CM.com

Did you know that the first SMS message was sent in 1992, and it simply said, “Merry Christmas”? This simple act marked the beginning of a technological revolution in communication. From clunky flip phones to sleek smartphones, the way we connect and businesses has fundamentally changed. Fast forward to 1999, and two visionary entrepreneurs, Jeroen van Glabbeek and Gilbert Gooijers, saw the potential in this nascent technology. They founded CM.com, a company that would go on to shape the future of mobile engagement.
CM.com began as ClubMessage, focusing on sending SMS notifications to nightclub and festival visitors. This innovative idea laid the foundation for CM.com. Driven by a vision for the future of mobile technology, Jeroen van Glabbeek (CEO and co-founder) and Gilbert Gooijers (COO and co-founder) have grown CM.com into a global leader in conversational commerce.
CM.com’s core services revolve around conversational commerce, a powerful combination of messaging and payments. CM.com connects businesses and brands with billions of mobile phone users all over the world. Their services include SMS, popular messaging apps like WhatsApp Business, voice calls, ticketing, secure eSignatures, customer contact management, a customer data platform, and more.

We have featured Mr. Jeroen van Glabbeek, CEO and co-founder of CM.com, in our prestigious “Brand of the Year 2024” edition. We’ll delve deeper into the company’s remarkable journey. We’ll explore their early days, the challenges they faced, and the innovative strategies that propelled them to success. This is a story that will not only shed light on the evolution of mobile communication but also offer valuable insights for aspiring entrepreneurs. Stay tuned!

Prime Insights: Kindly brief us on the company’s inception story.

We started in 1999 as ClubMessage, a simple idea to send SMS notifications to clubs and bars. It was a great way to keep people informed about events and promotions. However, we saw the potential of mobile technology going much further.
By 2010, with a clear vision of mobile becoming the center of communication and commerce, we started obtaining key players like Mobillion and SMS Hosting. This gave us the foundation to build a complete mobile engagement platform.
The next decade was about accelerating growth. We went public on Euronext Amsterdam in 2020, which fueled further acquisitions like Global Ticket and PayPlaza. We also launched our cloud solutions, the Mobile Marketing Cloud and Mobile Service Cloud.
We were the first to launch RCS in Germany and the Netherlands, and we added popular payment methods like WeChat Pay and Apple Pay.
This year (2024) marks a new chapter. We’ve created business units to sharpen our focus and drive innovation. And we’re excited about the possibilities of AI with the launch of our Generative AI Engine.
Our mission has remained constant: to make life easier, safer, and more beautiful through technology. We believe mobile technology can revolutionize the way we connect and do business.

Prime Insights: What was the motivating force behind its inception?

Our mission is to make life easier, safer, and more beautiful. We firmly believe that technology exists to enhance people’s lives. We want to contribute to furthering technologies that benefit society.

Prime Insights: CM.com entered the Indian market in 2021. What really made you decide to expand into this market?

We saw India as a massive market with huge growth potential. The dominance of messaging apps like WhatsApp made it an especially attractive location for our omnichannel communication solutions.

Prime Insights: What were the initial challenges faced by your business?

The story of CM.com started back in 1999 with this one message: “Will you join me at Highstreet?”. This was the SMS Gilbert Gooijer sent to me (Jeroen van Glabbeek).
It was great, but we knew companies needed this kind of real-time mobile engagement too. The challenge was convincing them that SMS, a new technology then, was the future for reaching their customers directly.
In the beginning, we focused on clubs, sending SMS blasts about events. We sent SMS messages to groups in 1999. This was used to inform visitors of discotheques in the Benelux on guest DJs, timetables, contests, discounts, and more weekend news; right at the exact moment, it matters for the visitor.

Prime Insights: How did these initial challenges differ when entering new markets, like India?

Our main focus is achieving eco-friendly growth while remaining cash-positive. We need to be strategic about resource allocation and target the right opportunities at the right time. Scaling success is an ongoing challenge, but India’s promising market makes it worthwhile.

Prime Insights: How is the brand defining the “trust factor” in the market?

We prioritize trust by building strong relationships with our clients. Industry recognition from Gartner, Juniper, and Frost & Sullivan validates our commitment to excellence. But the real testament comes from the thousands of satisfied clients who choose CM.com—their trust is our greatest reward.

Prime Insights: What are the key differentiators of the company’s business model?

The flexibility of having multiple business models that have evolved. From transactional focus to software as a service (SaaS) offerings with monthly/annual subscriptions. That gives the flexibility to attract different types of customers for all kinds of solutions that are offered to the market.

Prime Insights: What services does the brand offer to its clients?

