While we often discuss CloseBy® Text Marketing in terms of driving sales, offering promotions, and keeping customers in the know, CloseBy® Text Marketing is commonly used by municipalities utilizing Text as an avenue to get announcements out to their communities in a timely, efficient manner. Most smart phone users check their phone 150 times every day and text messages are typically read within 3 minutes! While your community members may not be tuning into the usual venues for announcements such as cable, radio, etc., there’s a significant chance that they have their phone within reach.
Entering in on a CloseBy® Text list is completely voluntary and messages can be sent immediately or scheduled in advance. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, information is constantly changing at the local level. CloseBy® Text can ensure your community members are able to keep up with the latest announcements and have up-to-date, accurate information at their disposal. Cities can use Text to announce road closures, trash and recycling pick-up days, and promote community-wide events. We’ve even had a city use our Text program to alert the community of a missing child who was located within 40 minutes of the text being sent out. The possibilities with CloseBy® Text are endless.
Read below to find out how leaders from Dyer, IN, Mt. Horeb, WI, and Bellevue, OH use CloseBy® Text Marketing for their municipalities and why they think others should too.
Town of Dyer, Indiana
“Text Marketing is not only for coupons and discounts. it is an amazing form of communication! We have been utilizing CloseBy® Text Marketing since 2014 and cannot imagine not having this form of alert system for our town! I say alert system because we send out very important and time sensitive information. Even sometimes emergency information for the town! I love the ability that the online scheduling platform gives me when it comes to text message creation and sending. I can access the online platform from home, the office, or even my car! In an emergency situation you need something that is dependable, easy to use, and accessible anywhere. We receive such amazing feedback from our residents who love that we communicate with them via text! Because of CloseBy® Text Marketing, we have alleviated having a lot of residents calling in with questions about things happening around town. They now receive a text and are automatically in the know of what, when, or where something is happening. The great thing about texting our residents is that our messages are right on the front screen of their cell phone. They do not have to search for us on social media or look for an email.” – Jessica Chick, Communications Specialist
Village of Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin
“CloseBy® Text Marketing is a great way for us to connect with our residents/community in a quick and easy way. Having the text program has been EXTREMELY beneficial with communicating information, announcements and updates to our residents pertaining to Boil Orders, Hydrant Flushing and the current pandemic we are all in. I love that the online system is SUPER user friendly and also can be accessed from a mobile device. We are pretty independent with message sending, but I love the fact that we have an Account Manager who is truly always there for us! She always has really great information for us. I like that I can ask her for message ideas and she can provide us examples. The CloseBy® Text program truly has given us the technology to bridge the communication gap from our Town Hall to Residents!” – Niki Erickson, Office Coordinator
City of Bellevue, Ohio
“We have been using CloseBy® Text Marketing since 2012. We have found out that Text Marketing is the BEST WAY to communicate with our residents and local businesses instantly and efficiently! Some Village members send messages out by themselves but I prefer to send an email to my Account Manager so she can send the message for me! She is so great at condensing a message to fit within the limited characters and she is very responsible. If I send her something that does not make sense, she will email me prior to sending anything out to get clarification. With everything going on with the 2020 pandemic, Text Marketing has been a great way to remind residents about social distancing, wearing a mask while in public and relay any new information from our governor. We could not be happier with CloseBy® Text Marketing.” – Vicki Meyers, Safety-Service Department
