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Sumotext exec: SMS helps kick-start conversations

NEW YORK ? A Sumotext executive at the 4th annual Mobile Marketing Day 2012 conference said that the best part of SMS is the ability for marketers to start a conversation with consumers. However, marketers still have challenges with finding effective ways to market to these loyalists.

During the ?SMS: Engaging the Opted-In Consumer? session, executives discussed how marketers have been busy building their mobile databases over the course of the last couple of years. The panel was moderated by Mickey Alam Khan, editor in chief of Mobile Marketer and Mobile Commerce Daily, New York.

?SMS has tremendous reach,? said Tim Miller, CEO of Sumotext, Little Rock, AK. ?The most successful email marketers are using SMS as a way to collect email addresses.?

The 4th annual Mobile Marketing Day 2012 conference was cohosted by Mobile Marketer and the Direct Marketing Association.

Text me
According to Mr. Miller, Southwest Airlines is a company that is doing SMS right.

The company is encouraging users to opt-in to its database by promoting the call to action on napkins, as well as their signage.

?Don?t treat mobile as something new,? Mr. Miller said. ?Look internally at what you guys are already doing ? it?s a machine in motion.?

SMS is not only the ideal channel to collect information, but it is also a great way to ask users questions.

At the end of the day, everything marketers do with SMS is about creating a singular profile.

Marketers who want to add SMS into their marketing mix should consider a few things.

For example, a complicated campaign does not work. SMS campaigns should be time-sensitive.

Consumers are constantly carrying their mobile devices, which are personal communication devices.

Marketers should not send out an SMS offer that is good for a couple of weeks, but rather send out an offer that is good for several hours.

Additionally, adding personal features such as location helps broaden the reach.

?You can do SMS content and still have MMS or the mobile Web as a back-end,? Mr. Miller said. ?It?s about personal relevance.

?With SMS you have to change your language, you have to talk like you?re talking to a friend,? Mr. Miller said.

Future of retail
According to Gary Schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile, bricks-and-mortar stores are changing.

Nowadays, brands and retailers are letting consumers shop for products by using several technologies such as image recognition and QR codes.

However, SMS still reigns.

While image recognition and QR codes are becoming a hot topic, there are still many consumers who are not educated with the technology and may not be aware of what readers they need to download.

With SMS, consumers can simply text a keyword to a short code and they can automatically begin a conversation with a brand or marketer.

?Mobile commerce is primarily about shopper engagement and marketing,? Mr. Schwartz said.  

?It?s about targeted content and engagement,? he said. ?Look at Coca-Cola, 70 percent of what they do in mobile is SMS, 20 percent is mobile Web and 10 percent is innovation.?

?It?s really all about understanding your customer and communicating with them.?

Tim Miller, CEO of Sumotext

 Gary Schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile

Final Take

Gary Schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile