FASTSMS

The Power of SMS in Retail

The following video is a perfect example of just how much of a difference SMS can make to your business.

Starring in the video is 'Dave the Shoe Guy' and he tells us how he has used text messaging to grow his U.S.A. based shoe business from $650,000 to $1.3 Million a year in sales.

If you'd like to boost your business through SMS call us on 0800 954 5305 or email helpdesk@fastsms.co.uk and we'll set you up with a free, no obligation trial of the service.

If you would like to learn more about SMS Marketing take a look at our beginners guide to Mobile Marketing.

How do you measure SMS Marketing?

This is a question that is getting a lot of attention at the moment due to the sudden realisation from businesses of all sizes that SMS Marketing should be playing a role in their overall strategy.

Many are expecting the same level of reporting as channels such as Email Marketing wanting to see a break down of open rates, click through rates and a list of hot prospects - unfortunately the technology simply isn't there yet, and there is no evidence to suggest it ever will be, with little change in the way SMS works since its conception.

The issue with the analytics is more down to a lack of understanding by the user than the technology itself, and the experienced mobile marketer will tell you as much.

The following points all require consideration when in the planning stage of your campaign so your results can subsequently be measured...

1. Planning: A comprehensive mobile strategy is an absolute must, running a one-off venture will tell you little about its success with nothing to compare it with. Having a strategy running its course over months or years will show its success over time.
2. Goal Setting: Having a clearly defined goal is a must, if you don't know what you're aiming for how will you know when you achieve it. Whether it is phone calls, visitors, leads, sign-ups, replies or something else you need to pick a variable and measure it.
3. Overall Strategy: SMS works best when incorporated into your overall strategy supported by various other channels. The biggest mistake hopeful mobile marketeers make is implementing SMS on its own - combining it with Email Marketing, Telemarketing, Social Networking or Offline Advertising will increase its success noticeably.
4. Analysis: If you have done everything you should in preparation of your campaign you should have the data you require to be able to analyse and move forward.
5. Refine: It is then crucial that you take what you have learnt from your initial campaign and implement it to improve its success. Try combinations of channels and messages to find what works best for your business.

To find out more take a look at our beginners Guide to Mobile Marketing.

For more information or to launch your own campaign call us on 0800 954 5305 or email helpdesk@fastsms.co.uk

Mobile Marketing 5 times more effective than online, study says.

A recent study by digital marketing research firm InsightExpress has concluded that mobile ad campaign norms were four-and-a-half to five times more effective than online norms.

"The Mobile InsightNorms study measured unaided awareness, aided awareness, ad awareness, message association, brand favorability and purchase intent. The study included a comparison of mobile media types and verticals to the effect of online advertising, and these findings continue to show the power of mobile as an advertising channel." (Dan Butcher, Mobile Marketer)

To read the full article at Mobile Marketer follow this link. (This will take you away from the FASTSMS Blog)

 
The study has reinforced the power of SMS as a marketing tool highlighting its effectiveness at increasing upper level purchase funnel metrics such as awareness measures.

"SMS campaigns generated increases of 5 percentage points for unaided awareness, 10 percentage points for aided awareness and 18 percentage points for ad awareness."

Findings such as these really do support the notion that mobile, particularly SMS, will be around for a long time to come and that businesses looking to capitalise on all the marketing channels available to them should get a handle on it sooner rather than later or risk being left behind at the curve.

To find out more, our Mobile Marketing Guide is a good place to start.

If you would like a free consultation on how you could be using SMS within your business call us on 0800 954 5305, email helpdesk@fastsms.co.uk or follow this link to fill out a simple form.

d most important tngz R d hardest 2 sA, cuz wrds diminish dem...

Although Stephen King's view on Love doesn't seem quite so eloquent in 'text speak' it's not to say that SMS doesn't have a major part to play in the day of Love these days...

Whether you look forward to, or try to ignore the day of St Valentine there is no denying that primarily it is an opportunity for businesses to capitalise on a niche market (loved up couples) and make some money.

It is widely recognised that last year, Valentine's Day was the busiest day for SMS in the first quarter with well over 1 billion texts being sent. The average consumer will spend over £60 on the holiday - which opens the door for some highly targeted SMS Marketing.

Here are just some of the ways your business could be striking while it's hot to drive customers through the door...

