For many residents of the U.S., the start of June is also the beginning of hurricane season. Storms like Sandy and Katrina demonstrate how powerful the impact of these weather events can be and also show that importance of being prepared.
A recent article from the News Virginian profiled a new service that is being rolled out by Dominion Virginia Power. Consumers will be able to sign-up for a text messaging alert service that will keep individuals updated of incoming storms, energy conditions and statewide emergencies affecting the electric utility's customers.
Not only will consumers be kept updated, the service will also be used by the company to request conservation strategies during peak usage times. These will be one-way communications aimed to broadly inform those that are receiving them.
"If we're expecting a large storm," Kristen Reese, Dominion Resources Inc.'s manager of digital communication, told the news source. "We could text them a storm prep message."
Company spokeswoman Le-Ha Anderson added that these messages will not be tied to a specific account, meaning a customer will not be receiving updates about an outage affecting their particular home. Furthermore, anyone is able to sign-up for this system.
With the major growth of mobile devices, the ability roll out a mass text messaging system can be the best way to reach multiple customers at once. With the help of a SMS service provider, any business will be able to deploy a similar service that can help keep consumers informed and more engaged with their company.
