It is becoming more and more important to provide customers with context-relevant information when it comes to customer relationship management (CRM). This means that it doesn’t serve the purposes of either the business or the customer to cast the net as far and wide as possible. Marketing must be direct; customer service must be efficient and to the point; sales must be fast and convenient. Mobile CRM is a cost-effective way to make information available to both employees and customers alike. Here’s a quick rundown of what it will take to get the system up and running:

Application Programming Interface (API)

The application programming interface, or API, is essential to the integration of SMS text messaging (as part of mobile CRM) with any native software environment. It provides a ‘hook’ that connects a software application or module to the SMS gateway for the transmission and receipt of messages. These application programming interfaces cater for popular protocols supported by most, if not all, systems in use today. They include:

• HTTP/S
• XML
• SOAP
• FTP
• SMTP
• SMPP
• COM objects

The choice of API also depends on the entire messaging strategy of the organization. Should you wish to send both automated and manual text messages as part of the mobile CRM strategy, the choice in API might be different than had it been either the one or the other. Additionally, one should keep in mind that some APIs are capable of two-way messaging, while others can only transmit.

Dedicated Short Code

A short code is a short numerical sender ID (or ‘from’ number) that messages can be sent to or from. While a number of different short code types exist, a mobile CRM strategy will be best served by a dedicated short code. This refers to a short code that belongs exclusively to its registrant, allowing them total freedom in terms of its application and integration.

Keywords

One crucial part of any versatile mobile strategy are its keywords. These refer to ‘identifier’ words that describe a product or service, for instance: “Text HELP to 123456”, help being the keyword. Using a dedicated short code will provide the organization with total freedom in terms of keywords, which means that a large part of their mobile CRM strategy can effectively be keyword based, be it for agents or customers requesting information or service.

The above indicate some of the main components to keep in mind when designing or implementing a mobile CRM strategy. Each area deserves more research and also consideration as to how it will be implemented with current communications strategies and those planned for the future.

Read more about the technologies associated with Mobile CRM today!

More often than not businesses would like to implement a bulk SMS solution to communicate with their customers via text message, but either do not have the expertise or the budget for a totally customised solution. But there is an easy way, and it can run parallel to your email alert system. It’s done with email to SMS. Here’s how:

Analyse Your Current Email System

What email customer communications do you currently have in place? Do you provide your customers with critical information via email? If so, there’s obviously an opportunity to enhance communications with your customers with messaging that provides them with summarised yet crucial information. It is important, however, to determine which communications your customers would like to receive. Remember: mobile communication is traditionally personal medium, which means businesses should take care to provide their customers with messaging that creates value.

The above applies to messaging sent to customers by the individuals in your company as well as systems that automate email communication.

Just One Message

The integration of the above is pretty straight forward. Email to SMS can be used to communicate with a batch of customers, or with individual customers. This means that, for every customer email sent, it’s possible to send another email to a bulk SMS provider that converts it into a text message. And that’s achieved by simply adding the extra message, the body of that message and the parameters the bulk SMS provider will need to successfully send that message.

Sample Email Template:

Subject: Payment Due

Body: Dear $customer,

Please be advised that your next payment is due on $date, and we’d appreciate it if you could settle the amount of $amount before or, at the latest, on the above date. Should you have any queries, please get in touch by contacting our customer support.

Kind Regards

The Business

Sample Text Message Template (for the above email):

Dear $customer, next payment due on $date. Need help? Reply to this message with INFO or call $number.

And that’s all there is to it. If you’ve done something similar or have any thoughts to add, get the conversation started by leaving a comment below!

Improve communication with your customers through real time messaging today. Visit our email to SMS page.

As European travel companies move into recovery from the recession, many American businesses in the same industry will keep their eyes peeled to ensure that they stay on par with their European counterparts.

Why travel alerts?

It’s a small message, traditionally with a 160-character limit. However it provides the ultimate vehicle for concise information with the benefit that it:

• Saves time
• Only requires the availability of mobile coverage – no need to have an internet-enabled feature phone or Smartphone

What do we understand under travel alerts?

Travel alerts refer to a number of message types and include notifications that provide travelers with context-relevant and often time-critical information. Below are some examples of how a number of European companies are currently employing travel alerts:

• HotelZone, one of Europe’s largest hotel booking agencies makes use of SMS travel alerts to ensure customers receive reservation codes, arrival and departure dates as well as hotel names and locations.

Benefit: The obvious advantage above is that travelers have the information right there with them – literally in their pocket. No need to call the hotel’s reservation desk or to wait in a call queue.

