Gatortate

Hello fellow Mobile Site and SMS marketing entrepreneurs!

I am starting this thread in hopes of getting some help and ideas from other WF avid users that I can others can use in starting out in this exploding form of marketing.

I am looking for ideas of what a biz can offer to their sms list. Looking for any and all types of businesses.

To clarify, what are you doing right now or plan to do once you have a biz signed up for your sms service?

I.E. restaurants:
What type of specials are you offering their lists? Free appetizers, free first drink, buy one dinner, get one 1/2 price, etc

What have you found that works as far as marketing that adds opt-ins and gets people in the doors of that business and also helps build their lists?

I.E. Table tents with code and keyword for a restaurant? Stand up card at hostess stand with code and kw? Other ideas to help get the word out?

Hopefully what I am asking and looking for makes sense....

Thanks in advance for any and all help.

Gatortate

Lmr1

You want to give the customer a good value for their cell number. That initial hook is what will make or break all SMS campaigns. The fact that a business wants their personal number is huge....so you have to give them something decent in return for that. I would say that initial contact is critical as well as follow up campaigns.
Maybe a free drink or half off appetizer, maybe 15% off this bill if you join our VIP club now. The list is endless.
Additional campaigns can be buy one get one, 20% off total bill, two for one apps with a friend, Friday night only carryout special...2 large-2 topping pizzas, an app and a 2 liter of soda for say 25.00
Make it carryout only, from 5-close.
There can be a lot of revenue generated in a small time frame for the business owner and it does not affect all the delivery drivers. People are agreeing to pick up their food for that savings.
You can have window clings at entrance, posters, table tents at every table, print the keyword and shortcode on employees shirts, you can print it on the receipts, carry out containers, have all employees push the campaign, you can put it on their FB page, place on website, signage wherever possible. Use your imagination and go for it!
This is the end all so to speak in a beautiful way.....lowest common denominator......everyone can text....
there will never be a quicker, greener, more targeted way to get to your customers....no matter where they are you can connect with them!!!!! It is endless with possibilities.....best of luck!! :-)

Gatortate

Great info. Thanks, just what I was looking for.
Keep 'em coming folks!

Great Start!

JToneyUK

Obviously this differs for different establishments! As you have alluded to, SMS lends itself best to restaurants and bars. The difficult part is getting the opt ins. This needs to be a big effort on the part of the businesses but you can advice them on methods; offering discounts and special offers in return for their opt in. Get the waiters/waitresses in competition rewarding the employee who gets the most opt ins etc.

For take aways, it could be a good idea to print it on the receipt, on menu leaflets and on posters in the windows, or even on the tale away boxes they use. Anywhere just so it gets into the customers house/bin.

They could be used by repeat service providers such as dentists, hair dressers, beauty salons by offering discounts. These are places that people will visit frequently. SMS in my opinion doesn't really lend itself very well to "one off" service providers who use might use every once in a while at a specific time. E.g A car mechanic you only need when your car breaks down, so you won't be bothered about getting 10% off a service if you dont need it.

With dentists they could be used to fill cancelled appointment slots. I'm sure many people call in the day, or a few days before they're due and cancel. People could opt in to find out about open slots which need filling and will offer a discount to fill the place.

So I think my main points here are:

- To target business in which customers regularly go to.
- Allow the business to decide on the "offers" they send out, but offer guidance.
- Getting opt ins is the difficult part, but is ultimately down to the business to do! Guide them on how to obtain mobile numbers via discounts off a bill, prestige of being on a "vip list". Make sure all staff are on board to push the service and even create staff contests and reward the best performer.

Gatortate

Again, excellent info and guidance. And I agree, SMS is best for businesses that have recurring visitors and that ultimately it's THEIR responsibility to get customers to opt-in and I am there for guidance.
I do like the idea of making it a contest among employees, I would think nothing would drive opt-ins like some friendly internal competition to see who can do best and getting customers to sign up.

And I personally think the opt-in info on the bill is great. I know here where I live businesses (mostly restaurants) are always having a "call this number to rate our service and have a chance to win $1000" on the bill and the waitress/waiter always points it out to me. How much easier can it get to add the opt-in info and have the waiter say "hey, by the way, join our exclusive program and receive text msgs offering freebies and discounts. The info is right here at the bottom of your bill." or something along those lines.

upmatthews

Get the request w/QR code printed on coasters and on carry out or merchandise bags.

Huskerdarren

A couple of thoughts.

