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.

Test different mobile marketing campaigns to maximise response

Mobile marketing in the UK is the most effective direct marketing channel. The response rates to mobile marketing campaigns outstrip those of direct marketing by over five times. (Source – Mobile Marketing Association.)

Most organisations which are new to mobile marketing are keen to see how successful it could be for them. In all the excitement, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the new technology at the expense of a properly thought through and appealing mobile marketing campaign. Customers and prospects are not excited that a company they deal with has started to use SMS. They’ll only be interested if what lands on their phones is appealing to them. So just because you’ve sent your customers a text, don’t expect a huge deluge of enquiries and orders.

Mobile Marketing Testing Pays Dividends

To really get the most out of your mobile marketing campaign you need to test different approaches and offers, sent at different times of day. It’s highly unlikely that your first bulk SMS campaign will be the perfect formula. It’s only by testing and retesting that you’ll find out what works best. This is all pretty obvious and direct marketing gurus have been enthusing about the benefits of testing for decades.

So mobile marketing follows the same rules as all the other direct marketing channels such as mail and e-mail and a crucial part of that is the testing process. Some Text Marketer customers have tested over a dozen different campaigns before settling on the most effective one.

Domino’s Pizza franchisee Glen Craik, initially rejected mobile marketing as the response that he had from his first campaign was so poor. It took him over six months to devise the most responsive offer, which now generates a response rate of over 6%. So consistent is this response to his mobile marketing campaigns that he knows the exact quantity of ingredients to have in store to satisfy demand.

You’ll be able to explore this by setting up a free account. There is no setup cost or monthly fee; you just purchase as many low cost text credits as you need for your campaign. You can always call us too on (0117) 205 0202, we’d love to hear from you.

The TV remote control and the washing machine are always mentioned as some of the most glaring examples of dire software implementation . (My colleague recently bought a new washing machine that has just one button in the middle labelled ‘wash my stuff’. Genius.)

So bulk sms providers have a delicate line to tread. There are all sorts of clever tools that we have in our toolbox. So how do we present these in a way that’s going to prevent our customers from hurling their computers out of the window in frustration?

Our starting point was to try and identify a typical user of a bulk sms service and tailor the user experience around them. We then immediately ran into trouble because our customers range from techno uber-geek at one end to… (how to put this politely) card holding member of the Flat Earth Society on the other. There just isn’t such a thing as a typical customer.

So we then decided to look at what most bulk sms software users would want to do the very first time they opened up an account and logged in. In almost all cases, people just want to see the thing working. They’ve just set up their bulk sms account and they want to send themselves a quick test message. Nothing fancy, just a test to check it works.

One Screen is Plenty

We then set about making the process of sending a quick test as easy as possible. ‘Quick Send’, as it’s imaginatively called, is what emerged. It’s the starting point and hub of our sms software. When you first login to a Text Marketer account you get taken straight to Quick Send. This allows you to send bulk sms messages from just one screen and with delightfully few clicks.

To get a bulk sms campaign landing on as many phones as you wish, all you need to do is the following:

1. Paste your mobile numbers into a box
2. Write your message
3. set the sender ID, (who the message is from)
4. Press submit

In all it takes about 15 seconds. By making it easy for people to get going, we hope to demonstrate that using our bulk sms platforn as a daily tool isn’t going to be a chore.

Help yourself to a free account to see what we’re talking about and send yourself a test message. (You’ll get 10 free test messages.) If you get lost or confused, then we’ve failed but we expect you’ll find it a walk in the park.

We always available on 0117 2050202 if you need back up.

The survey questioned consumers about how they prefer businesses to communicate with them.

Goods-delivery services are improved by text messaging, with 97 per cent of participants saying that they prefer to buy goods from companies who text them with a time and date for their delivery.

The survey also found that 87 per cent prefer to deal with businesses who use SMS to remind them of details of their appointments, and 88 per cent of respondents said they would be more likely to attend an appointment if they received a reminder via text message.

Just under 50 per cent of participants said they would be willing to pay the standard text message charge for certain items, such as travel tickets, to receive updates.

