Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Marketing. Web-to-Print. Warehouse Management.
Three Ways that a Printer Could Benefit By Using SMS/Text
Posted by 
on Monday, October 31, 2011 
at 7:45 AM 
in 
If you have been to any marketing-related conferences over the past year, I’m sure you’d agree that mobile has been a very popular topic.
Companies of all sizes are looking for information on QR Codes, mobile websites, mobile apps, and more. In addition to those items, there inevitably is a speaker at these conferences that will say this: “Don’t ignore SMS/Text! More people use that than they do the mobile web”.
It certainly can be motivating to hear those quotes and to read articles like this one. But how can you actually implement SMS/Text into your business?
Here are three ideas on how a printer could incorporate SMS/Text into their marketing, sales, and customer support activities.
Notification When A Job is Ready
Most of the printers that I work with send notification via email when a job is ready. In addition to that email, it may be worth considering sending a text-message to the customer at that time as well.
Of course, this may not make sense for all jobs. But here are a few scenarios where SMS may prove to be helpful:
- When the job was flagged as Rush/Urgent
- When the job will be picked up by a customer
- When the job will be delivered by the printer & sign-off is required
Yes, email or a phone call could certainly be used in those situations too. But as more and more people turn to SMS to communicate about all sorts of activities, this may be a way for a printer to also share information with their customer in a channel that they may prefer using.
To Share Information About Specials
Certainly, a business does not want every marketing initiative to be related to pricing specials and discounts. However, those can still be used from time-to-time to create buzz, garner attention, and increase sales.
Many printers are using email and social media to promote their specials. Another way to do that would be through SMS/Text. Since most pricing deals only have a short-window of time, SMS/Text can prove to be an effective way to get your customer’s attention very quickly.
Of course, the message we send out should do more than just provide details of the discount… Make sure that you include a way for them to redeem it!
To Gain Feedback After A Job/Project is Complete
We all want to generate repeat business. To do this, we often have to reach out to customers after a job has been done, seek to get their feedback, and then offer/recommend other activities that we could help them with.
One challenge in accomplishing that is finding the time — both for us (in this case, the printer) and the customer. Using SMS to initiate that conversation could prove to be an effective option for us.
For one, the text message most likely will get noticed by the customer. Also, it may provide the customer with a very quick way to provide feedback. (Many post-job follow-ups that I have seen come in the form of an email that often link to a survey that ask 10 questions!)
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These are just a few ideas on how SMS/Text could be used to help improve marketing, sales, and customer support initiatives.
Have you found anything else that works? If so, please let me know in the comments below!
Ready to Text Your Customers and Prospects?
Are you looking for a new way to reach your customers and prospects? If so, the answer may be found in an activity that you’ve probably already participated in a few times today — and that is via SMS/Text messaging.
While it is true that not everyone would be open or happy about receiving text messages from businesses, the same could really be said for every other channel. And just like channels such as direct mail, email, social networks, etc., there are going to be people that prefer to receive discounts, product news, and more from companies that they like via text messages.
The Growth of SMS/Text Messaging
MarketingCharts has as great recap of an August 2011 study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Here were a couple of numbers worth noting:
- 59% of cell phone owners send or receive text messages
- But, 92 % of US smartphone owners send or receive text messages
As more and more people become smartphone owners, companies should be very aware that those people may not only become regular text-message addicts users, but they also become willing to receive communications from a business via that channel.
Can interlinkONE Help You with SMS/Text Messaging?
Yes, of course 
Within our integrated, multi-channel marketing software application ilinkONE Version 8, users have the opportunity to communicate with their customers and prospects through a variety of options. They could choose to build and send an email… they could generate a fulfillment order for the warehouse to package and ship… they could schedule follow-up calls or meetings… and they can also send SMS/Text messages.
Yes, all of that can be done through one system.
Would you like more information? If so, please let our team know how we can help you.
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Tags Android, iPhone, messaging, mobile, multi-channel marketing, Reports, smartphones, SMS, Software, Text, trends Integrated, Multi-Channel Marketing: Presentation from #IABCAR
On Friday, June 24th, interlinkONE’s CEO John Foley, Jr. spoke at the IABC/Arkansas Summer Camp event.
If you would like to check out the slides that John presented, we have posted them on our Slideshare account. We hope that you enjoy them!
During the presentation, John covered topics such as:
- What integrated marketing truly means to a business and your customers & prospects
- How to develop multi-channel marketing campaigns
- Creating social media campaigns that can be measured
- The growing importance of integrating mobile into your marketing efforts — including SMS/Text, QR Codes, and more
New Enhancements to ilinkONE Version 8.5
Over the past few weeks, we have greatly increased our intake of Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and snacks.
Why? Well, they sure are delicious.
But also, we have been working hard to put the final touches on the latest release to our ilinkONE Version 8 software. Through the extra hours and shots of espresso in our coffee, we have emerged with a new software release that should greatly benefit our customers.
Here are just a few of the enhancements that we are pretty excited about:
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Email Template Editor We have plugged in a new WYSIWYG editor into our Email Template feature. This will make it a lot easier for you to create and deliver professional email campaigns. The new editor works with all of your existing email templates, the ones from our Template Library, or any new HTML emails that you may upload to the system. |
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Email and Landing Page Templates We have more than 30 new templates that can be used for your email marketing efforts. Customers will be able to browse through the template library at any time. Simply select the template that you’d like, and upload it to your site. We have also provided new Landing Page Templates as well. |
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Twitter/Social Media Integration We have enhanced the integration between our CRM system and the popular social media channel Twitter. Users can now associate their contacts (customers, prospects, etc) to a Twitter ID. They can then view the person’s recent Twitter activity directly from the contact record in our system. Users can also post collateral from the sales library directly onto Twitter from our system, simply by clicking the Tweet This link during order placement. |
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SMS/Text Messaging We have made it easier than ever for users to send out SMS/Text messages to their contacts. Mobile marketing continues to emerge as a channel that must be considered for use in a multi-channel marketing campaign. You can do it easily and successfully with ilinkONE Version 8. |
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Easy Steps to Personalization The benefits of delivering one-to-one communications have certainly been documented in many marketing case studies. It is now easier for users to identify areas for variable data on their landing pages, emails, and other marketing messages. |
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Styling of Questions and Answers Users now have greater control over the design and layout of questions and answers. There are new options to help you style your surveys and response forms, as well as new Question Types to help you create a survey that meets your design needs. |
