With nearly 300 million subscribers in the US today and a rapidly growing North American messaging market, mobile is here to stay. And consumers are demanding a more personal, richer mobile experience now more than ever. As text messaging has become the most popular, fastest way to reach people, the potential of mobile is clear. Now is the time to tap into the mobile market and unleash new revenue opportunities for your business.
2. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
Contents
Introduction 3
Market Opportunity 3
Benefits of Mobile Messaging 4
Short Code Registration 4
Standard Rate vs. Premium Messaging 5
Mobile Messaging Examples 5
What You Can Do With Mobile Messaging 6
Ten Tips for Success 6
How to Get Started: Five Easy Steps 7
Helpful Industry Tools 7
Get Started Today! 8
Terms of Use 9
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 2
3. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
With nearly 300 million subscribers in the US today and
a rapidly growing North American messaging market,
mobile is here to stay. And consumers are demanding a
more personal, richer mobile experience now more than
ever. As text messaging has become the most popular,
fastest way to reach people, the potential of mobile is
clear. Now is the time to tap into the mobile market and
unleash new revenue opportunities for your business.
OpenMarket’s objective is to provide the most reliable
mobile messaging, delivery and payment services for
companies entering the mobile market. This document
serves as a basic how-to guide for companies that wish
to market, sell or communicate directly to consumers via
the off-portal mobile channel.
Market Opportunity
Now that text messaging has gone mainstream across the nation, you
can take advantage of the opportunity to reach consumers in real
time with your brand. News, alerts, advertising and social networking
are just a few of the ways you can keep connected to the people that
mean the most to your business. According to The Nielsen Company:
• S mobile subscribers now send and receive more text messages in a
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month than they make phone calls
• early every mobile handset in the US can receive text messages
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• 3 percent of mobile subscribers use text messaging to communicate
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every day
• 7 percent of all mobile subscribers aged 13 and older use text
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messaging on a regular basis
• edia companies offering opt-in messaging programs are, in some
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cases, delivering upwards of 20 million or more messages in the US
per month
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 3
4. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
Benefits of Mobile Messaging
The mobile channel gives you nearly instant access to your target
audience. Within seconds, users can interact with your offer and
purchase your services. You can keep connected to customers via
simple information alerts, or even track inquiries and receive orders
for your business. By using the mobile channel as part of your
marketing initiatives, you can:
• Increase brand awareness by directly connecting with consumers
• Improve customer loyalty and retention
• Boost revenue streams via high campaign response rates
• Tap into a growing North American messaging market
Short Code Registration
The first step to filing a mobile campaign with a mobile operator
is to lease a short code with the Common Short Code Administration
(CSCA). A short code is a number to which a user can send a text
message and receive information or content in return. Short codes
are typically five to six digits (e.g. 12345), and they can be a vanity
code or a random number assigned to you. With a vanity code,
you can select a specific number that consumers will remember.
A short code may be specific to one mobile operator, or may be
“common” and supported by all major operators. Short code
services need to be approved by each participating operator
network. You can visit the CSCA website to learn more about short
codes and to check the availability of a vanity short code at
www.usshortcodes.com.
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 4
5. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
Mobile Messaging Examples Standard Rate vs. Premium Messaging
Major brands, retailers and start-ups are all There are two main classes of messaging programs—standard rate
using mobile messaging to interact directly
and premium. Each service allows you to send and receive SMS
with consumers and drive new business.
For example, many national pizza chains messages to subscribers, but they each handle billing services to
allow customers to register ordering details subscribers differently. Current SMS technologies allow you to submit
online and then order pizzas via text
an SMS message that has a premium charge associated with it, and
message. In addition, apparel outlets
routinely send special offers and coupons many companies utilize this technology to bill their subscribers for
via text message to VIP customers. All of services provided.
these campaigns have generated instant,
personal interactions with consumers. A premium message, when successfully processed by the operator
By using standard rate, premium and other
interactive mobile campaigns, you can
billing system, will place a charge on the end user’s phone bill for the
build direct marketing, mobile advertising, amount specified by your company. You will be able to collect your
competitive and promotional campaigns share of the charge, per operator policy. The availability of premium
that boost response rates and brand loyalty
for your company. messaging has led to the creation of entire companies that thrive on
premium content offers billed through SMS.