This latest research shows the number has increased since February 2010, when it showed two thirds of Brit’s wanted texts from companies they dealt with.

Using texting to invite your customers to recommend a friend is a very powerful way to achieve sales growth as people have been used to forwarding text messages since the beginning of texting itself.

For example, you could send out a text a few days after a purchase saying something along the lines of, “Thanks for your order. We hope you’re a satisfied customer. If you are, please tell your friends about us and we’ll reward you both with £10 off your next purchase. Your referral code is XYZ123″. (You can use our txtUs reply system for getting return responses).

This types of schemes have to be tailored for the particular business you’re in of course but, esepcially in today’s socially connected world, it can very quickly produce stunning results.

Top 20 tips to getting your member get member scheme right first time.

Offers

1. Reward both parties not just the existing customer or the friend. Both need to see benefit in the offer to make it worth their while.

2. The reward to the friend must be as good (if not better) than other acquisition offers in the market. You can’t disadvantage a new customer because they were referred by a friend.

3. Test different offers for both the customer and friend. Often cash (or vouchers) is king but you can instil relevance by relating the reward to your product eg a free upgrade, free month’s subscription etc. Whatever you go for, keep it simple.

4. Placing a time limit on the offer aids tracking, although consider also having an ongoing lower reward ‘always on’ to capture any ad hoc referrals

Targeting

5. Test the best timing to target existing customers. Try to target them when they’re feeling most positive about your product for example when they’ve just made their first purchase.

6. Target your customers that came through the referral scheme themselves – it’s most likely they’ll be possible about the scheme as they’ve benefited from it

7. Include the existing customer’s name in the text message – this will help reduce the assumption it’s spam

Customer tools

8. Make it easy for customers to refer & provide them with the tools – offer a microsite where they can enter friends’ details, make sure they can do it via their phone, via social media, SMS etc

9. Ensure each customer has a unique code which can be used to link their friends’ registrations to their account. Make sure customers know this code so they can pass it out to friends and don’t have to rely on friends clicking through certain links.

10. In your MGM campaigns remind customers of the benefits of your product or service and why new customers benefit from buying from you. Not all customers will remember why they use you specifically!

11. Keep referring customers up to date about their friend’s progress. They can help to prompt the friend to ensure they complete their registration or achieve any sales criteria to gain the reward.

12. If possible, set up a microsite that provides this progress information to customers. Give them the tools to encourage their friend to overcome any barriers to conversion.

13. Remember you are not able to retain any data about the referred friend, unless you have their consent. Any follow ups should ask the customer to enter their friend’s email address again to avoid any data protection issues.

Tracking & High value

14. If possible track referrals not just conversions – that will allow you to identify key referring customers, even if not all their referrals convert in to customers.

15. Consider rewarding customers for referrals not just conversions.

16. Measure the quality of new customers being referred to you. This allows you to identify customers who are referring the highest value friends.

17. Consider giving high value referrers an additional reward to encourage more referrals of the highest quality

18. Test tying the friend’s reward into more than one purchase – this will encourage repeat purchase and minimise ‘hit and runs’.

Finally…

19. Take a look at Member Get Member schemes outside your own market to see what innovation is going on there and adapt the best ideas for your own customers.

20. Remember to constantly review & optimise your scheme. Don’t just leave it to run itself!

Created by Text Marketer Ltd – Bulk SMS Text Marketing

It makes sense. Text Message Marketing is the most powerful marketing channel available today. It has the highest ROI of any channel and provides instant success. Nothing comes even close.

Decision One

Do you want to manage your clients’ SMS activities or let them run their own campaigns?

We provide the ability to do both.

- If you want to manage your clients’ activities then you simply need a Text Marketer account. Every account has the ability to run multiple databases, multiple campaigns and multiple response keywords. Everything can be labelled so you have full tracking of what’s gone on for billing purposes. In this model, you would be buying higher volumes of SMS credits from us and thus achieving very low bulk SMS prices and can therefore mark these up to charge on to your client.

