Text Marketing Blog | MoboMix

Mobile Wallets Are Faster, So Why Wait for Chip and PIN?

 

Have you used a chip reader yet? First, you dig out your credit card, stick it in the machine, wait a few seconds, remove the card, sign the dotted line, and then you get your receipt. 

It’s a simple process, but it’s more time consuming than the previous swipe method, and the public, as well as merchants, are taking note of the extra time it takes at checkout. In fact, chip-enabled credit cards can take as long as 10 seconds to complete a transaction; add those seconds up over an 8-hour work day, and you might find that customers are starting to tap their feet. 

Chip technology was, and still is, a huge victory for financial institutions and retail stores; reducing fraud with this technology has been successful by most accounts. However, businesses were slow to adopt chip readers, and banks launched a defense wherein retailers would take on the burden of fraudulent charges. 

Merchants responded in kind, but were likely unaware of the excess wait times they’d be facing as a result. According to a new report by Iovation and the research firm Aite Group, by the end of this year, 80 percent of all credit cards in the U.S. will include chip technology. 

 

Alternatives for Chip Technology 

Chip technology wasn’t the only solution to the original problem, nor is it the only viable alternative today. Mobile wallets have been around for years, including Google Wallet, which was first introduced back in 2011 and released to the public late the same year. Tim Cook announced Apple Pay back in 2014, yet very little awareness of mobile wallet technology exists in the public.

This is partly because many retail stores don’t yet support mobile payment technology, but it’s also a result of slow adoption from consumers, many of whom are dubious of the new payment system. 

However, they might also feel compelled to get familiar with mobile wallet technology when they grow tired of waiting in line at the grocery store, restaurants, or the local coffee shop. Some mobile wallet processing takes as little as 2.4 seconds, and you don’t even have to bring your wallet to the store—just your smartphone.

Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, and Android Pay are all working to streamline their systems and overcome the greatest challenge of all: getting the average consumer to ditch plastic cards altogether. 

 

Chip Vs. Mobile Wallet Safety 

There’s a lot of debate over which method of payment is more secure: chip or mobile. But where one has seen more adoption (chip technology), the other (mobile wallets) is looking to springboard off the chip.

According to a paper by officials from the Federal Reserve Banks of Atlanta and Boston, the “…contactless mobile solution provides the framework for the enhanced security present in the EMV chip+PIN card environment, while also introducing new security layers unique to the mobile phone, including password protection to operate the mobile phone and access applications securely embedded in the phone.”

And that’s exactly what mobile wallets plan to do moving forward, assuming they can get consumers on board with the idea of paying for everyday items with their phones.

At the end of the day, mobile wallets will be faster and safer than cards (with or without chip technology), so it’s odd to see so much retail commitment when it’s possible that mobile wallets could make chip technology obsolete. 

 

Cracking the Conference Circuit with Group Texts

 

If you attend or put on conferences, for your benefit or as part of your job duties, you’ll probably notice a lot more conference activities taking place via text message these days. Text messaging technology is becoming a go-to way for conference organizers and even conference speakers to communicate with employees, vendors, and attendees. Those who depend on conferences to earn their living, and to receive valuable knowledge, are quickly learning that group texting is an efficient way to share information with a large amount of people and share that information all at once, if need be.

 

Group Texts to Coordinate Conferences

Have you been in charge of running a conference, or have you been an attendee at a conference, and run into a situation where there was a last-minute room change, equipment failure, or other emergency that many people needed to know about right away? Group texting can be an easy way to notify anyone who needs to know about a conference change of the new details in an quick and efficient manner. 

To make group texting work for conference attendee notifications, it’s imperative that conference organizers have partners’ phone numbers, and that they ask anyone who’s attending a conference to provide a phone number. If you’re faced with a situation where your keynote speaker has come down with a bad flu the day of the conference, you can even use group texting services to mass text your contacts and quickly find a replacement.

