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4 Simple Church Service Improvements Using Text Messaging

Photo by Tuce on Unsplash

4 Simple Church Service Improvements Using Text Messaging

A recent study concluded that roughly 98 percent of SMS messages are opened and read within about fifteen minutes of receipt. Given these eye-opening statistics, there’s no doubt that text messaging is the most direct way to communicate with almost everyone today. Throughout the country, many churches are recognizing the importance of text messaging to create a more interactive experience for their visitors and members. In fact, many churches use a two-way text messaging software known as Mosio Q&A, and they love it.

Here are Four Features of Mosio Churches Love

Text to Screen – text questions or comments and then project them onto a screen.

With our innovative text to screen feature, you can let your congregation do the talking. Throughout a service, bible study, or other church events, our system makes it easy to encourage audience participation when they use text messaging to send a comment or question. These comments and questions are then projected onto a large display screen. Not only will your congregation become more engaged, you will also obtain key feedback through a simple text to liven the event in real-time.

Surveys – collect data and information
Many churches would like to survey visitors and members to improve their community outreach plan. Did you know that Mosio offers a simple and powerful way for churches to collect this important data and information?

During the church event, our system enables you to display polls on different screens or monitors. Contrary to similar text messaging services, our platform allows you to include as many questions on the poll as you would like. That way you are able to gather as much information as possible from the attendees.

After a great church event has ended, you can use our system to determine how to improve future events by sending out a simple text message to the attendees.

Alerts – send out text message updates, information or newsletters
According to much research, text messaging alerts have a 99 percent open rate. When you have Mosio by your side, you can make sure that your newsletters never go unnoticed again with our great alerts feature. As more and more of your church members actually read your newsletter, you’ll notice a substantial increase in attendance for church events.

TextChat – interactive, two-way text messaging that can be received and responded to.

In today’s society, pastors and church leaders are busy, and often times, it’s difficult for them to return phone calls in a timely manner. By using Mosio’s interactive, two-way text messaging feature known as TextChat, church leaders will be able to receive and quickly respond to multiple questions and comments from various members.

As church members receive quick and fast responses to questions and concerns, they will be more than willing to continue using text messaging to communicate with the church. The ultimate result of TextChat is a church with improved engagement.

Due to the fact that this amazing feature allows you to communicate 10-15X more efficiently than phone calls, TextChat is also great for church hotlines and helplines.

See how text messaging can work better for your church. Sign up for a free, 14 day trial of Mosio Q&A.

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Is It an Effective Meeting if No One Asks a Question?

Copyright Edwin Andrade via Unsplash
A good example of an effective meeting: audience participation
Issues & Solutions: How Text Software Helps to Increase Employee Participation

Do you have an optimal level of staff participation at your company meetings? A recent conversation with a potential client had me considering the importance of constructive communication between staff and CEO. Unfortunately, these issues aren’t just limited to this potential client…Do any of these issues sound familiar to you? Text-to-screen software for events offers up some potential solutions to staff participation problems.

The Major Issue: Lack of Employee Participation at Company Meetings
In 2 years of quarterly meetings, not a single question was asked of this particular CEO. Not only does he know his employees have questions that are going unanswered, it’s disappointing for him to put so much effort into creating company-wide presentations and not get any feedback, questions or concerns.

This CEO wants to create an engaging dynamic between himself and his employees, one that encourages back and forth communication and growth. Without proper employee participation, both parties are missing out on opportunities to create positive change within the company.

The Solution
Event texting software removes the most common barriers to communication by allowing employees to text comments, questions and concerns anonymously. Texting software allows employees to ask the tough questions that can create necessary changes in a company. Maybe an employee doesn’t want their name associated with a critique. Many employees simply have a fear of public speaking. Whatever the case may be, anonymous texting software removes these fears allowing for you to create an atmosphere of open communication for more effective meetings.

 

Second Issue: Remote Employees Aren’t Active Participants
This particular company holds meetings with a large number of employees who work remotely. While technology allows for easy viewing of meetings, remote employees don’t have a way to participate in a Q&A session nearly as effectively as the employees who are physically present.

The Solution
If you have a cell phone with SMS capabilities, you can participate in your meeting in a direct way. Remote employees can text their questions to the CEO from anywhere in the world. This leads to increased overall audience participation, employee satisfaction and inclusion. Text polling software provides an efficient avenue for remote employees to participate, making them feel engaged in the experience and not just like an “outside viewer.”

 

Third Issue: Employees Miss an Opportunity to Interact with Their CEO
Employees are losing out on a valuable resource of information: Their own CEO. Don’t underestimate the power of hearing directly from your company’s CEO. While sending e-mails and newsletters may get information across to an entire company, hearing the CEO respond to your questions and concerns verbally has a more personal impact.