- If you simply want to introduce clients to our system so that they each have their own account and run their own activities then the reseller option is for you. In this model, you sign up for an account and go to Financials | Become a Partner in your account and get a Partner Code. Each of your clients uses your partner code when they sign up (there is a benefit to them of additional free credits for this) and then you receive 10% commission on all the spend in every account, for the life of the account. (See more about reselling SMS Marketing services here).

Decision Two

Why partner with Text Marketer? Some competitors offer slightly higher commission rates.

In 2 words. Price. Experience.

We offer the lowest prices of any UK premium SMS company. Of course, that means there is a little less margin to share around compared to our expensive competitors.

Here’s a scenario. You put the time and effort into selling text marketing to your clients. Eventually they agree, great! They now type “Text Marketing” into Google and voila, we’re at the top and they come across us as the lowest cost provider. Guess who they sign up with!? Offering your clients the best value makes sense, not only because it shows your client you are recommending the best for them but from your financial point of view as well. 10% of something is better than 15% of nothing.

We are also the oldest UK bulk SMS supplier, since 1999, with 1000′s of clients. We are proven. So is our technology. It is stable and reliable. Over the years we have built up a massive help centre and even training and promotional videos which means that you can provide your clients with all the material they need with one simple link which reduces the time you have to spend.

The Final Decision

Is it really worth putting the time in to resell SMS Marketing services – it seems low value?

It is a volume business, that’s true. But the potential is huge and is growing exponentially. It is estimated that by 2016 texts sent by businesses will outstrip personal texts sent (there are 4.3 billion mobile phones on the planet!).

What we’re seeing at Text Marketer is that all companies are gradually growing the volume of texts they send. It works for them is why. It’s slowly becoming the default replacement to faxes and emails – and imagine having a small % of that market in the beginning!

Here’s a scenario. One of your customers sends 5,000 SMS’s per month for example. At current rates, that’s only £222 commission per year. But, if they continue to do that for 5 years (as SMS is simply a communication channel so is long term), it’s £1,110 commission. Put the time in to get 20 or 40 of these clients and the amounts soon add up to a substantial and sustained income. And some bigger clients can easily send hundreds of thousands of messages per month!

In Summary

- Get started now. Your clients will be thinking about it or maybe even doing it now (in which case you can offer them our lower prices)
- Decide whether you want to manage activities for your clients or become a partner (being a partner is best as allows you to grow more quickly with less time spent)
- Get an account, become a partner and get your partner code
- Start promoting SMS Marketing to your client base, using your partner code
- Build your client base by making use of our extensive self help material, tips and tricks and videos

If you need any more information please do contact us or simply read more information on reselling SMS Marketing services and see the instructions at the bottom of that page to get going automatically. Best of luck.

Buying SMS databases can be a complicated process and there are many pitfalls to watch out for because the industry is so heavily regulated. This is why we wanted to launch our broker service so you can be sure you are buying from reputable, legal sources.

All you need to do is let us know the criteria for the data you want and we’ll send it out to our trusted list companies and then put you directly in contact with the one that offers the best value for your request.

Although the relative cost of buying SMS databases can be high, the ROI is usually excellent because SMS is so responsive.

Very few companies in the UK have really embraced the potential applications or have made long term commitments to text marketing.

We are still in the early days, where many have sent the odd text campaign or run a pilot scheme. It may well be several years before contacting customers using their mobile is as common as sending them a letter or e-mail.

Even more amazingly, marketing and advertising agencies, whose job it is to keep their clients informed of all the latest communications tools, are lagging well behind. Only 18% of them offer any sort of SMS marketing or mobile services.

Having been gloomy about the slow rate of change, there will however be very strong growth in the next 18 months in one simple sms marketing application, Text response.

Text Response

The charge in the use of text response
as a response mechanic on advertising is being lead by car manufacturers and financial services companies.

In the next 18 months most consumer organisations will include a text response as part of their marketing campaigns.

For many companies, this is the launch pad for their mobile marketing strategy.
There is usually a strong argument for having a text response option on any direct response activity. Giving more choice, results in an uplift in overall response.

