R U Collecting Mobile Phone Numbers Yet?

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A decade or so ago the cry was to build your email lists. It’s still a very valid tactic today, but now is the time to start collecting those mobile phone numbers too. About 60 billion people have mobile phones and with each passing year the technology improves to the point where it may be the only portal of information for some folks.

First off, just like you wouldn’t spam with email, you certainly don’t want to grab mobile phone numbers from prospects and customers so you can send annoying messages. There are some great reasons to use text messaging however and smart marketers, including small businesses, are starting to discover them.

Services like Mobile Storm and Mobivity are making easy and affordable for small business to explore the world of mobile marketing. Pizza joints are sending out coupons via mobile for sure, but small businesses of every ilk are also creating campaigns for weekly tips, event updates, contests and members only content via mobile campaigns.

This is a very hot topic and one that’s not going away soon, so dive in and start learning.

I conducted an interview with Kim Dushinski this week for upcoming episode of the Duct Tape Podcast. Kim is the author of the soon to be released – Mobile Marketing Handbook. I’ve had an early read and this is a great resource. More on that.

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Posted by: John Jantsch on Oct 23, 08 | 10:10 am
Category: mobile marketing | Tags: , mobile storm, mobivity

Comments

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dotnetmicro

Txtimpact offer out of mobile marketing solution, let brands, retails store run various campaigns to collect mobile numbers, such as txt voting, txt2win, m-coupon, etc. TxtImpact is certified to work with 95% carriers in US and compliance with MMA guideline.

Services offered:
mobile marketing
sms gateway
dedicated shortcode
shared shortcode

http://www.txtimpact.com

randhir

wire2air also provides a mobile marketing solution,lets brands,shortcode,bulk sms,develop API,content alert and sms poll lot of things. for more details please visit:-http://www.wire2air.com
---randhir-------

Pierre Fregeau

And coming soon... GPS sensitive text messaging. You are right, start collecting those phone numbers.

My only concern is that it will be abused by marketer and people will opt-out. My feeling is that businesses should commit to no more than 1 or 2 message per week per consumer.

Ted Hessing

I am not, but I've noticed some favorite nightspots in Charlotte have started sending various friends text messages on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. It seems to work well with the text 'show this message for free entry.' Everyone in the group then also signs up for the text message service for free entry.

I wonder if the added cost of receiving text messages from those places exceed the savings granted to the patrons? I'd love to see an analysis of a control Thursday night with no text message advertising compared to another Thursday night with it on.

Jeff

Good read but just one thing... I am pretty sure there are only about 7 billion people on the planet...

John Jantsch

@Ted - I love that exclusive club and social pull factor.

John Jantsch

@Jeff - most everyone has about 10 phones though - I was actually going for hyperbole but that may have been lost.

Crystal King

The key to these programs is not really about collecting phone numbers and then deploying. It's about opting-in and then pushing out your message. When you are dealing with incremental costs/minute usage people get really cranky about calls and texts that they don't want.

And also to note, mobile programs tend to work best with B2C marketing activities although some companies are being a bit creative--HP has allowed people to sign up for white papers via mobile and Microsoft has pushed mobile games out geared toward business professionals to try and get companies to switch over to Office 2007.

Joseph T. Dager

I went over picked up my teenagers phone and he has over 200 numbers in it. And he loses it twice a year! Can you imagine the number of numbers he will collect in a lifetime, 60 billion or so?

Does AT&T have online backup? If not, sounds like a product.

Modassic Marketing

Good point about the mobile numbers possibly becoming the only portal of information... there is a similar conversation going on over at the MODassic Marketing blog debating the question "Is Email Dead?"

Christian Little

I suspect before it becomes a major mainstream marketing method that all the idiots out there will ruin it for us. There's all these ads out there now "Text 123 to {some number". They make promises of cool stuff, and some of them deliver...then your bill comes in.

What most people don't seem to realize is that there are not real laws about cell phone messages, so when you signup with your mobile number some companies will send you a message every day and bill you $3 a piece. It adds up very quickly, and you probably don't even know it's happening as you're too lazy to read the terms when you first joined the list.

Worst still, it's completely legal right now.

Stray Cat

I agree with Chrisitian. I feel all those little text messages as rather annoying. Business which keep texting mee are felt like invasive.
They're spoiling a media that has possibilites.

Coach Anne

I don't text, and if I start getting text ads -- at my expense -- from any business I know, they will lose me as a customer -- permanently.

