R O X Y Buy 1 meal, get 1 free this Thursday Your dentist appointment is at 2pm
Why Consider Mobile Communications?
R O X YAbout Textlocal
Established since 2005, Textlocal are the UK’s leading provider of mobile messaging solutions, sending millions of messages around the world each month from thousands of businesses, organisations, and individuals. Our large client portfolio of over 75,000 organisations covers a broad spectrum of industries, from local hairdressing salons to universities, through to multi-national corporations.
Our award winning online messenger, email CRM, CRM interface, and plethora of features build up to one of the most advanced and easy-to-use text messaging systems on the market. All our services are extremely easy to use and can be set up in minutes. Textlocal offer a complete range of mobile communication services. For a quick summary of these services along with a more detailed description please refer to the enclosed inserts.
Businesses can’t afford to ignore the
power of mobile communication
in this ever growing market. Industry experts
explain why you need to get involved in mobile
now, to stay ahead of the competition.
• 265 million text messages sent each day
• 96.8 billion text messages were sent in 2009
• 97% of text messages are opened (83% of which are
within one hour), but typically within 4 minutes
• Average click-through-rate for display advertising
online is 0.11%
• Average response rate to direct mail is 2.6%
• Average response rate to SMS campaigns are 28%
• 90.4% of British mobile subscribers
use their phones to send text messages
• 80% of mobile users are open to
receiving opted-in SMS campaigns.
R O X Y Buy 1 meal, get 1 free this Thursday Your dentist appointment is at 2pm
Reply YES for your discount theatre tickets Your booking for tonight is confirmed School closed today due to snow
Textlocal are a forward thinking and progressive company. We continuously strive to meet the demands of the
market place by offering the services that are most useful. Here is an overview of our current services (more details
can be found on the inserts).
Online Web SMS
Send and receive unlimited texts directly from our award winning control panel. Very simple, no training required just an internet connection.
Email to SMS
Send and receive texts from your email platform. We’ll then convert your email to a text, send it and then send and email back containing their reply.
Connect Your Application
Automatically send and receive texts directly from your application or server with this easy to set up, feature rich Application Programming Interface Gateway.
Short Codes
Use a keyword on a Short Code number (e.g. text ADVERT to 60777) to quickly generate leads.
Charity Account & Short Codes
If you are a Charity we can offer you a special Charity Account with special price, along with keywords on our Charity Short Code (70777).
Mobile Web
Send a mobile compatible web page to your customers to communicate more informative and interesting information. Alternatively let us build your mobile web site with added functionality for you.
Multimedia Picture Messaging (MMS)
Send pictures, videos or sound files to your customers or staff. Alternatively receive them directly to your email or server.
How to Get the Most from SMS Communication
To get the most from your SMS campaign, it’s all about your audience. A perfectly timed and composed text message will help you to get great results. Your messages should be sent to those who are happy to receive them and who are already aware of who you are and what you offer. You can enhance an existing relationship with a text message that will be appreciated and thus, acted upon or responded to.
The Drawbacks of Purchasing Mobile Phone Numbers
Many companies sell mobile phone numbers. While this gives a quick, easy way to get your message out there, it is not targeted to the relevant recipient and so response will be low and cost will be high. These numbers belong to people who have not specifically showed an interest in your product or service. This leaves them open to being targeted with all kinds of market-ing campaigns, meanmarket-ing that yours is probably one of many texts received. Protect the reputation of your business by makmarket-ing sure you only contact people who have expressed their permission to do so.
Remember the mobile phone is a personal media and many people get very annoyed by unknown companies sending them texts.
How to Build an Effective Opt-In List of Mobile Numbers
The best way is to build your own opt-in list of customers by using any of the following methods:
• An SMS Short Code (e.g. 60777) is the perfect tool for collating opt-in mobile numbers. Create campaigns around
competitions, special offers, information requests, call back requests and much more. All mobile numbers that respond to your Short Code are stored within your online account and can be used for future SMS campaigns. See our Short Code insert for more information
• Collate mobile numbers from previous sales, orders and deliveries
• Send a text promotion to customers who have already given their permission to contact them. Many customers will pass this special offer on which means you gain an additional warm lead
• Collect mobile numbers day-to-day. If people register with you make sure you ask for a mobile number specifically.
