I was hired a few weeks ago to do a site review for Mediaburst, a bulk SMS provider.
And their service – which lets you send personalized text messages to hundreds of folk in one go – got me thinking, very, very hard.
They mention in their 10 things to do with SMS that:
“97% of text messages [are] opened instantly, response rates are higher than any other form of contact”
No shit!
And there’s something inherently personal about a text message that’s appealing to me.
[Before I start preaching, here's a very brief video I put together of me using their Textburst service]I can think of thousands of uses for this service, but here’s just a couple:
(and I’m working on the assumption that you have explicit permission from the recipients to receive these messages)
- Some A-list celeb unexpectedly turns up to your nightclub. You tell the whole city, your club is full.
- Your supermarket has a container-load of swordfish that won’t survive the weekend. You offer a 75% discount and you sell out in an hour.
- You’re a physiotherapist. A client has cancelled at the last minute, you face two hours of not getting paid. Instead, you drop a message to the folk on your waiting list. “If you’re in the area, I can see you NOW. Please call first …“
- Secret coupons: no matter what your business, time-limited coupon codes will get people in the door, and allow you to measure the effectiveness of your campaign.
I see benefits primarily for local businesses, but what do I know?
What are your thoughts? Is it so last decade? Are you doing it already?
Let me know, I’m curious …
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SMS is more immediate than email and more ubiquitous than Twitter. But the reason that it has such a high open-rate is that it is a more invasive medium. Like a phone call, people expect SMS messages to be somewhat time-critical. You feel compelled to check them right away (as opposed to email which you get to on your own schedule). So, if I know you by name—that is, if there is a real relationship—then I'd welcome the message. But mass-communication delivered on a personal channel is invasive and unwelcome. Case in point: my telco sends me all kinds of SMS spam. Not cool.
Yes, couldn't agree more. I particularly dislike the constant messages when I'm abroad that tell me how much it cost to just read the message. Sneaky and uninvited. But it you were MAD keen on going to parties organised by some dude who's known for throwing the best parties in town, and you know that you can't make reservations, and he organizes his parties in a different venue each week, and the only way to GET WHAT YOU WANT – in this case the knowledge – was to SPECIFICALLY opt-in to get these highly-targeted and relevant and time-sensitive (and geographically focused) messages, then you'd do it in a flash. As you say, unsolicited anything SUCKS, but think of the possibilities if you had a REAL reason to contact folk who WANTED to hear from you. A great buzz-builder, I reckon … (Another great example – airline customer service. You're en-route to the airport, your flight is delayed by a few hours, and you get a message to tell you. You can stop for a beer. WIN! I've only ever had that experience once in a lifetime of delayed flights, and that was with Air Asia)
True. Two good examples. It it's opt-in or pertains to me personally (the flight change would qualify), then it'd be A-OK.
As stated in the post above the benefit of this becomes customer loyalty and relationship building. Case in point, a "kids club" at a local restaurant. Drive foot traffic through free gives to the kiddies and capture Mom & Dads dinning as well.
Response rates to these types of campaign span 5-31% (jupiter research if memory serves) with an average of 18%. The returns can be phenomenal for small biz owners and the possibilities are endless but with a medium so powerful there comes a responsibility to not over use.
I recently stopped a doctors office from just starting to send appointment reminders to their patients via text message. A quick explanation of why and they began opting people into text message reminders the next day with a good response.
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