3Seventy Lets Customers Talk (or Text) Back
How much time do you spend looking at your mobile devices?
And how does that compare to the time you spend looking at mail, TV or other media channels?
Right. Me too. Consumer behavior is changing fast as we increasingly rely on our mobiles. 3Seventy, a mobile marketing and CRM company, is capitalizing on that fact by making it easier for retailers and brands to reach their customers through the mobile channel — and have two-way conversations.
3Seventy’s unique mobile marketing software-as-a-service (SaaS) has been described as “the most powerful SMS platform in the industry today.” (Full disclosure, 3Seventy’s SaaS uses the SAP SMS 365 enterprise service from SAP Mobile Services, the mobile services division of SAP, and my employer.)
It’s powerful because it simplifies campaigns for marketers. The software lets you design and tailor your campaign before you send, and measure instantly with real-time reporting afterward. All on one platform, you can message customers using SMS (text) messages, MMS (picture messaging), QR codes, mobile web sites, or an app. Brands using the software now have sent real-time product information, coupons, sweepstakes, reward programs and surveys.
The customer side is especially cool, not only because of the immediacy and directness of the marketing, but also because of the ability to have a conversation. Companies use SMS to create an engagement with customers, enticing them with some kind of offer or giveaway. In turn, customers can respond to information they receive, asking questions, redeeming offers, answering surveys, entering contests and more.
3Seventy has spent the last couple of years doing a lot of interesting campaigns with a broad range of clients, including a CD launch campaign using an interactive Facebook app, a sweepstakes to win a year’s worth of free coffee, a coupon for a free game of bowling in exchange for answering a two-question survey, a beer glass fulfillment campaign that customers initiated by scanning a QR code on packaging, and plenty more.
We’ve been talking about the power of mobile’s two-way, direct communication channel for years. 3Seventy and its list of clients are making it a reality, growing existing customer relationships, developing new ones, and strengthening overall brand awareness. And the starting point of that customer engagement - one of mobile's oldest, but always reliable, technology - the humble SMS.