It seems that this is the time of year for posts and articles published about “The future of…’ or ‘Trends for 2014’. They can make for very interesting reading and give clues about what might be coming up on the horizon… However the truth is none of us have got a crystal ball and predicting the future – particularly in technology can be very tough. For example, I’m sure every person above the age of 26 was expecting to be riding around on a Back to the Future hover board by now.
Whilst we console ourselves and wait for our floating skateboards LG has announced that soon you will be able to have text conversations with your home appliances. You did read that correctly – we will soon be able to have a good old chin-wag with the fridge, vacuum cleaner, washing machine or oven. You’ll be able to text your appliance with – “I have gone away for a few days” to which your fridge could respond with “shall I go into vacation power saving mode?” It doesn’t stop there – your fridge will be able to text you with its contents, so you know what to pick up from the shop on your way home! The washing machine and dishwasher will ask if they should start their cycle, and if you have the robotic vacuum cleaner it will ask if you want your rooms cleaned before you get home – domestic bliss.
All this is pretty amazing / scary depending on how many sci-fi films of robots-taking-over-the-world you have seen, but what we can see is that companies are continuing to ensure that their customers can communicate via text message and they are finding innovative ways to do so.
Couriers are sending out text messages to customers telling them the 15 minute window of which their parcel will be delivered. The customer can even reply to let them know a change of address or to change the delivery time. This would be near impossible to do via any other communication channel in a timely manner.
Schools now send out texts to parents and students if the school day has been postponed because of the rain or snow – how else could you urgently update 500 parents that their child’s school is closed for the day?
Garages and car dealerships are sending out reminders to their customers to inform them that their MOT is due. Doctors and dentists are sending out appointment reminders so they don’t lose out on missed appointments. I think you would struggle to find a business that could not benefit from an effective text message.
Mobile is still growing at an incredible rate and is of massive importance to companies and customers all around the world. Mobile website traffic has increased again this year due to the popularity of smart phones but also the improved internet signal across the globe. On Boxing Day 2013 mobile website traffic actually overtook desktop traffic, and with 4G now being introduced across many parts of the world and even whispers of 5G being deployed in Asia, it will only carry on increasing.
This is great news for us here at Text Marketer – there’s nothing we like more than a trend connected to mobile use increasing and that the future of appliances and a happy home is to be delivered via text message.