1. Customers love text contests and your mobile database will also… Text Contests (also generally known as text to win) is a type of competition whereby your audience participates in a contest or sweepstakes for a prize by sending a text message via their cell phone to a sms short code. It is the easiest way for consumers to enter a contest, entry is fast, instant and confirmations are immediate, which is why text messaging provides the highest entry rate out of any marketing channel. The great thing about text to win campaigns is that they build customer hype and excitement while building your database to market to in the future. Announcing a text to win campaign can help bring customers in store, get them purchasing your product, and most importantly get them engaging directly with your brand. Text contests campaigns are great for word of mouth publicity and can be promoted across your entire range of advertising media to build hype and excitement. There are 3 keys to success with text message contests; have an attractive prize for your audience, good promotion in consumer traffic spots and a simple mobile entry mechanic. An attractive prize doesn’t have to be large in value, just relevant to your consumers. The radio station, WNOU (Radio Now 100.9), in Indianapolis was able to generate over 1.3 million text message entries in less than week using InvolveMobile by offering listeners the chance to win a concert at their school by a famous music artist. Restaurant chain Hooters have successfully used text to win to grow their popular Hooters Mobile Club which currently stands at over 50,000 members. The text to win campaign featured in store signs encouraging customers to text the keyword POOL to a short code for a chance to win a trip to a special Hooters branded event – the Hooters Super Pool Party in Miami’s South Beach. All competition entrants became part of the Hooters Mobile Club and receive ongoing mobile alerts, coupons and special offers. 2. Mobile club’s are a winning strategy for retailers… Text Clubs (also known as Mobile Clubs) are a great way to capture customer relationships and target your most valued customers with great offers and communications. It can be as simple as consumers opting-in to receive ongoing text message alerts on their cell phone, which may involve a range of different mobile marketing techniques; such as regular alerts about new products, sales and mobile coupons for in-store redemption. Retail stores in particular have an opportunity to build a text club database from their foot traffic, and find out more about the individual consumers who walk into their store and what they think about their products and services. Athletic shoe retailer Foot Locker runs a successful Mobile Club where VIP members receive early information on new products, along with news about events and special offers. VIP members can choose to control and customize the information on the brands they prefer so the club is personalized and relevant to each member. If you’re a retailer Texts Clubs can be a great way to keep in contact with your customers and ensure everyone is easily informed of what is happening in-store. 3. In-Store or In-stadium mobile marketing with text to screen and Text interaction… In-stadium and event mobile marketing is a great way to connect with consumers in a personal and fun way. Whether you’re a sporting team engaging fans at a big game or putting on a live event for a few people, event mobile marketing offers a host of interactive options including Text to Screen, SMS Voting and Text Trivia. Text to Screen is a technology that allows cell phone users to send a text message to a short code and have their messages displayed on a screen, big or small. At your next stadium event why not get attendees to text messages of support to the big screen for everyone to see? Or conduct SMS voting with live results displayed in real time? Alternatively you could run a trivia game to get attendees interacting with you throughout the event. The opportunities for interaction are endless. Many sporting teams including the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the National Hockey League’s New York Islanders use mobile marketing to engage fans at their games via a range of SMS marketing including Text to Screen, SMS Voting and Text Trivia. Fans at the games are encouraged to text to a short code to vote in polls, display messages on screen and play in stadium trivia games. The teams also use their new list of fans after each game for their mobile database to keep supporters updated on upcoming games, scores and events. In-stadium mobile marketing is also great for large stadium concerts. The 2009 Keith Urban ‘Escape Together’ world tour saw over 500,000 attendees participate in an SMS sweepstakes with almost one third opting into the Keith Urban fan list to receive ongoing updates. Similarly, In-store engagement works well in any number of environments where there is a captive consumer audience; restaurants, night clubs, retail stores are some examples where businesses can offer the ability to text message in an entertaining way. 4. SMS alerts can keep customers updated on information and cut costs for you… Text message alerts (also known as SMS alerts) are a great way to engage with customers with relevant information which keeps your brand top of mind. Text messages work for a variety of purposes – telling customers about a great new product, new sales or bursts of news to keep customers informed about an area of interest. SMS alerts can be used on their own or as part of a larger Mobile Club program. Bogus Basin Snow Resort in Idaho is an example of how to use text message alerts to develop a fantastic information service for customers. The resort keeps local ski fanatics informed about the conditions up on the hill, which helps to drive awareness and business whenever there is new snow or great conditions worth talking about. It is this kind of regular reinforcement and value add that assists in keeping Bogus Basin top of mind over its competitors. Think about what area of your business you could use cost effective real time communication to build customer loyalty and save on costs. 5. Text voting, polls & SMS feedback can bring you real time information… Text voting can be a great way to engage consumers in the retail environment and also give you useful feedback on products or even the store experience. As retail environments increasingly become more interactive, mobile marketing is the natural next step for complete consumer interaction. Consumers carry their phones with them practically 24/7 so interacting with them in the retail environment is as easy as tapping into their mobile device. Department store Bloomingdale’s engaged customers in-store via text voting in an in store video installation to coincide with the 2009 fall fashion season. A series of films shot and produced in New York were shown in all Bloomingdale stores and on the Bloomingdales website. Consumers were invited to vote for their favorite film via text adding a further element of consumer interaction to the in store display. The campaign allowed instant interaction in-store and gave Bloomingdales a mobile database for future marketing. If you’re striving to make your retail environment more interactive, why not introduce mobile marketing to the mix? Mobile marketing can be used to increase consumer interaction within a retail space, or even alert customers to special offers in store – right when they’re at the final point of sale.
Posted on: Fri, 13 Sep 2013 20:35:10 +0000