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This article details how to obtain and configure the Form2SMS script to use on your website.

IMPORTANT: You must have a Text Marketer account before you start as the ID in the script is unique to each account.

Then, login to your account and go to SETTINGS | FORM2SMS SETTINGS – then configure the options on the screen and test your form script live as shown below. The Form2SMS script will automatically be configured as you change the options. Once you’re happy with the test you’ve received, you can copy and paste the Form2SMS script directly to your web page.

The script will look something like this. Please see below script for configuration options and explanations.

EXAMPLE SCRIPT – DO NOT USE

<script type="text/javascript" src="http://www.textmarketer.biz/adbox/js/adbox.js"></script>
<FORM id="TMadbox" name="TMadbox" method="POST" action="" onsubmit="return validateTMbox(this);">
<INPUT type="hidden" name="ID" value="[this-will-be-your-unique-ID]" />
<!-- Redirect URL after form submission 1=Stay on Same Page or enter URL like www.xyz.com/mypage.html -->
<INPUT type="hidden" name="Redirect" value="1" />
<!-- Add number to a group in your Text Marketer account 1=yes,0=no -->
<INPUT type="hidden" name="AddToGroup" value="1" />
<!-- The name of the Group in your system. A new group will be created if it doesn't exist -->
<INPUT type="hidden" name="GroupName" value="XYZ Product Out of Stock" />
<!-- Up to 11 alphanumerics (including spaces) or a 16 numerics only -->
<INPUT type="hidden" name="SenderID" value="XYZ Ltd" />
<!-- The content on the text message. Maximum of 612 characters including spaces. -->
<INPUT type="hidden" name="Message" value="This is where the text message goes." />
<!-- Number of accepted uses from a visitors IP address in 24h. Default 10, maximum 100. -->
<INPUT type="hidden" name="SubIP" value="10" />

UK Mobile Number:

<LABEL>
<INPUT type="text" maxLength="13" name="MobileNumber" />
</LABEL>
<LABEL>
<INPUT type="submit" name="Submit" value="Submit" />
</LABEL>
</FORM>

The variables shown in bold/red above are the elements you can configure – namely;

- ID – this will be automatically generated in your account when you get the script

- Redirect – this is where the visitor will go after submitting the form. It defaults to 1 which means they will stay on the same page. Otherwise enter a redirect URL in the format shown. This may be a thanks page for example.

- AddToGroup – if you want to capture the mobile numbers entered in your Text Marketer account, leave to 1 for yes, else 0 for no.

- GroupName – this is the name of the Group to add numbers to in your Text Marketer account. If the Group already exists it will add the numbers to that. If not, it will create the Group in your account when the first number is entered. A number will not be added to the group if it already exists but they will still receive the text.
If you were using Form2SMS across a whole site, you might configure this as the product group name on a page, e.g. Camping Enquiries, Tent Enquiries, Caravan Enquiries, etc.. That way, all the numbers captured will be in specific group names, meaning you could run more tailored follow up text campaigns. Numbers will not be captured if there is no group name.

SenderID – this is the name or number that will appear on the inbox on the phone. It can be up to 11 alphanumerics (including spaces) or 16 numerics (in other words a full international format number). If you want the ability for people to be able to reply to texts sent, you might want to consider a virtual mobile number. There must be something in this field if you want to return a message.

Message – this is the body of text message. It can be up to 612 characters in length, including spaces. If you do not want to send a confirmation message back then simply leave this blank. The number will still be added to your group (so long as that is enabled).

SubIP – this is a protection feature to help against ‘spamming’ from your form. If this is set to 10 for example a single visitor (from the same IP address) can only use your form 10 times in any 24 hour period. The minimum is 1 and the maximum is 100.

FAQ’s

What does it cost?
The script and the system to capture numbers is free. There is only a cost if you return a confirmation text. This is charged per message at our low bulk SMS prices. You simply add credits to your account on a pay as you go basis. Credits do not expire once added. But, if you’re using it simply to collect mobile numbers then it won’t cost you anything.

