{"id":1476,"date":"2022-07-12T15:28:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-12T15:28:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.thesmsworks.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1476"},"modified":"2022-09-09T15:34:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-09T15:34:20","slug":"7-mobile-marketing-clangers-avoid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesmsworks.co.uk\/blog\/7-mobile-marketing-clangers-avoid\/","title":{"rendered":"7 Mobile Marketing Clangers to Avoid"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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7 Mobile Marketing Clangers to Avoid<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mobile marketing has matured. It\u2019s no longer the disruptive new concept adopted by edgy start-ups in Shoreditch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most companies have now dipped their toe in and most have well established mobile marketing strategies as part of their overall marketing mix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But we\u2019re still seeing some toe-curlingly bad practices with SMS marketing. Some of these howlers are relatively minor but some are illegal and can result in getting you in really deep water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So here\u2019s our list of the top 7 mobile marketing clangers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clanger 1. <\/strong>Use Dodgy SMS Data<\/strong>
 <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Clanger\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This clanger fully deserves its early billing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why? Because if you use data containing individuals who haven’t properly opted in to receiving texts, then the consequences can be catastrophic to the point of having to close your business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ICO or Information Commissioners Office set out the rules for sending marketing texts and they quite rightly take a very dim view of companies that flout the very reasonable rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few years ago, a company called Help Direct, was fine \u00a3200,000 for repeatedly sending spam marketing texts despite warnings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The company has also shown a blatant disregard for the rules by ignoring enforceme<\/em>nt action we issued earlier this year. They are now facing the consequences of that decision.<\/em><\/p>

Anne Jones, Assistant Commissioner – ICO<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

No messing around. Break the rules and pay the price, is the strong message here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignorance of the rules is also no excuse. If you buy in data from a third party who confirms that they\u2019re selling you fully opted in data, it\u2019s up to the sender to check that the opt in process has been followed in line with the rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no passing of the buck here. If you sent the messages, you\u2019re responsible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To help you stay the right side of the law and avoid Anne Jones\u2019s wrath, we\u2019ve put together a more detailed guide that outlines the rules for mobile marketing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clanger 2. Fail to Use an Opt Out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

<\/strong>This clanger is related to the first one in that it\u2019s all about compliance with the ICO rules. You\u2019re required to give customers an opt out on each marketing text that you send them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Companies need to give a…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…simple opportunity to refuse or opt out of the marketing, both when first collecting the details\u00a0and in every message after that.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To opt out the customer would normally just reply \u2018stop\u2019 to the text. It\u2019s then up to the sender to apply an \u2018opt out\u2019 flag against that person so that they don\u2019t receive anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opt out rules don\u2019t apply to texts that aren\u2019t selling. So if you\u2019re informing customers about credit levels or something relating to their account, then you don\u2019t need to use an opt out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Penalties for failing aren\u2019t as severe as they are for spam but you\u2019d still get fined and join the ICO hall of shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clanger 3. Send too many texts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"pensive<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If your first SMS marketing campaign goes well and you can measure an uplift in click throughs, phone calls or whatever your chosen metric is, it\u2019s o so tempting to follow it up with another campaign to recreate the magic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lower response rate makes you wonder whether the offer or the timing was wrong, so you send out a further text which you\u2019re sure is even better than the original.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still underwhelmed with the reaction from your customers and rather alarmed by the number of unsubcribers?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we have here is a simple case of SMS fatigue. You\u2019ve basically pissed off your customers by sending them too much stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The joy of SMS is that texts are never ignored. According to Frost and Sullivan,
 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 98% of all texts get read compared to just 22% of emails<\/strong><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

But this also means that if you bombard your customers, you\u2019re likely to pay a price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less is more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clanger 4. Send Baffling Texts<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Clanger\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A text contains just 160 precious characters. In that, your text has to achieve\u00a0the following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n