Category Archives: consumer behavior
May 17, 2011 by Jessica Zorawski
Providing good customer services is a notion that most US companies see as a necessity for survival when it comes to their businesses, and for good reason. Giving your customers great customer service and building strong, lasting, and friendly relationships with them pays off and can set you apart from the competition. Back in the day when the Internet and cell phones weren’t such popular concepts, customer service meant smiling attendants at your store or restaurant attending to the needs of the customer at the moment. However, times have changed, and business need to adapt to the new demands and needs of customers that are ever more supplied by communication channels like texting.
The great thing about texting is that it allows you to communicate with your customers before and after they leave your location. This means you can truly lengthen the experience that customers have with your brand. For example, if you are a clothing store, you could send a text message to a customer right after they leave your store to tell them that you found an item that they wanted, and that you put that item on hold for them. Another example could be to send out a text message when you receive new inventory. This can be especially useful for highly targeted groups, meaning a portion of your list that you know loves shoes would be pleased to learn about a new arrival.
Another great benefit that text message marketing adds to customer service is that it can be used to measure the level of customer service being provided. You can simply run a quick survey immediately after a customer visits your facility and ask them about the attention they received.
The time’s, they are a’ changing’ and falling behind on new marketing trends will only cause repercussions as the rest of your industry moves forward. We highly suggest connecting to your consumers via the mode of communication they like best: texting.
May 3, 2011 by Jessica Zorawski
Used alongside a mobile web experience like an application, SMS is a great complimentary tool that can really help drive up sales made by a mobile device.
Ninety percent of consumers have said that they like interacting with business in multiple channels. At the top of the list of preferred communication channels is SMS texting. Retailers who want to ensure their customers are engaged with their mobile web sites should add a SMS competent. SMS Texting helps by encouraging people to visit your mobile web site, and it can also help people make a buying decision after receiving a mobile coupon.
It is important to establish a clear link between your mobile URL and text message campaign. To do this, you should insert the URL into a text message being sent out, and recommend that people to add it to their Favorites. Sears, the large department store retailer, has done this with great success. Consider sending out some offers that are only good for purchases made online, directing customers to your mobile site instantly. Also, send out a text notifying your opted in database of users that you have new stock; yet another way to draw them to your site.
Studies have also found that if a user abandons a shopping cart while on a mobile web site, sending a simple SMS message follow up will likely get your customer back on the web page.
SMS is a great tool to use in combination with all marketing mediums, but especially mobile web, as the tools are accessed in the same way and consumers are constantly checking their mobile devices.
April 25, 2011 by Jessica Zorawski
BabyCenter, a website dedicated to all steps in the process of motherhood, knows and understands the needs, lifestyle, and likes of mothers in the US. They recently conducted a study on mothers and their mobile devices, and received surprising results
The study, called the 21st Century Mobile Mom® Report, which studied 5,000 moms, reports that 50 percent of moms are addicted to their mobile devices and that adaptation of their mobile device has risen 64 percent over the past 2 years.
In the mobile marketing world, we think it’s pretty exciting that motherhood has actually been named a trigger for mobile phone adaptation! More than half of the moms surveyed admitted they purchased their particular device as a direct result of motherhood. As a woman transitions into motherhood, the way that she uses a phone changes as well. A woman without children favors her calendar while a mother finds her camera the most important feature of her phone.
The most interesting thing is that 62 percent of moms change brands at the onset of motherhood. This is a key time to communicate with moms and provide them with relevant information about your product offering. Since it is clear that moms love and worship their mobile device, reaching them on their mobile phone is a great way to communicate. For instance, reach out to a new mom about things like nutrition facts if you are a restaurant, or safety facts is you sell baby products.
Also, 46 percent of moms reported that they want information just as they are shopping. This means that you now know the ideal time of the day to communicate your marketing message. You’re likely aware of the time when you see the largest number of mothers at your business location. Plan your messages to go out just as you know the highest percentage of moms will be there, or if possible, send individual messages to moms that you can see walking in or near a certain product. You might even consider offering a keyword that moms can text in next to products that they will inevitably stop by, like baby food or a stroller, to receive additional information on nutrition or safety facts.
April 18, 2011 by Jessica Zorawski
A recent article on Mobile Marketer discusses common SMS marketing mistakes, and gives a few suggestions on how to avoid them. From our years of experience, we have a few more insights to add to the list, to ensure that our users have all the education, hints, and advice they need to guarantee success.