 

Group Texting and Conference Speakers

Conference speakers use group texting to build their marketing lists on the spot, while they’re on stage in some instances. Some of the best speakers bound onto the conference floor, get their audience fired up and energized in the way they do best, and then ask attendees to pull out their cell phones on the spot to text for a free gift or get added to a list for immediate after-conference bonus material.

Why use text as a means of communication, and why during the middle of the conference? Speakers know that email open rates run at less than 25 percent, so they realize that 75 percent of an audience might not get a speaker’s valuable information, or reach back to connect if email addresses are relied upon as a means to follow-up communication. These speakers have probably also read that text messages are opened at a rate of more than 90 percent, which means there’s a much greater chance of making a connection with a potential client or customer after the conference, if text messaging is chosen as a method of communication.

 

People Are Hungry for Information

The masses are hungry for information, whether for professional or personal gain. However, they want this information immediately, which is why group texting services can provide numerous benefits over email, written, or verbal communication on the conference circuit. Group texts can help solve advertising and even logistics challenges, and they can build relationships and marketing lists. They can make lives easier and simpler in an age when most people depend on their smartphones for nearly everything.

Need to distribute critical notes, links to conference material, or live recordings of conference events? Consider using mass group texting. Including a live Q&A session in your conference or sending out follow-up surveys? Group texting can come through for you in these instances and many others.

 

Apple Hit with New Lawsuit

 

VoIP-Pal (VPLM) recently filed a lawsuit against mobile technology giant Apple, stating that Apple has infringed upon its patented innovative call classification and product design technologies. The VPLM case, which was filed in a U.S. District Court in Las Vegas, Nevada this month, seeks more than $2.8 billion in damages from the computing and technology leader.

The damages sought in the lawsuit have been calculated at exactly $2,836,710,031, based 1.25 percent of royalties of the estimated profits Apple received throughout the history of its Mac (10%), iPhone (55%), and iPad (35%). 

 

An Issue with Patent or Pending-Patent Use

VPLM, through its case, that Apple has infringed upon its patents or pending patents with the development and sale of services like iMessage, Wi-Fi Calling, and FaceTime (which are available on various Mac, iPhone, and iPad devices).

It claims that Apple’s use of VPLM’s technology (as well as designs, features, and products) greatly infringes upon the marketing efforts of VPLM, for its own products that are similar and innovative. VPLM states that Apple used the company’s caller attribute classification protocol, as well as its call routing product design, instead of employing its own independent products and designs. This, says VPLM, is in violation of the company’s intellectual property rights. 

The Nevada court filing cites several ways in which VPLM believes Apple has infringed on its patents, including employing various VPLM messaging capabilities in the iMessage app. The VPLM case claims that Apple’s iMessage application directly and/ or indirectly makes use of specific technology included in the VoIP-Pal patent, including “the classification of a user, and, subsequently, how the call should be routed.”

 

Legal Action After Failed Communications

VoIP-Pal, a Bellevue company, delayed taking legal action until now, because it remained hopeful that it could work out a licensing situation with Apple in regards to the VPLM patent portfolio. VPLM says the company is still wishing for an amicable solution. We are “confident,” says VoIP-Pal CEO, Email Malak, that a favorable outcome can be reached for both parties and that the two sides will continue their current good.

VoIP-Pal describes itself as a “technical leader in the broadband VoIP market.” The company acquired Digifonica, a network operator, in 2013 and it currently does not generate income. However, it has plans to put its VoIP technology to use in creating products that will enhance the mobile marketplace.

 

 

Mobile Tech and the Automotive Industry

 

More an American institution than a mere brand, Ford is joining the mobile revolution with the launch of a new app. What’s interesting about it is that it has nothing to do with operating or securing their product - not directly anyway. 

The 120-year-old company has taken a commendably modern approach to the app, which is not so much about promoting their cars as promoting the whole concept of mobility, whether by public transportation, ride-sharing services, bicycles or car (Ford or otherwise).

The FordPass app claims to offer a ‘marketplace for mobility solutions.’ It’s a bold move. The automotive giant is accepting and taking advantage of changing attitudes to motor travel. Car ownership for every person or family in America was an aspiration largely created and marketed by Ford themselves. But it’s no longer inevitable that each individual will even desire their own vehicle, with many people choosing to forgo it altogether.

