Consumers hold brands to higher marketing standards than ever before. It’s no longer enough to rely on a ‘one size fits all’ advertising approach. In fact, when consumers view a consistent message across multiple channels, they increase their purchase intent by 90 per cent and improve their perception of that brand by 68 per cent[1]. In many ways, marketing has become a two-way conversation between brands and consumers. Companies that leverage SMS as part of their omnichannel marketing strategy are better able to build relationships with customers and prospects, and ultimately make more sales.

Text messaging is considered one of the strongest marketing channels but leveraging it as part of an overall omnichannel strategy makes it even stronger. Compared to email and social media, SMS has significantly higher deliverability and engagement. However, using multiple channels together is always the strongest strategy because each no single platform is ideal for all types of messages. SMS marketing, for example, is best for time-sensitive and/or short messages with a simple call to action. Longer copy or heavily visual campaigns may work better over email or social media, respectively.

Customer satisfaction rates are 23 times higher among brands with cross-channel strategies[2] because omnichannel marketing enables companies to deliver messages that are customized to demographic, device, and purchasing intent. Here are some strategies for leveraging SMS and email together.

• Grow lists by asking users to sign up for text via email or social and vice versa
• Enable customers to choose their preferred communication channel by opting in/out
• Use SMS to follow up on email engagement with a limited time offer
• Send a text to ask customers to submit user-generated content (UGC) on social media as part of a campaign or contest
• Leverage social listening tools to understand trends that can be used in social and email campaigns

These are just a few of the ways leading brands are using SMS to drive results with an omnichannel marketing strategy. So, what are the steps to getting started?

1. Encourage SMS sign-ups via social, emails, and your main website
2. Implement targeted marketing practices. Create segmented lists by demographic, industry, purchase intent and any other information you’ve gathered on customers and prospects
3. Evaluate the results – Are you generating a return on investment from these services? Continuously monitoring results and pivoting based on trends is crucial to omnichannel success.

Like any new marketing strategy, adding SMS marketing to your omnichannel marketing strategy may take some trial and error. However, SMS has demonstrably better marketing results than many other platforms and should be part of any well-rounded marketing campaign. Still don’t believe us? Hear from our partners at Oracle:

“We are proud to have mGage as part of the Oracle Responsys SMS Public Aggregator Network (SPAN). mGage can help global brands by providing them with the support and expertise required to realize the full value of mobile as part of an omnichannel strategy, rather than an individual channel.”

– Dave Helmreich, GVP, North American Sales, Oracle Marketing Cloud

To view a demo or speak with a mGage consultant, get in-touch with us today!

[1] IAB

[2] Aberdeen Group

The post SMS as an essential component of an omnichannel marketing strategy appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Mobile Marketing is consistently proving to be one of the most successful communication channels for marketing campaigns. We wanted to share some of the key insights from our webinar on the Best Practices in mobile marketing.

How to Get Started

Define your Mobile Marketing Objectives:  Your target goal will affect your messaging strategy, so it is essential to have clear objectives for your mobile marketing campaign. Whether its increasing acquisitions, improving retention, or maximizing customer satisfaction, these varied objectives will require tailored messaging to engage your mobile database effectively.

Design your Successful Campaign: You must identify your target audience first, which will allow you to develop your strategy and create content for your campaign. Short codes, keywords, message wording/layout, and the message timing, will differ based on the audience.

Build your Mobile Database: Promote your keywords and short codes for your campaign by using other marketing channels. You can promote your short code in email marketing, print marketing, websites, or on social media. Make the opt-in process clear, concise, and easy for people to sign up.

Send Marketing Campaigns: Leverage SMS, MMS, and RCS to share relevant content to capture and maintain your customer’s interest. Brand your messages to add an identity that will be recognizable to your clients, reducing the likelihood that they dismiss your messages as spam. RCS is an excellent tool for sending branded messages as a verified sender. Be sure to include clearly defined opt-out instructions.