What if my account runs out of credits – will the confirmation messages stop?
Yes, the confirmation message won’t go out but the numbers will still be captured. There is a low credits warning system on accounts (which you can set to whatever you like) which will send you a warning email and a text message to ensure you don’t run out.

Couldn’t somebody ‘flood’ the form with mobile numbers and if I was returning a message end up costing me all my credits?
It is highly unlikely. You can set the number of times any 1 IP address can use the form to send a message so you have control over that. As an absolutely worst case scenario, should you be targeted by NASA-level-hackers, your liability will only ever be the total number of credits in your account. Once they are depleted, the confirmation messages will stop.

Can I export all the data that I’m collecting?
Yes, as a CSV or Excel document. Go to GROUPS | UPLOAD NUMBERS TO A GROUP in your account and you’ll see an export option there. When you open a Text Marketer account, you get a full text marketing system, rich in features. You will receive instructions when you open an account. You may also wish to have a look through our online instructions to see how your account works.

Popularity: 1%

Click the icon to download the FREE Excel Campaign Calculator

What response rate will you get from your Marketing Campaign?

I’m often asked about the relative differences between different marketing communication channels and which one might provide the best return.

Of course, there are many factors that have an effect on the success or failure of any campaign (list, creative, offer, etc.) but there are some well-respected organisations that conduct research on these things and publish ‘industry averages’.

To help you gauge a likely cost and return and compare the differences between SMS, Email, Telemarketing, Fax Marketing and Direct Mail I have built an Excel tool which gives you you the ability to change the parameters of the campaign and see the likely cost and return implications.

A quick video demo’ of how easily it works;

STEP 1

First, you enter how many people you’re going to contact, what is the cost per hour of your staff/agency running the campaign and the likely revenue you’d expect to earn from each response (averaged across all responses).

STEP 2

The areas in green use industry standard figures for costs and response rates across the channels but you can amend these should you have more relevant figures for your industry sector. In particular, if you had a large direct mail campaign, you might want to up the printing costs.

STEP 3

The results are then calculated in the red area (do not change these cells). You will see the estimated total costs & revenue for the campaign and then the likely net revenue received by you.

I hope this will provide some ‘science’ behind making decisions on what type of marketing channel has the most likely chance of success for you.

FREE DOWNLOAD

The Excel Marketing Campaign Calculator is free to download (it’s in 97-2003 format so should work for most people).

Popularity: 7%

Embed this Infographic on your website:

</p> <p><a href="http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2012/01/business-sms/the-rise-of-business-sms-infographic/"> <img src="http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/img/TheRiseofBusinessSMS-700px.jpg" width="700px" /></a><P>Source: <a href="http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/">Text Marketer Bulk SMS Services</a>

Popularity: 2%

First Choice Software and Text Marketer today announced a partnership, opening up a new low cost SMS API route for users of First Choice’s RDB recruitment software platform.

The partnership with Text Marketer’s SMS API is designed to give customers even better for value for money by reducing their SMS costs. Text Marketer Director, Henry Cazalet said:

“We’re thrilled to be entering into this new partnership with First Choice. SMS costs have reduced dramatically in the past few years and First Choice can now pass these cost reductions on to their customers. The software integration team at First Choice have been incredibly efficient in the way they have completed the SMS API integration work so quickly.”

All First Choice customers using Text Marketer as their SMS provider can test the service at no cost. Setting up an account is free and users receive 100 free texts to test the service before purchasing further text credits. The entire set up process takes no more than 10 minutes. (New users simply use the promocode CHOICE when they set up a free account.

This latest partnership reinforces First Choice’s commitment to providing the best possible value for money for its customers. Stuart Thomas, Client Services Manager commented:

“Text Marketer have been delivering low cost SMS tools for over 11 years and this partnership gives our customers a greater choice of quality SMS providers.”

