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In this the third article on 4 things you should be doing using software in 2010 we discuss the need to use your software solution to better automate client service in your business

• More specifically we are interested in the areas of better bulk sms and bulk email notifications to clients

• Using software to target more clients with the same message but they don’t know that

How to send more effective bulk sms and bulk email campaigns

I find this to be one of those topics that no one believes till they try it out.

The golden rule of bulk sms and bulk email?

ONLY EVER send messages that seem completely personalised!

I am willing to bet everyone reading this agrees completely but for various reasons they can’t. These reasons vary between but are not limited to:

1. Its more effort. Its far easier to send a general communication to your clients then to go to the effort of sending customised messages.
   Solution: Get a new software system or get the software development company to create functionality to automatically create messages with a persons name in it. There is no effort involved if your software is good enough
2. My client database is not up to date with all the names. Names are misspelled etc.
   Solution: Well this is actually your own fault, why did you allow your database to get to this state. Train your staff better, make them understand quality data equates to more commission, more loyal clients etc. Even if your data is incorrect, fix those that you can yourself then call the other clients if you have there numbers and get a proper name, they will be happy that you value them enough to want to record correct information on them. You can also always relplace there names with Generic names like, sir, maam till you are able to get the correct information.

Why send personlised communications?

Here are 2 examples of sms messages to a prospective client, one is personalised and the second isn’t.

1. Hi James, I thought I would let you know that our annual sale is on over the next week. You will receive 20% off anything in our store. Hope to see you, ABC Company
2. Dear valued client. Our annual sale is on over the next week. Get 20% off anything in our store. Hope to see you, ABC Company

Can you see the difference, which one would you find more appealing if you received it?

The personalisation of smses drove me to create software processes to monitor the rate of success for personalised sms campaigns. I hope to have feedback on this sometime very soon. What I can say is that every one of my clients has gone through this disbelief process at some point in the past. They sent general messages to clients and nothing personalised. At some stage I basically needed to convince each to do a campaign as a trial to see if they could spot the difference. One of my clients that owns a high end clothing store for years didn’t send personalised messages. His database was shocking at the time, but I convinced him that just this one time take the chance at even irritating clients with misspelled names etc and send a campaign with what is in the database.

The results, well I wish I had exact statistics but after some 4 years of doing general only messages he insists that only personalised messages go to his clients now. Yes there were some clients frustrated by the fact that he got there names wrong, that was way less then even 1%, those people you simply manage and say sorry. The rest of the clients came and said thanks that he personally addressed them in messages, some still came and voluntarily gave the correct name to him etc.

I am willing to bet that personalised smses are worth at least 10% more business then a general communication. Watch this space for more proof soon.

Conclusion

In a world of huge competition the only way to best distinguish yourself and business is to make sure you offer the best service of all your competitors. Using your software point of sale system to send automated communications to clients will make a massive cost effective difference to loyalty and income spend in your business.