Ala David Preston, capture cell phone numbers on the credit card receipt, right as the customer signs it. Incentivize the staff to ask for it via 50 cents per number reward. Incentivize the customer with 15-20% off their next visit.

Ala Dan Kennedy, create a swipe file. Hang onto all postcards, flyers, YP ads, magazine and such that are appealing to you. I keep mine in a 3 ring binder with clear sheets to hold them all. It will grow fast.

Oh, and some QR code readers capture the viewers phone number and add it to your contact folder. Not sure about the legality of using it though. Seems to be a little outside the lines.

ashleybs18

I have two High end restaurants in my client base and they currently offer some special nights (like anniversaries and such) and text their clients to reserve their seats. Apparently it works, becuase I have noticed that they send that text out a few times a month. Also, I subscribe to my clients lists on a separate phone for that purpose to see what they are texting to their list. I know some may see that as robbing the clients of 1 text everytime they use the service, but it lets me know what to offer my next potential client.

I would feel worse if I never try at all, than if I do my best and fail.

ashleybs18

I also created a demo site that the client can go ahead and send a text to the demo number and then I call tons of places all over the US and pretty much just hit them with a really fast "hey, I know you are busy, but if you want to know the best way to market to your clients without them feeling like your marketing to them, check out blah blah.com" and then the site is a one page full of "you have to do this" stuff. I probably get a low percentage of the people I call, but it only costs me time, and of course, each client doesnt pay only 10 cents a month.

I would feel worse if I never try at all, than if I do my best and fail.

thriftgirl62

Is getting the opt in more difficult than keeping them subscribed every time they receive a text message? I don't think so.

- One marketer is offering $150 in real products [not ebooks or reports] for opting in and promises no more than 1 ro 2 important texts per MONTH.

- Another offer was a free WP plug-in for opting in with a promise of no more than 1 message per DAY and 2 if the message is urgent.

SMS Text Messaging is only 160 characters or less and should be reserved for very special offers to VIP Customers. Instead of asking people for their permission to text them all promotional offers, why not ask them to BOOKMARK your app ONCE right on their phone and they can check your latest offer whenever they feel like it.

Give people some breathing room by sending just one nice reminder they WANT every month or so and eventually they will click your icon all by themselves - if you keep your app fresh, entertaining and worth their while.

I retired in 2005 at 43 and now I give away websites like these for FREE [hosting excluded]

Gatortate

I have to respectfully disagree with some of the above.

I can see how keeping people on the list can be an issue but as long as you dont abuse the privledge of having them on your list, you should be fine. People will always naturally drop off but as long as you limit msgs to 1-2 week with GOOD, QULALITY offerings, you should keep majority and keep adding as you go by offering a good incentive with initial sign up (see examples in previous posts).

With an app, customers have to remember they have it and then use it as well. I have apps I have downloaded and then eventually delete because did not use as much as I thought I would. I dont see how a business can really benefit from just sending 1-2 a month and hoping customer goes to app on their phone.

Just my .02 cents. But thanks for contributing to this thread adn to each his own.

Gatortate

LOVE the idea of the high end restaurant txting to reserve your seats for special occasions (anniversery, birthday, etc). Im sure many a husband is glad to get that so he looks like a hero when he gets a seat for his wife on her or their special day. Speaking from experience, I tend to put off or forget to do that and a reminder would be great.
Maybe throw in free dessert would be a nice incenstive as well...

xlfutur1

I use Twilio, and what works great is to just have the business give away something every week, like a drawing. Offer a free large pizza, or dinner, or whatever each week that subscribers can win, then give it away to one lucky winner each week.

I have a client that gives away a free large pizza each week in a drawing and they have collected over 600 subscribers in the last 6 months. And they really don't even promote it that much, as much as they could anyway. costs them a couple bucks per week for the pizza if the winner redeems, but that's nothing to have so many phone numbers to send offers to. Drawings work great from my experience.

bryson

Great thread. And what else is great is reading comments and a killer idea pops into your brain.

This is not the crazy idea that just came to me but it is awesome - you could build niche lists then target related business.

Contact them and tell them you have 600 you could send to their business whenever they want.

EvanBeck

2 most excellent ideas. Bravo!