• The London Underground provides travel alerts that informs commuters of potential delays and other relevant travel news. Being one of the main forms of travel in London for Londoners and tourists, this information can provide them with advanced warning to ensure that they reach their destinations on time.

Benefit: Being one of the main form of travel for Londoners and tourists alike, the Underground plays a crucial part of everyday business in London. By using these alerts, commuters are able to navigate their way around delays or outages, ensuring that they reach their destinations on time through alternative means.

It’s all about value-added services

Yet another reason, and quite an important one, why travel alerts will be taking off in the near future is the question of consumer trends – what do they expect from the businesses they deal with? Recent figures suggest that over 50% of Americans won’t return to a specific restaurant if they have to wait too long. Stats like these confirm the fact that your average consumer (who could also be a traveler) expects more for the same amount of money – something that was predicted as the end of the recession drew near.

But, American businesses are not only quick to catch on, but are also avid trendsetters terms of innovation in travel alerts. Hard Rock Café is one example of an American company that made use of the immediacy of text messaging by providing their customers with the convenience “information in their pocket” when it came to bookings and reservations and much, much more.

Reach more people with SMS text messaging and go to our travel alerts page now!

Recently a number of catch-phrases have been surfacing on the internet. They include terms like ‘Social CRM’, and point to more than just getting personal with your customers. Nowadays it’s all about adhering to consumer trends to ensure that the business stays afloat, ready for any possible unforeseen circumstances the future may hold by ‘befriending’ the customer, and fuelling retention. SMS marketing can help accommodate an important consumer trend: eco-friendliness.

Why should U.S. businesses opt for SMS marketing instead of established channels such as print? Here are a couple of good reasons:

• The United States uses 30% of the world’s paper. Or, to put it in a different content, each individual in the US uses close to 750 pounds of paper per year.
• Almost 40% of trees cut in the world are used for the production of paper.
• 90% of the paper used in the US is discarded in a single-use lifetime.

An advancing trend among companies who make use of eco-friendly solutions is the promotion of their environmental initiatives to attract likeminded consumers, thereby fuelling business.

So why use SMS Marketing?

Quite naturally there has to be some sort of incentive to encourage businesses to choose the greener option. SMS marketing provides a number of benefits to businesses aside from the obvious eco-friendly benefit:

• According to Google, 75.85% of the United States population use the internet. In comparison, mobile penetration grew by 6% in Q2 2010, with a year-over-year average of about 22%. Overall cell phone penetration in the United States is estimated to be between 95% and 100%.

This means you’ll definitely reach your target market.

• An average of 94% of all text messages are read. SMS marketing campaigns also boast higher response rates, with figures between as low as 4% and as high as 100% reported.
• Whether your customers are in Dallas or New York, they’ll get your message and don’t have to rely on an internet connection to receive your communication.

And that’s just the tip of the proverbial (and in tact) iceberg. The only thing you will have to be mindful of is how you use SMS marketing to communicate with your customers. Too much, and you could ruin the experience. Too little, and your customers could forget about you altogether.

Browse our other posts to see how you can fit this eco-friendly technology into your business. Alternatively, just visit our SMS marketing page.

The SMS campaign as a marketing vehicle capable of generating more sales leads is becoming less of a novelty. It’s becoming a must-have in many industries. Coupled with its cost-effectiveness, it’s also doubling as a tool to provide customer service for businesses of all sizes.

According to Nielsen 200 million of the 259 million cellular subscribers in the US have text-enabled packages and 138 million text regularly. These figures aren’t much different in the rest of the world, and in some cases are much higher (compared to the rest of the developed world mobile uptake in the United States wasn’t as rapid). But perhaps one of the biggest pieces of evidence for the viability of text messaging as a communications medium was the text announcing Joe Bidden as the vice-presidential candidate. The message was delivered to 2.9 million people.

Did communication on this personal device help some members of the public decide which way to vote? You decide.

But it’s from examples like these that many businesses draw their inspiration. And for many it works, too.

More than Meets the Eye

As opposed to many other countries in the rest of the world, however, the United States is different in that mobile users pay to receive text messages. This makes SMS marketing a potentially sensitive subject, as consumers have to pay for the messages they receive. Businesses who send unsolicited messages are therefore often subject to hefty fines for breaching best practice guidelines. This means that care should be taken in the execution of SMS campaigns.