Offer an Opt-Out Option
Hopefully this will not be used often and people could opt-in again at a later date. However, giving the option to opt-out shows consideration from your business. Recipients can simply text your Keywords, ‘followed by STOP’ to our shared Short Code 60777 and they will automatically be removed from your campaigns and de-duped from future campaigns.
Remember the mobile phone is a personal media so carefully consider how many promotions you send in a short time period. Customers or staff. Alternatively receive them directly to your email or server.
SMS Explained
SMS Explained
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Service Description
With our Online Web SMS Service you can send and receive texts from any internet connected PC or Mac. Cut and paste or import your customers’ details into the campaign. Then simply type your message (160 characters per credit, length can be up to 612 characters), choose a date and time and click the ‘Send’ button.
Example Uses
There are thousands of example uses for SMS texting, here are just a few:
• Schedule Appointment Reminders
Send scheduled reminders and save costs by lowering your missed appointments
• Promotions or Offers
Send personalised and unique promotions to your customers to generate further income
• Collect Mobile Numbers
New prospects can text into your free account to receive future messages from you
• Emergency Information
Let people know immediately about school/work closures etc.
• I nternal Communications
Keep your employees up to date - sales figures, meetings, events etc.
How It Works
Our award winning Online Web SMS services has been designed to be extremely easy and intuitive to use whilst also providing a rich set of features to meet the requirements of the more experienced user.
Sending a text from your account can be done in 3 easy steps:
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We use Textlocal to inform our
customers of special offer meal deal
promotions. Campaign response rates
have been as high as 24%, which is an
excellent ROI for us
”
Online Web SMS
Features
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FREE Trial
Open a FREE account and get 10 free credits to test the system with. No set-up fee, no monthly fee or commitment
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FREE Inbound Text System
Receive texts for FREE and have them stored in your own Inbox and have them forwarded onto any email address
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No Training Required or Software to Download
Our award winning system is very easy to use from any internet connected PC or MAC
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Advanced Secure 128 Bit Encrypted Security
All data stored, sent and received on our system is 128 Bit Encrypted. This is the same level of security used in the Banking Industry
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Personalised Sender Name
Send messages from the name of your company. The sender name can be changed for every message you send
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Send Text to Mobiles & Landlines
You can also send texts to BT landlines between 8am and 10pm
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Personalise Messages
You can import up to 5 fields of custom information and mail merge these into your text message to create unique personalised texts
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FREE Delivery Reporting
You can track which messages have been delivered and which numbers are invalid or discontinued
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Template Messaging
Create your own message templates for easy repeat use.
Demonstration
For a demonstration of our service just visit www.textlocal.com and open up a FREE account. It only takes a
couple of minutes and you’ll get 10 free texts to test us out with.
Alternatively, visit the ‘Online Web SMS’ page on our website and watch the Video Tour.
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An hour after I sent the SMS out
about a promotional offer,
a customer who normally orders
3 boxes ordered 2 pallets
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Email to SMS
“
The Textlocal system is excellent. The whole set-up and
integration process was extremely easy. Plus we have
had great feedback from our members
”
Service Description
With our FREE, simple Email to SMS Service you can send and receive SMS text messages via any email program or application with email functionality (monitoring tools, databases, websites and much more).
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Staff Communication
Send texts to work colleagues, customers or clients from your email program.
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2 Way Communication
A member of staff can send an email directly from their PC to a sales agent’s mobile while they are on the move, reminding them of appointments. The sales agent can then confirm the appointment by sending a quick text back, which is then picked up as an email by the member of staff.
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System Alerts
Some existing system monitoring applications send out an email with urgent and critical alerts. Setting this up to send an email as an SMS, means, it would be received and read sooner meaning a crisis could be avoided.
How It Works
Simply open up an account with us then send an email to: MobileNumber@textlocal.co.uk
We’ll then receive the email, deduct a credit from your account and automatically send the message as a text to the chosen mobile phone number.
