Fixed Mobile Convergence

SUMOTEXT Corporation, a provider of SMS Gateway (News - Alert) and short code application for SMS Marketing and SMS Giving, announced it has a new article published in Mobile Marketer's annual Classic Guide to Mobile Creative.

In the article, SUMOTEXT President Timothy Miller highlights the role of SMS when used to enhance e-mail marketing, mobile apps, social media, and customer self-service initiatives.

SUMOTEXT is one of eight companies certified by the Mobile Giving Foundation (News - Alert) to provide SMS Giving.

According to SUMOTEXT, the success of a mobile marketer program lies in its ability to reach the right person, at the right time with the right message. Traditional strategies designed to leverage traditional Customer Relationship Management (CRM) databases are becoming less effective.

However, changes in the communications patterns of customers and the dropping of home phone lines have been natural disruptive forces for marketers. The proliferation of social media has further complicated the databases and the strategy.

As traditional mass marketing channels continue to give ground to targeted, interactive channels, the mobile phone has become the only common lynchpin capable of tethering multimedia, social networking, and commerce.

SMS has been one of the most popular mobile marketing media. SMS is available on every mobile phone and most Americans carry their mobile phones at all times. For marketers and organizational leaders, these characteristics make SMS the ideal connective tissue to link and enhance other channels.

SUMOTEXT thinks SMS is an enhancement channel, meaning it can enhance every marketing strategy such as e-mail marketing, social media or mobile applications. In summary, SMS is really good at increasing response rates, collecting data, and providing fun, self-service utilities to mobile audiences, according to company officials.

SMS is a mobile transaction protocol, which means it is a method to conduct a transaction on a mobile device. Until organizations embrace that definition and create loftier ambitions tied to revenue or cost-savings, SMS will remain relegated to the trivial contests, sweepstakes, and treasure hunts born by agencies and their interactive marketing departments, according to SUMOTEXT.

Sometimes SMS transactions can make a huge impact on an organization's bottom line. SMS can accomplish time-sensitive mobile payment reminders, password resets, subscription renewals, receipts and confirmations, upgrade offers, and links to persuasive, conversion-oriented multimedia. These offerings can dramatically increase revenues and reduce costs.

Earlier this year, Flytxt (News - Alert), a mobile marketing company, announced mobile marketing trends for 2011. According to Flytxt, mobile operators will gradually shift their focus to advertising as a huge opportunity, and slowly their role will evolve from that of a dumb pipe provider to a media owner. 

Rajani Baburajan is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of Rajani's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Carrie Schmelkin