1. n standard rate programs the consumer is not charged by the
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content provider for the text message received. Examples of standard
rate programs are:
• lerts - news, weather, traffic, travel, entertainment and sports
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• ontent - internal content, supply chain and customer
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relationship management
• Coupons - instant coupons from your favorite store
• ustomer response - surveys and sweepstakes
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2. n premium programs there is a specific charge to end users
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associated with receiving the text message, and generally a charge for
receiving mobile content. Examples of premium rate programs are:
• Voting programs like American Idol
• uying content for your phone such as games, ringtones
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or images
• Premium information alerts like Fantasy Football information
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 5
6. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
Ten Tips for Success What You Can Do With Mobile Messaging
If you are considering a move into the mobile With over 4 billion handsets in circulation today, mobile devices have
channel, you need to get your ideas to
become ubiquitous. From news alerts and daily sports scores to
market quickly. We offer these tips for creating
effective mobile campaigns that will increase contests and games, consumers rely on their mobile devices to deliver
your brand awareness and drive new information as it happens and exactly when they want it. There are a
revenue opportunities for your business.
number of ways you can use mobile messaging to communicate with
1. Start now! Any company—big or small— and engage your customers. Ideas include:
can participate in mobile messaging
2. Build your mobile campaigns into your
overall marketing efforts obile Marketing – Use text messaging as another engagement
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3. Leverage and integrate your existing channel with your customers (e.g. send details of your weekend
marketing channels for maximum sale via text message, inform them of a new product launch).
impact
4. Know your audience—be relevant to obile Alerts – Use text messaging to send informational alerts
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those using mobile devices
to users (e.g. local weather updates, sport scores, Hollywood
5. Engage your customers and give them gossip or astrology readings).
a reason to participate
6. Offer value, relevance and immediate
obile Advertising – Monetize your message inventory by
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gratification
inserting an advertisement into each text message.
7. Keep it simple and build creative
campaigns
obile Feedback – Engage and capture information from
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8. Use the MMA and other industry
your users with interactive text messaging (e.g. polls, quizzes
organizations as resources
or voting campaigns).
9. Build reporting and statistics into your
campaign
obile Contests - Add mobile to your contests. If you are
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10. Continue to learn, fine-tune and
innovate over time
running a giveaway, contest or sweepstakes, enable a “text to
enter” call to action, which allows for immediate entry (e.g.
text WIN to 12345).
obile Content - Make games, ringtones, images and
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applications available for download, either for profit or promotion.
obile Customer Service – Provide valuable information via
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text messaging (e.g. location of the nearest store, bank account
balances or large money withdrawal alerts).
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 6
7. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
Helpful Industry Tools How to Get Started: Five Easy Steps
The organizations listed below provide Filing programs with mobile operators can take several weeks
valuable resources for launching compliant
depending on responsiveness from all parties involved. Working with
and successful mobile programs.
experienced representatives that guide you through account
• Common Short Code Administration - and short code setup, operator timelines and industry rules can help
www.usshortcodes.com
expedite program launches. OpenMarket can help you get to
• Mobile Marketing Association -
www.mmaglobal.com
market in five basic steps:
• Best Practices for Mobile Marketing -
www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf
• Cellular Telephone Industry Association 1. btain a short code. You should register all cross-operator short
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- www.ctia.org codes with the CSCA. Please note that all services are required to
operate with CSCA-approved short codes, and codes cannot be
shared among companies.
2. reate a program brief. Every program you submit for approval
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needs to include complete program details that give mobile
operators a thorough understanding of the use of each short code.
If you want to run multiple programs on a short code, make sure
your brief reflects that information.
3. ain operator approval and provisioning. Mobile operators will
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review your program brief for completeness. You may receive
conditional approval or program rejection if information is missing
or needs modification.
4. onfigure your system. You will need to properly configure your
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system to integrate with a network that will process your messaging
and billing transactions. Working with one standard interface
across all operators will simplify your implementation efforts.
5. eceive operator certification. Mobile operators may conduct
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independent program audits and testing to ensure program compli-
ance with the Mobile Marketing Association’s (MMA) Consumer
Best Practices Guidelines (www.mmaglobal.com/bestpractices.pdf)
as well as their own policies. Once certification is granted, you
may officially launch your mobile program with the mobile operators.
Upon program certification, your mobile campaign will be ready for
commercial use. Working with a trusted mobile business partner
to monitor your content delivery and success rates will help maximize
your revenue potential and predict future business.
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 7
8. The Most Reliable Mobile Transaction Hub
About OpenMarket Get Started Today!
OpenMarket is the largest and most If you are looking to optimize your marketing efforts by using
reliable mobile transaction hub in the mobile messaging to keep in touch with customers or enhance
United States. We provide a comprehensive
set of messaging, payment and emerging
your brand awareness, then let OpenMarket help you get
services to meet mobile business needs. started today.
From the largest consumer brands to
the smallest new ventures, OpenMarket
empowers businesses to optimize their
As a trusted mobile business partner, we help keep you connected
marketing initiatives and strengthen to those who mean the most to your business through our
customer relationships by leveraging the reliable mobile transaction hub and industry-leading direct
off-portal mobile channel. OpenMarket
provides the most direct mobile operator operator connections. Contact us at www.openmarket.com
connections in the US market today. or +1.877.277.2801 for more information.
OpenMarket is a business unit of Amdocs
Interactive. For more information,
please visit www.openmarket.com.
Mobile Messaging 101: How to Get Started in the Mobile Channel 8