Over 1.4 billion text messages are sent every week in Britain and a large proportion are from businesses to their customers and staff. Mediaburst's new service can be used by SMEs for a galaxy of activities … to manage promotions, send special offers, remind people about dental appointments, issue news updates, and for internal communications.
The company, which is aiming to set up a reseller network with a white label service, says Promobi is possibly the most simple and effective communications tool now available and businesses can even use the service to send text messages from Outlook 2007 direct to mobile phones.
Once businesses have signed up for the service, all they need do to send text messages to individuals or thousands of people simultaneously is to open Outlook 2007, go to the main menu, select Tools – Options – Mobile Options, type in the web address www.promobi.co.uk, enter their user name and password, add a message and push the send button. It's as simple as that.
Every text message sent is tracked and as soon as a message is delivered, its status is updated on Promobi. Appointment reminders or bulk text messages can be sent at pre-determined times to coincide with a particular event and messages can be personalised by merging in the recipient’s name or personal details. And, just like e-mail, Promobi has an inbox and sent items folders and keeps a record of all messages. Automatic responses like "thanks for your enquiry, we'll be in touch soon" can also be sent to people when they respond to text messages.
"In these challenging times, it’s time to seek out the most cost-effective means of communication and use it to drive both efficiencies and customer loyalty, and Promobi is the perfect solution," says Gary Bury, Mediaburst's managing director. "The fact is SMS is possibly the most cost-effective communication tool available."