3 Companies Crushing SMS Marketing and How to Emulate Their Success
SMS is a powerful way to build customer loyalty and encourage people to keep coming back to your business. Get inspired by these 3 companies who use SMS in surprising ways.
Getting repeat customers can be tricky. We get it.
But, it’s far from impossible. The trick is to keep customers engaged, build loyalty, and hit them with the right incentives at the right time.
One of the most effective ways to do all of this is SMS marketing. People actually want to receive valuable offers via text. In fact, consumers say discounts, rewards, and access to exclusive content are the top reasons to sign up for messages from a brand.
Plus, if you’re considering getting in on the action, now’s the time to do so. The same survey showed that 55% of consumers have already signed up to receive texts from businesses, and a further 35% would be interested.
The big question is: where do you start? A great first step is finding inspiration from a company who’s already found success with SMS. The following companies used SMS marketing to create a loyal list of subscribers and drive more sales.
1. Hollywood Hair Bar
Let’s be honest, we’re on our phones from the moment we wake up in the morning till we close our eyes at night. Knowing this, e-commerce company Hollywood Hair Bar set out to engage their smartphone savvy audience through SMS marketing.
They managed to bag over new 146,000 subscribers and made more than $1.7 million in SMS-driven revenue. The return was a massive 57x their investment.
How did they achieve such a feat?
First, they made it super simple for users to sign up for their SMS program. For instance, when users clicked the sign-up button, a ready-made SMS popped up and all they had to do was tap send to opt in. This was a smart move because users are more likely to bounce if you make the signup process difficult, i.e. if they have to fill in a long form.
After signing up, subscribers received a mix of promotional and non-promotional messages catered to them. It’s a good idea to shake up your messages to keep subscribers engaged—too many promotions may come across as spam.
Hollywood Hair Bar also used automation to send out personalized messages triggered by users’ behaviors. For example, when a user abandons their cart they receive a text message with a percentage off the items in the cart.
This is another tactic you can adopt. People are more likely to take action when messages are relevant to them.
2. Texas Roadhouse
SMS and email go together like peanut butter and jelly. Chain restaurant Texas Roadhouse used this powerful combination to draw in local restaurant-goers.
As a result of their campaign, 60,000 people signed up to receive texts. They also found that customers were much more likely to redeem offers sent to them via text than via email. In fact, mobile subscribers had a redemption rate of 16.6% compared to just 3.3% for email.
Giving customers a choice of how to receive messages from you means they’re more likely to stick with their subscription. There are so many companies vying for people’s attention these days and nobody wants to feel like they were forced into signing up for something.
Those that signed up to receive offers from Texas Roadhouse email received an email or text blast a week in advance, as wekk as the day before a promotion. This double whammy is what led to more offer redemptions.
You can use SMS to compliment your email marketing in a similar way. A well-timed text message may be the difference between a sale and a lost customer.
3. Delta Sonic
Who gets their car cleaned on a rainy day? Delta Sonic customers, that’s who. Car wash Delta Sonic uses SMS marketing to bring in customers on even the slowest of days.
On one miserably rainy day, they were able to get over 1,000 customers to their locations for an internal car service by sending out a time-limited promo via text. This is a tactic they use often.
It makes sense to reach out to subscribers in this way. You add a sense of urgency that makes them want to jump on your offers. Plus, a time-sensitive promotion is more effective to send via text because most people don’t check their email inboxes as frequently throughout the day.
Delta Sonic also schedules their text messages in advance. This helps them create a content and promotional calendar that keeps subscribers engaged. You can take the same thoughtful approach in Shout—by doing so, you have the opportunity to create more value with your messages.
What's Next?
SMS is a powerful way to build customer loyalty and encourage people to keep coming back to your business.
If you found this post useful, be sure to take a look at Abby’s story who to learn how she uses Shout to plan and schedule messages and reach hundreds of customers in an instant.