Measure Success: Define your KPIs to help measure the success of your campaign. Some KPIs for your mobile campaign will be the number of opt-ins/opt-outs, the sales/ revenue generated, and the URL click-through rate.

Best Practices

Test, measure, and learn: Everybody has a different customer base, so it’s essential to test, measure, and learn. Test out new content, or test time of day you are sending messages and see how your audience reacts. Measure the success of your campaign by paying attention to the number of opt-ins and opt-outs. The number of opt-outs is a good indication as to whether the content remains relevant to your audience.

Keywords are Key: We always suggest you use the keep it short & simple (KISS) approach for keywords. Customers want to receive messages that are easy to read and digest, so keep it simple and avoid special characters. Choose keywords that won’t be autocorrected and be sure to choose keywords that are straight to the point, i.e., OFFER, DEALS, SALE, DISCOUNTS, and others.

Be very clear: Clarity is essential at all stages of your campaign. Be upfront and set the proper expectations, so customers know what they are signing up for. Be sure to inform them of the purpose of the campaign, the type of messages you will send, and their frequency. Make sure you include how to opt-out of every message. Being upfront and setting your customers’ expectations will give them comfort in knowing that you will not be spamming their phones.

Offer Incentives: The best, and easiest way to drive opt-ins to a text-based marketing campaign is to offer incentives. Coupons and sales are always great options.  68 per cent of consumers feel that coupons build brand awareness and generate brand loyalty. However, you can also incentivize the customer with experiences, to get them to opt-in, i.e., text to see a new offer or preview a new product launch.

Final thoughts

Leveraging mobile marketing should be a part of any successful marketing campaign. These are just some of the best practices we would suggest for your mobile marketing campaign. For more in-depth detail, contact us today and speak with one of our consultants.

The post Best practices in mobile marketing appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

All of us at mGage hope you, your teams, and your families are staying healthy and safe during these unprecedented times.  We understand your business is likely facing a lot of challenges amid the global coronavirus outbreak. Customers shuttered at home and not out shopping; events cancelled; these are all unexpected challenges to normal, day-to-day business functions.

Just when you think your marketing and advertising strategy is obsolete, consider the fact that with most people working from home – and glued to their mobile devices for news updates. Shifting your outreach strategy toward cost-effective SMS messaging can help you stay in front of existing customers and potential new ones. Here are some ways your brand can use text messaging to help minimize the impact of social distancing on your business.

Stay connected with your customers

Communicating effectively and efficiently is going to be vital in maintaining customer relationships. Use SMS messaging to let your customers know that it is your top priority to keep them informed of any changes your business may incur that will affect them. Tangible examples of how your organization is working to support “business-as-usual” can reinforce customers’ loyalty to your brand over your competitors.

• Deploy SMS chatbots – manage the most common customer inquiries automatically while your call center may be understaffed.
• Share essential updates – let customers know about store hours or policy changes that may be occurring
• Offer appointment scheduling/rescheduling – easily allow clients to reschedule an appointment for a future date

Leverage SMS to Find New Ways to Adapt

Restaurants, fast food, beauty, along with many other industries, are being hit the hardest and must close their doors temporarily. With the new guidelines for social distancing, these businesses can no longer function like before. Mobile messaging is a cost-effective way to adapt your business strategy to try to find ways to make sales during this challenging time.

• Offer curbside pickup – customers can text when they arrive, and you can bring it out to their car, minimizing human contact.
• Offer delivery – the delivery person can send a text message when they are a half-mile away to confirm drop-off directions.
• Provide knowledge – Send industry-related text messages with tips and advice. (i.e., recipes, hair care, skin care tips)
• Buy now, use later – Send texts to encourage customers to buy gift cards now and redeem once the social distancing guidelines have been lifted.

We’re Here to Help

Throughout this challenging time, we’re happy to help brainstorm customer engagement methods and share how our clients are effectively communicating with their customers using SMS. Contact us

The post Minimize the impact of social distancing on your business with SMS appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

SMS messaging continues to evolve with the rise of new mobile technologies. New feature-rich messaging apps, such as those built on the RCS (Rich Communications Services) platform, offer businesses powerful new opportunities to engage with their consumers successfully.