Vehicle sharing, whether in the form of companies like Lyft and Uber, or community-based car pool systems, is part of the ecologically-aware zeitgeist, especially among younger people. By embracing this changing culture and reaching out, not just to non-Ford owners but to those with no car at all, the company hopes to own the conversation - or at least part of it - surrounding the ethical, environmental and health ramifications of one car, one person.

Ok, ok, but what does it do? Well, the app has a lot going for it. Like many multi-purpose apps, the best way of getting to grips with it is to download it yourself and have a play around. The central feature, ‘My Vehicles’ allows drivers to upload information about their cars, trucks and motorbikes, such as model details and how many miles are on the clock. 

The loyalty program allows users to accrue points when they buy a Ford vehicle, fill up on gas or schedule a parking space using the app. In addition, the app functions as a key capable of starting the engine and remotely locking and unlocking your car (though perhaps not in that order) - a feature only usable on recent models.

Other features include parking assistance, which allows you to geo-locate your vehicle in large parking lots.

Mobile App Solutions for Travelers

 

Taking a vacation this year? For some, the stresses incurred by traveling is enough to put them off going away at all. Fortunately there’s an abundance of mobile technology designed to make travel more enjoyable and minimize the stress. Here, we take a look at some of the bast travel-centered apps to hit the market:

 

Citymapper

Available in 30 cities around the world, Citymapper is designed to help you navigate around unfamiliar places in ways that Google Maps alone can’t. It provides detailed, easy-to-use journey planners, with real time disruption alerts and departure times for public transport. It also integrates Uber, and has a nifty cycle route map, so all your potential travel requirements are covered.

 

Wolfram Sun Exposure

Enter your skin type and location and this app - available on iOS - will tell you how long you can safely stay in the sun before getting burned. Other data inputs include the time of day and the strength of the sun cream you’ve lathered on. For those with sun-sensitive skin, Wolfram is a real boon when travelling to sunny climes.

 

Duolingo

With more than 70 million registered members, Duolingo is fast becoming the go-to app for basic language tuition. It’s no substitute for proper language lessons, but if you want enough to get by and show some common courtesy to your host country, this well-designed tool game-ifies the learning process to keep you incentivized. Duolingo covers 21 languages - enough to assist you in the most commonly visited countries around the world; it even offers a course in Esperanto, which is more popular than you might think - 30 users daily have completed the Esperanto course since its launch in 2015.

 

XE Currency

Your one-stop shop for online currency conversions, this app proves that the simplest ideas are the best. With more than 20 million downloads since launching, XE Currency has added a few useful features recently, including current market rates for precious metals and historic currency charts. But the main attraction remains the user-friendly conversion platform, which handily saves the last updated rates in real time, so that you always have up to date information - even in locations with limited connectivity.

 

Tripit

Your own personal travel agent pulls together all those strands of travel info that used to be so complicated to manage. All you have to do is forward your various confirmation emails regarding flights, hotels, rental cars, dinner and event bookings, and Tripit creates a single itinerary for your entire vacation. 

 

App in the Air

This flight tracking app - one of a few on the market - claims to cover more airlines and airports than any other. Stay in the loop regarding delays, departures and arrivals, and use the integrated version within the aformentioned Tripit app to make life even easier.

Starbucks Launches Emoji Keyboard

 

If you’ve ever dreamed sending emoji of a unicorn drinking coffee to a friend or family member, that dream is now reality. Starbucks recently launched a keyboard app that’s all about entertainment as opposed to the coffee company’s main objective: selling food and beverages. The app allows you to send pictures of coffee, Frappuccinos, teas, and purple unicorns drinking caffeinated beverages to friends and family. 