1. A simple reminder: although important to some, it is not always a holiday that is at the front of everybody's minds. A simple reminder to your busy customers can make the world of difference to both your business and the recipient. E.g. "There are still 10 tables for 2 available for Feb 14th @ Luciani's - book now, call 020 XXXX XXX"
2. Love is in the air: a mobile contest is quick to set up and easy to run, and Valtentines Day does the hard bit for you - giving you a relevant theme and an appropriate prize. Already capitalised on by radio stations, it also works for shops, restaurants and events specialists - a great way to use viral marketing to gain new customers.
3. It's the thought that counts: who says cheap is bad, especially these days - although everyone says "it's not about the money" to the person who is paying, it usually plays its part. By sending out a simple real time mobile coupon, redeemable at point of purchase you can sway your potential customers towards you without them even shopping around - everyone loves a bargain!
4. It's just what i wanted: there is a common theme to Valentines gifts, and that is that they are usually things that nobody really needs, and that's fine - it's about what they represent. But what if when someone bought something they didn't need, that got something they possibly did - this is where the idea of a Free Gift can really work. Simply text your customers (assuming you know something about them) and let them know that when they buy a Valentines gift, you will give them something else for free.
5. If music be the food of love: a specialised romantic promotion, correctly timed can get customers through your doors in droves. Discounts and specials on dining and entertainment is the perfect way to catch the attention of those who are unsure of how to spend the holiday.

If you're looking to capitalise on the Love-fest using SMS - we can help.

Our Mobile Marketing Guide will show you just how simple it is to run your own effective campaign and see a genuine return on your investment.

For more information visit our site, email helpdesk@fastsms.co.uk or give us a call on 0800 954 5305.

Mobile Marketing Campaign: Quiz / Competition

Running a quiz or competition is a great way to generate interest around a subject, as well as gain invaluable data. You can run a multi question quiz whereby entrants with all the correct answers are entered into a prize draw. You can then use the tombola tool to allocate prizes fairly.

Quiz Game Example: A film studio runs a 3-question quiz to generate public interest in a forthcoming release. All entrants who give the correct answers are entered into a draw to win tickets to the London premiere.

Another way is to run a competition with just the one question, this does not have to be related to the prize itself and therefore can generate accurate market research data as well as an opted in SMS mailing list.

Competition Example: A company is giving away tickets to see Madonna in concert. To win the tickets you must text in the keyword followed by your answer to the question (A, B or C) and your name. A winner will be selected at random from all the correct entries. They get valuable market research data and an opted in SMS mailing list.

Whatever your goal, you can rely on a Quiz or Competition campaign to generate results given the right promotion. For more information on this type of campaign give us a call on 01386 791 880 or click here.

Mobile Marketing Campaign: Advanced Vote

Running an advanced vote campaign is a really great way to engage your audience, as is any situation where you are asking for opinion. At the end of the day we all love to be asked what we think and are in cases where we have a strong feeling one way or another we are more than happy to share it – its human nature.

It can be easily used in many of the same situations as a simple vote. As soon as people give their opinion one way or another (as with the examples discussed below) they are aligning themselves with that particular party, becoming invested.

Take for example, an individual votes for their favourite pizzeria, it is unlikely that they will then go and eat at the nearest rival. People love the concept of loyalty, and the majority endeavour to have this as a personal trait – it’s why we feel giddy at the prospect of being rewarded for being a ‘loyal customer’ and have loyalty cards for shops and bars.

The difference of an advanced vote when compared to its simple counterpart is the options available; voters can give their opinion in a range of categories, rather than a simple two way vote.

Advanced Vote Example:

A magazine runs a survey to find the best foods in a range of categories. For example best fast food restaurant, best supermarket, best new food product. The reader responds as follows:

Text RESTAURANT PIZZA EXPRESS to 88010
Text SUPERMARKET WAITROSE to 88010
Text NEW WISPA to 88010

Whether you are running the vote to gain data for future marketing campaigns or trying to engage your audience you are sure to trigger their allegiance to a particular way of thinking which can have a great many benefits to all involved.

Mobile Marketing Campaign: Simple Vote

It seems that at this time the culture we live in revolves around public opinion more than any other to come before it. At times it seems a bit insane but we vote on everything from our favourite flavour of crisps, to who we think should run the country, to who we think should get kicked out of a bizarre multi-coloured house in Hertfordshire.

Whatever the subject, people love having their say - and it is a great way to market a product or service as well as gather invaluable data; not just hard data such as phone numbers for future campaigns but when you're planning on selling something to the mob, its a good idea to find out what they think at some point!

A simple vote campaign from FASTMMS was born for this kind of stuff, in the past this type of campaign has been behind everything from Big Brother & Pop Idol to government opinion polls on smoking and driving habits.