The Solution
Text to screen software promotes active participation during your event. Instead of pushing for verbal feedback and not getting a response, or using surveys after the meeting, use live text message polling to spark a conversation right then and there. Ensuring staff participation with text polling and response also ensures that employees get to hear from their CEO directly. Take advantage of this powerful opportunity.

If your company is facing similar issues, know that there are ways to increase employee participation at your events. Text message polling, questions and feedback have the ability to drastically increase your staff’s participation, leading to much more effective meetings.

Sign up for a free, 14 day trial of Mosio for Events: http://www.mosio.com/eventstrial

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Benefits to Clinical Research Sites and Patients in Using Mobile Text Messaging Software

Clinical research sites become more successful and earn more studies by effectively completing clinical trials.  This means that as a site stays open, more clinical research trials are (hopefully) awarded to the site, and the site grows in the number of Principal Investigators, Sub-Investigators, and Clinical Research Coordinators.

Clinical-Research-Sites-and-Text-Messaging-Mosio

For sites that have a plethora of clinical trials and are short on time, mobile text messaging software is a perfect way to easily ensure patient retention and compliance.  This software is an effective form of communication between patients and researchers.

Text messaging software benefits research sites…

Interactive text messaging software saves time from phone call and in-person visits, as it allows PIs and Coordinators to quickly respond to patient texts either in real time or at a convenient time throughout the day.  Sites can save time and money by minimizing the number of unexpected patient visits and providing support through texting software instead.  This is especially important for PIs, who often see patients at their clinics throughout the day and do not have an abundance of time to spend with patients face-to-face.

…and patients alike.

Patients benefit because they are able to get support at any time during a study.  Text messaging software provides a way for patients to ask questions and get clarification about their condition, medication, dosing, compliance, and appointments.  Patients are also able to message the research site any time a question comes up instead of writing these questions down and remembering to bring them up at a future appointment.  If a PI or Coordinator is not available right away, an automatic response can be set up so that the patient will know that the message was received and a research staff member will respond once available.

Text messaging software provides a vital mHealth technology for clinical research.  Helpful to both researchers and patients, it is the perfect platform for support in clinical trials of any phase, and increases retention and compliance, boosting overall success in clinical trial management.

Mosio’s TextChat Messaging provides all of these services, and more. Take a tour of TextChat at http://www.mosio.com/biz/tour.

Author: Emily Waller holds an Honors B.S. in Biomedical Engineering, has worked on numerous clinical trials, and as a medical & technical writer.  She writes to promote innovative ideas in healthcare, technology, and research within the online community.  She also loves photography, neuroscience, and household DIY projects.

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Text Messaging Service for Business | The Rise of Business SMS [INFOGRAPHIC]

Text Messaging Service for Business

Text messaging has come a long way from being a one-way short messaging service (SMS) into an engaging interactive medium for businesses to speak with their customers. From mobile marketing to customer feedback to text-to-screen shout outs at events, text messaging services are being used by companies and brands to communicate with consumers wherever they are.

The helpful infographic below breaks down the various industries and use-types. Text messaging is the most popular channel on the mobile phone and this info shows that all companies and brands can benefit from using it as an incredible engagement tool for customers on-the-go. If you are looking for a two-way text messaging service for your business, let us know if you have any questions. We’re happy to help.

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5 Great Uses of Text Messaging for Mobile Workforce Communications

People are texting more than they are talking on their mobile phones. While many businesses are using text messaging as a great marketing or customer service tool, more companies are realizing that text messaging is a more efficient way to communicate with employees, independent contractors and franchisees as well.

Mobile messaging makes it easy to communicate with your on-the-go workforce, whether your mobile workforce is made up of sales reps, field technicians, marketing representatives, service agents, drivers or maintenance workers. We’ve listed some examples below of how text messaging can be used to improve communication efficiencies, saving companies both time and money.

5 Great Business Examples Using Text Messaging for Field Staff and Rep Communications:

  1. Alerts and Announcements: Send real-time SMS updates and alerts to motivate and inform staff. Over 90% of text messages are read by recipients.
  2. Efficient Support: Enable your workforce to send mobile questions and receive answers, saving time over incoming phone calls and voicemail.
  3. Status Updates: Staff can notify the office while on-the-go of their whereabouts and activities, including posting photos with their phones.
  4. Close Sales and Check Inventory: Quick checking of inventory numbers or to secure sales on-site at the client location.
  5. Increase Visibility: Learn what works and what doesn’t by seeing common communication threads among your staff.