Popularity: 2%

The ninth chapter in this series was all about how to ensure that you choose the right bulk SMS provider for your mobile marketing campaigns. This final chapter has a simple, uncomplicated message and that is to actually get a mobile marketing plan in place.

“The best way to get something done is to begin”

The unknown author of the quote above makes a point that we can all recognise. Procrastination in putting a mobile marketing plan together is completely understandable. Inertia is a powerful force. To counter this, one of the strengths of mobile marketing is that you can get going quickly and efficiently and with next to no budget.

There will be no need for committees, conference calls or meetings in bland hotels halfway up the M5. You will be able to set up a free bulk SMS account and have your first SMS campaign out the door is something less than half an hour.

Mobile marketing isn’t mysterious or complicated, you just need to have an idea about what you like to communicate with your customers, prospects or staff . You only have 160 characters to get your point across, so you’ll not need to chew your pencil, agonising about the right creative.

Set up an account now, used promo code NIRVANA10 and your account will come preloaded with 100 free text credits, so your first SMS marketing campaign could cost you nothing. Using your bulk SMS account is very straightforward and intuitive. In terms of button pressing help you can either watch a video on the basics or if you prefer you can download full written documentation.

When you first log into your account, you’ll be taken to a screen called Quick Send. From here, you can send yourself a test message from just one screen. You simply copy and paste your numbers , write your message and press submit .

So now could be the time to get started. If you would like to chat through how mobile marketing could work for you, please feel free to call us on (0117) 205 0202.

Popularity: 2%

Embed this Infographic on your website:

</p> <p><a href="http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/blog/2012/01/7-deadly-sins-of-mobile-marketing/seven-deadly-sins-of-mobile-marketing-infographic/"> <img src="http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/img/SevenDeadlySinsofMobileMarketing-FINAL.jpg" width="700px" /></a><P>Source: <a href="http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/">Text Marketer Bulk SMS Services</a>

Popularity: 38%

I’m about to upload my customers’ mobile numbers into my Text Marketer account. Is my data safe?

This is one of the commonest questions we’re asked by potential users of our bulk SMS service. It’s a completely understandable concern. if you’re about to upload all your precious customer data onto a new supplier’s bulk SMS system, you want to be absolutely convinced that it’s not going to be flogged onto some other company to use as they see fit.

Companies are not being paranoid in seeking assurance that their bulk SMS data is secure and won’t be passed on to any third party. So in simple terms, here is Text Marketer’s policy regarding the use of customer data stored within its systems.

We would never ever, pass on, sell or allow access to any customer data held on Text Marketer’s systems.

All data is password protected and stored on highly secure servers, hosted by Rack Space.

Customers who no longer wish to use their bulk SMS system, can request account deletion along with all customer data ever stored on the account.

So Text Marketer customers can be confident that when they load sensitive data onto their accounts, there will be no nasty surprises.

So if you haven’t already done so, please feel free to set up a bulk SMS account. We’ll give you some free credits for testing. Or feel free to call us on (0117) 205 0202.

Popularity: 3%

No need to panic if you don't have a mobile marketing plan.

Mobile marketing is on the move. For years now we have been told that the breakthrough is on its way. But at last, 2012 might be the year that mobile marketing genuinely becomes mainstream. It’s been a long time coming.

When Text Marketer was set up, way back in 1999, we believed that by around 2003 most companies in the UK would have adopted an integrated mobile marketing strategy. We probably underestimated the power of inertia and the fact that it’s human nature to stick closely to what you’ve always done.

So if you happen to work for one of the 70% of UK companies that don’t yet have a mobile marketing plan in place, where to start? It’s a murky and confusing world out there, cluttered with annoying terms such as QR codes (overhyped), short codes, long codes, MSDN and so on. To the uninitiated, it feels like you have to be part of some exclusive club to understand how it all works.