We’re CM.com, a publicly traded company on Euronext Amsterdam (CMCOM). We specialize in conversational commerce, a powerful combination of messaging and payments. Through our cloud platform, we connect businesses and brands to billions of consumers worldwide, all through their mobile phones.
We provide a variety of communication channels like SMS, popular messaging apps like WhatsApp Business, and even voice calls. We have features like ticketing, secure eSignatures, customer contact management, and a robust customer data platform.
But it doesn’t stop there. As a licensed Payment Service Provider (PSP), we enable secure card payments, local payment methods, and even integrated options like WeChat Pay.
With a global presence across 15 countries and a team of over 725 dedicated employees, we take pride in providing fully integrated solutions. We use a primarily private cloud infrastructure and entirely in-house developed software, ensuring scalability, rapid deployment, and global redundancy for our clients.

Prime Insights: Can you elaborate on CM.com India’s specific goals and target market?

Our primary goal is to become a major player in the Indian market. We achieve this by building strong relationships with customers by providing exceptional service. While we don’t offer all of CM.com’s global solutions yet, we do provide a full suite of omnichannel communication options, including WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, SMS, email, and more. Additionally, we offer AI-driven marketing and service automation tools, decision-making engines, and various bots. Our target market is primarily small and medium businesses.

Prime Insights: In today’s times, is the brand seeing an evolution in how consumers trust its services?

Consumers aren’t the ones mistrusting the services. The consumers are ready for a ‘new way’ of communicating with brands. It’s mostly the brands or businesses that need to adapt to the current standards the consumers already have and try to meet those standards or expectations.

Prime Insights: How did the brand succeed in establishing a mark in the industry and the hearts of the customers?

CM.com’s journey started with a spark—the potential of SMS marketing.
We weren’t afraid to try something new, even with doubts, like handling TV show voting via SMS. We faced many challenges, learning from outages and building a robust infrastructure. We took control by building our systems and establishing a Network Operations Center.
Our unique culture played a big role too. We built a positive environment, valuing individual talent and passion over rigid hierarchies. We hired people who excelled in their fields and even used some creative tactics like me pretending to be an intern to win over clients.
As we grew, the name “ClubMessage” became a limitation. We rebranded to CM.com, showing our deep focus on communication and commerce. Finally, we saw the potential beyond the Dutch market and dared to compete globally. With a shoestring budget at the Mobile World Congress, we laid the foundation for the international network we have today.

Prime Insights: However, the Indian market is well-known for its extreme competition and cost-conscious customers. How do you get rid of these challenges?

Competition is indeed strong, and Indian businesses prioritize value for money. We provide solutions and expert advice on how to get the best return on investment from us. Our close customer focus and excellent local support are key differentiators in our success.

Prime Insights: How does the brand evaluate the value of a customer?

We believe every interaction strengthens our customer relationships. We build trust and loyalty, creating more valuable partnerships by prioritizing deeper connections.

Prime Insights: Can you share some examples of how CM.com has helped Indian businesses achieve success?

We have customers across e-commerce, hospitality and leisure, ad tech, and fintech. Some have achieved a huge 1,000% increase in return on investment through our solutions. Our platform lets them track the entire customer journey, from initial contact to purchase, providing valuable insights into marketing effectiveness.

Prime Insights: What are the most effective marketing initiatives or programs the brand has used to promote its offerings or services?

A powerful example of our marketing success is our partnership with the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix. We provided an end-to-end customer experience, handling everything from ticketing, snacks, and concessions to smooth communication. We even deployed an AI bot to assist visitors before, during, and after the event. This showcase of our capabilities has resonated with clients seeking innovative solutions.

Prime Insights: What’s the first thing that enters a consumer’s mind when they see your brand?

When consumers think of our brand, the first thing that often comes to mind is our association with the Formula 1 Heineken Dutch Grand Prix, also known as DGP. This high-profile partnership has helped solidify our brand’s image as dynamic, innovative, and aligned with premium experiences.

Prime Insights: What targets and plans are to be achieved in the coming years?

We’re pleased to announce strong financial results for the first half of 2024. We’ve seen continued improvement in EBITDA and record growth in gross profit, all while controlling OPEX. Our topline performance is also gaining momentum compared to previous quarters. We’ve completed some very interesting projects in Q2 2024, including a large, global WhatsApp campaign.
In the future, we’re forecasting a normalized EBITDA of €14-18 million for FY 2024. We also expect free cash flow to become positive by the second half of this year. Our focus on operational excellence and strategic high-margin products has been the key to company growth. We’re confident that CM.com will be cash flow positive by the end of 2024.

Prime Insights: Are there any specific plans or initiatives CM.com has for the Indian market in the upcoming years?

Our primary focus is growth. We’re prospecting new clients and exploring expanding our product line. We are planning to venture into the payment solutions space, either independently or through partnerships.

Prime Insights: What message does the company give to the young entrepreneurs?

Our philosophy is simple: help our clients grow, and we’ll succeed together. We’ve always believed in doing what we love and what we’re good at. This process has helped us build strong, long-lasting relationships with our clients while driving our company’s success.