By running a few keywords simultaneously you have the makings of a really successful simple vote campaign...

Simple Vote Example: A well known reality TV programme invites viewers to vote for evictions as follows:

To evict Charlie text VOTE CHARLIE to 80010

To evict Godzilla text VOTE GODZILLA to 80010

Simple Vote Example: A radio vote on a topical issue of the day might want to collect listeners' opinions on using mobile phones whilst driving. They would ask their listeners to:

Text BAN to 88010 if you want to ban any use of mobile phones whilst driving

Text HANDS to 88010 if you think hands-free kits are safe enough

Text OK to 88010 if you think mobile phones are safe under any circumstances.

These really are easy to setup and run, with the data easily exportable into a spreadsheet, you can even get qualitative data as well, where people can text HANDS followed by their reasoning to 80010 - this really engages your audience maintaining or improving your relationship with who are effectively your customers.

To find out more about simple vote campaigns or mobile marketing in general click here or give us a call on 0800 954 5305.

Mobile Marketing Campaign: Subscription Manager

A subscription manager campaign is one of those that really does have a lot of subtle potentials, some that are not always directly attributable to an incoming revenue - a marketing nightmare, how do you justify something when you can't place upon it a definite return on investment.

By showing you how a subscription manager campaign might be used we should be able to highlight some of the benefits...

Subscription Manager Example: A sports TV channel offers news updates for a range of sports. Viewers text in with the sport(s) they are interested in to receive regular goal flashes, score updates, team news, club announcements etc.

A classic example, and one that is very much in use. It's great as it can be largely automated, requiring little supervision and you can choose to have it reverse billed, making the cost to you extremely minimal. You also gain invaluable opted-in data for future campaigns for people who are genuinely interested.

Above all of this is the unmeasurable human factor - used correctly a subscription manager campaign can dramatically enhance your other products and user experience ensuring you maintain a loyal and active customer base.

To find out more about subscription manager campaigns and other mobile marketing strategies, visit our dedicated site, FASTMMS or call us on 0800 954 5305 to find out what could work best for you.

Mobile Marketing Campaign: Database Builder

So you recognise the potential of mobile marketing, but now you're wondering how to collate mobile numbers of potential customers who not only opt-in to receive messages but have a genuine interest in your product or service...

There are many ways in which this can be done, you may already have the data on file in customer profiles, you may choose to buy it in if targetting a particular sector with a mass broadcast or you can run a Database Builder campaign.

When launching a Database Builder campaign you will publish your number and invite potential customers to text in registering their interest. It might sound like not many people would go for this, however its all about being creative about it, and giving a simple example will show that these sort of campaigns are all around you...

Database Builder Example: A chocolate manufacturer wants to poll opinion on its latest chocolate bar, so the wrapper invites customers to text in with their thoughts. The numbers are logged in a Database Builder campaign so that the customers can be invited to take part in other SMS events later.

One that you may be more familiar with is a recent campaign by Walkers Crisps where they advertised six new flavours, amongst them were things like Cajun Squirrel, Hoi Sin Duck, Fish and Chips, and Builders Breakfast (which i think won it) - anyway, as well as on TV adverts there were lots of posters in pubs inviting people to text in their vote for their favourite new flavour which would become permanent.

I don't know the figures, but I'm sure Walkers now have a lot of new opt-in information they can use for future campaigns, and those who showed enough interest in the product to vote in will be the audience.

To find out about getting your campaign up and running visit our dedicated FASTMMS site or call us on 0800 954 5305

Mobile Marketing Campaign: Direct Response

If you are looking to promote a direct call to action from your advertising or want to receive messages as soon as they are sent, rather than through daily reporting as many other solutions offer then a Direct Response campaign is just for you.

Its as simple as it sounds - you advertise a 5 digit number, with a keyword (or not) and people see it, do what it says and you get your result! To help illustrate this please see two classic examples below...

Call Back Example: A finance company wants customers to request a call from an advisor to discuss loans.  In their advertising they state "Text LOAN to 80010 and one of our trained advisors will call you straight back".

Real-time Feedback Example: A radio station advertises a 5 digit number for listeners to text their views to.  The received texts are immediately forwarded to an email address, delivering instantaneous feedback.

There really are a load of applications for this kind of campaign, and you can have yours up and running from as little as £49 a month.

If this feels like something that you could benefit from visit our dedicated mobile marketing site http://www.fastmms.co.uk/ or feel free to call us on 0800 954 5305 and find out how this could work for you.