The first point that the article addresses is what we in the industry call a “call-to-action”, referring to the statement made in your advertising that is supposed to result in an action from the consumer. The article urges the reader to make this call-to-action prevalent, but doesn’t explain this important advice in detail. Let’s take a look at IHOP’s hit slogan from 2004, “Come hungry. Leave happy”. There is a clear action statement here, which says, “ Come to our restaurant, eat, and you will leave happy.” For a marketing campaign to be successful this same slogan should be used across all forms of marketing, from billboard, to TV, to a text message that enters one’s inbox. This unity across all platforms increases the effect it has on the consumer, since it has a greater chance of residing in one’s memory.
Along these lines, we like to stress that you should be using your text message marketing platform to help gage the usage of other marketing mediums. You can repeat the same slogan but just have a different keyword for TV, billboard, and radio. With these varied keywords, you’ll be able to see which form of advertising is the most successful, so that next time, you know how best to invest your marketing dollars. This is one of the greatest benefits of having a text message marketing campaign, one we highly suggest you take advantage of to monitor the interaction that your target market has with you advertising mediums.
The next point that the article mentions is the current perception of some that a text message marketing campaign is a onetime communication tool for events, in lieu of a long term marketing medium. Many companies are missing out by not seeing text message marketing as a long term marketing strategic communication tool. The best part about mobile is that it allows you to converse with your customers the way that they converse in real life. A TV commercial and a billboard don’t allow for conversation, whereas sending a text message saying “How was your last experience at our store? Anything we can improve on?” gives you much more insight as to what your consumer is really thinking, something that marketers are continually trying to track.
Another mistake that companies make is to choose a text message marketing campaign based on price. We believe that you should choose your text message marketing provider based on the quality of their database and software, and the budget for your text message marketing campaign should be based on its ability to reach your customer. The great thing about Opt It’s software is that you can keep an extremely close eye on the interaction your consumer’s is having with the system, so you can measure its effectiveness much better than any other marketing form, justifying its price and proving its value in your marketing mix.
The next point is a clear rule of thumb we often stress to our customers- don’t send a text message each day, it’s simply too much. Daily messages result in annoyed customers, a marketing message with a decreasing value and ultimately, people opting out of your list. We recommend sending 4-6 general messages a month. If there is a need for more, make sure they’re delivered to a more targeted list that clearly understands and/or wants more messages.
Lastly, anything that you use to brand yourself, from a TV ad to a 160- character message, must align with your overall tone. If you are a luxury brand, you should not shorten words or use text talk like “G2G but c u there” to fit into one text message. Read the message outloud to imagine what it sounds like to your customers to make sure the intended tone is clearly transferred.
We hope you’ll take these points into consideration for your text campaign. If you do, we’re sure you will be able to see the clear benefits of them very shortly.
April 2, 2011 by Jessica Zorawski
Alexander Graham Bell is probably looking down at today’s world thinking about how ungrateful we all are for his wonderful invention from so many years ago. After all, he gave us the power to transmit voice across oceans and have conversations with people who are not standing next to us.
Nowadays, things have changed. Does anyone even remember what pay phones are or that back in the day, you had to return home to make a call on your landline? Not really, and especially not if you’re a tweens, teens, or young adults. Conversations take place via Facebook chat, BBM, instant messaging on Gmail or MSN messenger, or by text messaging. Along these lines, the Today show ran a recent story entitled “The death of the telephone.”
Since 2007, the length of a call has been steadily declining and is half of what it used to be. Voicemail? It’s pretty certain that if you leave a voice message, it will not get checked. Why is this? That’s a great questions and one that the Today show decided to investigate. They questioned three twenty-something college students who said that they liked that you can control your conversation better through this communication medium. With text messaging, they can take their time to reply and strategize as to the best possible answer to a tricky question, whereas when on a call, they would have to respond immediately. One of the participants even commented that he thinks he sounds “better” via text.
Times are a’changin’, and since the young are an indication of trends to come, this is one trend that is not stopping. We suggest joining the massive conversation taking place via text messaging as soon as possible.
http://digitallife.today.com/_news/2011/03/10/6218785-dont-like-to-call-youre-not-alone?GT1=43001
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