Text msg marketing: inform & sell with courtesy
Jinfo Blog

By Jan Knight

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In the past two weeks I took advantage of a free dinner at a local restaurant and a half price Mocha Frappuccino at a nearby Starbucks! Both visits were prompted by “text marketing” campaigns to which I had opted in.

Companies of all sizes have been using texts to keep in touch with customers and many are adding texting to their marketing mix. Is it for your company? It can be but be careful, courteous and don't annoy!

Here’s why you might consider it regardless of who your target markets are. Pew Internet research cites that 72% of adults routinely send text messages and among the 18-24 year olds, 95% text. Wireless trade association CTIA says that mobile users in the US sent 1.3 trillion text messages during the year ending July 2009. According to the Mobile Marketing Association, even in 2009 text message marketing was already the most widely-used form of mobile marketing.

Before companies jump on the bandwagon and start annoying their loyal customers or potential customers with unwanted texts, they should think about how other marketing vehicles have parameters such as “double opt-in” for email newsletters and the ability to put oneself on the Do Not Call list for phone solicitations. Those same guidelines and courtesies should be emulated to foster goodwill rather than annoyance.

If it’s done right you can keep in touch with current customers and alert them to new products/services and maybe even gain new customers through referrals. You can send informative texts – e.g. “It’s time you brought your car in for service” or “The art museum has a new upcoming event”.  You can also offer customers deals like “Buy one entrée & two drinks & get another entrée free!” You can use it to run sweepstakes, trivia contests and voting.

The possibilities are almost endless and companies like Burger King and Pizza Hut have all launched texting programmes. But you don’t have to be selling food or be a large company to take advantage of the technology or the opportunity.

Some companies who help consult and provide the technology for text messaging marketing know that it’s such a great medium for small business, so there are some very reasonable monthly prices being offered. While not promoting one vendor over another, I did find some interesting information at BoomText.

I’ve even started to wonder how in-house librarians and information professionals can incorporate text marketing into our worlds. Maybe texting staff when a new journal has been added to the electronic collection or informing a group about an upcoming workshop or alerting clients to a new venture they might be interested in. As someone online commented “My bet is that if you tell people something they want to know, they won’t mind getting these messages”.

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