John Jantsch

@Anne - mark my words - you will text, because your customers and contacts will demand it. As for ads - it's opt-in if done correctly so you shouldn't get any ads you don't want! - you might consider getting unlimited text plan for $10/mo and then you don't have to worry about the expense part.

MarketingTwins-Randy

I can't find it - but does MobileStorm offer an affiliate partnership program?

scott kline

It is very clear that consumers are driven by promotions in the physical world to use the mobile device as a RESPONSE MECHANISM TO INTERACT WITH BRANDS!

At Adheadz.com, we continue to see Mobile Response rates higher than 15% when Brands run radio, TV and traditional advertising with their Mobile Tag like 'Text BMW to 95613 for More Information".

The increase of Mobile Tagging, where marketers add their brands’ Keyword and Short Code (like 'BMW to 95613 for More Information") onto their brochures, collateral and marketing outreach, is similar to the use of URL tagging which happened at the onset of the Internet.

All the best - Scott

Scott Kline
scott@adheadz.com

L

I do text, but I still pretty much agree with Coach Anne.

I don't give out my cell phone number to anyone who isn't a friend, and I never, ever sign up for those things where you send a text message to some number to start getting text messages in return.

I used the AT&T web site to make my cell phone block any text messages that come from the Internet, and not directly from another actual cell phone. And I changed the default email to text message address into something that a computer can't easily guess.

If I start getting text message spams from a company, I will most certainly never do business with them, ever.

I feel that my cell phone is a last refuge from advertising and telemarketing and spam. And I don't plan to give that up.

From a business owner perspective, I might set up some kind of a notification system by text message if customers requested it, opted in, and could easily opt back out.

But I would never, ever use such a system as a consumer.

Al McKay

As with anything make sure you have the number owners permission to send them text messages before you do it. I hate text messages and will not read them nor will I respond to them except fore in a negitive way. If you text me without my permission, and it costs me money each time you send me a text, I would never do business with you no matter how badly I needed your product. I treat this the same way I treat unsolisited telemarketing. I never give anyone permission to text me. So don't do it without permission first. And I don't mean just because I gave you my phone number that is giving you permission to text me, it is not. Ask for permission to "text" people. I think you will find, that at least with the 35+ year old crowd, you will get a lot of nos. And I don't mean sending a text to someone to ask for their permission. Never send a text to anyone who hasn't give you prior permission to text them. Unless you don't mind pissing off a potential customer.

MarketingTwins-Randy

@L

Use the same logic yourself - sign up but know you have the freedom to opt out. It seems to me that if you are going to USE it effectively as a small biz, you should know how to use it effectively (and the only way to do that is to experiment with what people are doing right, and wrong, with it). Try and find someone mobile marketing something that really might be of interest to you and just see....that'll make your own messaging all that more effective when you do it with your customers.

Kinda like blogging - you're not gaining the full advantage of the blogging community (nor playing by its rules) if you say "I'm going to blog, but not read or comment on any blogs."

Mark Harris

In response to Randy's comment I don't know if Mobile Storm offers an affiliate program but Mobivity has both an affiliate program and a white lable reseller program. The info is at http://www.mobilemarketing.net/resellers.aspx.

Nancy Sutherland

I'm always open to trying new ideas with marketing. This could be too early for some to catch on, but I see potential as a marketing tool for our existing customers who want to be the "first to know about any promotions/sales that we are offering.

Kris Bovay

You're right John, it certainly is a hot topic. I suspect that a number of businesses won't be able to contain themselves and will make phone messages as welcome as email spam. A friend of mine was being charged $10 per month for messages she hadn't signed up for - it took her 8 months of follow up every month to track down and eliminate those charges. She remembers those businesses all right - and every chance she gets she tells people not to use them or the phone service.
Eventually there will be a need for rules and regulations for this method of marketing communication (someone will make money off the process) and it will become a highly effective method of staying in touch with your customers.

Kelsey Bratcher

I just wrote an article about how to automate SMS or text messages with Infusionsoft using a service similar to Mobile Storm. Collecting Cell Phones or SMS Devices is an extremely helpful for adding another layer to your marketing.

Text messages can be added to provide that additional layer on a customer service system. Using text messages to provide information, notifications, updates, and more. I applied to a direct marketing campaign you can have that many more touches.

Marc Marseille

I just signed up for the Mobile Storm. Sounds like a fantastic idea. Internet marketing is growing in leaps and bounds. I believe either you get with the growth or be left behind.

Thanks for the Info...

Marc

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