When we send out a marketing message, what’s emerging as the best response channel? Reply Post, Phone, Email, or Website?  Well, none of the above. It’s TXT messaging.

You’d never know it by looking at TV, Radio, Outdoor or Print promotions today. Most still cling to the old 0800 phone number, even though it hasn’t been the crowd favorite for many years. It seems that most ad agencies and marketers today are still locked in the past, and it’s likely costing them in lost sales.

First, look at your market

However although the rapidly rising star in 2009, TXT isn’t the answer in every market. For example, a recent fundraising direct mail campaign for the coastguard used the [gasp] old post reply envelope! From this ‘older’ audience, many retired, there was a huge 35% response. Here, old fashioned mail was obviously the most appropriate. 

But in most business to business or consumer markets, we would expect other channels to be much more appropriate and cost-effective. In business an email or link to a website form would seem perfect even adding in PURL link, to dramatically improve the click-through rate. Why is this? These business individuals are likely spending a lot of their day checking their mail and then going online. Studies tell us that 42% of people prefer to respond online often because they want to check you out first – See if you’re credible.

For modern consumers, going online to respond works well, but if the customer was out and about seeing billboards or shop signs, or even home reading a magazine or newpaper ad, today we would expect SMS TXT messaging to be better. Especially so when it’s a promotion by a highly credible person or organisation.

For example, a recent ad campaign highlights the lead generation ability of TXT keywords on advertising, and why smart, innovative companies are now adopting this strategy to get back instant enquiries from consumers.

Hampsta is a start-up Xmas saving scheme company targeting Chriscos customers and new clients with an aggressive TV and print value-comparison marketing campaign.

Fronted by the Mad Butcher’s Peter Leitch, Hampsta sought to swing middle New Zealand families to get them to sign up to Hampsta. The call-to-action offered consumers 3 enquiry options:

• call an 0508 number;
• go to the hampsta.co.nz web site
• or TXT more to 244.

Results:

Within two weeks, the company had thousands of enquiries.

Three times as many people TXTed compared to going to the web site, and five times as many people TXTed compared to calling the 0508 number. The reply TXTs let people know they would be contacted shortly to help them join. This kept the call centre productive with both taking calls during ads, and then making calls.

According to Hampsta’s Gary Alway: "We wanted to go for the maximum number of responses in order for our telemarketers to follow up. The txt response captured all the data we need and was by far the clear winner, an absolutely staggering difference. Set up was so simple and easy."

Does it have to be a choice?

So, here’s a clear trend that shouldn’t be ignored. Remember, marketing is a two-way deal. It’s not just how we promote our products or services (Radio, TV, Banners, Print or Online), or even the offer made, it’s sometimes how we ask people to respond that can make or break a campaign.

And you don’t have to choose between methods either. Just do what Hamster promotion did. Give the consumer a choice of ways to respond, then you’ll quickly find out what’s best for you and your market. Our advice is to always include TXT in that selection. It’s affordable and flexible too, since multiple keywords and campaigns can be purchased, allowing you to expertly track different promotions.

And What About Mobile Advertising?

In the short term, the use of TXT as a response channel makes more sense than pushing out ads on mobiles, which is often talked about. This will come, but it takes a lot more planning and is around ten times the cost. There’s many more legal hoops to jump through too, to ensure it’s all appropriate and permission-based.

However setting up a keyword response channel as described above is easy and for the small cost, I believe it should be added to every promotion today, whatever media you advertise in.