If you’re in the travel and tourism business, excellent customer service is more important than ever – for in such a competitive market, it can be the one thing which separates you from the competition. Not only that, a dissatisfied customer who has received poor customer service is a dangerous weapon – for it can take just one bad review on a travel website to turn future customers away.

So how, as a business owner or operator, can you use the right methods of communication to ensure that you create happy customers, each and every time?

The answer is simple – make sure that bulk SMS is a vital part of your customer communication strategy. Bulk SMS is a straightforward and highly effective way to ensure that your customers receive updates, confirmations and key information about their holiday or service purchase – without the risk of losing vital emails to the mercies of a junk folder or wasting your customers’ precious time on the phone.

So how exactly does differing parts of the travel and tourism industry use bulk SMS to best effect? Here are just a few examples on how SMS is the travel industry’s best friend.

1. Booking Reservations Confirmed by SMS
When a customer has made the important decision to book your transport, accommodation or tour, it makes good business practice to immediately confirm that booking or payment so that they have a record of their reference number and the comfort of knowing their booking has been received. Via a simple SMS message to their mobile number, you’ve provided them with a record which they can carry with them at all times – particularly important when travelling and access to email isn’t always available.

2. Change of Itinerary or Booking Details? An SMS seals the deal
Holidays and travel bookings are often subject to changes on both sides. Whether it’s a last-minute change of plan to the customer’s arrangements, or unavoidable transport delays, bulk SMS is the fastest and most secure way to ensure that those important details are transmitted quickly, wherever the customer happens to be. SMS is a better bet than a phone call, for information such as flight numbers, time of arrival or other facts are already written down – meaning that there’s no chance of misunderstanding or miscommunication.

3. Self Catering? SMS creates great communication without undue disturbance
Many people choose self-catering accommodation for the simple reason that they require a peaceful, uninterrupted holiday period. SMS messages can be read at the customer’s convenience and don’t interrupt the flow of their holiday. Use bulk SMS to communicate messages such as where to find the key, emergency contact numbers and names, or even just to welcome them to their holiday cottage or apartment. Even if this information has been sent through on email previously, that email printout can often be the one thing which is left behind – so by confirming details by SMS message, you’re ensuring that your customer has all the information they need to hand.

Bulk SMS is simple to operate and by using a Pay As You Go service such as TextMagic, it’s cost-effective for even small companies to operate – there’s no requirement to sign up for a contract and you can manage your spend easily. You don’t need special equipment or even a high level of IT knowledge to connect with your customers via TextMagic bulk SMS, for there’s a selection of easy-to-use software solutions available, which are all free of charge to users.

Choose between the use-anywhere convenience of Web to SMS, which can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection or the email-like simplicity of the downloadable software TextMagic Messenger – it’s up to you. You can even send and receive SMS messages directly from your existing email client such as Outlook with the Email to SMS option – meaning that all your customer messages are kept in one place. It’s a simple as that – and your clients will love the fact your communication is second to none, earning you brownie points on the review websites!

Winning new business can often be about being ‘the early bird’ – reacting quickly to new business leads and enquiries before your competitors do. That’s why marketing agency Magnetic Marketing Ltd turned to the TextMagic SMS messaging service – with the business benefits quickly becoming clear.

Dez Futak, owner of Magnetic Marketing said, “When you’re in business, it’s vital that you can respond to leads straight away. Getting in contact quickly with a potential new customer can make the difference between winning the business and losing it to another competitor agency. TextMagic gives me the ability to prioritise new business enquiries, wherever I am – and that’s key to the survival and growth of my business.’

TextMagic SMS prioritises new business leads

Magnetic Marketing of Basingstoke in Hampshire, which has been using the TextMagic SMS messaging service for around two months, has taken advantage of the Email to SMS functionality to drive enquiries from the website feedback form directly to staff mobiles via text message.  By prioritising the enquiries by transforming them into text messages, TextMagic separates out the high-importance messages from the rest of the emails received by the business each day – meaning that potential customers can be called back straight away, no matter whether staff are in the office or out on business. It’s a simple yet savvy way for a small business to seize new opportunities – helping busy staff who may be covering several different areas of responsibility to prioritise incoming messages and ensure that they never ‘drop the ball’ when it comes to new leads.

Business SMS offers a great return on investment

Dez Futak knows when he’s found an SMS messaging system that works and delivers cost-effective benefits – which is why he’s planning to offer the TextMagic service as a lead management function for his own clients. “As a marketing agency, it’s our job to advise our clients on how best to get more business, using online marketing, video distribution, social media and viral marketing. However, marketing your business is only half the story; there has to be great process in place to convert those leads generated by your marketing into sales. That’s why we’re looking to use TextMagic SMS messaging to streamline our clients’ response systems, in just the same way as we at Magnetic Marketing use it – to ensure that their business marketing spend delivers the best possible return on investment by driving those sales leads direct to the right person to deal with it, wherever they might be.”

