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Marketing Communications through SMS
(Short Message Service)
To start using sms marketing click here!
“Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception,
pricing, promotion, And distribution of ideas, goods, services,
organizations, and events to create and Maintain relationships that
will satisfy individual organizational objectives.”
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. WHAT IS SMS?
SMS refers to “short message service” and involves the delivery of
text messages to mobile handsets. SMS is a general name for the
technology that enables users to send and receive text messages via
mobile phones.
Currently, SMS has an extremely high consumer usage, but a low
business adoption.In other words, while billions of SMS messages
are delivered between individual Consumers each month, the use of
SMS as a part of business and marketing strategies is (relatively)
low.
However this relatively low business usage is changing rapidly, with
more and more organizations realizing the benefits of SMS, and
using it as a new medium within their traditional marketing
communication strategies. The reason for this increase in business
usage is clear:
SMS is an extremely cost-effective, high-response-rate vehicle,
which can help to acquire and retain consumers, sell and promote
products, drive loyalty, and reinforce branding efforts.
Standard communication media available to marketers and
advertisers are usually rated on three factors: Reach, Cost and
Effectiveness / Retention.
Medium Reach Cost Retention
Television One of the Highest Very High High
Radio Above Medium Medium Medium
Email Below Medium Extremely Low Extremely Low
Print Media Medium High High
Billboard Above Medium High High
Moving Media Medium Medium Low
Personal Interaction Low High Above Medium
SMS High Reach Low Cost High Retention
1.2 Where does SMS fit in?
WAP, 3G, GPRS and other wireless protocols have been touted as
the next big thing for quite sometime, and none have truly
materialized. SMS on the other hand, has grown of itself into a
worldwide phenomenon. As marketing professionals, CRM specialists
and business people, there is a great opportunity to harness this
medium and be able to serve our customers better as a result.
Improved client services, communication and value delivery will in
turn result in greater returns and business success. Given that SMS
has an extremely personal nature (not unlike email), we firstly have
to ensure that we treat the medium with the appropriate level of
respect. And, since it seems that SMS is being hailed as the best
thing since sliced bread-well, that’s if the usage and adoption rate
are to be believed Anyway-how do we go about using this new
channel, without making the mistakes that we did with email and using
the lessons learned with other traditional media?
1.3 WAYS OF USING THE SERVICE
The short message service (SMS) can be of advantage to various
institutes and companies, in various ways, which are:
Ø For Advertising
Ø For Access
Ø As Information
Note: A corporation can choose to provide us with their prospective
clients database, or use our SMS DATA BANK depending on the
purpose for the service required.
For Advertising
Companies, Banks, Corporations e.t.c can advertise their products
and services to multitudes by SMS. Using our DATA BANK of about
800,000 members, which has a projected growth rate of 25,000
members monthly, we could send out SMS to this entire member base
on behalf of a company, informing them about a new product
or service available to them for their use.
This is even far cheaper, faster and less cumbersome than what is
obtainable if you are to send multiple SMS message using any of the
operators’ networks.
For Access
Companies that use SMS as a communication medium using the SMSC
of the operators, can now have a cheaper, more effective, and faster
method of sending their messages e.g. SMS/ Electronic banking
amongst others.
For Information
This can majorly be effective for Newspaper and television Houses?
News Headlines can be sent to subscribers daily informing them
about the latest developments around the Globe. As early as possible
everyday,catchy Headlines could be sent by SMS, Which would
definitely increase sale of papers because of the pre-knowledge of
what is in the paper.
Also people that are not within the circulation areas of Newspapers
can easily get the information.
Breaking news could as well be sent via SMS as they occur without
having to wait till the next day when it would be officially reported
in the dailies. Many more people prefer to stay abreast of
information.
2.1. Making Marketing work
As a starting point, there are three key goals that all marketing aids
should strive to achieve,in order for it to be considered successful:
Ø It should generate new client in new markets,
Ø More business should be generated from exiting clientele and
Ø Gross profit margins must improve
The marketing message that you deliver will be determined by the
goal in mind. For example, the way in which one communicates as well
as the message communicated, when trying to find and create new
clients, will be very different from a message sent to existing
clients to stimulate additional business.
Although succeeding to achieve all three simultaneously is
advantageous, trying to do this will most probably blur the message
that you send out. For this reason it is vital for the goal of the
‘campaign’ to be clearly understood before the message or medium
is established.
With SMS, the situation is no different. Before designing an
advertising or marketing Campaign-using SMS we need to consider:
Who is the message addressed to
(New clients and markets, or existing customers?)
What response is required?
(Is there an action that we want customers to perform?)
What is the message?
(What is the gist of the message that you want to carry across?)
2.2. The Content is Critical
Regardless of your chosen media, the content that you deliver is
vital to your success. It doesn’t matter whether you are delivering a
full multimedia boardroom presentation, or a newspaper commercial
if your message is not clear, your goal will not be achieved.
"Bigger is also not necessarily better".
Yes, the larger the medium the more likely your audience may be to
see it. But your aim is not merely for a message to be seen. The
message must also be understood, remembered and acted upon. SMS
places an interesting challenge on us in this respect. With a
limitation of only 160 characters, we are forced to think very
clearly about how we are going to phrase our message.