Very few employers in the UK have really embraced the potential applications or have made long term commitments to exploring how the mobile can improve the recruitment process.

Even more amazingly, marketing and advertising agencies, whose role it is to keep their clients informed of all the latest communications tools, are lagging well behind. Only 18% of them offer any sort of SMS marketing or mobile services. (source – Mobile Marketing Association.)

Essentially, the mobile phone simply represents another ‘channel’ through which employers can communicate with their applicants. There are number of mobile strategies that can be deployed and this overview briefly outlines what they are and how they can be used to best effect.

Text Response

For many companies, this is the launch pad for their mobile marketing strategy.

How Does it work?

• The responder texts in a unique ‘keyword’ to a 5 digit short code, e.g. 88800.
• Text Marketer captures their mobile number and the incoming message.
• The responder may also be asked to text in an e-mail or postal address.
• An automated text response is then generated that acknowledges their text and lets them know what will happen next.
• Text Marketer provides a powerful, web based, ‘campaign manager’ account allowing you to track and manage the incoming response.

To see an example, text job to 88800 (standard rate)

Why have a text response?

Consistently, if you give applicants the choice, around 50% of them will elect to make their initial contact by text.

Allows a ‘spontaneous’ or ‘compulsive’ response

Having a text response option on the creative, allows applicants to make a spontaneous contact. Potential applicants browsing a recruitment section of a publication may not actively be looking for a new job or career change.

Changing jobs and career path is a stressful experience. It’s all too easy to stay where you are rather than go through the disruption of the whole process. A text response encourages action before second thoughts creep in.

Applicants can respond wherever they are

One of the problems with traditional response mechanics (telephone and web) is that there is often a time lag between initial interest and the ability to respond. Applicants seeing a recruitment ad in the paper on the train will be unable to respond immediately. The longer the time lag, the greater the drop off in response.

Less formal than making a call

We sometimes forget that for some people, applying for a job can be an intimidating experience. Applicants wonder whether the initial call that they make will be assessed or that they may have to conduct an initial interview over the phone.

Promotes company as innovative and forward thinking

There are currently very few employers using mobile as part of the recruitment process. Those that do, create an impression of being innovators in their field.

What sort of results can be expected?

On the campaigns that Text Marketer has been running, around 50% of the overall response has been generated via the text response option. An overall uplift of between 17% and 21% can also be expected.

Measure response rates from different advertising channels

One of the key benefits of using text response is that response can be measured far more accurately than with other mechanics. Additionally, response rates from different publications or marketing channels can be measured. This information can then be used to help shape the media buying for subsequent campaigns.

What data is captured when someone responds?

The following information is captured and stored in a database…

Mobile number
Date and time of text
The message itself 

Can you capture e-mail or postal addresses?

The key thing to remember here is that as long as the keyword is at the start of the text, then everything else is captured. So a typical ‘call to action’ on a campaign might read…

‘….For more information on careers at Text Marketer, text job followed by your
e-mail addresses to 88800

We have found that people are surprisingly accurate with texting their email addresses and we would normally expect an error rate of around 10%.

Response Handling

We have found that employers are almost always keen to pilot a text response campaign but some do not have the internal resource to handle an outbound telephone campaign to capture further details from applicants.

They love the idea of increased response but are not happy with the existing recruitment process being disrupted. In these cases, the best solution is to ask applicants to text in either an e-mail address or postal address. This allows applications to be handled in the normal way.

Handling Client Expectations

Having a text response on a campaign will uplift the overall response by around 20%. It will not of course turn an unresponsive campaign into a responsive one. The success of the texting element should be measured in the context of the overall response. If a campaign generates just 10 response and 6 of them are by text, then the text response has been successful.

WAP sites

WAP sites are simply web sites designed for the mobile phone. In the same way that an agency might design a micro site for a job, a wap site can be developed to provide detailed job information.

To see a simple job WAP site, text job to 88800, then click on the link in the text autoresponse.

Why have a WAP site?

A wap site enables you to provide detailed information to applicants at the point at which they are most interested. A typical job advertisement is always going to be a blend of attention grabbing creative and more detailed information about the role.

