Texting – It Works!

Whilst in seminars I have promted the fact that the future includes text marketing, I have had a few worried faces. But, Marketing Trendz magazine from the USA endorse my findings ….. read on. Texting Wonders Can’t get shoppers to respond to your marketing prods? Start texting. According to the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) first-ever quantitative research project on mobile marketing, text messaging is the most effective technique and it accounts for 70 percent of consumer mobile marketing responses. That’s compared to a response rate of 41 percent for surveys and 30 percent for e-mail offers. “These findings suggest that mobile marketing will continue growing into a multi-billion dollar industry as more mobile phone users are enticed by falling prices to purchase data plans and broadband-enabled devices,” noted Edward Manzitti, DMA’s VP of research and market intelligence. The online survey, which the DMA completed in March and April of this year, included responses from 800 mobile phone owners—157 respondents ages 15 to 20, and another 643 respondents ages 21 and older. These survey highlights not only point to where the real marketing opportunities lie, but they also identify potential pitfalls: • About one-quarter (24 percent) of those surveyed have responded to a mobile offer; • One-third of the group that did not respond to any mobile marketing reported that they had never received an offer; • Seventy-one percent of people who respond to mobile offers have data plans; • Data plan holders cited lack of interest and cost of airtime as the main reasons for not responding to mobile offers; • Twenty-one percent of mobile marketing responders indicated that they responded to three or more offers monthly; • Respondents that used AT&T (Cingular) Wireless and T-Mobile were more interested in mobile marketing incentives than respondents who used Verizon Wireless; • Teens ages 15 to 17 (19 percent) and young adults between 21 and 30 years old (19 percent) are twice as likely to respond to offers on their mobile devices as individuals between 18 and 20 years old (seven percent); • Single (never married) respondents were the most likely of all groups to respond to mobile marketing appeals; • Overall, higher-income respondents making more than $60,000 per year were more likely to respond to mobile offers; • Responders to mobile marketing were typically more tech savvy (for example, responders were twice as likely than non-responders to subscribe to Internet-based music subscription services); • Buyers of entertainment/music/video products were the most likely to respond to mobile offers. Texting is not only an effective tool to poll customers, but it has also become a form of entertainment in its own right. Mobile phone manufacturer, LG is taking full advantage of the trend and is presenting the 2008 LG National Texting Championship—Down and Dirty Battle on the QWERTY this summer with the help of more than a dozen shopping centers across Canada. Texting pros will compete for up to $25,000 in cash and prizes, including a $5,000 trip for two to Cancun, courtesy of Breakaway Tours. Two qualifiers will be chosen from BC, the Prairies, Ontario and the Eastern Region to move on to the finals, to be held August 26 at the Diesel Playhouse in Toronto. This year’s texting battlefields feature Chinook Centre, Cornwall Centre, Fairview Mall, Lime Ridge, Metropolis at Metrotown, Mic-Mac Mall, Place Alexis Nihon, Place Laurier, Polo Park Shopping Centre, Richmond Centre, Scarborough Town Centre, Square One, St-Laurent Centre, Toronto Eaton Centre and West Edmonton Mall. . Mobile Marketing Kings Top Retail Categories ranked by percentage of respondents having received mobile offers Entertainment/Music/Video 44% Food/Beverage 21% Telecommunications/Mobile 21% Beauty/Personal Care 15% Automotive/Transportation 12% Business Services 12% Consumer Electronics 12% Financial Services 12% Vacation/Travel 12% Healthcare/Pharmaceutical 7% Real Estate 7% Source: DMA.