 

Snaps Media Partnership

This keyboard app was not released under Starbucks on Apple or Google Play, rather it was created with the help of Snaps Media, a company that works with a variety of brands interested in launching keyboard apps and emojis. Brands working with Snaps Media don’t have the time or desire to craft related apps, which is why the company boasts a client list that includes Nickelodeon, VH1, TCM, MTV, BET, sports teams, and television shows such as Broad City, Deadpool, Portlandia, and Workaholics. Snaps Media also works with brands such as Dove, Sour Patch Kids, Coco-Cola, Pepsi, and Victoria’s Secret. 

 

App Developer Inspiration

Starbucks is undoubtedly a very popular brand, and one that has inspired more than a few app developers to use the famous name to promote their own App Store options. For example, searching for ‘Starbucks’ results in the pop-up of numerous “secret menu” apps, as well as coupon finders and “nearest store” locators. An emoji keyboard is subsequently not exactly a shocking new possibility related to the coffee juggernaut. 

 

First Time

The app is the first time Starbucks has introduced an emoji keyboard dedicated to mobile users. 

“Starbucks’ first emoji app features favorite Frappuccino blended beverages, iced tea, coffee, and even a purple unicorn sipface,” the company announced on its newsroom page, and promised new content is coming soon. 

 

Keyboard Quality

So what about the keyboard’s quality? According to initial reviews, it’s not great. Complaints about icon quality and the fact that emojis must be copied and pasted into messages are putting consumers off, however these problems are generally synonymous with emoji keyboards. This includes Kimoji, the most popular emoji app of the moment. 

 

Where It Works

The Starbucks emoji keyboard is the same as other popular third-party apps in that it’s available through SMS/iMessage, messaging apps such as WhatsApp and Messenger, and in email among other options. The release comes on the heels of Starbucks’ revitalized Rewards program and their “more personalized” mobile app. The new version of the company’s flagship app includes the new Rewards program as well as entertainment program options and mobile ordering improvements. 

The emoji keyboard app is free to download on both Google Play and the iTunes App Store. Starbucks has already led the way in terms of mobile app payments, so whether their keyboard app will become the most popular option of its kind should be interesting. Whatever the results, Starbucks’ foray into the mobile world demonstrates the company’s ambition in terms of mobile loyalty and related commerce. 

Besides, who doesn’t want to send an emoji of a purple unicorn drinking a cup ‘o joe? 

Exceeding Consumer Expectations in the Social Media Age

 

In the age of user reviews, accessed with a few keystrokes and even fewer minutes, good customer service is more important to business success than ever. There’s a valid argument that social media gives consumers an unfair upper hand, that it’s too easy for one difficult, disgruntled customer to trash a reputation online. But it cuts both ways: if you can create a positive experience for enough customers, some of them will go as far as singing your praises on Yelp, TripAdvisor - or whatever the relevant review sites in your industry are.

 

So instead of trying to suppress bad reviews - a big ask that could easily backfire - concentrate on exceeding expectations with a view to overwhelming those negative nancies by dint of a lovebomb campaign from happy customers. If you streamline your customer experience and make it a satisfying one, a positive online presence will start to create itself…

 

Stay in Touch

Following up with customers immediately after a sale will help you respond quickly and proactively to any problem areas. Email or text them (with consent, of course) to ask them to rate the experience. A simple five star rating method will take a second for them to click, and make additional comments and suggestions an optional extra. Another proactive way of collecting feedback for retailers is to simply communicate with customers at the register. Put together a focus group, issue SMS surveys - anything to harvest more information on how your business is perceived. When it comes to the customer experience, no amount of data is too much.

 

Provide an Easy Complaints Process

Most complaints can be dealt with to the satisfaction of the customer if the process for submitting and handling complaints is simple. The last thing you want to do when someone has an issue is further frustrate them with a hard-to-find, slow-to-respond complaints process. Create an official complaint form and link to it clearly from your homepage. The more quickly you can resolve a complaint, the less likely the complainant is to criticize you on social media.

 

Respond to Negative Feedback

If you have been treated unfairly on a review site, join the conversation. Gently offer to resolve the issue, and avoid becoming emotional about it, even if the person in question is a tricky customer. Even the most committed armchair critic can be lovebombed into submission, so budget for the provision of freebies and other incentives - or rather, disincentives to complain.

