Frequently Asked Questions

Why use the mobile channel for capturing customer feedback?

How many cellphone subscribers are there?

What is SMS or text messaging?

How many people use text messaging?

What are mobile surveys?

Why not use comment cards, web surveys or IVR to obtain customer feedback?

What about mystery shopping?

What incentives should be offered?

How does the Loyal Customer program work?

What are mobile coupons?

Why use the mobile channel for capturing customer feedback?
When people leave home they take three things ... their wallet/purse, keys and cellphone! Cellphones provide the most immediate channel for interacting with customers as nearly every person has one when visiting a restaurant. Touchwork is the pioneer to utilise text messaging for obtaining customer feedback at the point of experience, having started its first campaign with Budget in 2003.

How many cellphone subscribers are there?
There are over three billion subscribers worldwide and over 260 million in the USA.

What is text messaging or SMS?
Text messaging, as it is called in North America or SMS (Short Message Service) as it is called elsewhere, is a data channel available on cellphones to sent short messages of up to 160 characters from one cellphone to another. This service is similar to email but much more immediate as a subscriber is alerted as soon as a message is received on their phone.

How many people use text messaging?
Text messaging (SMS) is the most widely used data channel on cellphones today with over 50% of USA subscribers using it. Approximately 75 billion text messages are sent each month in the USA alone, increasing at a rate of 100% per annum. The largest group of texters is the Gen Y group (15 – 30 years) with over 85% using text messaging. However, the older demographic groups are showing significant growth in use, partly as a result of parents and grandparents communicating with their children and grandchildren using text messaging.

What are mobile surveys?
Mobile surveys are surveys that are taken by people using their cellphones.

Why not use comment cards, web surveys or IVR to obtain customer feedback?
The disadvantage of comment cards is that they need to be collected, mailed to a central location and captured into a database. This requires significant logistic effort, data is often entered incorrectly and the availability of results is delayed. It does not provide real-time results with rapid service recovery and often frontline staff can discard responses that reflect badly on themselves.

Web surveys require people to log onto a website once they have left a restaurant – either at home or in their office. This requires a special effort and very few customers remember or are inclined to do so.

IVR surveys require people to call an 1-800 number and talk to a machine for an extended time period – again something that is disliked by most people. With the Touchwork system customers create a single text message and send it – that is it!

What about mystery shopping?
Mystery shopping is good for getting periodic feedback about the experience of an individual customer. It does not provide daily feedback from your overall customer base about their restaurant experience, does not provide real-time results, nor does it enable you to identify and address the concerns of dissatisfied customers.

Mystery shopping and Touchwork mobile surveys are complimentary services providing different data and insights.

What incentives should be offered?
Incentives are recommended to encourage customers to share their experiences and provide feedback. They can either be a small value token, eg free drink, 10% off the next meal, cash discount or an entry into a draw for a bigger prize eg cash, iPod.

In all cases customers receive the incentive in the form of a return text message with a promo code – called a mobile coupon. Customers should store this text message and show it to the store when they next visit in order to redeem the award.

How does the Loyal Customer programme work?
On all survey cards, customers are asked if they would like to opt-in to the brand’s Loyal Customer programme. If they do so, the brand can send special offers and other communications right to their cellphones.

Other means for inviting customers to opt-in are also available. For example, on all ads a call-to-action can be included whereby customers text a keyword to a specified number to join the programme.

What are mobile coupons?
Mobile coupons are special offers, eg discounts that are sent to a customer's cellphone by means of a text message. Customers can store these and show the text message to the brand owner in order to redeem the coupon.