There is always a limit to the amount of detail that can be included in a job description and a wap site is an excellent way of overcoming this problem.

Outbound Text Campaigns

Outbound text campaign can be used to improve the communication process. E.g.

• Application deadline reminders
• Interview appointment reminders
• Reminders of recruitment events
• Follow up ‘lapsed applicants’

Evolving Strategies

Most companies start their involvement with a simple text response and develop other mobile services over time. Text Marketer aims to guide you through the process and make ‘selling in’ mobile solutions as straightforward as possible. Please contact us on 0117 9249207 for an informal chat.

Many nightclubs are aware that they could be making more from their mobile marketing campaigns. This brief guide provides an overview of the main issues to consider.

Automate the process of capturing mobile numbers.
Many clubs still collect mobile numbers by sending someone round the venue with a clipboard. This is expensive, time consuming and prone to errors in transcribing. Customers are also often unwilling to give out their numbers.

Create a Text Club with real benefits
By creating a ‘text club’ that new members can join by simply texting in a keyword, you remove completely the need to manually collect numbers.

A text club needs to have real value to the customer rather than just being a way of inviting people to new events. It should have a wide range of benefits that might include the following…
· Free Queue jumping passes
· Free VIP entry
· Free entry into regular prize draws
· Regular drinks offers
· Invitation to write reviews
· Customer surveys

Ensure that all promotional activity supporting the text club mentions that the club is free and that the customer will not be sent any chargeable messages.

Promoting the Service
To generate maximum possible sign up, promote the text club via all the marketing channels that are available
· Text-enable promotional fliers
· Promote via the website
· Use posters within the venue
· Publish using on site screens
· Encourage sign up on the door
· Promote using any local advertising campaigns

Coach Nightclub promotes their text service by inviting people to join by text or by submitting their number to the web site. Their mobile database contains approximately 9000 mobile numbers.
Planet Love incentivises customers with a text to win competition, giving players the chance to win 1 of 10 pairs of tickets. This competition generated over 1200 entries in 3 weeks

Sending the Text Campaigns
You only have 160 characters to make your point, so keep you messages simple. Don’t use too much ‘txt speak’. If you use too many text abbreviations you run the risk of confusing your customers.
The text should aim to generate excitement and offer a clear reason for the customer to turn up.

Timing
Aim to get your message to customers at a time when they will be making plans for the evening. Too early and the message will be forgotten, too late and other arrangements may have already been made.

How Frequently?
Common sense applies here! If you send too frequently then you run the risk of annoying your membership. To infrequently and customers begin to forget who you are. Weekly text campaigns strike about the right balance.

Now I’m not really the target market for Frijj, (a chilled milk chocolate drink) but this mobile marketing campaign really caught my eye and is without doubt one of the best text to win competitions that I’ve seen in a long while.

Frijj – On Pack Promotion

Creative Impact – Score  9.5 /10

"Win Warren" - The work experience boy

It’s hard to imagine how Frijj could have created more impact than with their Win Warren mobile marketing promotion. By texting in the code, you get the chance to have Warren come round your house and do anything you want him to. What, Anything? Who’s Warren? Well there he is, staring gormlessly out at you from the pack. With his dark circled eyes and spotty face, he’s a highly desirable, multi-skilled all rounder, who’ll sort out all your domestic chores.

As well as being bold, this is an entertaining and original promotional concept that shows the brand doesn’t take itself too seriously. Quirky fun.

Entry Instructions – Score  9.0/10

These couldn’t really have been clearer. All you had to do was enter the code and the word warren to a 5 digit short code. Concise, clear and delightfully simple.

The agencies involved have really thought about trying to reduce all the possible reasons why your wouldn’t bother to enter.

Ease of Entry – Score 9.0/ 10

Entry to the text to win competition is a walk in the park. Note that they only require you to text in an 8 digit code, unlike Coke who on their recent text promotion insisted on using 12. Also unlike Coke, the code is gloriously legible – no guessing required. What a relief.

What happened Next? – Score 9.0/10

A few seconds after sending my text, came the following….

