IU30 promotes travel and concierge services to people wishing to experience the FUN side of Israel.

The Objective:

Due to the nature of email, response times from IU30 customers in the United States were too slow for effective communications, which forced follow-up emails and phone calls. IU30 was looking for a quick and effective way to communicate with the hundreds of customers they serve. 

IU30 was also looking for an effective way to build a list of potential clients.

Strategy:

With simple subscriptions being the cornerstone of SMS marketing, IU30 decided it would include SMS subscriptions in their Facebook ads and print advertising. 

Creating a separate list for customers – IU30 was able to distribute information and collect customer details and preferences in a real-time environment. 

The Execution:

IU30 launched two Facebook pages advertising their trips to their target audience (Birthright participants). They tracked the performance of the pages by asking users to subscribe using two different keywords.

Their Customer list was divided into subgroups and messaged with critical updates about deadlines and important information.

The Results:

Subscriptions – IU30 had 442 subscriptions (leads) from students interested in a fully paid, return trip to Israel.

Optimization – IU30 discovered that one of their advertisements was 32% more successful at generating registrations than another. By continuing to use the better advertisement, IU30 saved approximately $3400 on advertising throughout the course of the campaign.

Communications – Communication improved significantly. “We stopped having to email time and time again to receive critical and time sensitive information. The entire process just became much faster and much easier. I’m not surprised, we deal with mostly college students” – Said Eugene Gershman, Director of Recruitment

Goodfellas has been preparing award-winning Pizza in Staten Island since 1992. It’s tasty specialty pizza and authentic Italian food is loved by residents of all five New York boroughs.

Goals:

Although it’s hard to get a table at Goodfellas for dinner Wednesday through Sunday, the restaurant management saw an opportunity to increase its dine-in and take-out orders during lunchtime and at the beginning of the week.

Strategy:

Build up a list by encouraging customers to sign up for the SMS list during their meal and by advertising in the local newspaper. Then send SMS messages encouraging orders during target hours.

Execution:

Customers were encouraged to join using three methods. First, they were prompted by their servers as they were handed their bills. Each subscriber would have the opportunity to “save 10% on their next order.” The same offer was printed on every receipt the restaurant issued. Finally, the restaurant took out a quarter-page ad in a local newspaper advertising both their phone number and the opportunity to join a VIP-customer list in order to receive weekly specials and discounts. Once a list was amassed, Goodfellas would send messages twice a week to their subscribers. The first message would notify subscribers of the new specialty dishes that were available that week. The second message would be a coupon for a lunch or dinner special on alternating weeks. Each coupon would go out Monday and expire Tuesday evening.

Results:

Over the course of 8 months, Goodfellas would grow their in-house list to 637 subscribers, and their 4-week newspaper promotion had generated an additional 542 subscribers. By the eighth month of running the promotions, Monday and Tuesday lunch orders were generating an estimated 22% more in sales. Dine-in revenue during the 8 months had increased approximately 31% during Monday and Tuesday.

Background:

New Dorp Wine and Liquor set out to increase their sales of premium and average wines. With a wide selection of premium wine, they thought that their sales were not really reflecting what was possible.  After a review of the store’s needs, the simpletexting.com team created a strategy for New Dorp Wine and Liquor. Their initial call to action was going to be a 10% in-store discount on any purchase of wine. Follow-up text messages were going to be used not more than once a week to alert their customers of new wines, flash sales on surplus inventory, and holiday discounts.

Execution:

Once a week, customers were sent a list of 2–3 new wines and one at 10% discount. Customers would have to show their text messages to receive the discount.

Holiday promotions – promotional messages went out for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s, offering a 10% discount on a purchases over $75.

Results:

List Growth – New Dorp wine and liquors grew their list to 868 numbers within 6 months, averaging about five new subscribers per day.

Premium wine sales – the 6-month increase of premium wines ($50+) was $7496, with an average sale of $63 per bottle.

Mid-tier wine sales – the 6-month increase of mid-tier wines ($20+) was $6,237, with an average sale of $24 per bottle.

Holiday Sales (whole month of December in comparison to 2011) – Sales increase of $12,498.

These five simple methods will help you build your list fast. I will expand on these methods in future articles, as well as cover more effective ways to building your list

The short code is the number your customers text a keyword to when they communicate with you via SMS. The short code for Simple Texting users is 555888. We went with an easy-to-remember number to make it simple for you and your customers.

What is SMS keyword?

SMS keyword is the unique word assigned to you as a Simple Texting user. Your customers will text a keyword such as PIZZA to 555888 to communicate with you. A suggestion selecting a keyword is to use your name (if it’s short) or to distinguish your location. An example of this is a barber shop – JEFFCUTS for Jeff’s Cool Cuts or COOLCUTS. The main point here is to make it easy to remember.

What is an opt-in?

Opting in means your customer agrees to receive text messages from your business. They opt-in by texting your keyword to the Short Code 555888. They will receive a message that tells them “Your Business wants to send you a msg. Reply ‘Y’ or ‘YES’ to receive the message.”

When they reply “Y” or “YES,” that’s considered the opt-in or permission you need to send them marketing messages. They will get a confirmation of their acceptance and instructions on how to opt-out in a follow-up message “You will receive messages from Your Business with keyword YOURKEYWORD. Reply STOP to Cancel or HELP for help.”