Evan Beck
rssmage.net
Webtomobile.net
MobileWebsiteDirectory.net

zenyatta

Another idea is get the qr code (with keyword and short code for 1 click optin & remember to put your keyword and short code in text as well for the non smart phone users) on the NAPKINS(they can order from their supplier). This way during the whole meal before they have ordered and after ordering they will get curious at some point when there is a lull in the conversation(or the qr code becomes part of the conversation) and they will scan it or text the keyword to see what happens.

Another idea we use especially right before lunch when people's stomachs are growling is to offer 10% off for one person, 20% off 2 or more people, or 30% off for 3 or more so why not bring the whole office, club, team, or group of friends over for lunch. This works great with a mobile image coupon linked to the text showing them a fat juicy cheeseburger. We also make the offer good between 1-3 since most restaurants are already slammed between noon-1. I show the restaurant owner why its better to step over the dime to pick up the dollar by getting 70% of 3-10+ people instead of 90% of only one persons meal. They can always adjust the discounts accordingly if needed.

limecellular

All great ideas here. The easiest way to get people to opt-in is to incentivize and make it about the immediate reward, because that's what mobile marketing is all about, isn't it? Instant gratification. You want info on this house? Text in. You want a free drink? Text in. You want exclusive info? Text in!

Also, part of developing solid MM strategy is thinking like the owner of the establishment. If I am an owner of a restaurant, how do I get customers in on tuesday and wednesday, the slowest nights of the week? Look to understand not only the general challenges of the business, but ask questions when pitching to specific businesses in order to understand what their specific set of challenges are.

Think about the timing of holidays, when and why business picks up during summer months and special occasions. Take into account the physical location, as well as any conventions and organizations that come to town to set up for events, and see if you can't get in on it.

If it's a college town hook the students with specials well before parents' weekend and they'll keep your restaurant in mind when mummy asks "Where's a good place to eat tonight?" There, you have an intense throng of patrons and this is enough to communicate that the business does well enough for locals to notice.

As far as placement of QR codes, it's better to work with displays where customers can get close and scan without feeling weird, or to bring it to them. The coaster idea is always good. Business cards, cocktail napkins, etc. What I am trying to say is befriend someone in the printing business. I saw a QR code in the window of a business on a road I rarely see anyone walking on, unless they are walking to a bus stop. Silliest placement ever, sure it was big and easy to recognize, but who's going to do a drive-by scanning like that? It didn't make sense.

You can use QR codes to opt people in on their own volition- simply direct them to a URL with an opt-in page. In this, not only do you get their number and time of opt in, but you can get information like first and last name, e-mail, birthdate and zipcode. The birthday is good because you can send them birthday specials. Also, you can use this information to personalize text messages with merge tags. This also helps to flesh out your data for demographics and analysis: do more men opt in than women, and why?

Also, you have to realize that the mobile marketing is a two way street and you can use the service to probe customers with their opinions. Send opt-ins a poll asking them to name their favorite dish. Ask them what they like about the service. It's a quick, fun way to aggregate quick feedback and you can reward them with a coupon for doing so.

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joecarson1

Excellent info provided here, thanks to all the posts so far!

blueboxer

The coaster idea is great. I was going to say table clothes.

RobertLindsey

Best total solution I've seen so far is Mobile Phone and SMS Ordering | Seconds


Should check it out. Think you'll be impressed.

thriftgirl62

I haven't carried a cell phone since 2005 when they started getting so stupid small and sending texts takes too long on those little buttons. I guess I better get one so I can see what you mean instead of going by what I read.

The kind of Mobile App I'm talking about can be downloaded to your iphone but it also works just like a 6-page Mobile Website through the browser on any mobile device. http://www.ez-1.net/app

It's still ugly because I haven't done anything with it yet but when someone opts in and bookmarks the app, it doesn't need to be downloaded to work, or so I'm told. When you send the person an "alert" or text message, all you have to do is remind them to check out your latest offer at their convenience.

Then people can click the bookmark and see what you have any time they want. In some cases, wouldn't that work better than demanding they do something right when they get your text message? It's not a real app that does anything except give you something to update easily in real time whether the person downloads it or not.

You're right - making sure your offers are good quality and don't waste people's time is job one. Text messages are very personal so marketers are already walking on thin ice and some don't even realize it.

I think the key to promoting anything is making people remember you long enough to recognize your brand and "WANT" to see what you have but that only happens if you're different than everyone else. It took this restaurant decades to go viral before the internet but they eventually did: http://www.ez-1.net/goats

btw: The banner at the bottom of that page isn't promoting anything except a website that isn't even working and I'm NOT an affiliate marketer either!

