FAQ

Why does my business need mobile marketing?

The answer to that question depends on what type of business that you are in. Here are few ideas:

1. If it's cold out, you can send a coupon to your customers' cell phones offering a discount if they come out to get a bite to eat at your restaurant.
2. If your golf course is having a slow day, you can send out a coupon to give discounted tee-times before they go unused.
3. Send a coupon to each customer of your auto maintenance shop every 3 months to remind them to get an oil change.
4. Manage VIP gate entry at your club.
5. Track fund-raising campaigns effortlessly.

The possibilities are endless!

How do I convert from my old punch card/mag stripe customer loyalty system to PlumReward?

When customers visit your business, have them put their mobile phone number into the PlumReward device to sign up. Then, have them write their mobile phone number on the back of their existing loyalty card and surrender it. The PlumReward backoffice tools (see below) allow you to look up customers using their mobile phone number and add visits to their account so that they get credit for all of the visits that they have made using your existing system. Within a month or so, none of your existing cards will be in circulation anymore and you will have moved to a much safer, convenient and environmentally friendly mobile marketing and customer loyalty system!

How do you prevent people from cheating?

Most mobile marketing companies have absolutely no answer to this question because they shoe-horned coupons into a generic text messaging system. How absurd is it to merely have to show your mobile phone screen to a merchant to redeem a coupon? In fact, many companies have redeemed thousands of coupons that were previously used, invalid, expired or downright forged. PlumReward, on the other hand, was built from the ground-up to handle both coupon distribution and coupon redemption. Some examples of our anti-fraud procedures:

1. Each coupon code is uniquely tied to a single mobile phone number, making it easy to track which customer redeemed it.
2. Since coupon codes need to be entered into the PlumReward device to be redeemed, they can be limited to a single use (if desired).
3. Coupons can carry specific start and expiration dates that are validated by the PlumReward system, not the person at the register.
4. Customers can only receive a single coupon code from any given campaign. If they try to text a keyword multiple times or cancel their subscription and re-subscribe to try to get multiple coupons, we don't allow it.
5. You decide how often a customer can enter their phone number into the PlumReward device to register a visit. If a customer tries to register a visit before that amount of time, we don't allow it.
6. You can lock down access to the PlumReward device with a 4 digit PIN code during times when the device is not being actively monitored.

How do you prevent the PlumReward device from being stolen?

We offer a tether that can secure your PlumReward Touch 3 device to any surface. This will prevent casual theft of the  device. For your Touch 7 we offer several different point of sale options that not only protect and secure your device it also becomes a great display..See Photos.

Do you allow customers to sign up for promotions by texting keywords?

Yes! We support texting keywords, but our research has shown that 5 times as many people will enter their mobile phone number into a keypad at the register than will text a keyword to a short code. A big reason for this is that many people are still not comfortable with creating text messages, but they know how to respond to a text message that is sent to them. We recommend using keywords for reaching new customers through alternative advertising, but using the PlumReward device at your business location.

Which mobile phone carriers do you support?

PlumReward can send text messages to over 96% of the mobile phone carriers in the United States, and we will soon be expanding support to Canada and beyond. There are a few fringe companies that do not support standard rate commercial text messages, such as MetroPCS, Cricket and Helio. This is true for all providers of mobile marketing services, and we collectively encourage these carriers to begin support for standard rate commercial text messages.

Do my customers get charged to receive text messages from my business?

PlumReward does not charge any fees to your customers to receive text messages from your business. However, your customers are still subject to the terms of their contracts with their wireless carriers pertaining to text message usage.

Do you sell mobile phone numbers or give access to mobile phone numbers that my company collects to anyone else?

Never! Only your business can communicate with the mobile phone numbers that you collect. PlumReward does not share your list of mobile phone numbers with anyone. PlumReward reserves the right to send text messages pertaining to subscriptions, customer support and account maintenance to any mobile phone number in the PlumReward system.

Can you have more than one device at a single location?

You sure can! In fact, you can have as many devices at each location as you need. Have one at the point-of-sale and one at the drive-thru. Give one to each server at your restaurant. You decide!

Can multiple locations work together for the purposes of shared campaigns and loyalty?

Certainly! Each store can send out campaigns for the customers who have registered at their location. Multiple locations can also work together to send out a campaign with coupon codes that are valid at any participating location. Multiple locations can also allow customers to combine their loyalty visits, providing a consistent experience across an entire franchise.

Can customers sign up to receive text message coupons from my business right from my website?

Yes. We can work with your website provider to integrate a sign-up box right into your website.

Can PlumReward coupons have expiration dates?

Yes. For each campaign that you create, you specify when you want it to be sent out, when the coupon codes become valid and when they expire. You are in control!

What types of coupons can I send?

There are 4 types of coupons that can be sent out. Single Use. Single Use Per Day. Multiple Use, and No Coupon (if you're just sending a message to your customers and don't need to track redemptions).

Do you support gift certificates?

Yes. We can create coupon codes that are assigned to your store and not to any specific mobile phone number. You can sell coupons with these codes on them and customers can redeem them back at the store.

How many text messages can I send to my customers?

Mobile Marketing Association guidelines state that you should not send more than 5 messages to each customer per week. For most situations, we recommend limiting the number to 2 messages per week to ensure that your marketing message remains relevant and not overburden your customers with excess text message traffic.

Do you offer backoffice tools and reports?

What kind of business do you think this is? Of course we offer a full suite of reports for you to track when and how often your customers are visiting, what coupons they are redeeming, etc... You can create and track the success of your campaigns through a convenient web portal that is even compatible with most mobile phone browsers!

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