Why MOBILIZE my customer base?

Reprinted from Resdida.com

We are always online, and for many of us, when we are not at our computers on the Internet, we find ourselves online still on our mobile phones! The Internet is omnipresent in our lives, for better or for worse. So given the prevalence of email and the Internet, why would we choose to contact our customers via SMS? 

Many don’t consider the fact that there are well over 1Billion people living without email or Internet access around the world in both developed and developing countries. Yet at the same time, mobile phone penetration is growing at an enormous rate. In fact, one billion connections were created in the last year alone!

Of course, I am not suggesting foregoing email or Internet in favor of SMS, but SMS does a lot to round out the communications strategy and can support the efforts face-to-face and over email. It works well in addition to other strategies because there are times when customers are away from their computers and email or are in remote areas that are hard to reach except via cell towers. The cell phone is that bridge over the last mile that connects even the farthest place to information and services that would otherwise not be accessible. 

Think to yourself about your email habits: do you read everything you get? Now think about your text message habits: do you read every text message? The “sound-bite” brevity of text messages and the immediacy of having them in your hand day and night make them less time-consuming and even more personal. People tend to only give out their cell phone numbers to people and organizations they care about which gives the information a slightly higher priority. Plus in most countries there is no charge to receive messages, making them ideal for serving the poor in large numbers.

Remember, adopting a text message strategy neither needs to be complex or time-consuming. Using online software, like our MOBILIZE application, means you can get started very quickly sending and receiving information to and from mobile phones nearly anywhere in the world. With MOBILIZE, we work to make all this as simple and seamless as possible. On many levels (cultural, financial and social), we are helping you “reach your customers where they are at.”

Events Part IV: Using Text Messaging and Mobile Marketing to Increase Event Attendance

Reprinted from Resdida.com. 

Events bring people together in support of a purpose, like networking, learning, celebrating, collaborating or simply sharing a common interest. With that in mind, how do you include more people and get more people to register, join and take part?

Save-the-date advertising is sent out a year in advance immediately when the venue is booked. Then, a series of marketing reminders are sent to the audience via email and mail. These inbox and mailbox items are very effective at reminding folks to schedule the time and plan expenses. However, there is growing opportunity in mobile that complements this traditional advertising very well. The usage of text messaging is growing worldwide, people have their phones with them and use them more frequently than their email on computers. Over mobile, the open rate is very high because the information arrives and is announced with a beep or buzz in the palm of the customer’s hand.

So “How” is very simple. Create an event information channel or an organization information channel (or both) in advance so that you can let folks subscribe to receive key information. The sequence of activities is planned out in detail in Part II , but in summary, would be the following:

• If you haven't already, find a suitable text messaging platform, like Resdida MOBILIZE 
• Setup your channel(s). This takes less than three minutes 
• Post instructions for mobile channels on posters, in newsletters and online to encourage folks to subscribe
• Plan, schedule and send relevant content

Once you have your mobile audience you can begin to engage them with relevant topics, coupons and incentives to forward invites to friends. Let’s take a look at each of these.

Relevant Content

No one likes SPAM, no matter the format. Relevant content is critical to keeping your audience as well as engaging them. If folks sign up for the ACME event channel, they will be expecting to hear news about the speakers, venue, vendors, promotions, activities, and other critical event-related information.

Most importantly, it’s best to be very clear in all communications and set expectations for the mobile experience. In signup instructions, tell potential subscribers the truth about what to expect and how often and answer key questions in your marketing materials. You can use a worksheet, like the sample below to think through what you are offering.

Making sure your message is consistent across all email, mail, web, print and “in-store” materials will be important for setting expectations for your audience. At the very least they should understand the nature of what you intend to send and how often you intend to send messages to them. The worksheet can become something similar to the sample advertising for the mobile channel shown here.

Then, be sure to keep the promises you make. That may mean special staff training and extra care around what messages are created and sent.

Keep them informed with relevant content they are expecting to receive, like information about the venue.

The text messaging channel can be used to assist with registration information, questions, and communicating key dates. Registration information, like websites, forms and phone numbers can be pre-programmed as content in MOBILIZE and scheduled in advance to deliver as planned.

Mobile creates an opportunity for dialog that will encourage people to register, join in and participate. Every transmission should be thoughtfully planned with the audience in mind. With MOBILIZE, you can plan and schedule well in advance to send at the pace you want.

Coupons and Incentives

One of the best ways to encourage participation is to offer coupons for registration. You can provide an opportunity for savings, like coupons to receive 50% off of a second registration or buy-two-get-one registration savings.

You can provide the coupon code right over the mobile phone and even encourage folks to forward coupons on to colleagues, friends and family. The more widely the coupon is shared, the more viral publicity and opportunity for growth is available for your event.

You can provide incentives to attendees to participate by providing a prize. A common and very effective incentive is holding a raffle of subscribers for one lucky participant to receive a free registration for the next year’s event. You can also provide an incentive for mobile subscribers to participate in event activities. For example, send a mobile coupon for 50% off of the services of a vendor or special seating for folks showing a mobile ticket at the keynote. To take care of your event sponsors, send an offer for drink tickets at the reception.

In Summary

In the end, your mobile text messaging program has been developed into an asset, a mobile CRM for folks who champion your events, your organization and your cause. To make the most of this, you can keep the channel active throughout the year as a great way to promote products, events and donation opportunities. Mobile text messaging fits nicely into the marketing tapestry in support of all of your efforts. It’s just a matter of process and procedure, and the details of the steps involved are spelled out in Part II. Be sure to review steps and your marketing timeline for ensuring everything gels and works together.

Implementing is affordable and easy as well but is not something that you need to tackle alone. Resdida is there to lend expertise every step of the way.