I retired in 2005 at 43 and now I give away websites like these for FREE [hosting excluded]

eliteandres

pretty smart stuff... are you aware of any free services to create QR codes?

YellowGreenMedia

To bad that almost nobody in the normal public understands QR codes or what to do with it, you're better of printing the SMS number on the menu and the bill people will get that right away , QR codes will give no ROI at all and no business owners don't have the time to teach their clients about QR codes and how and where to install a reader and how to operate that, that is just not going to happen. Also it is hard to sell QR codes as most business owners especially in restaurant business aren't tech savvy... but they all "get" sms texting.... sell them stuff they "get" and you'll be golden.

Just print "text discount to 1111 for 20% of" at the bottom of every page of the menu, that is something everybody understands and will get you the ROI you're looking for.

Dave

criniit

Guys forget about printing things on the menu or coasters or whatever. It adds to the cost and you want your clients making money not spending it. All the money they are spending on printing costs you could be adding to your fee!

All you have to do is train the wait staff to tell every table when they sit down about the offer. The optin rate sky rockets and thee is no cost to the restaurant. This is how all of my clients (restaurants and bars atleast) build there lists in store.

uppergrade

Printing things on Coasters and table clothes are preety good. it will help to grow their restaurant business.

Shefiu

Hi Gartortate,

Businesses can offer their SMS list some Coupons for future orders or purchases. For example, a restaurant owner can incentivize an existing customer that re-visits the restaurant by offering them a Mobile Coupon with 20% discount. In addition, businesses can also offer their SMS customers referral bonuses for recommending others. This can be promoted on their website or mobile site.

hotlinkz

This is true for initial contact but it's still a good idea to have them print the QR code on their next printing run. Having a QR code added should not generate any additional expense. However, even after printing, the wait staff should still mention that the option is available.

Great advice criniit!

RobertLindsey

This is smart: Seconds opens SMS channel to retailers, merchants | Rafe's Radar - CNET News

This is a much better way to do it..

HypeText

First of all, if you are following MMA best Practices....your SMS has 140 characters available...NOT 160!

2nd, Keeping someone Opted In is MUCH more difficult...especially if you are blasting them with 1 or 2 messages a Day...

How the thread leaned towards Apps, I don't know, but for Small Business Market most people arent going to want to use up Real Estate on their phone with a useless App. this is why statistics show that 80% of downloaded Apps are used once and deleted.

Generally you don't want to be sending more than 6 per month. The more you send the more you erode the effectiveness of your marketing effort and the more attrition you will have.

There are, of course exceptions to the rule, such as daily special notifications....but on the whole, excessive delivery will result in an unusually high number of opt outs.

RobertLindsey

I think WhiteLabelApps has working in the right direction here. They are developing an online text message feature set that will make it easy for restaurant owners to display a text number that patrons can send feedback and comments to. SMS messages will be sent to a browser dashboard and that will have a variety of tools for managing the messages and capturing the text numbers for future marketing purposes.

Looks interesting anyways. I'm hoping they will set up an affiliate program because I would like to sell this one.....

There is a better description at White Label Apps

wagsgraphx

I don't mean to disrespect those that have posted something here, but only a few actually answered the OP's request.
He specifically asked what were the best offers to get the best results. Not how to build the list. There are plenty of WSO's out on building kazillion figures a month income. None of them will give you the information the OP asked for to help you help your cllients. If these people have such huge SMS businesses, they should have some idea of what is working for their clients and what doesn't pull.

Your client is looking to you the SMS expert to help them craft effective campaigns.

So possibly the next WSO offered in the SMS arena is one that provides what has proven to be successful SMS offers, and broken down by business types, times of day etc.

Just my 2 cents.

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MoBuzz

For restaurants I would avoid the free drinks, free appetizers ect. In all forms of advertising the real key is in the strength of the offer and it is no different with SMS. BOGOs offer the best results IMO. Plus it guarantees atleast two diners to convert to regs, to buy drinks and deserts ect. You may have to fight to get some restaurants to do a true BOGO so be prepared to do a break down of the value of a customer over a month, year ect. Plus remember the stronger the offer the less people opting out.

As far as building the list I think a contest works best. For example every 20th person to text in wins a free dinner for 2 plus get great deals in the future.

The REAL key to this is in training the staff to promote the program.


Honestly not to disrespect you man, but he did also ask about building list ect.. Did you read the whole post? Those that gave advice on that were atleast adding value to the thread.

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