Bulk SMS

According to a recent article in the Times the British public downloaded over 4 million apps on Christmas Day after unwrapping more than 500,000 Smartphones or Tablets. The same article also stated also that this Christmas’ sales surge is expected to push the number of active Smartphones and Tablets in the UK over the 18 million marker – making us the third highest in the world behind the US and China.

Our enthusiasm for apps and Smartphone technology is changing the online retail landscape beyond all recognition; 16% of all online purchases made this Boxing Day were placed via Smartphones – a 275% increase on the previous year.

The general public no longer regards the mobile internet with scepticism; they now see it as a huge convenience because it allows them to make those planned or impulse purchases irrespective of where they are. Well known high street brands need to make sure that mobile advertising is in their promotional remit if they want to take advantage of this changing culture.

SMS is an ideal marketing medium for retailers wanting to target these new style Smartphone shoppers because it allows them to quickly and cost effectively inform their customers of different promotions and reductions. All phones support SMS so it also allows them to target traditional online shoppers that have not yet caught on to the Smartphone phenomenon.

Unlike other forms of digital advertising, people do tend to read their text messages as soon as they receive them, so if retailers incorporate an embedded URL in their messages, they are giving those Smartphone shoppers the opportunity to make those impulse purchases, thus increasing their overall sales as a result.

Below are seven other reasons why we believe retailers should incorporate SMS into their overall marketing strategies:

• Concise -SMS messages are to the point. Any message that includes clearly visible information of what is on offer will encourage potential customers to respond if they are interested
• Cost effective – retailers sending SMS messages in bulk can benefit from wholesale pricing
• Wide marketing reach – SMS is used and understood by everyone
• Personalized – mobile phones are very personal so by asking some intricate questions, you can build up detailed profiles of your customers which will enable you to carry out very targeted campaigns
• Quick – you can send appropriate messages to pre-defined groups with a single mouse-click
• Easy to manage – because the majority of online SMS campaigns use email as the delivery mechanism, your customer service staff can manage all correspondence from a single, centralised point
• Easy response mechanism – thus providing your consumers a positive experience

If you want to see how SMS-based marketing campaigns could increase your overall sales why not sign up to our no-obligation trial today?

When the majority of people hear the phrase “bulk SMS” they think of a wholesale service provided by SMS aggregators who sell millions of text messages in bulk to service providers and other large organisations. They subsequently provide promotional messages or notifications en masse to their customers or subscribers. Such services are typically used by retail, entertainment and leisure companies to alert consumers of seasonal special offers, weather information or traffic updates, for example.

We also provide bulk SMS facilities. However, our interpretation of bulk SMS is slightly different to the norm because our application has been designed specifically for smaller organisations, allowing them to benefit from a carrier-grade service at an affordable price.

Bulk SMS is the quickest, easiest and most cost effective way to reach your entire customer base in one hit. Services are easy to set up and configurations can be saved for future campaigns.

You can send your messages online, via a secure web interface or by email using your existing email application, depending on what suits you best. Our service can also be integrated with existing back- office systems via a Developer’s API.

Our Bulk SMS service supports prepaid users (very popular with SME’s and start-up companies), or monthly invoiced accounts for larger organisations that regularly send in excess of 100 text messages on a daily basis.

Your messages are delivered almost immediately and your customers will respond because, unlike other forms of communication, people do tend to read their text messages.

We have listed below our top ten bulk SMS services that we believe can benefit smaller organisations:

1. Promotional activities – Mobile phones are very personal. By using some subtle info- gathering techniques you can quickly build up accurate profiles of your customers. You can then use this information to carry out targeted campaigns such as a special promotion on party dresses or the best ski deals
2. Payment reminders –Free up your admin staff by reducing the number of phone calls you make to customers reminding them an invoice is overdue or that their rent is in arrears
3. Delivery information – SMS is a great way of informing customers of an expected delivery time. By including a “reply” facility (allowing customers to request an alternative delivery time, for example) you will cut back on the number of wasted journeys
4. Notifications – SMS is an effective way to remind people of appointments or team briefings
5. Time-sensitive alerts – SMS is the quickest and easiest way to inform parents that school will be closed due to bad weather
6. SMS broadcast – This is the quickest way to communicate general information to a particular group of people – sports teams, for example, telling them a match has been cancelled or rescheduled
7. Calendar reminders –Sending employees SMS reminders of their daily meetings or appointments will improve your organisation’s efficiency
8. M2M monitoring – SMS is a highly efficient way of alerting support engineers of a server or storage problem
9. Business continuity – SMS can be used to facilitate your business continuity procedures, thus helping minimise downtime and loss of revenue

10. Voicemail notifications – Integrating SMS into your into your telephone system means you will never miss out on a business opportunity

Our Bulk SMS service can also be used in conjunction with our personalised replies facility, which means that all your replies are delivered to the original sender and not a central holding number or email account, allowing you to build up a relationship with your customers.