160 Characters is not a lot of space to write a message-this sentence
in itself is 196 characters in length-so you will need to be
economical with the wordings that you choose for your messaging. Be
sure that the message which you write is clear and to the point. If
there is a call to action, then this should be kept simple and concise.
.
2.3. Databases
.
One of the benefits of SMS as a marketing tool is that it does not
always require a customer database or client list in order to benefit.
Of course, with your own database there is virtually noting that
cannot be done.
Without a database of your own, our sms solution called ‘gtnvsms
data bank’ which assists with database creation, maintenance and
messaging has been created to spread your brand. This is a great
starting point for using SMS as a marketing tool, which requires no
prior database of your own.
3. OUR SMS FEATURES
3.1. Sender ID Branding
Few global providers currently offer the ability to brand the
sender ID field of each outgoing message. This means that the space
on each message, usually reserved for the mobile number of the
originating mobile phone, can be replaced with the name or brand of
the company sending the message.
Using the sender ID Branding feature means that there is inevitably
more space for text in the body of the message. Since you do not
have to include the message sender in the body text, this leaves more
room for the important content.
The sender ID branding is also a helpful tool, which adds credibility
and status to the message when it is received, through source
validation. Even without the sender ID, identity is extremely
important! You should always try to include some sort of contact
form or identifier (such as a contact number, company name e.t.c)
in the body of the text message.
3.2. Flash SMS
Flash SMS is a specialized SMS feature which enables a standard
text SMS to be delivered directly to the screen of the mobile
device. In other words, instead of the SMS message being delivered
to the inbox of the mobile phone, it appears directly on the screen
automatically. This way, it can make the SMS less intrusive or
disruptive than normal.
Since it can take a few seconds for a recipient of a message to
browse to that message in a mobile phone’s inbox, this is a powerful
SMS protocol for important message that do not need be stored-but
should be read quickly. The recipient is, with most handsets, able to
save any flash SMS by selecting that option once the message has
been read.
Email is personal but SMS is more personal.
Although an email reaches the individual directly, is cheap,
convenient and fast- this is where the similarities between email and
SMS come to an end.
Mobile phone do not have “Spam filters”, and as a result, it is
virtually impossible for recipients to stop receiving message-even if
they do know who the sender is. The deletion process for an SMS is
also longer and more tedious than for an email.
so we simply and strongly advocate the use of sms marketing for
target marketing and effecting advertising results.
To start using sms marketing now click here!
(Short Message Service)
To start using sms marketing click here!
“Marketing is the process of planning and executing the conception,
pricing, promotion, And distribution of ideas, goods, services,
organizations, and events to create and Maintain relationships that
will satisfy individual organizational objectives.”
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. WHAT IS SMS?
SMS refers to “short message service” and involves the delivery of
text messages to mobile handsets. SMS is a general name for the
technology that enables users to send and receive text messages via
mobile phones.
Currently, SMS has an extremely high consumer usage, but a low
business adoption.In other words, while billions of SMS messages
are delivered between individual Consumers each month, the use of
SMS as a part of business and marketing strategies is (relatively)
low.
However this relatively low business usage is changing rapidly, with
more and more organizations realizing the benefits of SMS, and
using it as a new medium within their traditional marketing
communication strategies. The reason for this increase in business
usage is clear:
SMS is an extremely cost-effective, high-response-rate vehicle,
which can help to acquire and retain consumers, sell and promote
products, drive loyalty, and reinforce branding efforts.
Standard communication media available to marketers and
advertisers are usually rated on three factors: Reach, Cost and
Effectiveness / Retention.
Medium Reach Cost Retention
Television One of the Highest Very High High
Radio Above Medium Medium Medium
Email Below Medium Extremely Low Extremely Low
Print Media Medium High High
Billboard Above Medium High High
Moving Media Medium Medium Low
Personal Interaction Low High Above Medium
SMS High Reach Low Cost High Retention
1.2 Where does SMS fit in?
WAP, 3G, GPRS and other wireless protocols have been touted as
the next big thing for quite sometime, and none have truly
materialized. SMS on the other hand, has grown of itself into a
worldwide phenomenon. As marketing professionals, CRM specialists
and business people, there is a great opportunity to harness this
medium and be able to serve our customers better as a result.
Improved client services, communication and value delivery will in
turn result in greater returns and business success. Given that SMS
has an extremely personal nature (not unlike email), we firstly have
to ensure that we treat the medium with the appropriate level of
respect. And, since it seems that SMS is being hailed as the best
thing since sliced bread-well, that’s if the usage and adoption rate
are to be believed Anyway-how do we go about using this new
channel, without making the mistakes that we did with email and using
the lessons learned with other traditional media?
1.3 WAYS OF USING THE SERVICE
The short message service (SMS) can be of advantage to various
institutes and companies, in various ways, which are:
Ø For Advertising
Ø For Access
Ø As Information
Note: A corporation can choose to provide us with their prospective
clients database, or use our SMS DATA BANK depending on the
purpose for the service required.
