Mobile Marketing

AI means job displacement for workers of all ages
AI is Coming for your Job by Mike Schiano
Mike’s new book is now available on Amazon.

In the latest episode of Mike Schiano In the Queue, Digital Strategist Len Ward gives a detailed and stark outlook. He discusses the future for employees who do not adapt and upskill for AI.

Len Ward is the Managing Partner & Head of AI for Commexis, a firm helping businesses deploy GPT-powered systems. They automate operations and rethink how work is done. Len tells Mike in no uncertain terms, “AI will destroy every fabric of marketing,” but he remains very upbeat about the power of AI to help businesses of all sizes grow and prosper.

Join Mike and Len In the Queue where you get your favorite Podcasts including Spotify and Apple.

Key points from the program:

Mike Schiano (host)

Len Ward (guest, entrepreneur, business consultant, digital marketing expert)

Key Topics Discussed:

  1. AI Adoption and Impact
  • AI has exploded in the past 12 months
  • Accessibility and quick user adaptation
  • AI is changing marketing fundamentally
  1. Marketing Transformation
  • Marketing will be disrupted by AI
  • Future involves bot-to-bot negotiations
  • Brand marketing and human influence will remain relevant
  1. Workforce Displacement
  • AI will impact workers across all age groups
  • Potential for mass layoffs in repetitive jobs
  • Marketing industry likely to be first significantly affected
  1. Business Preparedness for AI

Three types of business owners:

a) Actively researching and implementing AI

b) Aware but overwhelmed

c) Fearful of potential business elimination

  1. AI Implementation Strategy
  • Organize and digitize company content
  • Create a blueprint based on processes and systems
  • Automate repetitive tasks
  • Move from search-and-retrieve to problem-solving approach
  1. Future of AI Companies
  • Existing tech giants will remain players
  • Potential for small, agile 5-person companies to become billion-dollar enterprises
  • Focus on innovative leaders and their potential

Action Items:

  • Stay informed about AI developments
  • Digitize and organize company content
  • Explore AI implementation in business processes

Text Messaging grows as consumers delete apps

SMS Text Messaging

95% of Text Messages are read within 3 minutes

Lunar, which offers Salesforce consulting services, recently published a survey which shows consumer adoption of Text Messaging is happening fast. “Businesses need to realize if they’re not communicating with clients and sales prospects via text, they’re inadvertently extending their sales timeline and reducing the amount of sales they could be closing,” Lunar President Jon Robinson said in a statement around a new survey.

Texting is a faster communication channel than email for sales and marketing, with 75% of people saying they read text messages in two minutes or less, per survey results that Lunar shared with Mobile Marketer.

Text Messages also generate quick responses, with 25% of survey respondents reporting that they reply to a text in less than one minute and 67% replying in under two minutes. About eight of 10 (78%) people said texting is the easiest communication channel that will urge them to respond.

To get the best ROI for your marketing efforts, Vibes suggests communicating deals to consumers via text messaging or mobile wallet as opposed to apps which can easily be ignored or deleted.

Lunar’s study suggests that marketers should adopt texting to expedite conversations with existing and prospective customers, making sure that the mobile messages aren’t distracting, intrusive or too frequent.

A Key to better Text Msg Marketing

Who doesn’t text these days? SMS has become a ubiquitous form of communication. Your friends and family text you. Your colleagues text you. And now, think of the texts you’re getting from businesses. In fact, 78% of customers prefer text message offers.

three women standing near man holding smartphones

78% of Consumers prefer Text Message offers

A bank texts you to confirm a deposit. An accommodations company texts you to let you know about an incoming reservation request. And an e-commerce company you do business with online texts you a code to authenticate you are who you say you are.

Why are so many businesses using SMS these days? The answer is simple. Businesses need a reliable, universal way of communicating with their customers around the globe, and SMS fits that bill. Add to that, most people carry their phones with them everywhere. Many people even sleep with their phones.

Compared to traditional marketing response rates, Print (3% or less), Social Media (3-4% reaction rate), and only 20% of emails are ever opened.

SMS Text Messages are opened 97% of the time and 95% of messages are read within 3 minutes.

Smart business owners who want to drive more repeat business each week are using Text Message Marketing. So, how do you improve results?

One key to success with SMS Marketing campaigns is to always use Call-to-Action Buttons

Calls-to-action increase customer engagement with your SMS marketing texts. That’s exactly what you want from them: to be engaged, to value the texts you send, to read them, interact with them, and act on them.

Here are some call-to-action winners:

“Show this text.” Asking customers to show the text in order to earn a discount is a clear and effective way to get them to engage in your promotion. Example: “Show this text for 50% off your dinner tonight.”

“Click here.” Sometimes you don’t have enough space in your SMS message to include all the information your customer will need. Maybe you’re hosting an event, and you want to add a link to a map or a video about the event or a link to your website where there are more details. In that case, a “Click here” button will provide a link to the necessary details.

Text-to-Win. Lots of customers would be interested in having a shot at winning a prize or gift from your company. Asking them to text in order to enter the contest helps increase customers’ engagement. If you’re not offering a sale or hosting an event, Text-to-Win campaigns are an effective way to remind customers of your existence and continue increasing traffic and sales.

Text-to-Vote. Engage customers in mobile polling to find out how your company is doing in terms of service, product quality, prices, and more.

“Buy now.” This is the perfect CTA button for targeted messages. If you know a customer routinely buys a certain product, you can send a text promoting that product with a “Buy now” button to make it easier for them to make a purchase.

Don’t forget to set up a Birthday Club so you can send a direct message and gift to your customers on their most special day of the year

Learn more about using Text Marketing to Increase Profitability this month.