Best Way To Reach People - Email or Text?

[VSpy1]

Following on my my newsletter quest...I have come across SMS....

Which is better?
Do you currently send emails or texts to customers?
Which offers better results - does it depend on your message?
What do you pref to receive - is email fading now?
Should I use a mixture of facebook, twitter and SMS or does email have a role to play?

:redface:

 

[garyk]

Call me old fashioned but what about picking up the phone and *speaking* to them????

 

[David Griffiths]

Perspective from a grumpy old git:

I don't like cold telephone calls (but we can opt out via TPS) or spam emails (but we can filter out most spam) very much.

I completely detest spam text messages and would never ever deal with somebody who sent one to me. It's just way too obtrusive.

 

[businessfunding]

As a slightly less grumpy old git, I am receptive to a rofessional sales phone call; I am tolerant of emails but I find SMS wholly intrusive.

Incidentally, good old post is a very effective medium for newsletters.

 

[JEREMY HAWKE]

Call me old fashioned but what about picking up the phone and *speaking* to them????

No Gary your not old fashioned .There is a time and place for everything.
E mail is now an official document the same way as we used to to send a fax or a letter to confirm things ect.
Text are for teenagers !!! so if your not under the age of 20 its about time you got a proper contract phone and grew up !

The spoken English word is a wonderfull thing and if you have something to say then say it . Yes maybe you can only say at 0300 in the morning then maybe send an email . In this country we are begiining to see the demise of the spoken word .The queens English is being replaced by a Jamacian/ Rap accent !
Many people do not actully have the conversational skills to conduct themselves properly We are increasing see comopaanies that will only deal via email or online message service ! To me if this is the only way you can do business I come to the conclusion that the company is impossible to deal with and would normally go elasewhere

 

[Moneyman]

Text and tweets are normally recieved on a handheld so are intrusive. with email it is the same as post. you keep it or you bin it. No big deal.
facebook again intrusive and only suitable for people who want to be linked with your company. How you can have a company as a freind is a mystery.
Email is the business route.

 

[ITsoldUK]

Call me old fashioned but what about picking up the phone and *speaking* to them????

Jellybone for me everytime too.

And Gary...you're old fashioned

 

[HiImDoug]

I prefer the eerie screech of the crow to delivery news on the taking of Kings Landing, if I'm honest.

Or email. Texts are terribly inefficient.

 

[VSpy1]

Call me old fashioned but what about picking up the phone and *speaking* to them????

This is referring to keeping users of the site informaed of latest offers etc... not to recruit advertisers.......

 

[VSpy1]

Text and tweets are normally recieved on a handheld so are intrusive. with email it is the same as post. you keep it or you bin it. No big deal.
facebook again intrusive and only suitable for people who want to be linked with your company. How you can have a company as a freind is a mystery.
Email is the business route.

Apologies, I should have made this clearer - this is an option on the site for people that sign up to be informed of local offers, news etc etc... should i offer the service via SMS or email...... I know both would be advantageous, but if you had to choose to receive one...which would it be?

 

[TheBlogshop]

Except for a very limited amount exceptions, I'd also suggest staying away from SMS. Unlike e-mail or telephone, text messages are almost exclusively very personal.

They do have their uses - I like receiving updates from my bank about new Direct Debits that have been setup, etc - but as i said, there are only a few exceptions.

 

[Surge Computers]

In a customer perspective, why not ask them how they would be preferred to be contacted in the future?

 

[deniser]

Definitely email for me but I am old. I would guess that Under 25s would prefer a text message.

 

[kulture]

If you want me to read it, send a text. If you want my custom, DO NOT SEND A TEXT.

I always read texts. I tend to delete spam e-mails. I HATE receiving spam texts and would think badly of any organisation that sends them. BUT I ALWAYS READ TEXTS.

 

[VSpy1]

In a customer perspective, why not ask them how they would be preferred to be contacted in the future?

This is the ideal scenario, but time and costs are a priority at the moment..but its something I can expand into perhaps.

 

[VSpy1]

If you want me to read it, send a text. If you want my custom, DO NOT SEND A TEXT.

I always read texts. I tend to delete spam e-mails. I HATE receiving spam texts and would think badly of any organisation that sends them. BUT I ALWAYS READ TEXTS.

This is catch 22 then.... but if you request the contact you would hopefully like to receive it...

I think for the time being I will have to stick with email.... perhaps this is a good survey I can put on the site (I just need to find a source for that now! How do I keep walking into these roads :|)

 

[Suzuki]

Text and tweets are normally recieved on a handheld so are intrusive. with email it is the same as post. you keep it or you bin it. No big deal.
facebook again intrusive and only suitable for people who want to be linked with your company. How you can have a company as a freind is a mystery.
Email is the business route.

Surely if you are going to categorise tweets as normally being received on a handheld, then you would need to say emails are they same?

 

[Wrap Diva]

Young people love the text, plus sometimes you get an quick response back. Texts are normally short. So you could say "I just sent you an email about ...". good luck! Wrap Diva