“Sorry mate, that code’s not a winner. But chin up. We’ve still got wicked prizes up for grabs. ‘Like’ Frijj on Facebook to check out what Warren’s up to now.”

That response ticks all the boxes. Firstly I’m told that I haven’t won. (Well no real surprise there.) But then I’m reminded that I’m in with a chance to win other goodies. Finally I’m directed to Facebook to continue my interaction with the brand and to find out more about the weird and wonderful world of Warren.

Terms and Conditions – Score 9.0/10

They’ve sensibly kept the on pack terms and conditions to a reasonable length and there are no nasty surprises such as hidden charges to enter.

Overall Score 44.5 / 50 – 89%

I hope this mobile marketing campaign sees Frijj sales rocket. Not only is the overall concept amusing and original but the attention to detail runs throughout the whole campaign. I’ll be intrigued to see how they follow this up.

You’ll then get an automated text response inviting you to present the text when you arrive.

“Thank you for texting Bristol Zoo. Show this text to get 241 entry during May 2011. Restrictions apply. View T&Cs  www.bristolzoo.org.uk”

The sms campaign is being promoted in a series of local publications as well as appearing on the zoo’s web site. Using Text Marketer’s web based mobile marketing platform, Bristol Zoo was able to set up the entire campaign in a matter of minutes, without needing to contact account managers or raise support requests.

By logging into their account, they were able to check the availability of the keyword that they wanted and set up a low cost monthly subscription. They could then easily configure the keyword by adding an automated text response and setting up email alerts.

As there is no minimum period or set up fee, this sms response option is ideal for tactical, short term mobile marketing campaigns like this one. The fact that it can all be set up and controlled by the marketers running the campaign puts them in complete control from start to finish. Mobile marketing concepts can be translated into live campaigns almost instantly. It’s this speed and ease of implementation that wrenches control away from marketing agencies and puts it back firmly in the hands of the company. Powerful stuff.

We’d love to talk to you about how we can help you get some nimble mobile marketing campaigns into action. Please feel free to call us on 0117 2050202.

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Getting into your customers' mobile phone address book is the 'holy grail' of mobile marketing.

People’s mobile phones are precious to them. For many already, it’s how they organise their entire lives. And this trend is surely only set to continue – well, according to every study I’ve ever read!

Getting in to your Customer’s mobile phone address book

This should be your holy grail. Most people’s mobile address books stay with them forever, moving with them as they change devices too, automatically. Most smartphones also synchronise contacts with Facebook, Google and other social networking systems.

If you can get your business name and number into their address book, there’s good chance your customer will remember you for a long time! Also, if you send them a text message in the future, it pops up as from your company name, not just a generic number – just like it does from any friend of theirs.

How do you go about this?

It’s simple. We’ve tested this on many occasions and it works.

1. You need a txtUs virtual 07…… mobile number for your business.

2. Export all your customers’ mobile numbers from your database.

3. Send them a simple message from your Text Marketer account (using your txtUs number as the Sender ID). Something like,
“Hi from Carluccio’s restaurant. This is our new text messaging number which you can use for booking or general enquiries. Please save us to your address book“.

Done.

The benefits of doing this aren’t immediate, they’re more a medium term strategy. But, from all the evidence we’ve seen, it is simply the holy grail of mobile marketing.

I currently use Text Marketer’s web based bulk sms system to send messages to my customers. I want them to be able to reply to these messages. Should I use a short code or a long code? What’s the difference between them and what are they used for?

Short Codes

Short codes are mainly used to generate response from advertising or marketing activity. A responder will text in a keyword to a 5 digit short code, e.g 88802. The responder then receives an automated text response letting them know what will happen next.  The responder’s mobile number, date and time of text and the content of the text itself are captured and stored.

The incoming text can be routed to an email address and can also be viewed in your Text Marketer account where all responder information can be downloaded to an excel spreadsheet or csv file, know as 2-way SMS.

As long as the keyword is at the start of the text and followed by a space, then everything else is captured. This means that you can collect other data such as email or postal addresses.

