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Give me 10 use-cases/examples of organizations that are doing SMS chat bots really well and are creating holistic digital transactional experiences for their users. I’ll explain why they are succeeding, what does customers like about their experience, and what are some key themes and takeaways that bubble up across all the examples.
Hello, and thank you so much for your request on case studies for organizations using SMS Chatbots for engaging donors in digital transactions. In short, true chatbots are not in use for SMS, but are in development. Two way SMS has been available for accepting an processing donations, without the need to download an app. The user can text to a number, and in some campaigns, type in the amount of the donation and send the text. My deep dive is below.
METHODOLOGY
I began by researching charities and foundations that have been highlighted in articles for using chatbots. This led to some information on user feedback, including screenshots from tweets and facebook pages which demonstrated the user experience first hand. To fully answer your question I looked at industry and other articles covering both tech and fundraising. To develop the case studies, I also went to organization webpages for information.
The standard definition used for this research is, "A bot is a programme that uses one or more algorithms (or sets of rules) to enable a ‘conversation’, process or transaction to take place, without the need for a human." An article published in Mobile Commons.com December 2016 states that, "It’s clear that mobile fundraising is here to stay. In fact, 25% of donors complete their donations on mobile phones."
I specifically excluded campaigns and fundraising approaches that force the user to download and app to complete the donation, a current feature for many organizations.
FINDINGS
"As per MobileSQUARED, about 90% of SMSes are read within three minutes of delivery and over 99% are read by the recipient." SMS chatbots independent of downloading an app are growing in popularity. The quote above, from an Economic Times article in November of 2016, notes that most SMS engagement is based on set rules and key words. The development of true AI driven chatbot experiences is growing in the field of SMS. Chatbots operate with, "No rules, no keywords, no disparate conversations and no compulsion to use a website or an app."
After searching extensively through several mobile engagement companies that support donation by SMS, currently there aren't any advertising a pure "chatbot" experience in the definitions I found above.
I am including two way SMS capabilities in the case studies below that can ask questions of the user, accept numeric input, provide for additional donation information, and text a receipt for giving. In some instances, the donation is made, such as with the Red Cross, and the mobile number is the account to be charged for the gift. Text to Give is one platform that provides two way texting for non-profit organizations. Give By Cell is another example.
SMS TEXT FOR FUNDRAISING
1. UNICEF IN THE NETHERLANDS October 2015
"UNICEF has launched a remarkable fundraising campaign together with advertising agency Energize and mobile service provider CM Telecom. The Dutch campaign which raises funds to help refugees from Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt, lets people donate through emoji's in text messages."
By selecting an emoji or a series of emojis, supporters can donate a set amount. The emojis represent different needs by refugees, such as books, food, water, or clothing. Certain emojis are linked to a set donation. "The picture of a sleeping emoji represents a donation for a refugee to sleep better. Texting the emoji triggers a 3 euro donation."
Wendy Schilder, CM Telecom's market manager for Fundraising said “UNICEF's campaign is a great example of a new and engaging way of raising funds. Instead of the good old plain text message, donations can now be made by emoji's. A link in the MT text message a person receives after the donation, redirects them to a UNICEF website. That website tells the person which and how many emoji's have been used."
2. HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES, June 2014
"The Humane Society of the United States found that supporters who received a text message reminder were more likely to donate online by 77%."
The effort in this case study came from what was on the end of another campaign for support on a California political bill, "Their YES! On Prop2 campaign was one of the most aggressive online fundraising efforts ever executed and on top of concerns about the economy, there was a very real possibility that their list could be experiencing donor fatigue."
The Human Society case study reveals a combination of using text messages along with other media, such as phone calls or online giving. This example shows another use of SMS Texting to provide an alternative reach to donors who may not be comfortable donating through their mobile phones.
3. THE RED CROSS IN DISASTER RELIEF, since 2011
Texting to the Red Cross to make a $10.00 donation to the agency is till available today. Here is the current website information from Charleston, South Carolina local organization:
"Donate by Text Message/SMS
*$10.00 donation to American Red Cross. Charges will appear on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your prepaid balance. All purchases must be authorized by account holder. Must be 18 years of age or have parental permission to participate. Message and Data Rates May Apply. Text STOP to 90999 to STOP.
Text HELP to 90999 for HELP.
Full Terms: www.mGive.org/privacy"
The opportunity to add "Text to Donate" by the Red Cross began back in 2011, with Verizon wireless. Partnering with the humanitarian agency, Verizon waived all fees for users, and helped the organization launch the key words that donors would text to a number to determine where their donation would go:
Salvation Army: Text "STORM" to 80888
Vermont Food Bank: Text "FOODNOW" to 52000
World Vision: Text "IRENE" or "STORMUSA" to 777444
United Way Greater Capital Region (Albany, NY): Text "IRENE" to 80888
United Way of Hudson County (NJ): Text "UWHC" to 85944
United Way of Bergen County (NJ): Text "CFUND" to 85944
North Carolina Baptists Mission: Text "IRENE" to 85944
Operation Compassion: Text "HURRICANE" to 85944"
One note on the Red Cross and other similar campaigns, the donation actually appears on the phone bill and is paid to the mobile phone company rather than directly to the charity. I include this case study because it demonstrates the longevity of the SMS text fundraising in the field of donation activities, and the ability to use key words and unique numbers to permit donors to target gifts where it is available during a campaign.