We offer free webinars that show how Mosio’s FieldForce can help you easily and efficiently use mobile messaging to maximize productivity, improve visibility and increase revenues.

Live Demo/Webinar: Text Messaging Uses for Field Staff Communications
Sign Up Here

Contact Mosio for a quick quote and see how our two-way text messaging software can help.

 

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The Competitive Advantages of Mobile Text Messaging: Stats, Facts, and Figures

Text Messaging Makes Businesses More Competitive

Clients often ask us about how text messaging provides them with an edge over their competitors. If you know your company needs to be mobile, why use text messaging? Our short answer is “because every phone is text messaging-enabled and nearly every mobile consumer in the U.S. has it as part of their plan.”

It’s 2017 and while many of the original statistics posted below pale in comparison to the data of today (we’re due for a new post), we’re constantly surprised at how new the SMS channel still is in many industries. We now get asked more about statistics and research showing the text message and mobile usage of older demographics.

We got a lot of great feedback from a blog post we did awhile back with text messaging and mobile facts and figures, so we put together another list of stats, facts and figures we found. Bottom line, adding text messaging to your business communications, whether it be with customers, employees, independent contractors, etc makes you more competitive.

Adding text messaging opens up a new, easy to use communication channel that helps cut through the clutter, costs and time associated with other forms of communication, like talking on the phone. Plus, it’s the preferred method of communication by most mobile consumers. We’re not saying don’t talk on the phone anymore, but if you have a faster, more efficient, cost-effective way to communicate, we think it warrants serious consideration.

Here are some bits of info for you and if you’re interested in speaking about your communication goals and how text messaging can provide you with a return on your investment, contact Mosio here.

The Competitive Advantages of Mobile Text Messaging: Stats, Facts and Figures
“90% Would Rather Use Text Than a Phone Number“
– GoIP Global, Inc User Survey, November 2010

“…of the 82 percent of consumers who prefer on-device self-service, 35 percent are between the ages of 36 and 50 years old, 38 percent are between 25 and 35, and 27 percent are between 18 and 24.”
– Nuance Communications Mobile Customer Care Study

“44 percent of consumers surveyed said they would rather receive product information and other marketing messages through SMS campaigns than via any other channel.”
– Direct Marketing Association, July 2008

“The average cost of a live-agent service call is approximately $12. An SMS interaction, on the other hand, costs mere pennies per message.”
– ContactBabel Contact Center Analysis Firm

“Interacting with customers via SMS allows the issue to become what RJ Auburn (CTO of Voxeo) refers to as ‘a background problem’ — less of a headache and requiring much less of [company agent’s] time. Text messaging also gives agents a context for every inquiry. Unlike an IVR, SMS can move through these more complex inquiries seamlessly.”
– DestinationCRM.com

“94%) have texting included in their phone plan. This makes texting by far the most popular feature of US consumer mobile phone plans. Other popular features include email (80%) and mobile web (78%).”
– New study from IHL Group and RetailConnections.

“Texting Is an Underutilized Customer Engagement Tool“
– Article by 1to1 Media, Insight and Best Practices from the Customer Strategy Experts

There you go, enough stats to shake a phone at. If you’re looking for text messaging solutions like live voting, live polls, or SMS surveys, contact us. We’re happy to help.

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How much does it cost to develop an iPhone apps? Hint: It’s more than most people think.

“It only takes 5 1/2 hours to drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles.” I can’t even count the number of times I’ve heard people say this and I believe I even said it once myself. “Well, without traffic or cops and with minimal stops.” Huh? When is there no traffic in San Francisco or Los Angeles? The truth is, it really depends on where in LA you’re going, but I’d argue most destinations are beyond the 5.5 hour mark.

I was reminded of this SF > LA drive-time claim when a colleague sent me a stack overflow thread today entitled “How much does it cost to develop iPhone applications?” It’s worth taking a look at, most interesting is an answer suggesting around $10,000 ($50/hr for a Developer and $50/hr for a Graphic Designer x 200 total hours), which the stack overflow community quickly jumped on, providing insight and information to back up a more realistic $50k-100k (and some say $200k) price tag.