We offer 2 types of keywords. Value keywords start with a number (e.g 2book) and standard keywords are any word that you wish.

Long Codes or Virtual Mobile Numbers

Using a long code allows people to reply to the bulk sms campaigns that you send them, 2-way SMS. They do not need to start their text with a keyword, so no matter what they send, their entire text is captured.  Long codes can also texted directly so customers might be able to text you with specific query for example.

The incoming text is routed to you via email. You can then reply to the person by text, using your email system. The reply is then routed back to the person’s mobile as a text. So that you can see who has sent what, the entire conversation thread is captured.

Each organisation has their own virtual mobile number or txtUs number.

It’s fundamental to every business on the planet. Customer research tells us what we’re doing right and where we’re going wrong. But, customers just don’t often respond to postal or emailed surveys.

txtUs allows business to have 2-way text message conversations with customers using their email program.

Running research by text message means you’ve got the absolute best chance of a reply. People are usually happy to respond but don’t normally have the time. Using their mobile phone though, allows them to respond on the commute or during any other ‘dead’ time of the day.

RoughTrax report, “we were stunned by how much response we got. Luckily most of it was good but there were some excellent critical ones too about our web checkout process which we have now cleaned up“.

Using Text Marketer’s txtUs system (which gives your business a unique mobile number to receive replies) all the replies simply come in to your email inbox. Text replies can be up to 612 characters so there’s plenty of room for customers to tell you what they think.

Customer Research Generates Sales?

As reported in our 5 top tips to increase sales with SMS Marketing, customer research can actually generate sales as well as being a valuable insight into your customer’s perception of you.

RoughTrax reported, “we actually got 20 sales from the customer research activity too. I think it acted as a memory jogger for those customers as they hadn’t used us for a while“.

Text Saves You Time and Money

Sending a text is very cost effective (around £35 per 1,000) and when you consider the likely response rates, it’s also more cost effective than email (as we know email just doesn’t generate the response rates nowadays).

If you’d like to try your next customer research activity by text, open a free Text Marketer account and give it a try – there are no set up fees, contract periods or cancellation clauses so in the rare event that it didn’t work for you, you can simply cancel.

Am I allowed to send my customers a mobile marketing campaign? Customers have given me their mobile numbers but they haven’t specifically opted in to receiving text messages.

This is one of the most frequently asked questions on the subject of mobile marketing and  I thought it would be worth clarifying the rules regarding ‘opt in’. The easiest way of doing this is to copy and paste the letter of the law directly from the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office.) Website.

On the site they have a helpful FAQ’s sections where the following, very specific question is asked.

The problem we’ve found with most on pack sms based promotions is that there are so many agencies involved that no one is in overall charge of how the whole thing will come across to the consumer. I’ve had a rant about 3 sms campaigns in the past, 2 from Coke and 1 from Volvo, so the idea here is to bring a bit of structure to the criticism.

So first under the spotlight comes 7UP with their recent campaign, giving customers the chance to win a series of excellent prizes, including a snorkelling trip to Barbados.

7Up – text to Win – On Pack Promotion

Creative Impact – Score 8.5 /10

This is much stronger than the average on pack text to win competition. The potential prizes on offer are clear and they have a broad appeal which should attract a wide target audience. Usually the creative is restricted to a ridiculously small corner of the packaging but the promoters have been brave enough to make the positioning large and clear.

“I like the idea of the snorkelling in Barbados – cool” Emily Cazalet – consumer panel.

Entry Instructions – Score 5/10

It’s always a surprise how poor these often are and sadly this campaign is no exception. On the main panel it doesn’t actually tell you what to do next. You might expect the instructions to say something along the lines of, ‘To enter, text the code on reverse of this wrapper to 88802.’ But no, not a thing, you have to assume that they’ll be something if you can wrestle the wrapper off the bottle. Disappointing.

Ease of Entry – Score 8/ 10

Entry to the text to win competition is easy enough. The code itself is large and legible. My only minor grumble would be that the code is 11 characters long. This is excessive; it only needs to be 7 or 8 characters to derive billions of possible combinations.