Features
Below are just a selection of the features of our Email to SMS service (for the full list please visit our website www.textlocal.com):
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FREE Trial
Open a FREE account and get 10 free credits to test the system with. No set-up fee, no monthly fee or commitment
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Supports All Email Applications
Fully compatible with any desktop email application or webmail system
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No Additional Software Required
You can send an SMS directly from your email, you do not need any plug-ins or additional software
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Multiple Recipients
Text messages can be sent to multiple recipients or groups created on your account
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Receive Replies
Any replies to your message are automatically sent back to your email address
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Signature Remover
Our system can easily remove signatures or company footers from your email before being converted to a text message
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Personalised Sender Name
You can easily change who the message appears to be sent from – your name, your company name, or a reply number.
Demonstration
For a demonstration of our service just visit www.textlocal.com and open up a FREE account. It only takes a
couple of minutes and you’ll get 10 free texts to trial us out. Then simply send an email to
MobileNumber@textlocal.co.uk.
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Connect Your Application
Service Description
Our ‘Messenger Platform’ (Messenger) is able to connect to your application or website. It uses code to enable functionality using an Application Programming Interface (API). This is quick and easy to set up, you can be up and running in less than 15 minutes.
Example Uses
There are thousands of example uses for our API, here are just a few:
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Appointment Reminders
The API is perfect for date specific events where things like MOT reminders, renewal reminders or appointment reminders can be automatically sent out at specific dates and times
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Website Data Capture Forms
Any business with a website could use this service. All they need to do is include a mobile data capture form on their website for customers to enter their mobile number to receive news updates from your company. An automatic reply can then also be sent out
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Customer Contact Strategy
Texts can be incorporated into your customer contact strategy. For instance, a mortgage company could send out a text to its customers the moment their mortgage has been agreed.
How It Works
Open up a FREE account at www.textlocal.com then simply copy and paste the relevant coding from our website, dependent on what programming language you use. You’ll be up and running and sending and receiving texts in just 15 minutes.
For the relevant coding and documentation please visit www.textlocal.com and go to our ‘Connect Your Application’ page.
Features
Below are just a selection of the features of our SMS API Gateway service (for the full list please visit our website www.textlocal.com):
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Automatically Send Texts
You can automatically send texts to individual or multiple selections directly from your server, business applications or website
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Automatically Receive Texts
All inbound texts will be forwarded directly onto your server
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Automatically Receive Receipts
We will pass a delivery receipt (delivered, invalid, expired) to your web server for every message that you send
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Full 128 Bit SSL Encryption
For your security all messages sent to and from our platform are encrypted using SSL HTTP(s), also known as “the yellow padlock” in your web browser
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Multiple Sender Names
Your messages arrive on handsets from the name of your company. This can be changed for every message sent
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Its FREE
It costs you nothing! The only cost is the price of your credits.
Demonstration
For a demonstration of our service just visit www.textlocal.com and open up a FREE account. It only takes a
couple of minutes and you’ll get 10 free texts to test us out with. Then set up your system using our code
and have a play around.
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Service Description
Using our Multimedia Picture Messaging (MMS) Service you can send pictures, videos or sound files to your
cus-tomers, staff and prospects or receive them to a nominated email address or server. All MMS messages are free for
your recipients to receive. Also, there is no charge to you when receiving an MMS message.
Example Uses
There are many example uses for sending or receiving MMS messages, here are just a few:
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Increase Sales
An MMS could be sent to existing customers promoting other products and services or a product launch
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Charity Events
Participants could send photos of any event to be streamed live on the Charities website or used on advertising literature
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Insurance Claims
Insurance companies could receive photos of motor or household accidents directly to the email inbox of the relevant claims handler
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Internet Conten
tPeople could send in photos or videos which could then easily be uploaded to a website to provide content. For instance, fans could contribute photographic content to their favourite bands website
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Internal Support
Field workers, such as engineers, could send pictures of faulty equipment straight back to a specialist for advice.
How It Works
MMS can be sent directly from your control panel as easily as an SMS. If you want to receive MMS you need to use one of our SMS & MMS enabled numbers. Any pictures, videos or sound files that are then sent to this number will be immediately emailed to your nominated address (or sent directly to your server if you prefer).