At Mosio, naturally we get asked about mobile applications from clients all the time. I love my MacBook Pro, iPhone and iPad, but Apple has spent plenty of money in advertising to convince us all that “There’s an App for That.” They even spent money trademarking the phrase and that’s fine, they benefit by doing so. The craziest thing about the mobile apps hype is that it caters to less than 1/3 of the mobile subscriber market. Consider recent research about Mobile Content Usage for the month of July 2010 in the image below from Wireless Week:

Among all U.S. mobile subscribers ages 13+:
31.4% Used a Downloaded App
33.6% Used a [Mobile] Browser
66% Sent a text message to another phone

Why, then, do people think it’s so inexpensive to develop iPhone apps?
I’m not exactly sure, but my guess is that it’s a combination of people wanting to believe it costs less (much like we don’t want to believe it actually takes 6.5-7 hours to drive to LA) combined with the misinformation from people selling shoddy development services or app workarounds trying to capitalize on the hype. And before those of you developing “affordable” iPhone applications start flaming me in the comments, consider the fact that by saying it’s inexpensive and cheap, you’re essentially selling yourselves short, commoditizing your expertise. The misinformation hurts your skills and service.

And for those who claim a drive from San Francisco to LA is 5 1/2 hours? They’re simply remembering it better than it truly is, or convincing themselves that it’s quicker than it really is. It’s more beneficial psychologically to believe it, but it doesn’t make it the truth in practice.

Text Messaging is Used by Consumers Twice as Much as Mobile Apps

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Facts + Figures: Mobile Text Messages Usage in the U.S. (Hint: It’s Massive)

Text Message Growth in the U.S.

We hear a lot of feedback, questions and sometimes even a little skepticism regarding text messaging usage in the United States. Many folks understand and are part of the mobile messaging explosion in the U.S. and others need a little more convincing, asking “why don’t they just call or email us if they need something?”

While no one here sends 470 text messages per day, we love text messaging, are excited for it to be used everywhere, understand that it might be better to provide some industry facts regarding text messaging usage and show why we know we’ll see more and more companies embrace the mobile channel as an paramount addition to their businesses. We’ve compiled a quick list for you with links to the reports where possible, will add more as we find them and if you have any, please let us know or post them in the comments section.

  • On average, Americans send and receive twice as many text messages as phone calls per month. (Nielsen Mobile)
  • In 2008, teens and twenty-somethings were by far the largest users of texting, coming in at 85%. In 2009, this continued to be true with teens at 94% and 20-somethings at 87%, but usage also increased for older age groups. Among those in their 40s, usage jumped from 56% to 64%, and for those in their 50s it jumped from 38% to 46%. (The Vlingo Consumer Mobile Messaging Habits Report, May 20, 2009)
  • A new online survey of mobile users (sample size not disclosed) conducted in January, 2008 by Amplitude Research has found the following features and considerations to be most important among cell phone buyers:
    * Text messaging: 73%
    * Camera: 67%
    * Ability to access the mobile Internet: 61%
    * Music features: 34%
    * Video: 33%
  • Roughly two-thirds of Hispanics used text messaging services in the last 30 days, about one-fourth utilized mobile Internet, and the same percentage sent an email in the past month. (Nielsen IAG Study, July 4, 2009)


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Text a Tip Poster – San Francisco Police Department – (SMS Tips and Crime Watch)

For information on setting up Text a Crime Tip Software for Cities, Police Departments and Crime Watch Organizations.

For info about Text a Tip Software for School and Campus Safety.

SFPD Text a Tip - Mosio Mobile Solutions

Text a Crime Tip Poster – San Francisco Police Department

Taken on Valencia Street in San Francisco, CA.

Mobile Text Messaging Crime Tips

(photo taken by Mosio, Mobile Information Systems)

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5 Competitive Advantages Mobile Solutions for Hotels and Hospitality

The Mobile Opportunity for Hotels

Consumers are using their mobile phones for everything. They are surfing the mobile web, they are interacting with friends and brands on mobile social networks, they are making purchases using their phones now more than ever and they are texting nearly twice as much as they are talking. They have come to expect the mobile channel to interact with their favorites brands and to get information immediately through their handsets. Too often, consumers are left disappointed if their mobile experience lacks organization, optimization and the ability to continue the conversation beyond a one-way communication. Hotel guests are no different.

Max Starkov wrote an incredibly thorough piece called “Mobile Marketing & Distribution Strategy in Hospitality: the Future is Already Here.” If you haven’t already, I highly recommend reading it. He touches upon the various elements of mobility for hotels and how they can offer higher levels of service to guests through personalization, location based services, marketing and general info through “mini sites” optimized for the mobile web.

At Mosio, mobile is our business. We know why it’s important and have a good idea where it’s going. We also realize that any hotel exploring the mobile channel for the first time, and for those who have already started harnessing its power, are recognizing the importance of providing an engaging, two-way mobile experience in order to interact with guests before, during and after their stay.

In a recent post, we provided some facts and figures about mobile text message usage in the U.S. and the opportunity for Hotels and Hospitality which, by the nature of statistics, speaks directly to the opportunity available to the entire hospitality industry. Taking it one step further in this post, we want to include some more information and specific competitive advantages the mobile channel offers your hotel and the added level of service it offers your guests.