Getting started though, is truly just a 2 minute of affair. The best strategy is to ignore all the hype over things like QR codes and smartphone apps and concentrate on mobile tools that absolutely everyone uses. That means SMS. The starting point for the vast majority of mobile marketing strategies is to look at how bulk sms can be used as a way of communicating with your customers prospects or staff. So one of the first things that you need to do is take a look at a web-based bulk SMS tool. Once you’ve set one up you can start to explore how the use of SMS could be profitable for your business.

There is no cost to setting up a bulk SMS account with Text Marketer. You will also receive some free text credits for testing. Once you’ve logged on and started to send a few texts you’ll probably come up with all sorts of mobile marketing ideas. Please feel free to give us a call on 0117 2050202 and we can help you develop those ideas into an integrated mobile marketing plan.

Popularity: 5%

A hefty title to live up to but let’s give it a go.

What’s “Marketing”!?

Probably one of the most misused terms in business is my first reaction! But, seriously, for the purposes of this article I mainly mean ‘communication’. Business people often say things like, “we need to DO some marketing”. What they mean is they want to blast out something which will get new business. That’s better described as ‘advertising’ really.

In any event. Semantics aside. What we want to look at is SMS Marketing vs Email Marketing. Or, put more succinctly, which of these communication methods is best for your business?

Truth 1: Customers are fickle

No, really. One minute they like your emails, then they subscribe to your twitter feed, then they want a call. The next week, they’re not into email or twitter because they’ve gone off the idea!

OK, this is possibly a person with an extremely short attention span but the point it is true. Any list of people is exactly that, a list of ‘people’. It’s obvious but it’s something that’s often overlooked. Companies segment people into groups to make their communications more relevant and (hopefully) more effective. That’s no bad thing, it’s the right thing to do (in fact, I wrote an article about database segmentation in 2009).
BUT (and here’s the first nugget of the truth) … ‘Customers ARE fickle‘.

Truth 2: Emails & SMS’s are very different in your customers’ eyes

We’re back into ‘human emotion’ here (starting to feel like a psychology article!). This point is important though. I only look at my emails when I choose to. I open up Outlook, hit send and receive and browse the messages I want to. If I get a text message, maybe when I’m out biking, my phone beeps and vibrates in my pocket and I’ll pull over, take off my gloves, get my phone out of my pocket and read the text.

One is passive and one is active. My phone is fundamentally a personal device of mine. If you’re going to send a message to my phone, it had better be relevant. The lesson here is, “does the message I’m going to send out fit with the channel I’m using from my customer’s point of view?”.

Truth 3: SMS’s are opened more than emails

Well, yes, of course. Stat’s vary wildly on email open rates but globally it is said that just 22% of all emails sent are opened vs 98.7% of all text messages.

Truth 4: EVERYBODY HATES SPAM!

(Forgive the shouting) … If there is a person out there that likes SPAM, I apologise. But I don’t think many people will fall into this category!?

The Mobile Marketing Association in 2009 did a study. They found that 90% of all emails received were SPAM! Wow. What about SMS? That was just 1% of messages received.

Because of the incredibly strict laws and controls now in place in SMS Marketing, there is basically next to no SMS SPAM.

I hope you’re thinking what I’m thinking!? ….. The lesson here is the same as in Truth 2 …. “if you’re gonna send a message to my phone, it had better be relevant …. and I had better not think it’s SPAM!” (I hope you weren’t thinking, “cool, plenty of room for spamming then!”)

So, come one then. Which one is best!?

Hold your horses. We haven’t got to the best bit yet.

Let’s roll all these ‘truths’ into a perfectly executed example of ‘marketing communication’

• I buy my groceries online at Sainsburys. Usually it’s a few days ahead of when it’s due to be delivered. After I have gone through the checkout they email me with a receipt of my purchase and confirmation of delivery times. Fair enough, it’s usually quite a bit of shopping and that list wouldn’t fit in an SMS. Furthermore, I actually look for the email to make sure the order went through fine.
• Sainsburys allow you to amend your order up to 9pm the night before delivery day. At 5pm I get a text. “Just to confirm your shopping will be delivered between 3-5pm tomorrow. Don’t forget you can amend your order online up until 9pm this evening”.
• Actually I did need a few other things. Off I go to give them some more of my hard earned.

