By Amanda Baltazar
These days, more people are texting from their cell phones than making calls. According to Seattle’s Visible Technologies, five billion texts are sent every day in the United States — compare that to the mere 317 million Google searches done each day.
The Arizona division of Circle K expects texting to improve its business. This past summer, it launched a texting campaign to send drive-time messages to consumers, said Denis Day, principal of Logan Interactive, a mobile marketing company working with Circle K.
The chain’s text messages — sent at deliberate times of day — remind customers that they sell, for example, coffee in the morning, lunch at noon and items to take home during the evening rush hour.
“We restrict frequency to a few messages each month to avoid consumer fatigue,” Day explained. “We announce special events such as concerts and charity golf tournaments, in addition to in-store promotions.”
The buildup to Circle K’s program took almost a year, Day said. That time was largely spent collecting the mobile numbers of its customers. One way Circle K got this info: encouraging people to text in to promotions or contests.
For example, a season-long promotion with the Arizona Diamondbacks invited game attendees to text in to enter a contest and win an autographed baseball bat. “It’s an engaging way to get cell phone numbers,” said Day.
A texting program is 100 percent opt in, so having customers choose to engage in your texting program is the first step for any convenience store operator looking to move into this method of marketing.
“I encourage clients to give customers an ethical bribe — something of high value in exchange for getting on their text-messaging list,” pointed out Chris Clements, founder and CEO of YeeZ Mobile in Houston, Texas.
Companies that make general offers — sign up for discounts, for example — are making a big mistake. Instead, he explained, be specific: Get a free fountain drink when you text in, or text in the word “lotto” and receive the lottery results.
Once you’ve gathered mobile numbers, you’re ready to start texting. But don’t be overly promotional with your campaign, cautioned Cahill. If you just send out coupons, they’ll be perceived as spam, leading customers to opt out of your program. Instead, provide added value.
That’s what other major companies are doing. Airline passengers can sign up with American Airlines and receive texts if their flight is late; Walgreens will text you when your prescription is ready for pick up.
One easy way for convenience stores to be relevant, said Clements, is to send out lottery results. But make sure you’re sending them to the right people. “If you’re not a lottery player, you’ll be upset if you get lottery results; if you are a lottery player, you’ll be upset to not get them.”
If you do texting right, you’ve got a huge audience. According to Visible Technologies, 74 percent of people in their 20s text, and although this rate drops as age increases, 60 percent of 40-somethings text and 39 percent of those in their 50s and 60s text.
Since texters tend to be either young or young at heart, it’s best to have a conversational style, said Clements, suggesting that companies should present themselves as a person sending out text messages rather than a corporate brand. If done correctly, text messaging allows consumers to feel part of your store and build a sense of community.
The challenge is using very few characters — typically 120 to 160. You can open up your word count by putting a link in the text message for smartphone owners to click on, said Clements.
But, he cautioned, that might annoy people who don’t have web-enabled phones. “So send out a two-part message with a link in the first part and in the second part a summary of the information that’s in the link.”
As for how often to send out texts, there’s no magic number. Just understand your audience, said Cahill. “If you have people come in multiple times a day, hitting them once a day is fine. It depends on what your customers are telling you.” However, he advises to start a texting campaign with one text per week and see how it works.
Also consider the length of any offers. If you’re offering a special — free coffee with any breakfast order — two to three days is the optimal time, said Clements.
“You’ll see a lot of people come in quickly and a lot come in at the end. Don’t make [an offer] too tight because people might not have time, but you don’t want to make it too short or people will procrastinate and never come. Remember that a shorter time makes an offer more special and makes it into an event,” he said.
In terms of these offers, you must be able to fulfill them, said Jeff Hasen, CMO of mobile marketing company Hipcricket in Kirkland, Washington. “If you’re offering two for one Danish in the morning, make sure everyone gets one. Also, make sure your cashier knows the program and offer, which will make it a positive experience.”
Amanda Baltazar is a freelance journalist who is still mastering texting. For more of her work visit chaterink.com.