RCS is a robust messaging channel that enables brands to deliver a richer customer experience directly to their phone’s native messaging app. This comes at a vital time where consumers expect to receive timely, relevant, and personalized messages.

How can brands drive smarter conversations with RCS?

Create Dialogue
SMS is increasingly being used for two-way conversations, given how successful SMS is for one way. Use chatbot functionalities to create two-way conversations with customers, send quick responses, and suggested actions.

Whether you are requesting or responding to customer feedback, directing them to content, or re-scheduling a delivery, this functionality helps increase customer engagement.

Send Appealing Messages
Breathe new life into your messages. Deliver rich media content like images, GIFs, and videos to create more enticing messages. By creating visually appealing messages, you can drive 14 times higher engagement with RCS compared to traditional channels.

Build Trust
Deliver secure messaging that your consumers can trust. Sender Verification is a critical feature available with RCS that provides additional fraud and security protection for products and services. In addition, personalized branding provides familiarity and peace of mind, which makes end users more likely to engage with your brand.

Conclusion

It’s an exciting time not only for the messaging eco-system but for brands and consumers too. RCS enables brands to deliver a whole new level of mobile engagement through its range of features.

We’re RCS ready in the UK and US. If you think of yourselves as leaders of innovation, then register here to begin your RCS story today!

The post Brands can drive smarter conversations with RCS messaging appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Many Firsts for the Century’s Third Decade

Think the past 10 years have brought a lot of change in mobile marketing? Set your sights on the next 10 years – or at least, the next few years – to see how many of the norms in today’s mobile marketing sphere will soon be old news.

Increased Use of Mobile Devices

Mobile is the worldwide communication platform of choice, and the trend continues to grow year after year. The average American spends 3.6 hours a day on a mobile device, accounting for over half their daily digital media usage. Up to 70 per cent of web traffic happens on a mobile device, and nearly 60 per cent of all US online traffic now comes from smartphones and tablets.

As the ‘20s unfold, several trends are emerging that will continue to accelerate the use of mobile devices, particularly in the commercial sphere.

Rich Communication Services (RCS)

Rich Communication Services (RCS) is poised to change the way that brands communicate with their customers. RCS helps businesses engage with customers in a way that is more interactive, conversational, and trusted. It enables brands to incorporate features like carousels, chip lists, videos, and maps into their messages. More importantly, it also allows you to brand and track messages, so you can see if the messages were delivered or read, providing a real sense of engagement. Trials have demonstrated 14 times more customer engagement, three times more sales than more traditional channels, and nearly 75 per cent of consumers polled say that they are more likely to engage with a brand that uses RCS. It’s a good thing that smartphone manufacturers are keeping up with this new wave, and as much as 86 per cent of new smartphones will be RCS-enabled by next year. In the meantime, when an end user’s phone does not support RCS, the brands message will default to the SMS fallback feature, ensuring their message is still delivered.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Yes, I AM a Robot

AI will soon be the driving force behind many online services. According to research by digital marketing agency Single Grain, 71 per cent of B2B marketers are interested in using AI for personalization. Current uses of AI-driven communication tools include product recommendations, content creation, e-commerce, and personalization, as mentioned earlier in emails. By the end of 2020, Single Grain’s research estimates that 60 per cent of companies will be using artificial intelligence for driving digital revenue.

Chatbots – The Power of Automation

According to HubSpot, 85 per cent of consumers will engage with businesses without ever interacting with another human being by the end of 2020. Many factors will propel this change, but the most significant driver will be businesses’ use of chatbots for customer engagement.

The HubSpot research tapped the opinions of consumers and businesses, and the two audience segments were closely aligned on their views of chatbots and similar communication tools. According to responses, the top benefits of chatbots are 24-hour service (64 per cent), instant responses to inquiries (55 per cent), and answers to simple questions (55 per cent)

For brands, chatbots are an easy way to offer additional services without adding a lot of new staff. Chatbots enable communication with users through messenger apps and on websites, allowing businesses to ‘answer’ questions immediately, any time of day or night, with little or no impact on payroll. By 2022, it is estimated that chatbots will help businesses save over $8bn a year.

