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SMS Marketing Questions

by SGTech
10 replies
As seen in another post, I have made an appointment with a potential client regarding SMS marketing. The client is a vets office. I am thinking one of a couple of options:

1) Straight bulk testing to inform the clients of news, new products etc
2) Messages to inform clients of upcoming appointments, vaccinations that are coming due for pets etc.

My question is, I know how easy option 1 is to implement but how about option 2? Also, what kind of pricing model would you suggest for these plans?

Thank you.
Scott
#marketing #questions #sms
  • Profile picture of the author TheLocalCoach
    Scott, there are actually three types of applications for a Vets office.
    1) Marketing: Coupons, Contests, Promotions, Product Sales, etc.
    2) Reminders: set up reminders for both re-ordering medications (heartworm/flea) and for scheduling annual check-ups. Our Reminder module includes a feature to include a coupon, which entices them to order or schedule slightly earlier than the normal time frame, hopefully increasing the frequency of ordering/visits.
    3) Customized Appt Reminders: client uploads appt data into SMS platform and customers get a personalized reminder that they can respond whether to Confirm or Cancel the appt, the "Cancels" can be alerted by text to Office Manager who can call them immediately.
    Hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author redlegrich
    The marketing part is easy, there are a number of services you can provide to do that. The scheduling and reminder thing is a lot different as it will need to integrate with their scheduling system. That, is a far different dog to de-worm!
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  • Profile picture of the author zbw777
    It depends on whether you plan to API into their system to automate the reminders. The other option is to ask people at scheduling time if they would like a text reminder. Then you can use the text system to schedule a reminder. It's still automated, but not integrated. But it is a much cheaper solution.

    I have a friend who runs a salon. Every day they run a spreadsheet for the receptionist to call down with reminders. Now they take that same spreadsheet and just upload it and send a text blast to those interested. Much faster
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  • Profile picture of the author alanborcic
    Did anyone run into objection of SMS cost from recipients perspective? Some people are paying for SMS messages and they might not like the fact that you send them unsolicited SMS message which cost them money.
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    • Profile picture of the author Charliebee
      Originally Posted by alanborcic View Post

      Did anyone run into objection of SMS cost from recipients perspective? Some people are paying for SMS messages and they might not like the fact that you send them unsolicited SMS message which cost them money.
      This is where they have the opportunity to tell you they don't want to pay for the sms. Then you ask them for their email address and put them into an email reminder program.
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  • Profile picture of the author zbw777
    Everything I do is opt-in. Even appointment reminders. All we do is ask if they would like to receive reminders.

    If you ever have someone complain, just offer a discount of $.10. Covers the cost of the text
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  • Profile picture of the author iAmNameLess
    Congrats and good luck to you! I also have a vet office interested but I turned them down, since they wanted it strictly for marketing purposes. I didn't believe they would make enough profit from it. Let me know how it goes.
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  • Profile picture of the author TrumpiaTim
    Option 2 is actually really simple with a platform like Trumpia since we have a mobile text appointment reminder feature built into the Trumpia platform.
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    www.Trumpia.com

    Trumpia: The Most Completed SMS Text Messaging Software & API Solution.
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    • Profile picture of the author samwize
      I have created a spreadsheet app, which I call SMS Spreader

      It sends out SMS directly from Google Spreadsheet. Find out more at blog at just2us dot com. (im a newbie cant post link yet..)
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