For Advertising
Companies, Banks, Corporations e.t.c can advertise their products
and services to multitudes by SMS. Using our DATA BANK of about
800,000 members, which has a projected growth rate of 25,000
members monthly, we could send out SMS to this entire member base
on behalf of a company, informing them about a new product
or service available to them for their use.
This is even far cheaper, faster and less cumbersome than what is
obtainable if you are to send multiple SMS message using any of the
operators’ networks.
For Access
Companies that use SMS as a communication medium using the SMSC
of the operators, can now have a cheaper, more effective, and faster
method of sending their messages e.g. SMS/ Electronic banking
amongst others.
For Information
This can majorly be effective for Newspaper and television Houses?
News Headlines can be sent to subscribers daily informing them
about the latest developments around the Globe. As early as possible
everyday,catchy Headlines could be sent by SMS, Which would
definitely increase sale of papers because of the pre-knowledge of
what is in the paper.
Also people that are not within the circulation areas of Newspapers
can easily get the information.
Breaking news could as well be sent via SMS as they occur without
having to wait till the next day when it would be officially reported
in the dailies. Many more people prefer to stay abreast of
information.
2.1. Making Marketing work
As a starting point, there are three key goals that all marketing aids
should strive to achieve,in order for it to be considered successful:
Ø It should generate new client in new markets,
Ø More business should be generated from exiting clientele and
Ø Gross profit margins must improve
The marketing message that you deliver will be determined by the
goal in mind. For example, the way in which one communicates as well
as the message communicated, when trying to find and create new
clients, will be very different from a message sent to existing
clients to stimulate additional business.
Although succeeding to achieve all three simultaneously is
advantageous, trying to do this will most probably blur the message
that you send out. For this reason it is vital for the goal of the
‘campaign’ to be clearly understood before the message or medium
is established.
With SMS, the situation is no different. Before designing an
advertising or marketing Campaign-using SMS we need to consider:
Who is the message addressed to
(New clients and markets, or existing customers?)
What response is required?
(Is there an action that we want customers to perform?)
What is the message?
(What is the gist of the message that you want to carry across?)
2.2. The Content is Critical
Regardless of your chosen media, the content that you deliver is
vital to your success. It doesn’t matter whether you are delivering a
full multimedia boardroom presentation, or a newspaper commercial
if your message is not clear, your goal will not be achieved.
"Bigger is also not necessarily better".
Yes, the larger the medium the more likely your audience may be to
see it. But your aim is not merely for a message to be seen. The
message must also be understood, remembered and acted upon. SMS
places an interesting challenge on us in this respect. With a
limitation of only 160 characters, we are forced to think very
clearly about how we are going to phrase our message.
160 Characters is not a lot of space to write a message-this sentence
in itself is 196 characters in length-so you will need to be
economical with the wordings that you choose for your messaging. Be
sure that the message which you write is clear and to the point. If
there is a call to action, then this should be kept simple and concise.
.
2.3. Databases
.
One of the benefits of SMS as a marketing tool is that it does not
always require a customer database or client list in order to benefit.
Of course, with your own database there is virtually noting that
cannot be done.
Without a database of your own, our sms solution called ‘gtnvsms
data bank’ which assists with database creation, maintenance and
messaging has been created to spread your brand. This is a great
starting point for using SMS as a marketing tool, which requires no
prior database of your own.
3. OUR SMS FEATURES
3.1. Sender ID Branding
Few global providers currently offer the ability to brand the
sender ID field of each outgoing message. This means that the space
on each message, usually reserved for the mobile number of the
originating mobile phone, can be replaced with the name or brand of
the company sending the message.
Using the sender ID Branding feature means that there is inevitably
more space for text in the body of the message. Since you do not
have to include the message sender in the body text, this leaves more
room for the important content.
The sender ID branding is also a helpful tool, which adds credibility
and status to the message when it is received, through source
validation. Even without the sender ID, identity is extremely
important! You should always try to include some sort of contact
form or identifier (such as a contact number, company name e.t.c)
in the body of the text message.
3.2. Flash SMS
Flash SMS is a specialized SMS feature which enables a standard
text SMS to be delivered directly to the screen of the mobile
device. In other words, instead of the SMS message being delivered
to the inbox of the mobile phone, it appears directly on the screen
automatically. This way, it can make the SMS less intrusive or
disruptive than normal.
Since it can take a few seconds for a recipient of a message to
browse to that message in a mobile phone’s inbox, this is a powerful
SMS protocol for important message that do not need be stored-but
should be read quickly. The recipient is, with most handsets, able to
save any flash SMS by selecting that option once the message has
been read.
Email is personal but SMS is more personal.
Although an email reaches the individual directly, is cheap,
convenient and fast- this is where the similarities between email and
SMS come to an end.
Mobile phone do not have “Spam filters”, and as a result, it is
virtually impossible for recipients to stop receiving message-even if
they do know who the sender is. The deletion process for an SMS is
also longer and more tedious than for an email.
so we simply and strongly advocate the use of sms marketing for
target marketing and effecting advertising results.
To start using sms marketing now click here!
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