Spot on Sainsburys.

You emailed me when it was relevant, after the order and because it contained a lot of information.

You texted me when it was relevant because it was a short message to confirm my delivery (sometimes I forget!) and contained a timely piece of information about amending my order by 9pm if I wanted to (I probably would have missed the email).

So, is there a conclusion anywhere in the offing!?

The ‘truth‘ is that SMS is ‘best‘ AND Email is ‘best‘ (collective groan!). What can that possibly mean?

Do I not understand you can only have one ‘best‘!?

Well, each is ‘best‘ when it is most relevant to the communication in question:

• I’m happy to get a monthly email newsletter from my local restaurant but I’d need a text if they had a special deal on tonight
• I’m happy to get my train tickets in the post but I’d need a text to confirm an order code if I’m travelling in 2 hours time
• Email me confirmation of my entire order but please send a text if anything’s urgent about my delivery
• …. and so on

As with a lot of things the answer is then, “it depends”. An SMS will hit the phone instantly. It is almost guaranteed it will be read. Just make sure it’s relevant. An email is going to be an altogether more hit or miss affair (with only around 22% getting read).

When deciding which to use, I always ask myself, “would I like to receive this on my phone”, “is the time of the day relevant” and “does it come across ‘spammy’ at all”.

If you want to find out if you’re customers are happy to receive text alerts, try a bit of Customer Research by SMS first.

Popularity: 7%

Blimey, has it really been just over 19 years since a Vodafone chap call Neil Papworth sent the first text? His ‘Merry Christmas’ message sent to his colleagues launched a new communication channel that no one predicted would be as popular as it has proved to be.

Papworth originally thought that texting would be quite a useful way for members of staff to keep in touch and had no inkling that it would grow to be the standard communication workhorse that it is.

So despite having been around for nearly 20 years, the use of mobile marketing as a mainstream activity hasn’t really happened yet. We estimate that just 20 or 30% of UK companies use mobile marketing in any meaningful or consistent way. The view persists that mobile marketing is a bit niche and would only be relevant if your target market was under 35 years old.

Some companies that we speak to say they tried mobile marketing a few years ago and it didn’t work. Usually that means that they sent one bulk SMS campaign with an offer, didn’t get the response they were hoping for, so wrote off mobile marketing as a bad job.

We are seeing some evidence that these attitudes towards mobile marketing are changing. We’re seeing many more enquiries from the type of companies that normally would have given us a wide berth. Every year at about this time we’ve all read optimistic blog posts about how this year is going to be the year of mobile. I think that’s 2012 will be recognised as a year when mobile marketing truly did become a mainstream activity.

So if your company is not yet involved, now is the time to act. Set up a free account, we’ll add some free text credits, give it a test, then contact us on (0117) 205 0202 to chat through how your business could benefit.

Popularity: 5%

38% of consumers prefer text message marketing

Given a choice, people in the UK, France and Germany prefer receiving text message marketing campaigns as opposed to mobile web promotions.

The research was carried out by to Toluna for the Direct Marketing Association. The report sponsor Velti, revealed the somewhat surprising evidence that 38% of people in the UK prefer the well-established text message marketing channel, compared to just 15% who prefer mobile web.

The results were even more striking in Germany and France with 58% and 60% respectively favouring text message marketing, with just 21% of consumers favouring mobile web.

According to the report, which surveyed 4400 mobile users in Europe’s three largest economies, an encouraging 40% of UK consumers would be interested in being contacted by advertisers via their mobile.

Krishna Subramanian from of Velti, said: “From our perspective, this survey highlights a vast opportunity available to mobile marketers to address the gap in mobile engagement.”

