One perpetual challenge in business is getting people to open their wallets. Marketers exist so that companies can figure out how to convince people to buy their products. Often overlooked is the most basic element: make it easy. If people don’t have to expend effort, they’re more likely to expend money. For charities, this has always been a big issue. How do they get people to write that check? Using wireless technology, that question may become moot. Charities are increasingly using SMS campaigns to boost donations. It makes perfect sense. It makes donating painless, which means more people will be apt to monetarily support a cause.
The major obstacle facing mobile payments, at least in the US, is security. People just don’t want to type in their personal information, especially credit card information, on their phones. Who knows where that data goes before it reaches its destination. SMS payments takes out that step, as anyone can make a donation (or payment, in theory) without entering one bit of personal information.
For postpaid users, the donation shows up on the monthly wireless bill. This is the same method used to purchase ringtones, games, and other multimedia content. It can lead to some unnecessary impulse buys, but in the case of charity, the more important point is that it removes barriers between donor and charity. That should lead to more donations, as evidenced by the Keep A Child Alive campaign. Singer Alicia Keys pleaded for donations on American Idol, and the charity saw $450,000 raised within minutes.
Prepaid users can use the service as well. The donation amount will be deducted from their balance. That works well for pay-as-you-go users, who typically have a balance to cover calls and SMS. With the introduction of cheap unlimited prepaid plans, though, many customers who previously would have held a balance no longer do. Instead, they pay a monthly fee ahead of time. This means that they cannot donate, because they have nothing in their accounts.
The downside is that cell carriers limit the amount anyone can donate to $30 per month. That means people can’t make large donations. Then again, if someone was apt to give a large amount to a charity, chances are he or she would be willing to write out a check, or call up and give a credit card number.
SMS purchase might be a bad thing for impulse shoppers, but they should prove to be a positive for charities. The lowering of the barrier between the customer and his money should make him more apt to donate. And that’s only good news for the worthy charities out there.
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