The impact of mobile marketing can’t be overstated. According to IDC, more people in the U.S. will access the Internet through a mobile device than through their PC by 2015. In this new series, Elite Email takes a look at highly successful campaigns to uncover their mobile marketing lessons. This week’s case study: How great deals and the right strategy gave National Wholesale Liquidators a much needed sales boost and kept bankruptcy at bay.Who doesn’t love a great deal? For pretty much any shopper (you and I included) the thought of getting the best price on something you want is just too good to pass up most of the time. While this is just stating the obvious about you and your audience, what happens if you want to promote some great offers, but you can’t get your message to the customers the right way?National Wholesale liquidators, a 12-location discount chain, faced the same problem. Lucky for you, the guys that pull the strings over at National Wholesale saw the light of SMS marketing and laid out a great blueprint for your organization to follow if you want to bring in shoppers just like they did. To find out how this unfolded, take a moment to learn more about the chain’s journey from bankruptcy to packed stores and where mobile marketing fits into the big picture.
An Eye on Growth
After that last sentence, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why should I listen to a story about a company that was in the tank?” While that’s pretty fair at first glance, a deeper look lets you in on the whole point of this case study – National Wholesale Liquidators turned its fortunes around thanks to a revamped business approach that included a great SMS marketing plan. By putting the focus back on what customers want most – great savings – and connecting with them via text message, this company changed the status quo and made the forecast for their future look a lot sunnier than it had not too long before.
Bridging the Gap
So now that we know National Wholesale had the right idea with SMS marketing, how exactly did the company roll out this plan? To start, simply having a snazzy message with pricing and an opt-out code wasn’t enough. To get the word out on this deal, the stores advertised the new text subscriber program in-store, online, and via regular marketing – think newspapers and local magazines. From here, the rest was all about staying in contact with eager shoppers as the sales rolled in.As part of the messaging list, National Wholesale kept in touch with shoppers by shooting off messages regularly that offered deals and savings in-store. To kick things off with a bang, first time subscribers got $5 off any purchase over $25 on the next visit. Interestingly enough, shoppers who picked up this offer actually spent around $45 on this visit, compared to just a $25 average from those who didn’t sign-up. While that kind of instant boost from bargains means good things for your stores right away, National Wholesale found out that sticking with the program pays off big in the long-term.
Big Time Gains
Just how big? Try 50,000 subscribers and still growing big. Considering that there’s only 12 National Wholesale Liquidators stores out there, that number is absolutely astounding. Today, the days of stressing over bankruptcy and wondering if they can keep the doors open are long gone as this chain continues to go strong with a rabid fan base that is always ready and waiting for new deals. Regardless of whether you’re a local mom and pop outfit or a national powerhouse, having that kind of return and longevity for simply sending out some texts is hard to turn away from.
Following National Wholesale Liquidators’ Lead
Okay before we go any farther, let’s make sure we’re all on the same page when it comes to “simply sending out some texts.” You might interpret this statement as going with the quantity over quality approach, but that’s not really the whole story. While building your subscriber list is definitely important, following the lead of National Wholesale Liquidators will require a little bit of polish on the actual message content. To really hit the consumer the right way, having a simple, easy to read message that shows you put some thought into what you send out can go a long way with your audience. With this on your side, you can put the lessons from this case study to good use and expect a nice response in the short and long-term as your customers put your deals to good use.
