we don’t know, for example, what age the users are or what hobbies they pursue. “
inside-digital.de: Unlike WhatsApp, Swiss Post still offers its messenger free of charge in the app stores. When and how does Swiss Post earn money with Messenger?
Marco Hauptrich: “As soon as there is a certain range, we will also earn money with the messenger. We are asked daily by business customers from different industries who want to use SIMSme in their own company, for example, to prevent industrial espionage. In this regard, we will soon develop a solution to integrate SIMSme more easily into companies. “
“WE CANNOT AND DO NOT WANT VOICE OVER IP”
inside-digital.de: Are there any other business models that you are currently working on?
Marco Hauptrich: “Yes, we are currently also working on an mTan solution via SIMSme. So far it has been the case that you have been sent a transaction number via SMS for an online transfer. However, SMS is not as secure as SIMSme. And since SIMSme is IP-based, it only costs half that. “
inside-digital.de: How far advanced is the mTan project?
Marco Hauptrich: “So far we have already built a gateway solution. Now it is a matter of deepening the discussions with the banks and insurance companies in order to be able to earn money with this model in the end. “
inside-digital.de: A little prognosis for the future: When will you as a German user be able to use SIMSme in terms of functions and user numbers on a par with WhatsApp?
Marco Hauptrich: “You can do that now, at least with regard to the functions.”
inside-digital.de: But some functions are definitely still missing, such as the web version and the telephone function.
Marco Hauptrich: “We cannot and do not want to offer voice-over-IP calls. SIMSme is and remains exclusively a secure messenger. “