But there’s an upside, too: those individuals who do agree to receive marketing information from a business via its SMS campaign are more often than not very interested in the information, products or services sold (they pay for it, don’t they?). This means that they are automatically qualified which boils down to the fact that if  they are a potential customer, they could become an actual customer. If they’re already a customer, then they are likely to become a return customer.

Given the above, it’s clear why so many businesses are now jumping on the SMS campaign wagon. The only question is, will you?

Read more by clicking on our SMS Campaign page now.

It’s 2010, and we’ve just slid out of the global recession. Very cautiously, people will start returning to their old spending habits – not all, but some of them. Travel, for instance, is one that won’t easily die down.

Statistics indicate that post-recession travel has already increased in demand. What has changed, however, is how people make their choices.

One advancing key trend is mobility. Your customers want to be able to use the devices they carry with them to conduct all their travel related business. And by employing the SMS gateway, you can give it to them…

The Future, strangely enough, is about the “right here, right now”

We’re all subject to those same demands our customers have – we’ve grown accustomed to getting what we want, when we want it. And thanks to competition and the ubiquity of information, we’re able to get it. We live in an “instant gratification” society.

When it comes to hotels, we expect no less – “let me make my booking right now and give me an easy way to access the information I want, please”. The SMS gateway can help hotels automate their front desks to provide customers that are on the move with a client service interface that will see them right in a matter of minutes…

Hotels can implement a text-based front desk system (via the SMS gateway) to provide customers with a platform that will help them:

• Check the availability of rooms. Clever hotels will allow potential customers to subscribe to an availability service that will alert them what rooms are available at specific times.

• Make reservations. “Need a room? Just reply to this message with the number of people in the party and we’ll get back to you with all available options.”

• Get Queries Answered. Provide your customers with a platform that will give them the answers to some of the most frequently asked questions:
  1. How to find us
  2. Parking
  3. Babysitter service
  4. Disabled Facilities
  5. Shops nearby
  6. Tourist Attractions

• Access Room service. “Text FOOD at any time for a menu of our daily specials. Alternatively, text EAT and we’ll point you toward the best restaurants in the area.”

• Sign up for Alerts. Give current and potential visitors the benefit of real time access to important information that will help them make important decisions when they’re in the area…
  1. a. Balance Updates
  2. b. Weather alerts
  3. c. Local news
  4. d. Places to see
  5. e. Pubs, clubs & restaurants

Everything above forms part of a value-added service offering that is focused on the customer. In short, your business becomes more customer-centric, which, coincidentally, is exactly what businesses need to do post-recession.

The Undercarriage of a Text-based Hotel Menu

So what do you need to make this work? Take a look at the following diagram for a very simplistic visualization:

Here’s the process illustrated in the above diagram… A hotel guest sends a keyword to your short code. From his phone it goes to the network provider (e.g. AT&T, Verizon, etc.), on to the SMS gateway and from there to the hotel. The connection between the SMS gateway and the hotel is over the internet, which means it is TCP/IP based.

Although the connection between the hotel and SMS gateway is established over the internet, the transmission of messages is done with an application programming interface. There are a number of interfaces for different programming languages, to facilitate easy integration with the software environment of the hotel.

Once the message is received from the hotel visitor, the database and application will work together to get the information the visitor wants (and store the visitor details and query) before creating the reply message, sent back the way it came to the mobile of the hotel guest.

Yes, it’s that easy!

Find out if there is an interface for your business’ software environment. Go to our SMS gateway page now.

So your boss wants you to implement a mobile CRM solution, and it has to be two-way. You know your bulk SMS provider offers two-way SMS text messaging. So what now?

If you want to impress your boss with a solution that will take the pressure of already stressed-out call centre employees (trust me, it’s intense), you have to understand the technology behind the scenes. For the purposes of clarity, we’ll divide the process into three layers as illustrated below:

The Recipient Layer

So let’s say it’s the middle of summer and you own Jimmy’s Ice ‘n Stuff. Business is good. But like all savvy business owners, you know that winter is coming and that, once the heat has dissipated, your current regulars will only be returning to your store next summer. So you put up a sign that reads:

Jimmy’s Ice ‘n Stuff isn’t exactly a company that requires an entire mobile CRM solution, but the requirement for two-way SMS text messaging remains. And in this case the patrons of Jimmy’s fine establishment will text their name to the short code provided to ensure that they can keep summer going even when winter sets in.

The Provider Layer

The message they send will then be passed to the carrier and then to the mobile aggregator. What happens next depends on the API chosen:

• HTTP/S, SOAP, XML, SMPP: Callback is pushed to your website at http://www.jimmysicenstuff.com/callback_catcher.script
• FTP: Callback details are logged in a file on the aggregator’s server where it can be downloaded from.

