Bulk SMS Marketing: How These 6 Big Brands Are Winning Customers

The simple fact that hundreds of big brands choose to incorporate bulk SMS marketing into their overall strategy should be a pretty good indicator of its success. SMS campaigns are simple to create, affordable, and have response rates that are much higher than most other marketing channels.

Studies have shown that:

• Customers typically respond to a text message in only 90 seconds where they normally take around 90 minutes to respond to an email.
• Text marketing has a significant positive impact on brand awareness.
• Consumers actually prefer text messages to other forms of mobile communication.

The British Motor Racing circuit, Silverstone, sent a text message to 45,000 subscribers inviting them to buy tickets for an upcoming Formula 1 race. The single message resulted in 680% ROI.

Kiehl’s, a high-end luxury Cosmetics store, found that 73% of their customers who had signed up for their SMS marketing campaign had purchased. Also, 81% of respondents to a survey sent out after that program recalled receiving SMS marketing messages from them.

Hundreds of companies like yours are already adopting text marketing, so don’t let yourself fall behind the curve.

If you still haven’t decided if you want to invest in SMS marketing yet or aren’t sure if it will work for your customers, then keep reading and see how some of the most popular big brands are using it to get new customers.

How These Top 6 Brands Used Bulk SMS Marketing to Win Customers

Companies like Domino’s, Aeropostale, and Chipotle use SMS marketing to achieve some amazing results.

Use the following examples from their strategies to guide your own text message marketing journey. Then when you’re ready to take that next step in your text message marketing evolution, consider partnering with EZ Texting.

1. Domino's Pizza: Multi-Channel Marketing

Ryan Swanson, the area director for the Domino’s Pizza Franchise at UNC-Charlotte, started his SMS marketing campaign with 2 clear goals.

He wanted to market his Facebook group, and he wanted to grow his SMS marketing list in a measurable way.

Mr. Swanson knew that he had a captive audience at the nearby college campus and that he could easily reach the 3,000+ students by running ads on the screens in the basketball arena.

This is where his multi-channel approach came in.

• He used the display screens to run an ad that prompted viewers by advertising a free pizza to anyone that texted 49ER to 858585.
• Next, when visitors sent that keyword to the EZ Texting short code, they received a reply telling them that to get the free pizza, they needed to join the Facebook group at UNCCDominos.com and post a message (I GOT A TEXT).

Why did this work?

With one campaign and 2 marketing channels, Ryan was able to grow both his SMS subscriber list and increase the number of members in his Facebook group.

He added over 850 students to his SMS list and added over 2,000 new Facebook fans.

Now he continues to market to them using messages like this one:

49er Fans get 50% OFF ALL MENU PRICE PIZZAS & Bread Sides All day TODAY for playoffs! Coupon Code (FACE50).Call us at -------

That particular message reached roughly 500 or so students. The cost of sending this message using EZ texting was only about $25, resulting in 125 new orders.

Implement it for yourself.

To replicate these same results, learn to include other online and offline channels to build, promote, and manage your text marketing promotions.

2. 7-Eleven: New Product Promotion

During the contentious midterm 2010 elections, 7-Eleven introduced their Slurpee Peacemaker campaign that encouraged consumers to take a break from the heat of the election and chill out with a Slurpee. This unifying purple drink symbolically united the red and blue sides of politics.

Danielle Ivey, senior manager of digital marketing for 7-Eleven, Dallas, said that their brand positioning is rooted in “come one, come all.”

“We wanted to unite people under the new Purple for the People Vanilla Slurpee flavor — a taste everyone can agree on,” she said. “We saw an opportunity to break through the political chatter and offer our fans a way to spread the peace.

They used SMS text marketing to invite people to text a keyword to a short code to receive a discount coupon on the new flavor.

Why did this work?

This was a really smart campaign for a few different reasons.

• By using a coupon, they're able to entice their consumers to come into a store to purchase the Slurpee.
• They tied into relevant and timely events to help generate interest in the new flavor.
• They increased their SMS subscriber list, so they're able to use that list for future promotions.
• They utilized other advertising avenues like social media to drive people over to a landing page that provided instructions on how to opt-in through SMS.
• That landing page also made it easy for people to share content through Twitter or email so they could encourage friends and family to opt-in and receive the coupon as well.

Implement it for yourself.

They were utilizing some fairly simple techniques in a very powerful way.

Think about what is going on in recent events that you can tie into. How can you use these events to generate more awareness for your brand, and work to bring them into your stores?

Also, think about how you can use other channels to make this campaign even bigger. By connecting multiple different channels, you can broaden your reach.

3. Aeropostale: User-Generated Content Rebranding Campaign

Aeropostale is combining SMS messages with social media to help build anticipation for their new rebranding initiative. They are using messaging such as “You've changed so we've changed” and “Are you who you were a year ago?”

This messaging is designed to be intentionally vague to draw attention on social media and mobile devices. They are trying to relate to a younger generation regarding life changes.