Why not sign up for a FREE trial today and see for yourself how bulk SMS could benefit your company.

There have always been differences of opinion with regards to the exact date of Cyber Monday – the last Monday in November, or the first Monday in December. The date itself is not really that important. The more interesting factor is that advances in mobile technology are having such a significant impact on how we actually spend our money that our shopping habits are changing beyond all recognition.

According to a recent survey carried out by KPMG, UK shoppers are embracing technology at a faster pace than many other countries, with 77% of us preferring to buy goods like CDs, DVDs, books and video games online.

Not only that, we are increasingly using Smartphone or Tablets to make these online purchases.  With more than a quarter of the UK adult population and over a half of all teenagers owning a Smartphone, retailers are having to quickly modify their promotional campaigns to capitalise on these changes.

At totext.net we believe that SMS-based applications can complement these changes because if retailers are offering amazing online promotions, they need to make consumers aware, and one of the most cost effective ways to do this is via SMS.

All phones support SMS, so you can target traditional shoppers as well as the new-style “Smartphone shoppers”. SMS pushes itself directly in front of your consumers and isn’t reliant on them pushing buttons or downloading apps. Unlike other forms of advertising, most people do read their text messages as soon as they receive them, and if you incorporate an embedded URL in your message, you are giving your Smartphone customers the opportunity to make those impulse purchases.

Below are a number of other reasons why we believe retailers should incorporate SMS into their overall promotional campaigns:

• Concise -SMS messages are to the point. Any message that includes clearly visible information of what is on offer will encourage potential customers to respond if they are interested
• Cost effective – Retailers sending SMS messages in bulk can benefit from wholesale SMS pricing
• Wide marketing reach – SMS is understood by everyone
• Personalised – Unlike other devices, mobile phones are very personal. By asking some intricate questions, it is possible to build up detailed profiles of your customers which results in more effective marketing campaigns
• Quick – you can send appropriate messages to pre-defined groups with a single mouse click
• Easy to manage – Because the majority of online SMS campaigns use email as the delivery mechanism, your sales staff can manage all correspondence from a single, centralised point
• Easy response mechanism – offering your consumers a positive experience

Click here to find out more about who we are and what we do.

New Ofcom research reveals we are a nation that has become addicted to Smartphones, with people professing to using them everywhere; from the dining table to the bathroom and bedroom.

According to Ofcom’s latest Communications market report, over a quarter of adults and almost half of teenagers now own a Smartphone.

With such revelations we are often asked our opinion on mobile advertising versus SMS-based promotions and whether we think that Smatphones will result in the demise of SMS-based services. Well the simple answer is No.

There is still a place for SMS in our multi channel world. Indeed after the latest RIM debacle, Blackberry users around the world would tell you SMS and voice are the only reliable means of mobile communications available.

We may well be going Smartphone crazy but we’ve along way to go before the infrastructure is in place to truly support Smartphone applications.

In many areas of the UK consumers struggle to get a 2G signal, never mind 3G. In Europe there are already plans to start implementing 4G services!

It has also been revealed that the auctions for selling the next generation mobile phone spectrum in the UK have been postponed from the first half to the last quarter of 2012 which means we are way behind many European nations.

Granted, SMS is not as “pretty” or “flashy” as internet-based applications but at least it works.

The growth of SMS over the last 10 years (over 2000%) confirms it is still a viable communications channel and is still used as an important marketing tool by businesses worldwide and when we hear about issues such as these it is easy to understand why.

• SMS is cheap – both for campaign executors, who can purchase SMS messages in bulk and for consumers, who can send and receive predefined numbers of messages as part of their contractsSMS is quick – messages are delivered almost instantaneously over all networks
• SMS has a wide marketing reach – all mobile devices support SMS
• SMS is widely understood by everyone which results in a positive user experience
• SMS provides an Easy response mechanism – allowing for spontaneous decisions
• SMS is direct – unlike mobile apps or mobile web pages, which require users to pro-actively access them, SMS pushes itself directly into the site of the consumer
• SMS integrates seamlessly with e/marketing activities
• SMS works – unlike other forms of communications people do read text messages when
• they get them and it is easy to unsubscribe to a service – you simply text stop
• SMS provides a great support mechanism to other forms of advertising such as TV or radio based campaigns.