The Client Layer

Little do people know that, in addition to running an ice cream store, you’re also a pretty l33t developer. You’ve integrated your preferred API and have written the scripts to handle the callback from your bulk SMS aggregator. To further your mobile CRM efforts, all numbers are recorded along with the names, and stored in a database as soon as the callback is processed. Your script then replies to the sender of the message by sending an MT (Mobile Terminated) message back to the individual, thanking them for their interest, perhaps even providing them with 10% discount on their next purchase.

The benefit here is that you’ll have their details on record to facilitate client communication during those cold winter months.

The Two-Way Benefit of Mobile CRM Strategies

From Ice ‘n Stuff to corporate entity – where does mobile CRM using two-way SMS text messaging fit in? Simple answer: just about everywhere:

• Marketing: Promotional messages to generate leads for sales.
• Sales: The mobile phone has a built-in payment mechanism, making it easier for companies to sell their products and services than ever before.
• Customer Service: The convenience of using two-way SMS text messaging is that the client can initiate and even conclude a query session whenever, wherever – no more waiting in line on expensive telephone calls with operators located in different countries.

But it’s much more than that, isn’t it? It’s about improving the customer experience by providing them with what they want, when they want it on a device that is always with them, always on. Companies who implement a mobile CRM solution with two-way SMS text messaging will be able to initiate dialogue with their current and prospective customers using a medium that simply requires mobile coverage, and one that is accessible from any type of phone on the market. It really is that simple.

Read more about the technologies you can use for an effective mobile CRM strategy on our two-way SMS page.

Think of the iPad launched recently – it’s popularity isn’t entirely due to the fact that it provides an attractive merge between mobility and computing. It isn’t even about the social aspect of having an iPad (though that probably plays a part).

The big reason people opted for the iPad is that they can now work on the go. Fact of the matter is that we’ve become an instant gratification society. As a result of the ubiquity of technologies that make access to information so readily accessible, we’ve become particular about how we get information, and how it’s presented to us; we want it now, in the most concise way possible. And this is exactly why SMS solutions are taking off.

So how do you create your own SMS solution to provide your customers with a service they can access from anywhere, at any time?

Planning is Essential!

What’s the purpose of your text message communication?

Some companies will use text messaging to keep clients up to date on account information and provide extra security when it comes to financial information, such as letting the customer know when his or her account has been accessed or when the balance changes. Other companies will want to get an SMS solution up and running to boost their marketing campaigns.

Whatever the purpose of your SMS solution, get it down on paper and plan it with as much detail as possible. It’s important to take your own expectation of your text messaging solution into account and to determine how it will integrate with what you plan to offer your current and prospective customers.

How often will you message your customers?

In the United States you pay for sending messages, and your customers will probably pay to receive them, depending on their mobile plan.  Plan your message frequency to ensure that your customers remain happy that they’ve opted in on your SMS solution. Oh, and speaking of opt-in, be sure that you play by ‘Best Practice’ rules – they’re there for the benefit of your customers, and therefore for the benefit of your own interests.

Message Cost + Reliability = Important

So you’ve elaborated on every aspect of your text messaging solution and are now looking for a provider to get your messages from your computer to your customers’ handsets. Should you look for the cheapest messaging provider or the most reliable? Perhaps a combination of both?

In many cases the cheaper provider is the one that will provide you with unreliable messaging. From the customer’s point of view, this can be articulated as “Will I get the information I’m looking for this time?”.  In terms of message cost, it’s a no-brainer that the cheaper option will be the better option form the point of view of the customer.

It is important for businesses to balance message cost and reliability to ensure customer satisfaction through an SMS solution capable of providing a realistic ROI.

Go to the SMS solution page to see which technologies you can use to get in touch with your customers.

We’ve covered a number of instances in the recent past where text message helped save those lives that have been affected by natural disasters. Think of the Haiti earthquake or Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans – in both instances text messaging helped in one capacity or another.

Text messaging can be used:

• As a communications medium capable of reaching thousands, text messaging can be implemented as an instant alert mechanism.
• For the same reason and also because the mobile contains a built-in payment mechanism, text messaging can be used to raise funds to help those in damage-stricken areas.
• Text messaging works wherever there is mobile coverage.
• Because the mobile is always carried, and always on, users are able to receive text messages wherever they are, whenever they have to.

And it’s all possible with SMTP, or the simple mail transfer protocol.