They invite people to take selfies and post them on Instagram for a chance to be featured on Aeropostale’s Instagram account.

The SMS campaign tells people to opt-in by texting “Now” to Aero87. They then receive a reply that contains an invitation to visit participating stores July 28 at 4 p.m. for a “reveal.”

Why did this work?

By inviting people to take selfies and post them on Instagram, Aeropostale created an audience the fans that would actively promote their company. They also were able to utilize mystery and intrigue to help grow their SMS subscriber list.

These two strategies work together to help promote the new brand.

Implement it for yourself.

This type of strategy can work really well if you have an upcoming event, company change, or big announcement. You can build anticipation in your fans, then also get them to help spread that anticipation to other fans and grow your campaign further.

Think about different ways that you can invite your audience to create content relevant to your brand. Think about how you can get them to share your content with others.

• Ask them to take photos and share them online.
• Use text marketing to help them feel like they are part of an exclusive group.
• Ask them to invite their closest friends and family to become a subscriber.

4. Chipotle: Text-to-Apply Program

Chipotle thinks beyond just reaching customers. They are taking advantage of text message marketing to seek out new employees.

“All you need is two thumbs and a cell phone. Seriously, it's that easy.”

With over 2,400 restaurants around the company, and new ones opening approximately every 3 days, finding new employees to help them grow is a constant challenge.

Brian, a Chipotle recruiter, says that their text-to-apply technology is changing the game for job seekers. They want to make applying for a job at Chipotle as “quick and easy as building a burrito in their restaurants.”

When you send they keyword “CHIPJOBS” to the 97211 short code, their automated recruiter, Ari, greets you and walks you through the process.

She will start by asking what your ZIP code is so that she can find the locations nearest you. From there you're able to choose which location that you'd like to apply for and then you're off and running.

Why did this work?

This worked because Chipotle examined their target market and identified a way to remove friction.

Applying for a job is often a very tedious and time-consuming process filled with lots of paperwork and frustration. They eliminated this usual friction by utilizing a technology that everyone is already familiar with.

After a couple of minutes and a few messages, job seekers are able to quickly put in their application.

Implement it for yourself.

Think about your employees and your customers. See if you can identify areas of friction. Look for processes that are time-consuming, frustrating, or that can be improved upon.

Determine if you can utilize SMS marketing to remove friction and speed up the process for your target audience.

5. Subway: Members-Only Deals

Subway was the first brand to really Venture into the SMS marketing space, and they saw exceptional success. They began their first campaign back in December of 2015.

Now Subway has over 5 million subscribers with an 85% retention rate.

When you look at the average return from their SMS customers:

• 26% of people return more often
• 13% of people spend more at each visit
• 15% make more purchases than before they joined SMS program

Why did this work?

Subway recognizes that customers will come back in to purchase meals again. By using SMS marketing, they have a way to stay in front of their target audience and remind them of current specials as well as sending them limited-time promotions.

This makes sure that they stay top-of-mind while providing value to regular customers.

Implement it for yourself.

Think about your target audience. What can you do to provide regular value to encourage repeat purchases? What can you do to create an exclusive, members-only, environment?

6. Jack in the Box: Combining Website & SMS

When it comes to combining SMS marketing with websites, Jack-in-the-Box knows what they're doing.

Members can receive discount coupons directly to their email or mobile device by simply visiting the website, clicking on offers and stuff, and entering their information.

They even tease you with a locked image of the coupons that you would receive after you sign up.

Jack in the Box reported that their SMS marketing redemption rates for their coupons are 3-5 times higher than email marketing redemption rates.

Why did this work?

This is similar to Subway’s campaigns because it provides additional value to repeat customers. These types of campaigns encourage people to purchase more frequently and make larger purchases.

Implement it for yourself.

Think about the additional value that you provide to repeat customers. But take that a step further. How can you make it easy for customers to take advantage of these additional offers?

You can do like Jack in the Box did and integrate it in with your website, or you can include opt-in messages on in-store signage.

Build Your Strategy & Implement Bulk SMS Messaging

It's time to take a lesson from another Big Brand. Every year Taco Bell saves millions on market research. They let McDonald's do it for them. Instead of investing in surveys and conducting reports to find the best location for a new Taco Bell, they simply wait until McDonald's opens a new store. Then they just open one across the street.

If the SMS messaging strategies of those big brands has inspired you and you’re ready to build your own successful strategy, then we’re here to help.

EZ Texting customer supports teams are here to answer all of your questions. They’ll help you get started running your campaigns within minutes. We’ve helped thousands of businesses just like yours create engaging campaigns for prospects and customers.

We don’t claim to have all of the secrets, but we can certainly point you in the right direction for rapid text marketing success.

Take the first step and download our free guide. In the 9-Step Roadmap to Mastering Text Message Marketing, you’ll learn how to use one of the fastest-growing and most effective ways to connect with your customers. You’ll learn how to quickly implement big strategies for your brand.