How do customers “get off my list?”

Our hope is that you’ll never give them a reason to “get off your list,” but it’s really simple to opt out. All they have to do is to reply to any message you send them with the word “Stop.” This takes them off the list immediately.

To learn how to keep your members from “opting-out” read “How to keep your SMS list subscribers happy”.

How do I get customers to opt in?

Tell them to text your Keyword (such as JONAILS) to 555888. Then, they’ll receive instructions as you’ve seen above for opting in. Learn how to build your customer list.

While this market is growing, these phones are not in everyone’s price range. More than 75% of cell phone users are still on phones than may access the mobile web, but not mobile apps. 

So, there’s an incredible opportunity for small businesses to build relationships with a technology everyone already has – text messaging. Here are a few stats:

• 82% of adults own a cell phone
• 95% of mobile phone users have access to text messaging
• 90% of text messages are read in the first 3 minutes of receipt

Why would you spend upwards of $30k on a mobile app when you can reach 95% of your customers for less than $30 a month?

We think it is a Simple decision. Get started with Simple Texting here.

1. Live up to your subscriber’s expectations

Each SMS should remind subscribers why they’ve signed up for your weekly messages. If you’ve initially offered a weekly deal, you can keep your messages interesting, but avoid deviating from your promises. For example, if your business is an upscale restaurant and you’re tempted to display your sense of humor with videos of LOL Cats, please refrain from doing so.

There is more than one way to add value and excitement to your campaign than just offering deals. If you’re a restaurant, you offer your SMS subscribers with a reservation reminder program. If you’re a doctor, lawyer or hairdresser, you can remind your forgetful customers about their up coming appointment. Or you can involve your customers in your business and show them that you care about the quality of your services, simply by asking your SMS subscribers to respond with honest feedback about your service or product.

3. SMS your subscribers not too often and not too infrequently

Texting your SMS subscribers at an undesirable frequency is an easy way to sour your relationship. Once a week is a common assumption, but in reality, various variables are dependent on the happy medium, including the type of SMS marketing campaign you’re running, to the type of business that you run.

Get an idea about the frequency at which your customers conduct their business with you. For example, if you’re a hair salon running a deals based SMS marketing campaign, the realization that people tend to get their hair cut once or twice a month should clue you into sending your subscribers messages once or twice a month.

4. Use cross platform marketing to improve loyalty

A heavily discussed topic at Ad Week revolved around promoting the effectiveness of cross platform marketing – marketing on multiple channels, whether it be TV, mobile, or Internet devices. Because you’re restricted to 140 characters with a SMS, you’re only able to send a concise, yet descriptionless message. By integrating your social media page or website into your SMS marketing campaign, you’re able to provide subscribers with an online channel that they can use to find further information pertaining to your campaign. The more your subscribers know, the better they will respond to the campaign.

Remember that you will have a handful of subscribers without smartphones, so in the spirit of keeping your subscribers happy, offer a full URL that smartphone-less subscribers can use to find your social media page or website.

5. Give your SMS subscribers the option to opt out

The final tip may appear contradictory to retaining the loyalty of your subscribers, but it is one that every business must implement. Omitting the option to opt out of your SMS marketing campaign is quite like receiving junk mail that “forgets” to include the “unsubscribe” link, yet never seems to stop filling up your inbox. You can see how much this could potentially anger just about anyone, and in a world dominated by social media, it’s a potential PR nightmare. Simply, at the end of every message, add “Reply STOP to Opt out.” Your SMS subscribers will appreciate you for it.

That’s where text marketing is different. The message is coming to your customer in a non-intrusive way. And they can deal with it quickly. That’s why 95% of text messages are opened within five minutes. It’s easy to look at a quick text and take an action because there’s no room for fluff.

Take advantage of this cost-efficient, simple and oh-so-effective marketing tool to grow your business.

Sign up for your free account and see how simple it is to reach customers with text marketing.

Coffee Shop

If you have great java, your customers come in often. Want to grow the foot traffic? Offer your customers a membership in your text loyalty program to get discounts, updates on new menu selections and bring a friend offers.

Nail Salon

Manicures and pedicures have a limited lifespan. What better way to drum up a little business than to send out a reminder that it’s time to make your nails nice. You can also alert frequent customers of last-minute openings.

Landscaper

Landscapers often have the joy of needing to be in two places at once. Texting can be a great way to remind your customers of your arrival times and to alert them for special promotions you run during slower weeks. It’s also a great way to communicate with your crew from the home office.

Dentist/Doctor

Do your patients forget about their routine visits? Even though you send a postcard and make a phone call a day or two before? Missed appointments mean missed money and a misaligned schedule. Texting your customers on the phone they spend up to 14 hours a day with is more time-efficient and effective than leaving a voicemail.

Pet Groomers

Pooches and kitties need pampering just like the rest of us. But calling the cuddly creatures’ owners is time-consuming. Groomers can fit in more fuzzy clients by eliminating the appointment reminder and pickup calls with a simple text. You can also fill spots at the last minute by communicating with all of customers in a single text.