Features
Below are just a selection of the features of our MMS service (for the full list please visit our website www.textlocal.com):
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Free to Receive
All outbound MMS messages are FREE for the recipient to receive. All inbound MMS messages are also FREE to you to receive
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Automated Processing
Through the use of out MMS API, you can automatically send out MMS. For example, you could automatically send a product demonstration in response to a customer’s request
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Receive Files to Email
Whether the customer sends a picture, video, sound clip or text, you will get all of it sent to your nominated email address. Alternatively you could have his information sent directly to your server
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Gallery
We can produce a Gallery for you that displays the pictures from all incoming emails for quick and easy viewing
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Full UK Network Coverage
MMS files can be sent or received from anyone, on any UK network.
Demonstration
For a live demonstration where you send us a picture and immediately see it displayed on your PC, please
visit www.textlocal.com then click on ‘Receive MMS Messages’.
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Service Description
A short code is a 5-digit text number (e.g. 60777) like those used in the Press, Television & Radio. Due to their ease
of use they are excellent for receiving texts, generating leads and building opt-in lists from potential customers.
Example Uses
There are many example uses for our Short Code service, here are just a couple:
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Lead Generation & Opt In Lists
Add a Short Code to your marketing literature and you instantly provide an additional channel for potential customers to respond to. Build your Opt-In list of people that have chosen to receive SMS messages from you on their phones
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Brochure Request Service
Participants could send photos of any event to be streamed live on your website or for use on advertising literature
How It Works
You choose a Keyword (e.g. ADVERT) on 60777. Then when someone texts ADVERT to 60777 they can immediately be sent your auto-reply. We then add the mobile number, message and the received date and time to your inbox. We can also email the person’s number and message directly to your Sales Team.
You can then either export the data from your inbox or at a later date simply choose it as a group and send everyone a new text.
Features
Below are just a selection of the features of our Short Codes (for the full list please visit our website www.textlocal.com):
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Email Notifications
All incoming texts can be immediately forwarded to any email address
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Inbox
All incoming texts are also stored in your inbox which contains the mobile number, message and time and date of receipt. This can be exported to Excel at the click of a button. The numbers collected can then be used to run future SMS campaigns
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Contact Building
You can easily send a message to anyone who’s texted in and include an opt-out path to comply with data protection laws
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Auto Reply
You can set-up and auto-reply message to immediately go back to anyone who texts in
Demonstration
For a demo of our Short Code service, text ADVERT to 60777. The texts cost your standard network rate.
We will automatically send you a text back which is free to receive.
Or visit www.textlocal.com and open up a FREE account. It only takes a couple of minutes and you’ll get
a FREE keyword on one of our Inbound Numbers, which is perfect to trial the functionality of the Short Code.
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How to Get the Most from SMS Marketing
As a company, we are determined to contribute positively to the community and environment in which we live. As the UK’s leading mobile services provider, we wish to share our success by supporting Charities in any way that we can.
For this reason, any charity can benefit from using our services by applying for one of our Charity Accounts.
Benefits of a Textlocal Charity Account
We know how important it is to keep your supporters updated with news and information from your Charity. To help with this, we will provide you with an incredibly low text messaging price.
As such, no matter how many text messages you decide to send, you will only be charged a flat rate. Please go to www.textlo-cal.com and click on ‘Charities’ to see the price.
In addition to this, if you decide you wish to use our Charity Short Code 70777, unlike other companies that will normally take between 2.5% and 5% of this donation as well as the Network Handling Fee - we will pass on 100% of the donation less any Network Handling Charge.
For tariff choices and your respective pay outs please go to www.textlocal.com and click on ‘Charities’.
We can also provide a link to a mobile compatible web page, branded with your Charity logo where supporters can opt-in for Gift Aid.
What are the requirements for a Charity Account
In order to qualify for a Charity Account with us you will need to satisfy the following:
• Be registered with the either the Charity Commission for England & Wales or The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator
• Have a website that is registered with the above regulator
• Be able to demonstrate that you work for the Charity.