What is the SMTP Application Programming Interface, or API?

Let’s quickly examine one of the many technologies that make instant bulk text messaging possible. The SMTP API enables a server or client generated email to be delivered as an SMS. This functionality enables businesses and organisations to do high volume delivery at the click of a button. And it works just like email – all you have to do is add the recipients to the email containing a few extra parameters including the message, click send, and off it goes. In short, it is what’s commercially known as email to SMS.

Below is a simple step-by-step procedure of how the process works:

1. Register for an SMTP API account with a bulk text messaging provider.
2. Purchase message credits.
3. Open your mail client, compose your plain text message in the following format:

user:xxxxx
password:xxxxx
api_id:xxxxx
to: 448311234567,…
reply:youremail@yourdomain.com
text:Meet me at home

1. Address your mail to the SMTP API email address, like sms@messaging.clickatell.com
2. Hit Send.

Getting Contacts

Whether you send with the SMTP API or any other technology, remember that most people don’t like unsolicited text messages. In simple terms, this means that you’ll have to run campaigns whereby you encourage people to sign up for your cause. This can be as simple asking your target audience to do so using a notice on your website, or as complex as a full-blown marketing campaign to generate awareness and using multiple channels that will allow interested individuals to sign up. The point is, people have to opt in and you’ll have to plan your messaging strategy as such as to keep them interested while not messaging them too much.

And that’s all there is to a text messaging solution that will help save lives and, equally important, help people get back on their feet after disaster has struck.

For more information or to get your free account, go to the SMTP API page now.

Email to SMS relies on the SMTP API functionality. SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is what virtually all email clients use to send email from one computer to another. That being said, let’s have a look at a very easy way you can use email to SMS to receive notifications about important emails that arrive in your inbox.

Step 1: Create Your Batch File

So what’s a batch file? A batch file, with the .bat extension, is a file that was pretty popular back in the days when the Windows operating system was installed on top of MS-DOS. While MS-DOS has been phased out by Microsoft, its shell version is still present in what is formally known as the ‘Windows Command Processor’. Batch files are executable, which means you can put a series of commands in it and, when run, will process those commands one after the other.

For the purpose of our email to SMS script, we’re going to create a batch file, one for each notification you want to receive. For instance, if you want to receive a text message when your mother emails you and when your boss emails you, then you’ll create two files, one for each. Here’s what to do:

1. Open notepad
2. Copy and paste the following string into the open notepad session:

bmail -s your.outgoing_mailserver.com -h -t sms@messaging.clickatell.com -f your_address@your_domain.com –m Mom.txt –d

1. Save the file as mom.bat or boss.bat (or whatever else you want) in a very easy to find location.
2. If you look at the string above, you’ll notice that there’s a –m Mom.txt option. This means that bmail will use the content of Mom.txt as the body of your text message. That means Mom.txt has to be created (using notepad), with the following format:

user:replace_with_your_Clickatell_Username
password: replace_with_your_Clickatell_Password
api_id: replace_with_your_Clickatell_API_ID
to: replace_with _your_international_mobile_number_eg_448311234567
reply:youremail@yourdomain.com
text:Meet Mom just mailed. Check email!

1. Save your message as Mom.txt
2. Download bmail into the same folder. Bmail is a little application that let’s you send emails from the command line (DOS shell).

Once you’ve created all the scripts you need, it’s time to open your mail client and start creating some rules. Please note that this has only been tested on Microsoft Outlook 2007.

Step 2: Create the Message Rule

1. With Outlook (or your other mail client) open, click on Tools > Rules and Alerts > New Rule.
2. When you have the Rules Wizard dialog box open, look for “Start from a blank rule” and select “Check messages when they arrive”. Click on Next.
3. Now you specify the individual the email is coming from by selecting “from people or distribution list” and looking him or her up in your address book. Once you have located them, click on Next.
4. In the next screen you have to select an action that Outlook has to perform when the message arrives. Check the box next to “start application”.
5. You’ll note within the “Step 2: Edit the rule description” box that you’re able to click on the hyperlinked word, “application”.
6. Remember where you saved the batch script(s)? Now you have to go find them in the “Select an application to execute” dialog box. Note: in some cases “Executable Files” might be selected next to the “File Name” box. Change that to “All Files” and locate the applicable .bat file.
7. Click Next twice and name your rule appropriately. Click Finish.

And that’s all there is to it! If you’ve got any questions about the process above, just leave it in a comment. For more info about the SMTP API and all the handy stuff you can do with it, go to our email to SMS page.