TMCnews Featured Article

Back in December 1992, when engineer Neil Papworth sent a message � �Merry Christmas� from his personal computer to the mobile phone of Vodafone's (News - Alert) Richard Jarvis, few people could have imagined the impact that SMS, or text messaging, would have on global communications.

We are a world of text messages today. While young people are the most prolific text messagers, most other demographics are also fond of the medium for sending a quick communication. (Globally, about 78 percent of mobile phone users employ text messages.) In the UK, a new YouGov survey carried out on behalf of outsourcing company Firstsource Solutions found that over 80 percent of UK consumers send the same or more text messages than they did a year ago.

�This survey shows that the popularity of texting is still high, despite the availability of a wider range of communications tools, like instant messaging and social networking sites,� said Iain Regan, global head of sales and marketing, Firstsource Solutions, in a statement about the results of the study.

Overall, the average UK consumer sends 50 texts per week according to the Ofcom Communications Market Report 2012. The average American sends 41 text messages per day, according to research sent last year, with young people 18 to 29 averaging out at over 110 messages per day.

Outbound marketing is still a popular way to build brand awareness, and with so much of the world holding their gazes fixed to the screens of their smart phone, it�s no wonder that marketers would take interest in the SMS medium for getting their message out.� Research has found that 98 percent of text messages are read (as opposed to the rates for e-mail, which are far lower), and �the average text message is read by a recipient within four minutes of receipt, which makes it one of the most immediate means of communications available today. Increasingly, marketers are collecting the mobile phone numbers of consumers in an effort to get them to opt-in to SMS-based marketing. (Legislation in many nations prevents marketers from sending unsolicited text messages.)

Done right, outbound SMS marketing can yield impressive and fast results. The trick, of course, is to get it right, which is why many companies turn to third-party services with the experience and skill to get an outbound SMS campaign done effectively and still remain inside the borders of regulations.

Services such as Spitfire SMS help clients stay in touch with all their customers with easy to deploy SMS messages. According to Spitfire, text message marketing can be an effective permission-based approach to sharing short updates, news, specials or appointment or refill reminders with customers.

At the same time, you can remain current with laws and regulations, and ensure that you are managing your lists correctly, sending SMS messages only to those customers who have given their permission. Effectively crafted and timely text messages, sent to your customers when they need the information, can be one of the most effective ways of supporting the customer relationship.�

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Edited by Blaise McNamee

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