John hears your ad on the radio. He’s interested. He wants to contact you, but he’s driving and can’t write down your number. By the time he gets back to the office, he’s lost interest in looking you up. John’s a busy man.

Mary sees your magazine ad. Your offer sounds great. But it’s 11pm and she knows that even if she phones your company, no-one will answer. By the next morning, she’s forgotten. Mary’s got other things on her mind.

Today’s consumers are ‘thumbers’; cellphone-happy, techno-smart individuals who demand instant gratification and a communication channel aligned to their social interaction methodology. How is your business communicating with them?

Let’s say a potential customer has been drawn in by your marketing and wants to contact your business immediately. How can he contact you right now, from his car or without moving from his chair? How can he instantly communicate with your brand?

The answer: Instant Brand Communication.

FLOODGATE’s instant brand communication closes the gap between marketing and sales, based on the philosophy that mobile phones are King of Communication.

Why? Well, consumers are exposed to the most expensive advertising during their daily commute or when they’re at leisure. Unfortunately, these are the times when the traditional communication channels are unavailable or inconvenient to use (landline, fax, e-mail or web). But a mobile phone is always on hand - in our personal space; that crucial half-metre circle around our bodies - and a quick SMS is easy to send at any time.

If we then receive a reply message acknowledging our enquiry and informing of the company’s intended follow-up action, we feel important and we await their call. Simultaneously, the company is alerted by email to call us as soon as possible. And while the initial SMS enables contact with the brand, it also builds a database for use at a later stage. After all, the enquirer is a potential customer asking the company to contact him!

There are many ways to respond effectively to an approach from a consumer, but it is often a combination of these that make for the most effective instant brand communication…

NEWS FEEDS

SMS is not just SMS
South Africa has long been treated as the little kid who lags behind; the one who catches on last; the one in the wings – especially where technology is concerned. But those days are ending fast. Because we’re now a country of 50 million cell phone connections, with 29% of our population accessing user-generated mobile content every day. And in the USA they haven’t even mastered MMS yet. Fabulous.

Make your marketing sweat
Why should you spend tons of money, just to find out which marketing media are working hardest for your product, service, company, brand or message? You shouldn't - not anymore. Here's why…