There’s more to come, though – for Dez feels that there’s much more in the TextMagic suite of SMS messaging products which will be of value to his business. “I’m probably only using about 20% of the functionality that TextMagic offers as a service, so I’m keen to investigate other ways in which it can help my business. I love the fact that the SMS messaging service is scalable and there’s no risk – I only pay for what I use, with no contracts or commitment. That makes it the perfect choice to roll out to clients as a really cost-effective way of managing their incoming leads.”

TextMagic SMS - a vital part of any business marketing strategy

As a marketing expert, Dez Futak understands what makes a good brand work. ‘TextMagic is a brand which delivers what it promises, clearly, simply and flexibly. It provides something quite unique which can offer benefit to nearly every business – and not only that, it’s got a great buzz about it. That’s exactly the kind of business partner I like to work with, which is why Magnetic Marketing is excited to be associated with TextMagic. If you’re serious about generating new business for your company, then you can’t do better than by doing it with TextMagic.’

About Magnetic Marketing
Magnetic Marketing is a UK-based marketing agency specialising in using video, social media, iPhone application and email follow-up services to help local businesses connect seamlessly with new customers. For more information, visit www.magneticmarketing.co.uk or call 0845 80 555 80

It’s no surprise to any business marketer that younger audiences are the biggest consumers of digital marketing. Social media is now the biggest single use of the internet, with sites such as Twitter and Facebook remaining kings of the scene. So, as a marketer, you may be forgiven in thinking that you should move your budget from SMS to social media. Right? Wrong.

Whilst social media is undeniably a massive draw for the youth audience, with usage figures rising all the time, this isn’t at the expense of SMS. In nearly every mobile-marketing conscious country in the world, smartphone usage is still centred around SMS – with research showing that youth in countries such as the US have over 75% of their phone activity exclusively on SMS. The fact of the matter is that whilst smartphones have opened up the market for apps, mobile advertising and social media wherever you are, these functions have only increased the youth consumers’ dependency upon their mobile phones – and SMS is still unchallenged as a way to communicate instantly, directly and privately with a single target.

Whilst sites such as Facebook have proven advertising programmes, the mobile site versions have less focus upon advertising – meaning that Facebook advertisers are still lacking a way to really engage with their target audiences on the go. Additionally, Facebook users will typically only update their page two or three times a day at most, minimising interaction time with the platform. As for the other social media giant, Twitter, whilst it’s a great way to build brand interaction, as a paid marketing medium it’s still relatively untested – with the biggest companies getting their feet wet first of all.

So, whilst SMS marketing is, in mobile terms, the grandfather of communication strategies, it’s still the unchallenged king. That’s why SMS marketing should be the centrepoint of your business marketing strategy. Here’s a reminder of what SMS marketing can offer which other mobile marketing business strategies can’t:

1. SMS marketing reaches all mobile users – smartphone or not
Why limit your mobile marketing reach to just those with smartphones, when the vast majority of phones out there are still based on traditional mobile technology? SMS marketing is simple, straightforward and doesn’t require Wi-Fi or 3G connectivity to get through.

2. SMS marketing messages are more direct than any other method of marketing communication
When consumers receive an SMS message, they open it – nearly always immediately. Unlike advertising, SMS marketing is personalised to the point of being singularly targeted to the individual. It has the power of telephone communication without the invasive ‘cold calling’ issue – meaning that your business can reach its target directly on a personal level whilst giving them the choice to read your message as and when they choose.

3. SMS marketing campaigns are highly measurable
With SMS marketing, you can set up any number of different promotional campaigns and voucher codes with ease and target specifically towards different demographics and shopping habits – providing your business with ultimate measurability. If you’re used to emailing your promotional vouchers out to your database, change to SMS marketing instead – with an open rate of over 90% as opposed to the typical 25-35% open rate of email, you’ll be amazed just how effective a well-run and targeted SMS marketing campaign will be.

So if you haven’t already stepped upon the SMS marketing gravy train, now’s the time for your business to make the leap. With companies such as TextMagic offering simple, Pay As You Go SMS solutions with no premium rate tariffs and no contracts, it’s also one of the most cost effective ways to deliver marketing results. Not only that – there are a host of different and easy ways to manage your SMS marketing campaigns, from the use-anywhere simplicity of the web based TextMagic Online to the straightforward downloadable software of TextMagic Messenger.

For ultimate ‘one source’ functionality, you can even integrate your SMS marketing into your email system with Email to SMS – giving you two-way SMS communication right to your normal email inbox. So don’t forget, SMS marketing is still king of the hill when it comes to mobile marketing – so make plans today to make it work for your business!

If you run a business which has a workforce out on the road, such as salespeople, technicians or  tradespeople, then maintaining effective communication with your employees can often prove challenging. Whilst nearly all of your workers will have mobile telephones, they won’t be able to take calls whilst they’re driving – and not only that, it’s not the best use of time for your office-based staff.