 

Tracking Tools

Tracking tools like Hootsuite and Google Alerts are a great way of monitoring what’s being said about your company.

 

Almost Two Thirds of Consumers Would Prefer Customer Service Via SMS Messaging

 

Is SMS messaging the future of customer service? Numerous indications point to ‘yes.’ A new Harris Poll commissioned by OneReach found that more than 60 percent of consumers would prefer texting a business with a question or concern than taking the time to call. SMS messaging provides a wealth of benefits should companies decide to make the switch, in addition to happier customers.

 

The Findings

The nationwide OneReach study that surveyed more than 2,000 adults found that 64 percent of consumers preferred text messaging to calling with customer service questions, and 44 percent of consumers who text regularly prefer to press a button to start a text conversation rather than waiting to speak to an agent. Other findings include 77 percent of text-savvy consumers ages 18 to 34 generally having a positive view of companies who utilize SMS messaging, and 81 percent of consumers agreeing how frustrating it is to wait on the phone for a customer service agent to respond. 

 

The Benefits

Benefits stemming from SMS messaging use by various companies are many and include: 

 

• Decrease in Phone Costs: Texting reduces call volume by as much as 40 percent. Phone calls cost between $6 and $20 per call, while SMS messaging costs between $2 and $5 per chat. 
• Improved Customer Service: Since it’s clear consumers are all about text messaging over phone calls, companies that opt for the former are improving their customer service images and creating more satisfied customer bases.
• Fewer Agents Required: Switching from phone calls to text messaging allows agents to respond to numerous chats at one time. This reduces the number of agents required for customer service purposes, which again lowers costs. It also improves service quality, as managers can give each agent more attention. 
• Transcript Reviews: Text conversations are similar to web chats, in that they provide easy transcript access for review purposes. Calls are more challenging to monitor and manage, and therefore make it more difficult to extract and learn from resulting data.
• Automated Surveys: Text surveys enjoy a higher response rate than email and phone surveys at 20, 15, and 9 percent, respectively. Companies simply set up automation for outbound text surveys, which they can send out as soon as the conversation is complete. Surveys sent out immediately also result in more accurate responses, as the conversation is still fresh in consumers’ minds. Companies can subsequently review these responses and make adjustments as needed.
• Internal Uses: Yet another text messaging positive is with regard to internal company use. Managers can use texts to remind employees about project updates, entering how many hours they spent on a project, which again results in more streamlined business processes.

 

SMS Messaging Works for the Company As Well As the Consumer

It’s clear that SMS marketing wins over email and phone calls in regard to both the consumer and the company. It allows companies to get the very most out of communication technologies, while saving money and improving relations with clients and employees. 

 

Mobile Marketing Succumbs to the Emoji

 

Mobile marketers are using a new tool to entice consumers: emojis. The little icons that indicate happiness, sadness, and anger are popping up on assorted brands’ social media posts and ads—arguably with good reason. 

 

The Appboy Report

Marketing automation company Appboy recently analyzed nearly 9,400 iOS and Android marketing campaigns and found that more mobile marketers are utilizing emojis in email, business text messaging, and push campaigns. Usage within such messages has risen “775% year-over-year in the period ending March 2016.” The report also indicated annual emoji use was higher on Android than iOS, at 1,070 percent and 662 percent, respectively. 

E-commerce marketers and retailers are most likely to place emojis in their campaigns, according to the Appboy report. The company did not find that messages containing emojis featured higher open rates than those without, but more testing is required to determine if emojis actually help marketing campaigns. What is known is that emojis add a certain amount of character and flare to messages, and can possibly pique consumer attention. 

 

A Variety of Tactics

It’s no secret that today’s consumers are very attached to their mobile devices and increasingly use them to shop anywhere, any time. Marketers have scrambled to keep up with this still-recent development, and are constantly trying to reach target audiences in new, attention-grabbing ways. So, what other strategies are being implemented?

BI Intelligence (Business Insider’s premium research service) research analyst Jessica Smith authored an extensive mobile marketing report that highlighted various tactics used to grab and hold consumer attention. The report also discussed helpful mobile marketing technologies that have positive impacts regarding larger marketing strategies. 