We’re not planning on retiring just yet! Visit www.toText.net to find out more about who we are and what we do.

While social media and web-based projects are all the rage with regards to current-day marketing activities, the whole process can be very “hit and miss” because you have no control over who will follow you on Twitter (or similar) or visit your website.

Direct marketing campaigns allow you to be much more targeted.  Having said that; email, once the most popular medium for carrying out direct marketing campaigns, has also been used to excess, so much so that the majority of us tend to delete emails we do not recognise without even bothering to read the message.

SMS on the other hand, another mechanism for carrying out direct marketing campaigns and for generating sales leads, is not always used as widely as it could be. SMS-based marketing campaigns are by far the most cost-effective and reliable way to send targeted messages to your customers and prospects, particularly if you want to target large demographic areas. Furthermore, if you regularly send out more than 100 messages per day, you will also benefit from wholesale pricing.

Unlike other forms of mobile-based advertising, SMS does not rely on the user having to click on a link to activate the service or access the message. It is very direct and pushes itself in front of your customers, who can respond if they are interested, or text “stop” (or something similar) if they want their details removed from the database.

What are the other advantages of SMS?

1. Well for starters, it’s got a wider marketing reach than any other marketing medium. With more handsets than people in many western countries, cost effective direct marketing campaigns can be carried out on an international scale.
2. It is extremely cost effective. It is much more economical, both in terms of time and money, to send text messages to a large group of people than to make a phone call.
3. It’s easy. SMS-based marketing campaigns can be carried out online via a password-protected interface, or they can be integrated with your email system. This means that your staff can manage all their contacts from a single, centralised point.
4. SMS is not dependant on 3G and messages are delivered almost instantaneously. What’s more, unlike other forms of communication, the majority of your messages will be read by your customers.
5. SMS is unobtrusive because it provides users with a subtle way of making an enquiry without needing to enter into dialogue with a pushy sales person.
6. Bulk SMS services include comprehensive reporting facilities, allowing you to analyse the success of different campaigns and your ROI.
7. SMS is a great way to improve your after sales service – why not send a quick text messages to customers informing them when their order will be delivered, or to remind them of an appointment or meeting?
8. Finally, SMS provides users with an easy response mechanism and it can be used to complement other forms of marketing, such TV or radio- based advertising.

Click here to find out more about who we are and what we do.

More and more of us are using online shopping facilities because we lead such busy lives. The weekly shop can be delivered to our front door – or even the kitchen if we’re really lucky! We can try on new outfits with appropriate shoes and accessories, we can even buy expensive items such as audio visual equipment or cars online.

However, our changing retail habits are presenting courier and delivery companies with a whole host of new challenges with regards to job allocation and informing consumers of their expected deliveries.

Email has traditionally been used to advise customers of their order status (i.e. that goods have been despatched, when delivery will be etc.), but if your customer does not have access to their email they might not be at home to accept the delivery. This results in a wasted journey for your driver, which can be expensive in terms of time and resource, and disappointment for your customer.
Incorporating SMS functionality into order management and delivery processes can result in huge cost savings for courier companies and improved customer service for consumers.

Unlike email, you know that your SMS messages will be delivered and read as soon as they are received, so advising your customer of expected delivery times via SMS is far less likely to result in a wasted journey.
Not only that, it is possible to incorporate additional facilities into SMS notifications –the ability to reschedule deliveries, for example, which further enhances your customer service.
Our online SMS service can detect if a PDF document is attached to an email and if so extract relevant information (such as delivery location or time) from the data file and forward it to the recipient as an SMS.

If job information is included in the email itself, our software simply converts the message into a text format, giving you the option to send information via SMS as well as email.
SMS can also be used to complement other marketing activities; it is perfect for alerting consumers of:

• Promotional offers
• For issuing vouchers which can be redeemed in store or online
• To inform customers of a new season’s collection
• To build brand loyalty

If you want to streamline your logistical processes, cut your communications costs and offer better customer service to your customers, then sign up to our no obligation trial and see how our SMS applications will benefit you.
NB. In addition if you send in excess of 50 messages per day, on average, you will also benefit from wholesale SMS prices.

Running an e/commerce site for automotive spares is a highly competitive business. Companies operating in this sector receive thousands of enquiries on a daily basis and if they want to be successful, they must have the facilities in place to be able to respond to customer requirements quickly and provide good customer care.
Online Automotive, a leading supplier of standard and specialist components, understands the importance of good customer service and has taken the decision to incorporate SMS into its overall enquiry management process to further improve their customers’ overall purchasing experience.

