Qittle SMS Message Solutions

Qittle helps businesses create, customize and manage a mobile marketing initiative.

Archive for January 9th, 2010

How to Start a Mobile Marketing campaign through the Qittle system

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No. 1
“Cleaning Ears”

Take the first step towards becoming mobile by registering with Qittle™. What to do now?  That’s where the Qittle Q.tips come in handy.  You will receive regular emails from us with tips, suggestions, how-tos, case-studies and other helpful information to get you on your merry mobile way.  This Q.tip No. 1 provides useful information on starting an SMS campaign through the Qittle system. But just as you could think of a million ways to use cotton swabs, the possibilities are endless with Qittle!

Are your customers hearing you? Do they know you have specials going on?  Do they know you have new products, services, location?  Clean out their ears!  One way to ensure that your customers get instant, direct and real-time communication from you is to contact them via text message (SMS) directly on their mobile device.

1. Keyword. A keyword is your special identifier for your business so when customers text into a shortcode, this identifier directs those mobile numbers into your database on the Qittle system.   For example, “PIZZA” if you are an Italian restaurant.  As you grow your mobile platform, you might want to select additional keywords for different campaigns.
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2. Campaign and Offer. Now that you have this keyword, you should create a campaign around it to encourage customers to text in, thus opting to provide their mobile phone number to your database (for later use).   The best way to build that database quickly is to provide a substantial offer for those texting in.  For example, the pizza place might offer a free drink with every meal.

3. Call to Action. With your keyword and offer determined, now you can create a call to action that should appear in all of your advertising.  In the example above, the call to action might be “For a free drink with every meal, text “PIZZA” TO 11111”.  You can also use a sub-keyword to track media placement (for print “PIZZA 1”, for radio “PIZZA 2” and so on).

4. Response. Now you need to create a response which will automatically be sent back to any mobile number that texted into the Qittle system with your keyword.  With the pizza example, the response might be “Thank you! Please present this mobile coupon with your order and receive a free drink of your choice. 1 per customer per meal.”

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5. Media Placement. The call to action doesn’t work by itself.  The best results come from getting that call to action out there for your customers to see.  Use print, TV, radio, your website, social networks, email, flyers, banners, billboards. Whatever advertising you are currently doing, the call to action should now be a part of it.  All of your staff should be aware of it and encouraged to use the call to action in any form of marketing, advertising or promotion.

6. Evaluate. With the Qittle system, you can track which numbers came from which media and thus spend your next marketing dollars wisely.  If you’ve inserted keywords, now you can go back and look at the amount of mobile numbers who texted in each sub-keyword.  If the numbers are low from radio,  but high from the internet, the next campaign you can put more money into the internet ads.

7. Utilize. After the campaign, you have the beginnings of a database of your customers’ mobile phone numbers.  Now you can utilize this base and connect directly with those customers.   For the pizza place, they might want to encourage patrons to try out a new location and could send out a text to their database with the message “Come to the grand opening of our new location TONIGHT at XXX road.  Same great pizza, new great spot.”

Clean and simple!  Your customers are now hearing your message directly from you in real-time.  Please feel free to give us a call if you need help; your success is our success.

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Written by courtneyalexasmith

January 9, 2010 at 2:18 pm

Posted in Cell Phone Coupons, Green SMS, Insurance SMS, Mobile Coupons, Mobile Coupons for Tanning Salons, Mobile Marketing, Mobile Website, Qittle, Text, Text Donations, mobile, new media

What is Mobile Marketing and How Are Businesses Using This New Media Tool

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In this blog I define mobile marketing as mobile messaging to consumers through their cell phones from a brand or business. The communication can come as a voice message, text message, mobile website, Application or email. Text messaging is what I am going to focus on in this article.

Text Messages now outnumber mobile voice calls three to one, according to the Nielsen Company. Consumers are using their mobile devices more as a computer than a traditional cell phone. SMS (Short Message Solutions) or texting is the largest use on a cell phone today. This is also where brands and businesses have the best opportunity to engage their customers or potential customers. Nielsen reports “Monthly messages sent or received jumped to 584 a person in the quarter ending in September 2009, a 60 percent increase from a year earlier.”

A shortcode is a commercial phone number that text messages are sent from, they are typically 5 or 6 digits. People have to opt into campaigns in order to receive messages. Spam is strictly prohibited and companies that engage in such activity risk big fines from the Mobile Marketing Association.

If you opt into a text message offer you always have the ability to opt out by sending a text message to the shortcode with STOP. The provider of the mobile marketing campaign will opt your phone number out of their system so that you will no longer receive messages.

The opportunity to send mobile marketing messages to consumers for discounts, coupons, communications and new product offerings is now. Consumers are asking for these sort of offers and brands need to engage them through their Mobile Phones.In the January 4 2010 issue of Advertising Age it states that “32% of holiday shoppers said they were looking to use mobile coupons.”

The Residence hotel in Aspen Colorado working with RadioFreeAspen.com and Qittle just did a Mobile Marketing campaign that involved radio ads with a mobile offer that listeners could redeem via a text message opt in. The offer was to win a free weekend getaway to Aspen Colorado by texting in the word ROOM to a shortcode. Everyone that entered was given a voucher for $200 off a weekend stay. Over 50% of the people that opt in called the number in the text message to redeem the offer. The hotel had so many calls that a follow up message was sent with another phone number to direct callers to a second line.

97 percent of all SMS marketing messages are opened (83 percent within one hour), according to the latest cell-carrier research. Mobile marketing is a powerful tool that businesses can use in their marketing efforts, however like email marketing the key is to build a list of people that have opt in and want to hear from you on a regular basis.

Click here to learn more about Qittle Mobile Marketing

Written by Casey McConnell

January 9, 2010 at 1:43 pm

Posted in Cell Phone Coupons, Insurance SMS, Mobile Coupons, Mobile Coupons for Tanning Salons, Mobile Marketing, Qittle, Text, mobile, new media