The report’s key findings include the following: 

 

• Mobile ad spending has yet to catch up with the amount of time consumers spend on mobile devices, resulting in opportunities for creative marketers. 
• SMS, email, and similar mobile messaging options offer the broadest reach and the highest adoption rate among mobile users. Messaging apps in particular provide engaging, innovative ways to reach consumers. 
• Marketers should utilize numerous mobile marketing tactics depending on the types of messages they want to send, the size of audiences they hope to reach, and the demographics within said audiences. It’s also necessary that marketers remember mobile devices are personal ones, and that communication “overload” is never welcome. 
• High engagement rates frequently result from in-app advertising, particularly if videos are included. Beacons and location-based apps provide additional data that might be leveraged for target demographic enhancement. 
• Dynamic creative optimization and other emerging technologies are refreshing mobile browser-based ad campaigns. However, marketers must remain aware of mobile ad blocker usage. 

 

Are Emojis the Future?

Will emojis play a substantial role in future mobile marketing campaigns, or will they fall away as another gimmick that offers little to no real value? Only time can answer that question, though it’s possible emojis will be increasingly used in conjunction with other marketing strategies to win over consumers and increase brand loyalty. 

In today’s world of shopping anywhere from any location, marketers must experiment with many business text messaging and email tactics to provide consumers with that personal touch. 

 

Text Messaging as a Weight Loss Tool?

 

Is text messaging the next big weight loss tool? Very possibly. Research has clearly indicated people take better care of their health when they keep track of their eating and exercise habits, and text messaging can function as a modern-day food diary. Researchers at Duke University published a study on texting and weight loss in the online edition of the Journal of Medical Internet Research in 2013, which found that tracking health and wellness through text not only saved people time, but potentially made staying with a diet and exercise plan more likely. 

 

More On the 2013 Study

Duke University researchers studied 50 obese women for six months, with 26 of the women utilizing daily texting as part of the school’s Shape Plan weight-loss intervention. The women lost nearly three pounds each. The other 24 women did not use text messages to help with their weight loss efforts, and gained an average of 2.5 pounds each. The average age of the participants was 38. 

Daily text messages revolved around tips, tailored recommendations such as “no sugary drinks,” and taking 10,000 steps per day, as well as feedback. Participants received text messages every morning from an automated system, such as "Please text yesterday's # of steps you walked, # of sugary drinks, and if you ate fast food." The automated system sent customized feedback based on what the participants replied, as well as a tip. 

 

The Benefits

Dori Steinberg, a post-doctoral obesity researcher in the Duke Obesity Prevention Program and the study’s lead author, remarked that text messaging offered a number of benefits with which other self-monitoring methods cannot compete. Such benefits include the fact that data is easily and quickly entered into a text message compared with other web-based diet and exercise diaries. This ability results in (almost) real-time tracking, portability convenience, and increased personalized feedback. 

Another benefit is the limited number of characters involved with text messaging, which reduces the “detail and cognitive load” traditionally associated with keeping track of exercise and diet. Previous research indicates that long-term health monitoring is lackluster due to time and labor, extensive numeracy and literacy skills, and general burden. 

Study participants noted that texting helped them reach their goals in part because it was so easy. 

 

More Studies

Other studies concerning text messaging as a weight loss tool came up with similar findings. One study published in the Computers, Informatics, and Nursing journal in 2013 found that participants who utilized text message services lost more weight than those who did not, with texts including motivational messages, healthy snack ideas, and other tips. As with the Duke University study, texting was an interactive process that required participants to text “yes” or “no” regarding whether or not they put the advice into practice. 

Another study looked at text messaging as an “intervention medium” for weight loss, and found that SMS is an informative, encouraging, easy-to-use, affordable tool for managing weight and overall health. The study called for more substantial, randomized trials to determine optimal use for text messaging as a weight loss tool, among other things. 

Will text messaging become synonymous with weight loss? It certainly looks that way...