SMS Messaging Keeps A Family Together
March 08, 2010 by TextMagicPR
With cell phone subscriptions expected to hit 5 billion this year, the mobile phone has become the most common form of global communication.Whether or not mobile users take advantage of SMS, IM or wildly-popular social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, they are able to connect with colleagues, friends and family at any given moment throughout the day.
But what if you worked in a place that prohibited devices like cell phones, Skype and tools like IM or Twitter?
By this, I don't mean an executive management memo warning employees about wasting valuable time on social networking sites. But rather, a protocol set in place to protect the security of the company.
Meet Bruce Daly. Mr. Daly is an IT consultant for a security agency in Canada and despite being 12 timezones a part from his family in Southeast Asia, he is prohibited from using his cell phone during work hours.
"My work is in a locked down environment that does not allow me to get IM, Skype, mobile service or access to any type of social networking sites that I would typically use."
Why choose TextMagic for your solution?
"TextMagic is allowed through the enterprise firewalls. I have the ability to send text messages via the Email to SMS service as well as receive replies with the SMS Messenger. For the locked down situation I find myself in during the day, TextMagic is a good fit for what I suspect is a rare situation."
SMS Messaging Reduces the Number "No Show" Clients By 70%
March 03, 2010 by TextMagicPR
Like many small business today, Global Hair Limited, t/a Headrush Hair Salon considered using a texting service as a way to streamline customer communications and save money. With approximately 4,700 clients in their roster, the percentage of missed hair appointments was creating an increasing amount of spare time and costing the business hours of missed revenue. Headrush Hair Salon Global Hair Directors, Phil Saunders and Emma Fulgoney, began to look at different SMS services online and came across TextMagic which seemed the ideal choice due to ease and cost.
How has SMS messaging improved your hair salon business?
"TextMagic has improved our amount of no-show clients who may have forgotten the date and time of their appointment, therefore leaving a stylist in the salon with sometimes up to 2 1/2 hours of down time, which is clearly bad for business and profits.We calculate that our number of no-shows has been reduced by approximately 70% since we've been using TextMagic and we expect this number to improve further as we obtain more clients' mobile numbers."
SMS messaging takes customer service to the next level.
"TextMagic has also benefited our customers. Clients don't want to miss their appointments either and text messaging helps them stay in touch and keep us updated. We also use the Email to SMS service to send our clients special messages on their birthdays as well as unique salon promotions."
Acquired by Global Hair Ltd.in January 2009, Headrush Hair Salon is a high quality salon where customer satisfaction comes first. Their team of well-trained and experienced stylists cater to over 4,700 clients in the East Sussex area. For more information, please visit their website at www.headrushhair.co.uk.
An Alternative to Skype’s SMS – Seven Issues and Advantages
March 02, 2010 by Alex GrechanowskiThe idea of sending a text
message without using the tiny keyboard on your mobile can be quite new to you. But the
truth is, many people have been using “out-of-the-box” online texting tools as an important piece of their communication pie for many years
now.
“Do you know how to send SMS to several people whose numbers are not in your contact list, all at the same time versus one by one?”
Skype is recognized as a provider of choice for not only making “free calls over the internet” but also for its paid services, which includes sending SMS messages. In its own words: “…with Skype Credit you can use Skype’s pay-to-use products like voicemail and text messaging feature.”
However, in the case of sending text via Skype, there are a few potential issues to be aware of:
1) In some countries it’s not possible to purchase Skype Credits using a credit card, even if it’s a Visa or MasterCard issued by a local bank. Instead, you’re forced to use MoneyBookers or other type of payment method. They call it “internal fraud checks”; however, it’s not clear why Skype makes it so complicated. Using the same card makes it easier to shop on other sites, like Amazon.
2) Once you’ve loaded your Skype account with some $$, it’s not possible to send a text message to a
phone number that is not in your contact list, even though their Help System tells you the opposite: “to
send a text message to a phone number that is not in your Skype contact list go
to Tools > Send SMS Message.”
But a closer look reveals that there is no such item as Send SMS Message in the Tools menu:
(The above screenshot is taken on the latest version of the Skype software: 4.1.0.179).
3) Using Skype, you cannot apply
any formatting or use a template to text messages as the dialog box for
sending text is a very basic one (but is definitely OK for sending a quick SMS).
4) It seems there is no way to send the same SMS to a group of people (a.k.a. bulk SMS). Even if they are in your Skype contacts, you need to manually repeat the same “Send SMS Message” procedure which, if used repeatedly, is quite time- consuming and nerve-wracking.
5) No option to conveniently check message delivery status. You need to keep the contact dialog box open to monitor the progress. Sometimes it reads “not yet delivered,” even though the sent message has already been delivered. Eventually, Skype will send you a notification on the next login.
6) No option to view saved/sent
messages. The only option is with the help of the bulky View Old Messages (a.k.a. History) option
where all communication with a given person is stored.
7) No option to save a message as a draft and send scheduled messages.
Seven Advantages
“Online text messaging often means coming together around a common passion or activity be it family, travel, sport, advertising or anything else that suits your fancy.”
TextMagic Online as a fully fledged program for sending SMS, gives you the following advantages:
1) Instant account activation, including the use of the following payment methods: MasterCard, Diners Club, Visa Electron, Visa, American Express, PayPal, Maestro. Just purchase your first block of message credits and an account will be created for you. No restriction by country, and no genetic tests, by the way ;-).
2) No need to have a contact list, (but of course, you can create it). Just enter numbers separated by commas. Include the country code with no leading zeroes e.g. 44797123456, 44797123455.
3) Create an SMS or even your marketing campaign using templates.
4) Bulk sending of hundreds and thousands of texts.
5) You can check the current delivery status of sent messages on-line. TextMagic Online displays 3 types of message delivery notifications: accepted, delivered or failed.
6) All messages are saved in a sent message folder.
7) Send scheduled messages when
you need.
Have you found an alternative to Skype’s SMS? Please share your ideas and lessons learned.
The Future of SMS and What It Means For Your Business.
March 01, 2010 by TextMagicPR
According to a new study by Portio Research, worldwide SMS traffic topped 5 trillion messages in 2009 and is expected to exceed 10 trillion in 2013. These are staggering numbers for sure, but how many businesses can actually say they are taking advantage of this remarkable flow of communication? The most common way to reach mobile phone users, also know as YOUR CUSTOMERS, is through SMS. Because SMS is a neutral feature on all mobile devices, regardless of service provider or hardware manufacturer, it has become the mainstream form of international communication. And because it is also very affordable, businesses of all sizes from mom-and-pop shops to major corporations will be taking advantage of this valuable tool and succeeding. Here are some things to consider now to prepare for the future.
1. Mobile commerce is expected to grow by $119 billion by 2015 which means your Point of Sale will be altered as people respond and buy things from mobile messages.
2. The way you connect with your customers is becoming more localized giving you the opportunity to capture them as they are walking by your door. Find out what mobile tools offer Location Based Services (LBS).
3. Discovering and delivering the products and services your customers WANT is getting easier as feedback on everything from movie screenings to restaurant reviews are being generated in real time.
4. Your ability to resolve support issues is increasing customer retention.
5. Look for Direct Mobile Payments (DMP) to become more of a reality as seen by the recent successful text-to-donate Red Cross campaign for Haiti.
5. Today's mobile web is tomorrow's Internet web. With Smartphone sales up 24%, the DMA recently estimated that more people will connect to the Internet via their mobile phone than their PC within 5 years.
