PlusOne - Musings of a marketer

In today’s highly competitive business world, providing a range of communication and interaction methods with your customers and staff is an area that can always be improved. This can lead to greater business opportunities, streamlined business systems, cost savings and improved profits!

One of the simplest ways to do this is using SMS.

Think about it:

1. The distribution network is already in place - you can get your information and offers to your staff and customers literally wherever they are using the telco towers and the customer’s handsets!!

2. Customers and staff can communicate with you on the move, in response to your prompts, be they through outbound SMS, print advertising or even email, and you can send to them while they are on the move.

3. Internal communications can be improved - everything from sending information to people in meetings to system alerts (know when some vital machinery or system stops working) fast, so your business or processes can be rectified as soon as possible.

4. Letting mobile sales teams input daily sales figures into corporate database - interfaces for mobile are available.

5. Send reorder notices - have your stock system send reorder notices to your distributor when stock levels reach predetermined levels.

6. Send reminders - do you have customers who need items replaced at regular intervals (like contact lenses) or appointment reminders (how much to people not arriving for appointments cost you? Also great for letting people know their car is ready after servicing etc.

7. Sending promotions - got a sale on? SMS is a proven method of altering customers to time critical sales - great for developing a strong call to action!! Also great for entertainment venues to keep people up-to-date with ‘Whats On’ Ideal for restaurants who may be experiencing a slow night - send a message like “Show this message for a free glass of wine with your order”. In this way the txt becomes a voucher.

8. Altering mobile staff of salary and bonus payments.

9. Subscription services of all kinds, from weather to stock prices, horoscopes, train delays, ‘Whats On’ and job postings for recruitment agencies.

10. Set up an auction and allow people to make bids direct from their mobile phones. Ideal for increasing auction participation.

11. Sell content - Premium SMS and content hosting provides easy sale of information and entertainment products.

12. Ticket delivery - bar coded tickets are easily sent to handsets for scanning at the venue. Turnkey packages are now available meaning no investment in hardware or software development is required. Even the ticket sales can be handled for you.

13. Communicate with local councils and authorities. The power of the citizen can be harnessed reporting any broken traffic lights, graffiti, rubbish accumulation, dead animals, burst water pipes etc.

14. Delivery drivers can text ahead to alert of their ETA for parcel drop-off.

15. Real Estate Agents & Letting Agents - text message your clients with news that a new property has just come onto the market which matches their chosen criteria.

16. Run a contest - there are many different permutations ranging from simply text your entry, through text a code, present sales slip as proof of purchase etc. Works well to increase foot traffic and to build lists for later marketing. Also great for voting/polls.

17. Overdue account remainders - faster, cheaper, better and can be linked in to your existing software.

18. Make info brochures and catalogues available by SMS (WAP delivery). Ideal for those who need access to larger amounts of information. Processes to allow this are in place today.

19. Request info to be sent by email - totally automated - go past the expensive glossy info brochure and deliver a full colour one by email based on a simple SMS request.

There are some of the applications being used by others. Have you thought about how your business could benefit from using SMS?
Feel free to contact us to discuss possibilities in your business, from simple out-bounds to full integration with your business systems.