Before you start strategizing, get a feel for how mobile messaging works by choosing the easy-to-use Clickatell Communicator 2 and start sending and receiving bulk SMS almost instantaneously. Or register for a free trial of one of our developer-friendly API’s to try out Clickatell's SMS Gateway. There are ten credits waiting in your account for you to test the system.

Clickatell can reach more people, in more countries and on more devices than any other company in the world. Added to this is their excellent technical back-up and 24/7 customer support. You need a service provider that allows you to just get on with what you do best – planning and managing your campaign strategy. Clickatell’s SMS applications take care of the rest.

In order to start a mobile messaging campaign all you need is the desire to increase your customer base, increase your profit margins and to add value to your existing customers. We are guessing that…

You want more customers?

Create your mobile database through:

• Promotions: ask customers in-store or online to sign up to receive promotional texts re specials and sales. Start a mobile VIP club offering exclusive news re your products.
• Competitions: run ‘text-to-win’ competitions where customers reply to a SMS question. Use this mechanism to gather information for customer profiling.
• Multi-media: use print and radio mediums to run competitions asking consumers to text their details to you for inclusion in a prize draw or to support a particular campaign or lobby.
• Internet: make sure that your website has a mobile sign-up box as well as an email one.
• Advertise: use as many avenues as possible from your packaging, till receipts to posters and billboards to let your customers know about your SMS program.

Make your mobile offering valuable to consumers:

• Through being a reliable information source (news, weather, tourism information, business locater etc)

• through offering a service of benefit
  From auction bidding to flight quotations, insurance or products, mobile marketing has a unique value to consumers. Given its instantaneous nature, the variety of applications it can be used for is astounding. A popular use is the offering of discount vouchers and coupons as well as the purchasing of virtual gifts.

• Generate sales directly through SMS messages. Allow your customers to place orders via mobile text messages as well as email or phone. Products such as ringtones, wallpapers and cellphone downloads can be sold directly through mobile messaging.

  By choosing a premium-rated SMS package, you can offer subscription-based services to those consumers who do not have access to online banking or credit card facilities. The added bonus with this is that you can also recoup some of your marketing costs.

You want to offer existing customers added value?

Retention campaigns are very simple to set up and truly add value to your customers. Below are just some of the ways that will ensure your customers see you as a valuable ally.

• Notification alerts: these include booking confirmations, mobile tickets, banking transaction alerts, appointment reminders, news and weather updates.
• Interaction invitations: encourage customers to engage with your products by asking them to take part in a poll or vote on their favourite product.
• Reactivate: encourage lapsed customers to re-use your services or products by offering them a special incentive.
• Cross-sell: offer existing customers the opportunity to try other products in your company with the lure of a discount.
• Add value: send information that would add value to the customers life or might assist them in some way.
• Research: simple surveys through SMS can help you to understand your customers needs and therefore service them better.
• Relationship building: sending birthday and festive greetings can only impact positively on your relationships with customers.
• Up-sell: Encourage customers to buy more than one item through incentive schemes such as the collection of redeemable vouchers.

Viral marketing campaigns such as 'forward to a friend' text messages are extremely effective in expanding not only your mobile database but also the potential of additional sales.

Which Clickatell SMS product will suit your campaign needs?

Clickatell's Communicator 2 is a web-based program that requires no mobile messaging experience, all you need is a computer that can connect to the Internet. It is ideal for sales promotions campaigns, 'text-to-win' contests, mobile discount coupons or text vouchers as well as mobile surveys. Take a trial-run of Clickatell's Communicator 2 now.

For more sophisticated campaigns that require automated sending and triggered scheduling, Clickatell's range of SMS Gateway API's are what you need. If you need to send personalised birthday and anniversary text messages, password reminders or want to perform high-level customer relationship tasks, try out the SMS Gateway API's no. 

For some of Clickatell’s Top Tips for successful mobile marketing campaigns, click here…