What happened Next? – Score 3/10

I was left somewhat bemused by the automated response that came back to me after a few seconds.

“You’re entered into the final draw to win £1000 – we’ll let you know after 21.11.2001 if you’ve won.”

Err, but I was after a snorkelling holiday. There was no mention of a £1000 prize. Have I missed something? No, I rechecked the bottle. I did then notice that the campaign had actually finished and our local Tesco was still stocking the old bottles. So this short code must be being used for an entirely different sms campaign, I wonder if I’ve been charged? They should really have returned a message stating that the competition had ended.

Terms and Conditions – Score 4/10

7Up score good points on this sms promotion by keeping the on pack terms and conditions to a reasonable length. They undo all the good work however by charging me 25 pence to enter the sms competition. This is a bit sneaky frankly. It feels like the bad old days of the crazy frog ringtone era. I’m baffled as to why big brands do this; just because it’s possible to charge for entry to the competition it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea. The cost is inevitably buried in the terms and conditions and most people wouldn’t have had a clue that they were being charged to enter. The argument goes that you charge the consumer to help ‘offset’ the costs of the competition.

I’m not an expert on the Phone Pay Plus regulations on running premium rate sms competitions but I was under the impression that if you wanted to charge for entry, then you needed to incorporate an element of ‘skill’, otherwise you’re just running a lottery which requires a special and very expensive licence. Perhaps someone could let me know if I’m right on this.

Overall Score 28.5 / 50 – 57%

Some really strong elements to this sms campaign but it’s let down by a couple of absolute howlers, namely charging 25 pence and failing to tell consumers how to enter.

Booking enquiries can increase as much as much as 50% using a text option

Booking enquiries can increase by up to 50% using a text reply system

Booking a restaurant is often a impulsive decision but a lot of people refrain from ‘making that call’ for a whole host of reasons. Not so with text messaging. Research shows that most people are much more likely to send a text message enquiry.

Using a unique system, like Text Marketer’s txtUs product, your business can now have a standard mobile number which allows people to send text enquiries (but not call the number). These SMS enquiries are converted to an email and sent to your email address. When you reply to that email, your reply is sent back as a text message. If the conversation continues, all the history is contained on subsequent emails so you know what’s been said before.

Building more restaurant ‘regulars’

Restaurants are also finding they build a more loyal customer base too. They find that customers save their txtUs number in their mobile phones and because it is more convenient, tend to enquire to their restaurant first the next time they’re booking a table.

Building a marketing list

The txtUs system also automatically stores all the mobile numbers of enquirers. The platform can then also be used to send out bulk messages, for example to promote an event, which of course, can be booked by replying to the text you have sent.

Restaurants embracing this customer-driven technology are seeing great gains over their competition.

See http://www.textmarketer.co.uk/txtUs.htm for more information.

txtUs is designed to give a business a unique mobile number (like having a fax number) which customers and prospects can use to text the company. Texts come in as a standard email to the company and can be replied to using a standard email program too.

A phenomenal success!

See how RoughTrax have integrated txtUs into their website

RoughTrax report, “customers absolutely love the system. It means they can contact us whenever they want as they always have their mobile with them and when we reply, they get our reply instantly”. Barry, Director of RoughTrax, goes on, “we’ve really noticed a surge in enquiries since we published the mobile number on our site, good ones too! Also, the time it takes us to answer using txtUs is about 10 times less than making a phone call”.

Fully integrated into RoughTrax’s contact channels ….

RoughTrax have added their txtUs number on their web site and are now reprinting their stationery to include their new number.

A real opportunity for business to gain a competitive advantage

There’s no getting away from it, this is a new system and it takes a little while for customers to get used to texting companies they deal with. But, when they do, the results are astounding.

Not only do you increase enquiries and save costs (on calling mobile phones), you gain an advantage over your competition because people like using text messaging and they’ll stick with companies who use it.

No other company provides such a unique product for business to use text message marketing in their day to day business – at only £25 per month with no long term contracts (you can cancel after month 1 if you like), there seems little reason to not at least try it.