Stop should mean stop- this is what coca-cola is finding out the hard way as they are being sued at a rate of $500 per unsolicited SMS from this SMS marketing campaign:
“MyCokeRewards: Enter now for your chance to win Coke(R) and Pringles(R) for a year. http://cokeurl.com/mSnacks NoPurNec. Ends 2/29/12 Reply HELP for help.”
When recipients of this messages replied with STOP they continued to receive even more SMS.
One such recipient, Shaghayegh Missaghi, was so irate with these messages that she is suing Coca-cola. Regardless of how many times she attempted to unsubscribe from these SMS campaigns she continued to receive more SMS.
STOP is a legal requirement that we have in South Africa too that is a way for anyone to opt-out of any SMS marketing. When STOP doesn’t work, companies run the risk of alienating your customers as best or at worst getting sued.
In a world where all we hear about is App, we forget that SMS is still an extremely powerful method of communicating with your customer. If done correctly, it is efficient and is proven to have immediate “call to action”. Customers even appreciate receiving timely and relevant information.
However, if SMS is used as spam, the opposite happens. Customer get irritated. Initially they will simply delete the spam SMS. Then they will attempt to opt out and finally if they continue to receive more spam, they will take their business elsewhere and report your business to Hellopeter and the WASPA
Remember: customers can do without your business. Your business can not do without customers. DON’T SPAM THEM OFF !
Read more on how to SMS marketing correctly
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