That’s why using a business SMS messaging system such as TextMagic for business is the perfect solution to keeping in touch with your workforce whilst they’re out and about. By sending a quick text to their mobile phones with key business information such as new appointments, rescheduled timings or change of locations for their next meeting, they’ll be able to pick it up quickly and easily, at a time to suit them and without distracting them whilst they’re driving.
Here are just a few ideas on how making use of business SMS messaging to communicate with your field staff can simplify your internal business communications and make managing a remote team easier and more efficient than ever:

1. SMS is quicker than picking up the phone – and 100% accurate
If you ring your employees with messages, then they’ll have to find somewhere to safely stop to take the call. Not only that, they’ll have to take the time to write your message down to ensure they’ve got the details right – and there’s also the danger that due to background noise, they may mishear vital information such as appointment times, phone numbers or locations. By using business SMS to text message key information, it not only takes seconds for your office staff to send out the message, it’s more efficient for your field staff too – as they’ll have the right information immediately at their fingertips.

2. Information sent via business SMS is easily tracked and measurable
Have you ever had the situation where a field employee has claimed that they haven’t received the right information by phone, which had lead to a customer being let down? It’s a difficult HR situation to manage and ultimately comes down to a ‘he said, she said’ situation. By using business SMS services to text message key information to your field staff, miscommunications become a thing of the past – and mistakes and culpability are far more easily traced.

3. Keep your staff focused on time management by using business SMS
All too often, business messages relayed by phone between employees can end up taking far more time than they should. Telephone communication is highly personal and it can often lead to the temptation to extend the conversation with chat – cutting into work time and reducing efficiency. Whilst excellent team relationships are undoubtedly at the core of good business practice, there’s a time and a place – so by using business SMS services to text message vital information, it frees up time for your staff to concentrate on their work – and save the socialising for the pub after work!

4. Business SMS with TextMagic is Pay As You Go – so your bills won’t run away with you
Ever had a nasty shock when opening your business telecoms bill? TextMagic business SMS services are always Pay As You Go and don’t involve any contract or monthly charges – meaning that it’s highly cost-effective to run and you’ll always be on top of how much you’re spending.

There’s no doubt about it – business SMS services are a hugely effective internal communication tool. The TextMagic suite of business SMS tools provide a multitude of easy methods for your to engage and keep in contact with your staff, including the web-based TextMagic Online – which can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection, meaning that you can send staff communications easily from wherever you are.   The downloadable software version, TextMagic Messenger, looks and feels like a simple-to-use email client – so your office staff will be able to use it confidently in a matter of moments with an absolute minimum of training.

So why not go along to www.textmagic.com and try out business SMS for free? You’ve nothing to lose – apart from the size of your telephone bill!

Did you know that in Quarter One this year, business marketing spend was up for the first time in two and a half years? That’s good news for the economy and even better news for those looking to see whether the time has come to review their ‘recession policy’ and really focus on driving their marketing strategy forward.

In times of recession, as we’ve seen recently, the marketing budget has often been the first casualty. However, we believe that the key is not to reduce your marketing, but to make it work smarter for you. Digital and mobile methods, such as SMS marketing, are the fastest growing areas of marketing for every type of business – and it’s not surprising when you see how read and response rates for bulk SMS campaigns far outstrip anything offered by traditional print advertising or email marketing.

So as business confidence is now matched by decision makers starting to re-evaluate the enhanced value of their marketing budget, what’s the best way forward for a business which needs to decide how best to connect with current and potential customers?

1. Look at your marketing mix with fresh eyes
If you’ve historically used direct mail or e-marketing campaigns, don’t assume that what worked in the past is right for today. A recent study by myb2bonline.com has shown that recession-hit SMEs have continued to send out campaigns based on old data – thereby increasing the ‘junk mail’ element and giving direct mail even less credence in the eyes of the consumer. If you’re passionate about attracting new customers, it’s time to think about how today’s consumer wants to be talked to. That’s where SMS marketing comes into its own, as the leading open rate marketing communication route.

2. Look for new business – but don’t forget those who have stuck by you
When on a new business marketing drive, it can be all too easy as a small business to put all your energies into finding those elusive new income streams, whilst forgetting to look after your bread and butter – your existing customers. Make a rule that your marketing activity should be 50/50 new and old business. Why not use your SMS marketing to send a loyalty voucher to existing customers who have fallen out of touch – and a referral reward to those who are still using you? What way, you’ll keep your customers happy and help drive new, recommended business to your door.

3. Make every marketing communication count
Whilst marketing spend is up and business confidence grows, it’s still wise to look after every single marketing pound in your business. Make sure your marketing is strategized, targeted and includes a definite call to action – every single time. General awareness marketing is hard to measure and even harder to justify in the current climate. Create a forward plan for your strategy and make sure you’re covering a good mix of your product or service portfolio.

Don’t be afraid to use seasonal and topical elements to tie your marketing communications to, but make sure that there really is a genuine and relevant product link. For instance, if you sell football shirts, all your customers should be receiving an SMS marketing message right now as World Cup fever hots up – but if you’re a florist, offering bouquets in all the World Cup teams’ colours is unlikely to be seen as smart marketing, more like ‘jumping on the bandwagon’.