California’s Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) launches its text messaging program today, giving passengers the ability to request bus schedule information via their mobile phone.
Powered by one-to-one marketing solutions provider ExactTarget, the public transportation agency’s addition of text messaging allows passengers to send a bus stop number and route number to “OCTAGO” to receive arrival times of the next three buses for that stop.
The text messaging campaign is expected to reduce the nearly 2,000 bus status and route inquiries received daily, reducing total call center volume by as much as 25 percent.
“The text messaging program gives our customers added flexibility to confirm bus schedules on-the-go while reducing our overhead expenses,” said Stella Lin, marketing manager of the Orange County Transportation Authority. “The immediacy of text messaging cuts costs and increases our efficiency by communicating schedule changes as they occur, faster than our team can access the 6,500 bus stops around the county with revised printed materials.”
Using ExactTarget’s Advanced Edition, the agency’s “Text 4 Next” text messaging program relies on ExactTarget’s triggered messaging to automate text responses to customer inquiries and builds on the agency’s success with email marketing powered by ExactTarget. The “Text 4 Next” launch follows a customer survey which revealed more than 75 percent of OCTA passengers have cell phones and 64 percent of passengers use text messaging features.
“OCTA is among our growing list of small and sophisticated businesses that are leveraging our full one-to-one platform to connect with their customers while building efficiency and increasing ROI,” said Tim Kopp, ExactTarget’s chief marketing officer. “ExactTarget’s easy-to-use technology provides businesses of all sizes the industry’s most flexible and scalable solution to deliver results through integrated email, text messaging, Websites, voice messaging and social media.”
OCTA is the latest corporation to add text messaging to its one-to-one marketing efforts aimed at keeping in touch with consumers on-the-go. From event-triggered texts to conversational messages, companies are quickly finding value in the mobile venue. Marketers can learn how SMS text messaging can help grow their business by viewing the Text is Next on-demand Webinar online here.
About Orange Country Transportation Authority
The Orange
County Transportation Authority (OCTA) is a multi-modal transportation
agency serving Orange County. We keep Orange County moving with
countywide bus and paratransit service, Metrolink rail service, the 91
Express Lanes toll facility, freeway, street and road improvement
projects, motorist aid services and by regulating taxi operations. For
more information, visit http://www.octa.net/.
About ExactTarget
ExactTarget is a leading global
provider of on-demand email and one-to-one marketing solutions. The
company’s software as a service technology provides organizations a
single platform to connect with customers via triggered and
transactional email, integrated text messaging, voice messaging, landing
pages and social media. Supported by collaborative global
services teams, ExactTarget’s technology integrates with more sales and
marketing information systems than any other in the industry, including
Salesforce.com, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Omniture and Webtrends among
many others. ExactTarget’s software powers permission-based
multi-channel communications for thousands of organizations around the
world including Expedia.com, Aurora Fashions, Papa John’s,
CareerBuilder.com, Gannett Co., Inc., The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society,
The Home Depot and Wellpoint, Inc. For more information, visit www.exacttarget.com
or call 1-866-EMAILET.