After carrying out some initial market research, Online Automotive decided to integrate the toText.net email to SMS service into the company’s order management system and Terry Dorney, Managing director of the company explains the reasons why:

“First and foremost it offers value for money, an important factor if you are involved in the automotive industry.

In addition, the service is really easy to use and by following simple guidelines on maximum message length we have been able to incorporate SMS as an alternative communications method without creating additional work for our busy customer services department.”

The toText.net email to SMS service integrates seamlessly with Online Automotive’s email system and all messages are sent and received using Microsoft Outlook.
Providing information to customers via SMS as well as email has greatly improved the company’s order conversion rates because they are no longer reliant on their customers having access to email to receive information about their enquiry.

Terry continues “Most people carry a mobile phone at all times so they get our messages straight away, even if they are out and about. If the customer is happy with our quote, they can place an order simply by replying to the message or calling telephone number embedded in the message if they require additional information.”

All messages are created in Microsoft Outlook. By including the customer’s mobile number followed by @toText.net in the “To” field of the email as well as their normal email address, the message can be sent via email and SMS simultaneously. The toText.net software converts the email into an SMS format and forwards the message to the mobile number provided in the message.
Not only has the email to SMS service improved the customer’s overall purchasing experience, it has also given customer services staff the ability to manage email and text messages from a single application.

In addition, all SMS replies are delivered directly to the original sender and not a centralised email inbox, so orders can be processed straight away and staff can begin to build a rapport with customers.

The toText.net email to SMS service supports multiple users at no extra cost, making it an ideal tool for busy customer service departments.
In the future Online Automotive is planning to fully automate its order processing system and SMS will form an integral part of the new order management process.

Ends

Slepe Communications Ltd is a dynamic, growing company based in Cambridge UK. Its staff have many years’ experience in the Internet and telecommunications industries, and are experts in designing, building and operating mobile Internet applications based on text messaging, web and Wi-Fi technologies.
The company is a member of the Mobile Data Association.

Teachers and support staff are increasingly under pressure to keep parents and carers regularly informed of their pupils’ academic progress as well as well as the school’s calendar of events without compromising teaching standards.

The Government has stipulated that by the end of 2012, all schools and colleges will be required to communicate with parents electronically.

Email, however, is not necessarily the most effective way of communicate routine messages to parents and carers, as iSchools, a company that provides online Management and Financial Control Systems to public schools and colleges, is all too aware. In order to add value to its existing system and to offer greater flexibility to schools with regards to communications methods, the company has recently integrated the toText.net online SMS gateway into its overall online management system.

Robert Owen, of iSchools explains the reasons why: “Research has demonstrated that SMS is by far the most popular way of conveying routine information such as school trips, open days, forthcoming events because messages are delivered and read straight away. If parents are out and about or there is no 3G signal they might not pick up their emails until much later. If we need to contact parents, child minders, nannies etc urgently, to inform them that school will be closed due to adverse weather conditions, for example, SMS is the quickest and most effective way to do this”.

The iSchools online management system is modular in design and provides schools with a comprehensive range of services including timetabling, registration and financial management facilities. It is based on the latest Microsoft products and includes a centralised database for managing pupil, staff and supplier information.

In order to make the SMS module completely transparent to system users, toText.net has developed a bespoke interface that connects the iSchools system directly to its SMS gateway. This means that teacher and administration staff can create and send messages directly from the iSchools system, which they are already familiar with.

To send a SMS message users log into the iSchools system as normal via a password-protected interface. They open the message dialogue box, write their message and select a relevant distribution list, the whole school, a particular year group or all, boys in year 7, for example, and press the send button.
The toText.net interface then forwards all messages to its centralised servers where mobile numbers are verified and the messages are converted into appropriate SMS formats for delivery.

System users can quickly see how many messages they have sent and, more importantly, when messages were delivered, using the toText.net system management software.

“When we approached toText .net about integrating their online SMS gateway they were very helpful, continued Owen. All development and testing work was completed within 8 weeks. What’s more, schools are not obliged to commit to a minimum number of messages per month and they are only billed for the messages they send”.

Schools are responsible for their own payments and they can manage their accounts using the toText.net software system, which allows them to top up their account as and when they need to.

Comments Rob Jagger, Managing Director of Totext.net. “We are really pleased to be given the opportunity to work on this project. We pride ourselves in developing services to meet specific applications and we are really pleased with the positive feedback we’ve received so far.”

