How To… Use Direct Replies

November 29, 2010 by Jessica Zorawski

What is a “direct reply”? For this explanation, it’s helpful to start at the beginning.. When an Opt It customer sends out a message, the natural tendency is assume that their members, the receivers, will answer it. The way in which a user responds depends on whether the message is coming from a short code or regular 9 digit number. If the sender is using a shared short code, the software identifies them by their keyword. In this way, the keyword acts as an account name. In the past, if a member of an Opt It list wanted to respond to a text message they received, they would have had to type in the keyword, a space, and then the response in order for the message to be delivered into the correct inbox. Well, not anymore!

Direct replies are a new feature available for use by every Opt It customer. They enable your members to respond to your messages without first typing in your keyword.

There are many advantages to direct replies. This invention provides members with a more natural way of responding to a text message, one that your customers will understand intuitively and act upon regularly. Our new feature eliminates the challenge of explaining to your customers why they should first type your keyword into a message they are writing to you. It also allows you, as a marketer, to be more creative with your text message marketing campaign.

For example, you can now ask your customers more questions in order to better understand their needs. When a restaurant owner sends out a text message to members with the direct replies feature in action “What type of entrée should we make our next mobile coupon for? Respond with pasta, hamburgers, fish, or other (please specify)”. Based on responses received, the restaurant owner has the information to later send out a mobile coupon that more people are likely to act upon. Or, the owner might send each responder the mobile coupon of their choice, ensuring that almost all recipients will act upon it.

Direct replies are a feature that not only makes managing your campaigns easier, it also creates a multitude of new opportunities to diversify your campaign and ensure continued mobile marketing success. Check back in a couple of days to find out how to view and reply to your direct reply messages.

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Tags: Direct Replies, Opt It Mobile 3.0, text message reply

Posted in: Features, Info