5G Connectivity – Ramp Up for Speed

5G, the next generation of wireless is going to be a hot topic for 2020, and it’s no wonder, with its promise of connectivity up to 400 times quicker than 4G. It will not only enhance today’s mobile broadband services but will also expand mobile networks to support a vast diversity of devices and services and connect new industries with improved performance, efficiency, and cost.

To learn more about how to capitalize on emerging mobile usage trends like these in the new decade, contact mGage today. There’s no better time than the present to embrace the future of mobile communication.

Sources

https://www.slashgear.com/mobile-trends-to-look-forward-to-in-2020-08602584/

https://www.zdnet.com/article/twenty-mobile-trends-for-2020/

https://mindsea.com/mobile-trends-the-best-brands-will-be-focused-on/

https://www.mobileappdaily.com/mobile-app-development-trends

https://www.qualcomm.com/invention/5g/what-is-5g

The post What’s coming for mobile communications in 2020 and beyond? appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

We understand how important it is to meet your customers where they are, so integrating a robust omnichannel strategy can dramatically enhance the customer experience, leading to higher retention and revenue.   

With more than 3bn smartphone users worldwide, we ask has your brand adopted a customer engagement strategy that includes mobile messaging?

Below we’ve listed three ways retailers can incorporate SMS messaging into their omnichannel strategy.

1. Click and Collect

With 75 per cent of UK shoppers using Click & Collect services, this is a great example of how some retailers are providing an omnichannel experience for its customers. It provides a seamless experience for the buyers as it allows them to switch from online to offline.

It has also helped retailers increase sales, as a report highlighted a 65 per cent conversion in extra sales, as shoppers where making additional purchases in-store when they’d go to collect the items. (Source: Cybertil)

How to incorporate SMS with click & collect services?

The item is ordered online, the shopper chooses to collect this from the store. They then receive an SMS after the order is placed that contains the collection/order information. It’s no longer one channel to complete the order; you have web, SMS, and in-store all coming together in a unified way.

2. ‘Complete your Shop’ Reminders

Since the introduction of online shopping, retailers face a common issue, cart abandonment. Recent statistics say there is a cart abandonment rate of at least 75 per cent within the retail sector. Cart abandonment can be due to unexpected costs, technical issues, or more commonly ‘digital window-shopping’ or browsing. 

Cart abandonment can’t be eliminated; however, incorporating SMS into your omnichannel strategy can attenuate the issue.

How to incorporate SMS with ‘complete your shop’?

Sending an SMS reminder with a ‘complete your shop’ or ‘have you forgotten something in your basket’ with a link to click will drive shoppers back to the web or mobile app. Reminder notifications aren’t new as some retailers already offer this via email, but very few utilise the SMS channel. With SMS having an open rate of 98 per cent and being read in under 3 minutes, your customers are more likely to respond to the message. This will hopefully lead them to complete their purchase providing a seamless omnichannel experience for your shopper and increased revenues for you.  

3. Adding Shortcodes into your Marketing Campaigns

Whether it’s a poster at a bus stop, or a billboard in one of the busiest shopping centres in the city, non-digital ads struggle more and more to receive the same amount of attention as their digital counterparts and at times can seem like a wasted expense.

Instead of abandoning these advertising methods, you need to tailor them to reach the customer in a better way. Incorporating SMS shortcodes in your marketing campaigns can add to the omnichannel experience.

How to incorporate SMS shortcodes into your marketing campaigns?

By placing a shortcode (five-digit shortcode) on a poster, magazine or billboard, you give potential customers a way to quickly register their number and to immediately engage with your brand by directing them to your website, mobile app, or send them to your nearest store through an SMS message.

