Creative ways to use SMS to gain consent (TextAnywhere)

This is a guest post from our partners at TextAnywhere

Before taking any step to obtain consent you must ensure that the individuals you are contacting haven’t unsubscribed, as you can’t contact people who have already done this. In addition, your previous method of collecting the data was in line with PECR’s guidelines. If you’re unsure about this, it’s probably better to refresh consent.

1. SMS Surveys

Text message surveys can be a great way to refine consent. With a reported, you are bound to get a positive response rate. With TextSurvey, you can clearly refine the different areas of SMS consent the individual would like to receive such as updates on new products/features, customer feedback surveys, customer support updates. You can download the report from TextSurvey which will show the timestamp of the message and the responses to each question, which is an excellent way to show proof of consent.

2. Shortcode and Keyword

Using a shortcode and keyword is a good way to demonstrate that people have positively opted-in to your SMS service. For example, you could advertise for people to receive promotional offers via SMS, by texting to a shortcode number along with an appropriate keyword.

Remember that if a person opts in for promotional offers, you can’t send them messages of a different kind e.g product updates. With our shortcode and keyword service, you couldcategorise different areas of consent and integrate this into your software or CRM database. Our reporting tool logs the time that the messages have been sent and received.

3. Personalised Bulk Campaigns

If you are looking to re-engage consent of individuals, our bulk text campaign service can be used. Simply upload the data using an Excel file and include personalised variables such as a name or a product to increase engagement. You can send a message that includes a URL link to a webpage for people to re-engage consent or accept various terms and conditions. You can also send a bulk SMS campaign asking people to reply back if they want to continue receiving messages.

4. Allow users to opt-out at any time

This rule has always been around however it’s more important than ever to ensure you have this right. With every message you send, make sure the recipient knows how they can easily opt out. TextAnywhere offers a free opt-out option using our reply service; the recipient just has to reply to your message with the word “STOP”. If your originator is set to alphanumeric – you can use a short-code keyword which we offer as a service. It is simple to set-up, and the recipient will need to text “STOP” with the chosen keyword to your shortcode to opt-out.

For more information in text messaging for your business or if you would like to know more about our services talk to our friendly customer care team on 0845 122 1302  or email welcome@textanywhere.net.