by anton | Aug 22, 2014 |
If you are in the automobile industry (selling, trading, repairing) you should get behind the wheel of SMS Marketing and take it for a spin. We will tell you why. Direct Marketing Why would I want to use mobile messages to market my products or services? Because: It is highly affordable: buying SMS in bulk will save you even more! More targeted than email messages: it is virtually guaranteed that your message will be opened within a few seconds after receipt. Can be adapted in the blink of an eye to achieve different outcomes: use it for small or big campaigns You can use SMS Marketing to: Inform your customers about specials on vehicle parts or servicing Remind your customers to have their vehicles checked before each school holiday Ask customers to text the details of their vehicles so you can do a quick check of the vehicle’s book value, then text the answer back with an invite to do a trade-in. Create excitement and action by offering exclusive deals and discounts every time you have to get rid of old stock. With SMS Marketing, you don’t have to spend much to generate revenue. Use it in conjunction with other marketing channels to give your marketing efforts a powerful boost. Customer Service Use text messages to: Remind customers of appointments Inform them that their vehicle is ready for pick-up Remind them when their vehicle’s service is due Inform them when parts arrived Wish them a happy birthday and happy holidays Congratulate them on their purchase Congratulate them on the anniversary of their purchase Share tips on how to care...
by anton | Aug 20, 2014 |
Small businesses lose out to bigger companies if they wait too long to start with their seasonal campaigns. With summer slowly approaching, now is the time to begin your Bulk SMS planning. During the warmer months, consumers spend more and more time outdoors. Think music festivals, sport events, picnics, “braai”, the beach etc. If your products and services can’t tie directly into this (e.g you don’t sell picnic blankets) team up with another business whose products do. (Buy hairspray from XYZ Salon and we might sponsor the installation of a pool at your home from ABC Pools.) Finding the right partner to combine your efforts with, can be crucial to your success. Remember: make sure your target market will be interested in what your partner has to offer. If a partnership isn’t your thing, you can simply buy relevant summer-time rewards to use as customer incentives. Offering group deals is an ideal way to get mass opt-ins on your Bulk SMS contact list. After all, people don’t like to go to events alone. Offer “two for the price of one” deals or rewards for bringing friends along. Your consumers will spread the word for you and your contact list will grow quickly. Businesses always offer special deals during summer – this isn’t news. Are you aware of what your competitors are doing? But don’t only focus on them, because you are also competing with your non-competitors for marketing space. Consumers get so bombarded by advertisements in general, that most of these messages get lost in all the noise. Thus, your mission is to make your campaigns as attractive as...
by anton | Aug 15, 2014 |
The SMS Platform has come a long way since the first ever message was sent in 1992. Today, more than half of the world own or has access to a mobile phone and people are sending still sending text messages like crazy. Finland was the first nation to use texting on a competitive as well as commercial basis. Terminology for mobile messaging differs from country to country. North America, the UK, Australia and the Philippines prefer the word “text” while Europe, Africa and Asia are more likely to use the term “SMS”. 2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion mobile subscribers make use of texting. In June 2006, 12 billion text messages were sent each month. Just two years later, this number climbed to a staggering 75 billion! In the Philippines, people really love their SMS Platform. The average user sends 10 – 12 text a day; this amounts to approximately 142 billion text messages sent over the course of a year. In the USA (2009) users topped the stats with 152.7 billion texts per month (not per year!) Despite the fact that there are many other communication channels available, even Smartphone users still love sending SMS messages. Owners aged by 18 to 24, send about 2022 texts. Now here is a statistic that will really blow your mind – and proves that texting is still the undisputed king of cheap and easy communication. In 2012, the amount of texts sent were recorded at 8.5 trillion. It is estimated that within the next five years, this number will total 40 trillion. The longer something is around, the more skilful you...
by anton | Aug 13, 2014 |
When purchasing a SMS Short Code, you usually have a choice between a dedicated and a shared code. Rather opt for a dedicated one that is exclusive to your business. Here is why. Brand recognition If you use the same code for all your marketing campaigns, people will start to associate the code with your brand. Association also makes it easier to remember. Should another company make use of the same code, they can leech off your exposure or even damage your brand. Control If the code is yours alone, you have full control over what you do with it or what you use it for. You can also keep an eye on your activities to make sure you stick to the consumer Code of Conduct. You won’t have to worry that another company will use it for “evil” – resulting in the code getting shut down. Keyword exclusivity Having sole use of an SMS Short Code also means you have ownership of all the keywords you use along with it. Why is this beneficial? Because it enables you to use general keywords like “special”, “promo”, “prize” etc. Instead of something like “Alex Cafe special”. Shorter keywords = easier to remember. The data is yours You will have full control and ownership of the data and personal info that your customers send to you. You also shouldn’t have any problems to look up the conversation history. It might prove more difficult to obtain this info if the database doesn’t belong to you alone. Better security Dedicated SMS Short Codes are a must if your industry is security sensitive e.g....
by anton | Aug 11, 2014 |
As a marketer, you probably already know that USSD Push is a powerful marketing tool. But, the decision ultimately lies with your boss. How can you convince him/ her that they should get on board with it? Unstructured Supplementary Service Data apps are a great, low cost way to reach customers fast. But that is not all. You can also use it to gain insight into customer behaviour. So what stops businesses from using it in the first place? We don’t want to spam our customers Good, you shouldn’t. But take heart, you will only annoy your customers if you handle USSD Push the wrong way. And no, it is not rocket science to figure out how to do it right. As long as your messages are relevant, personalized and timed well, you don’t have to be afraid to go for gold. We don’t really know what to do with it Be Creative! You can use it on its own or in combination with your other marketing channels. For example: send pins/ passwords, notifications, reminders, alerts, polls/ surveys etc. We don’t know if it will be effective: When it comes to mobile marketing in any form (SMS, MMS, USSD etc.) you can always be sure about one thing. Messages via traditional mediums (radio, television, paper) and even email easily get lost in the mass of other messages. Mobile messages however go directly to the recipient’s phone and is guaranteed to be opened and read – even if it is only the first sentence. Customers won’t be interested in my app: It really won’t be any effort for your customers to...