For example, you could incorporate a short code on an ad for a fashion retailer displaying the latest summer releases. This campaign could include:

• A link to the nearest stores, thereby encouraging the customer to visit a store and saving them the hassle from searching for one.
• A time-sensitive coupon that incentivises the customer to make a purchase immediately and decreases the likelihood of cart abandonment.
• Details on the products in the ad and a link to a digital cart to make a purchase.

Omnichannel strategy needs mobile messaging

Mobile messaging is a key part of successful marketing campaigns today and SMS is still one of the most utilized and effective communication channels in the world. Integrating SMS messaging into your omnichannel marketing is the next step to ensuring that your strategy is tailored to reach, retain, and engage your customers. It’s all about bringing these various channels together creating a unified experience for your users.

To find out how we have helped other brands enhance their omnichannel strategy, please contact us for more information.

The post How Mobile Messaging Can Enhance your Omnichannel Communications appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Brands searching for innovative and new ways to engage their end-users will be able to unlock the benefits of RCS to their advantage. The pioneering technology provides a richer experience for users, offering a unique form of communication which includes the ability to send notifications and multimedia as well as reaction messages such as surveys.

With a concerted effort being made to fully rollout RCS Business Messaging by Google and Mobile Network Operators to android users, it is estimated that there will be more than 62m people using this system by the end of 2020. This will create a large market that businesses can target with their promotions and messaging.

“With the arrival of RCS, comes a convenient and appealing channel that has an additional layer of trust amongst consumers, as each organisation that uses RCS like charities, banks and retailers must be  verified so when a message is received it is guaranteed to be safe and the origin is known,” said Nick Millward, Vice President Europe at mGage. “The reliability and adaptability of the RCS system gives brands a variety of use-cases and applications for their customer service strategy. For instance, an airline could send a reminder via RCS to check in for a flight and at the same time provide the full check-in experience complete with boarding pass, flight updates and terminal maps on demand.”

New research commissioned by mGage also displays a strong appetite for RCS messaging and the advantages it boasts, with over 51 per cent saying they would use text more, if it gave a similar experience to what is currently offered by apps. In trials, it has been shown that RCS has achieved 14 times higher engagement rates and generally a higher response rate with consumers, due to the increasingly engaging nature of its messages.

“This is where RCS comes into its own, giving brands an effective and interactive channel to communicate to its consumers,” added Millward. “The richness of content that it gives end-users boosts response rates and with no extra installation of apps needed it is an easy solution with exponential possibilities.”

The A2P SMS market has been used for years to deliver on-brand mobile messaging and promotions with huge success – with more than 23bn text messages sent globally every day.  With RCS messaging being the next generation, it is clear there is a trajectory for enormous financial gain and a huge pool of customers waiting to be unleashed, as more device owners become RCS users. This creates a clear and certain future for this new form of communication allowing for a richer, more secure and engaging proposition for consumers and brands.

To find out more about RCS messaging, watch the full discussion with Nick Millward, VP Europe at mGage. You can also get in-touch with an mGage consultant and find out how mGage can help you develop your own RCS strategy.

The post “2020 is set to be the year of RCS,” says mGage appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.

Rich Communication Services (RCS) continues to be at the forefront of the mobile industry as an innovative form of messaging that enables businesses to deliver a richer and more interactive customer experience.

With personalised branding and authorised verification this provides familiarity and trust that makes customers more likely to engage with RCS messages.  

The diagram below highlights the key drivers for brands wanting to use RCS Messaging

Interactive elements such as carousels and suggested response buttons  increase customer engagement through ease of use and familiar functionality; while rich media such as videos, images and rich cards create visually appealing messages that allow businesses to deliver information in a multitude of ways aside from standard text.

Examples of RCS features

RCS is now fully enabled in the UK and with momentum continuously building and customer demand increasing, RCS is well on its way to becoming the primary next-gen messaging tool for today’s B2C messaging.

To learn more about RCS and how it can benefit your marketing capabilities, check out how mGage can help you develop your own RCS strategy.

The post RCS: Next-gen messaging for 2020 appeared first on Mobile Marketing Magazine.