4. The ASPCA, since 2008
"The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) has used SMS to inform pet owners and increase fundraising since 2008. Pet owners can opt-in to the service by sending the word CAT or DOG to 27222 and receive regular tips on pet care. A call-to-action at the bottom of each text asks users to give $5 to animals in need; all users have to do is text the word GIVE to donate. About five percent of SMS subscribers donate to the organization, raising thousands of additional dollars for animals each year."
The ASPCA requires and "opt in" text to receive information relevant to their pets, but adds a feature in each text message to request a donation. This is an ongoing campaign, and is included because it continues to this day, almost ten years later. It allows for small donations over time. The engagement conversion, as reported in 2009 is, "On average, 5 percent of ASPCA's subscribers respond per call-to-action, with 86 percent completing the donation, resulting in thousands of dollars in donations for the organization so far, Mr. Aiello claims."
5. JEWISH FEDERATION OF AMERICA, 2012
The Jewish Federation of America did a "text to pledge" rather than "text to give" providing donors the opportunity to pledge and leave the amount open, rather than have set amounts for giving that can be completed via SMS. The money was raised to address a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and the donations requests were sent to people who were already a part of the organization.
"To make it as easy as possible for people to give without setting arbitrary limits on the size of their donations, JFNA decided to set up a text to pledge campaign. By asking supporters to text in donation amounts, JFNA received over $6,000 in pledges. Ultimately, they raised $3,377 from the follow-up phone calls with the pledgers! By leaving the gift amount up to their supporters, they were able to receive much larger contributions than if they asked for donations on the spot."
This is a hybrid approach from a purely SMS donation completion, but is a very early example of providing a means to receive a donation outside of preset limits. Text to Donate companies have become more advanced in the last few years, with the ability to accept dollar figures in ranges, and collect the money through the text through a foundations merchant account.
6. CANCER RESEARCH UK, ongoing monthly giving by SMS
The Cancer research UK has a donation system that permits supporters to automatically set up a monthly amount, and to decide where the donation goes. Here is the process:
"--When you activate your monthly gift, your first donation of £3 will be taken immediately and you will also incur one standard network text message charge that month.
--Each month after that, you will get a free text as a reminder, the day before your monthly donation is due. This text will also remind you that you can choose to skip a month by replying SKIP to that text message within 24 hours. If you're happy to give then you don't need to do anything and you'll be charged as usual. However, if you choose to skip a month, we won't take the donation that month - you will just incur one standard network text message charge for sending your reply.
--Cancer Research UK receives 100% of each £3 donation.
--If you want to stop giving your monthly £3 donation then you can text STOP at any time to 70002 or call 0203 282 7862. We will remind you of this every three months.
--If you have any queries about giving monthly by text message please call 0203 282 7862."
There is an option to increase your donation as well, by choosing another short code, the replying "yes" to activate.
USING TWO WAY SMS TEXTS AND PARTNERSHIPS
NO KID HUNGRY, since 2013
Mission: "Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry® campaign is ending childhood hunger in America by ensuring all children get the healthy food they need, every day."
No Kid Hungry is using their charitable presence on SMS for more than donations. texting to another number set up by the organization provides resources to families to find meals for children in the summer, "In a national survey released by Share Our Strength’s No Kid Hungry campaign most low-income families (68%) reported being interested in summer meals programs."
"In the case of no kid hungry, their short code was 877-877 and the keyword is food. That means you put “food” into the message body of your text and then you text it to 877-877. Next, they automatically reply back with, “Hey! Send us your zip code.”
No Kid Hungry has partners in other businesses and organizations, and even permits individuals to hold fundraising events on behalf of the organization. The latest partner, since 2014, is Uber, which allows riders to make donations on the Uber app. There is now a "donate" option, which will add $5.00 to a rider's bill.
This example shows the two way capabilities of responding to texts for more information, and the partnerships with other providers that also collect donations via text or app.
OTHER CHATBOT FORMATS IN USE TODAY
Charity: water, using Facebook Chatbot
Mission: "charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations."
The Charity: water organization began in the US, and has expanded into the UK in August of 2016. "In the 10 years since it was founded, charity: water now has one million supporters, who have funded over 19,000 water projects providing 6.1 million people with clean water."
Charity: water claims to be the first non-profit to use a fundraising bot, which is through Facebook messenger, and was designed by another company. The bot responds to key phrases such as "join us" or "donate" and walks the person through several options including amount of donation and frequency. Several screenshots are captured in the article, and the tweets show that the users were both surprised and happy to have the opportunity to donate through the Facebook messenger chatbot experience.
CONCLUSION
The capability to donate to charitable organizations has been around since at least 2008, and grew in popularity after the Red Cross campaigns started for international relief campaigns. The development for true Chatbots for SMS is a popular topic in the tech and app world today, with articles discussing the development of AI for the communication in the future.
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