So the evidence suggests that many of us would welcome text message marketing campaigns from advertisers. What is surprising is that so few UK companies are using SMS in any way in their business. Our estimate, which admittedly is only based on gut feel, is that about 30% of UK companies are using or have used text message marketing as a promotional tool. Despite having been around for 15 years or so, text message marketing is still viewed as a cutting-edge and slightly edgy marketing activity to get involved in. Nothing could be further from the truth.

If you haven’t yet tried text message marketing, now would be a good time to set up a free account to see how it might work for your business. If you would like to chat to us, please give us a call on (0117) 205 0202.

Popularity: 6%

In 2011 we saw an impressive increase in the number of companies who started looking at SMS as a way of communicating with customers, prospects and staff. Most newcomers to SMS marketing tend to use the stand alone web based SMS marketing platform. It’s the quickest way of getting up and running and starting to explore the various ways that SMS can be used.

The web-based SMS marketing system is highly flexible and user-friendly but one of its limitations is that you can’t automate sending SMS based on a time or event trigger. So if for example you wanted to send a customer an appointment reminder by text you would have to log into your account and set the message up manually.

This year we think there is going to be a large increase in the number of companies using the SMS Gateway as a way of routing messages. The SMS Gateway allows you to integrate and automate the sending of texts from your own systems, software or website. So instead of having to set up an appointment reminder manually, the SMS Gateway would allow you to automate the task. As the use of business SMS starts to become standard practice, it makes sense that companies streamline and optimise systems to take full advantage of this most responsive communication channel.

Integrating with the SMS Gateway is more technically involved than using a standalone SMS system but offers you far greater flexibility in the way that you use SMS.

If you would like to look at this, please feel free to set up an account. You’ll get some free text credits for testing and our experienced technical team can help you out if you have any queries. If you would like a chat, do give us a call on (0117) 205 0202.

Popularity: 6%

We’ve upgraded the txtUs virtual mobile number service so it now displays the names of people who text you if they are included in the Address Book on your account.

It’s very easy to add contacts to your address book and it means that as the email responses come in from people, their name will be displayed in the conversation history as well as their mobile number.

Here’s how it works;

Step1. We send out a text campaign to 2 of the contacts in our address book to confirm if they will be coming to the meeting tomorrow.
(Note: You do not have to use the Send to Address Book screen for this feature to work but your contacts’ names and numbers must be in the Address Book for their names to appear on email replies. Otherwise, only their mobile number will be displayed.)

Step2. We can see that both Henry and Anne have replied. Their name is shown in the inbox as well as the conversation history in the email message itself.

Step3. Henry has said he can’t make it and asked for information on the next meeting. We can simply reply to the email and that will go back as a text message to his phone. If he replies again, the full conversation history will be shown on subsequent emails.

Related information:

• The txtUs Virtual Mobile Number system
• How to use the Address Book function in your system
• Reducing costs and increasing enquiries with txtUs

Popularity: 11%

Business Link was looking for a way to reduce the number of non-attendants to their business workshops. Although their booking systems sent out e-mails to confirm that the spots had been booked, there was still an uncomfortably high rate of non-attendance.

Using an SMS marketing company to send text reminders delivered a resounding success in reducing the number of ‘no shows’. SMS marketing enjoys open rates of over 98%, compared with e-mail where you can expect just 20% of recipients to read the message.

Sarah Barker who looks after the workshop bookings at Business Link commented:

“We’ve had a huge success with our first campaign – thanks for the help getting it set up.”

By using the merge to text tool, the message had even more impact as it was tailored to the individual recipient and included the deligate name along with the date and time of the event.

SMS marketing can be used as a reminder tool in a wide variety of ways and is an incredibly powerful way of getting your message straight into the hands of your customers.

Setting up an SMS marketing account is free and there are no contracts or monthly fees to pay. Free credits allow you to test the service before committing any funds. Call us on (0117) 205 0202 if you would like to discuss how SMS marketing could work for your business.

Popularity: 9%