The online SMS service is currently being piloted by 5 schools including Gemini College in Milton Keynes and Hopelands Prep School in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire.

The online SMS module will be available to all iSchool customers from September.

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The number of machines in the modern world is forecast to be eight times the human population by 2050 according to Detecon, an integrated management and technology company.

We have become so dependent on them in our modern world any failures, caused by power cuts, component failure or system overload can have serious consequences.

As our dependence on machines and IT in general continues to expand and businesses increasingly automate many system processes, monitoring these systems and machines is becoming increasingly difficult, particularly as workforces become more dispersed. The right person, at the right time, in the right place must be alerted if there is a problem or system failure.

SMS is being increasingly used for machine-to-machine monitoring for a number of different reasons:

• SMS provides “always on functionality”
• SMS is reliable – messages are delivered almost instantaneously
• SMS is not dependent on a 3G connection – vital for mobile workforces located in rural areas
• SMS is cheap

The totext.net online SMS service is being used for M2M monitoring by a number of different organisations in the UK and in response to a recent customer enquiry, we have taken M2M monitoring to the next level by adding customisable attributes to our developers API.

Our customers can now, for example, allocate their own reference number (generated by their overall management systems) to alert messages rather than have to use a generic reference generated by the database.

This facility is beneficial for safety-critical or time-sensitive applications where delays to SMS alerts being received could have disastrous effects. By implementing meaningful reference numbers to each alert, system managers can quickly compile a detailed audit trail of events by tracking what time a alert message was sent and, more importantly, what time it was delivered, in the event of a problem occurring.

Such detailed monitoring facilities also enable companies to analyse their processes and procedures to become more efficient in the way they operate.

SMS messages can be delivered to email inboxes, directly to a mobile phone, to online accounts, or to all three, depending on your preferences.

Our developers’ API is easy to install and integrates with most job management and tracking systems because it is open source. Further information can be found here.

If you want your M2M monitoring system to do something specific, then contact us because we specialise in customising our standard applications

Use email to SMS for lead generation

Email has always been a popular choice for direct marketing campaigns and lead generation. In recent years, however, it has had to compete against a number of different communications methods, with social media being the most prevalent.

As Facebook and Twitter grows in popularity, thousands of companies are jumping on the social media bandwagon without really understanding its true potential in order to try and drive more traffic to their websites and generate leads.

An obvious communications channel that has, to a large extent, remained relatively untapped in the sphere of lead generation is SMS. Here at toText.net we find this really surprising considering the sheer number of mobile phones there are in circulation.

However, while email-based campaigns are no longer that effective, email provides a great mechanism for sending out and managing SMS-based campaigns. SMS messages can be sent out in bulk to individuals or predefined groups quickly and cost-effectively using existing email systems.

No plug-ins are needed and no training is required – all you have to do is integrate our SMS gateway with your email system, which can be done easily via our developers API.

The majority of people read their text messages as soon as they receive them. Consumers are also comfortable with replying to text messages because it is quick and they do not have to enter into a conversation. What’s more all replies can be monitored in real-time. If you take all these factors into consideration, SMS driven campaigns have the potential to generate good quality leads that can be followed up and converted into orders by your sales teams.

Below are more reasons why we believe SMS should play an important role in your direct marketing activities.

• Concise -SMS messages are to the point. Any message that includes clearly visible information of what is on offer will encourage potential customers to respond if they are interested

• Direct – SMS pushes itself directly in front of your customers. There are no buttons to click or apps to download.

• Wide marketing reach – There are more mobile phones in circulation than any other technology device so the potential reach of your marketing messages are enormous

• Personalised – Unlike other devices – mobile phones are very personal. By asking some intricate questions, it is possible to build up detailed profiles of potential customers.

• Targeted – Accurate data allows you to carry out targeted marketing campaigns

• Easy to manage – Because SMS messages are generated via email, your sales staff can manage all correspondence from a single user interface. Furthermore all SMS replies are delivered directly to the original sender and not to a centralised holding box, allowing them to develop a rapport with your customers.

Sending SMS messages via email is simple Type your message as normal, but instead of typing an email address in the “To” field, you type in the recipient’s mobile number followed by @totext.net.

Your message is then delivered to our servers where it is converted into an SMS format and forwarded to your customers.

Our customised software will also allow you to deliver email attachments (PDF messages for example) as SMS messages by extracting key information from the data source.

Why not see for yourself how email to SMS can help you increase sales by taking out a free no-obligation trial today.

Click here to find out more