1. Mobile technologies can save your staff time by enabling guests to help themselves find information.

Hotels are in the questions and answers business. While many would agree that nothing beats a face-to-face answer with a smile, most people prefer to just have a quick answer, easy access to information and to be able to get it no matter where they are. Mobile websites (we call them “microsites”) containing hotel and localized information are a great opportunity to provide guests with helpful information on-the-go without standing in line or calling the front desk. In addition, providing important contact information via microsites will ensure that if your guests don’t immediately find the information they need, they know who to call or text for it.

2. The mobile channel is an engaging, personal medium where you can market and promote hotel services during a guest’s stay with you.

When guests are looking for information, they are the most open to suggestions, including products or services that are offered in your hotel or through one of your partners. Listing specials, promotions and last-minute discounts on your mobile microsites and via text messaging can increase revenue and fill real-time cancellations/openings for hotel services.

3. Mobility doesn’t need to be difficult, expensive or time-consuming.

I once heard someone say “Our mobile strategy is: We need one.” I couldn’t blame him for saying it. With so many different components to creating an effective mobile presence, I couldn’t blame him for not knowing where to start either. Consultants and Mobile Agencies can be great if you have time and money to spend, but consider that expenses start with the development, continue through deployment and often repeat with ongoing maintenance. Many mobile sites and marketing campaigns shut down short of fulfilling ROI due to lack of resources for management and upkeep. Conversely, mobile sites that are outdated show the end-user a lack of commitment to offering mobile services. That said, there is no reason why you should ever have to contact an outside agency to make minor changes to your mobile website or SMS communications.

Add apps to your mobile strategy, and the costs can soon make the whole idea for mobilizing a conversation closer. Simply put, developing mobile apps means programming for 7 mobile operating systems, which in turn means updating each of these apps when their operating systems get updated. A single app can cost thousands of dollars and comes with no guarantee that it will be approved, found amongst the thousands of other apps or downloaded by your customers.

If not agencies and apps, then what?! Consider Mobile Software as a Service (SaaS). Mobile cloud computing via the mobile web is growing quickly and gives you the biggest possible universe of potential consumers with the least cost, time and ongoing management resources. It seems a little odd that the simplest and most focused approach is the fastest and cheapest way to have a mobile presence, but it’s the truth. If you don’t trust that the mobile Internet is the future, consider Google’s view of it.

4. Mobile communication should not be a one way street.

With the diverse avenues for mobile interaction available, not allowing your guests to communicate with you via their mobile devices during their stay (beyond a phone call) is the single most underused opportunity to connect with your customers, gather intelligence and provide higher service levels at the point of experience. The few hotels that are sending mobile communications to guests are doing so by providing room-ready updates or outbound promotions. These are great and informative, but I have yet to see a compelling mobile website or text messaging campaign to customers that offer a truly engaging experience. Polls, voting and “How was your stay?” surveys allow the customer to respond A, B, C and 1, 2, 3 but do not allow the guest to offer freeform feedback. There is much greater value in encouraging feedback throughout a guest’s entire stay, with the ability for hotel staff to respond accordingly, than to receive a survey response “C) Service was satisfactory” after they have already left.

5. When you embrace and execute mobile correctly, your brand is with the guest wherever they are.

Providing information and services via the mobile web and text messaging means your brand is in their pockets and in their purses. Mobile is on-demand, 24/7 and is something that all guests are coming to expect no matter where they are. Harness the power of the mobile channel effectively and your brand, your customers and your bottom line will benefit.

Thanks for reading.

Mosio Mobile Information Systems
“Connecting you and your customers on their mobile devices.”

Invest 30 minutes to mobilize your business. Join us for an online demo and go mobile!

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Mobile Answers – About Mobile Software as a Service, Mobile Cloud Computing and the Future of Mobility

Mobile Answers

Mobile Answers – by Mosio

Welcome to our new information, news and commentary resource on  technologies, software as a service, cloud computing and all things mobile. This site was created and is maintained by those of us who work at Mosio, creators of Text a Librarian, the award winning AskMosio Community and Mosio for Businesses, enabling businesses and organizations to communicate with their customers and members on thier mobile devices.

We welcome you to visit often and if you’re interested in how Mosio can help your organization harness the mobile channel, please visit us at www.mosio.com.

Thanks and we look forward to speaking with you.

Have a curious day,

The Mosio Team
Mosio
Mobile Information Systems

Connecting you and your customers on their mobile devices.
SXSW Web Awards 2008 Mobile Winner