Key takeaways
- ViQuest ran a two-month SMS campaign that recruited 307 subscribers; over 44% of those opted in for ongoing text promotions.
- Simple CTA: viewers texted the code “”VIQUEST”” to 74642 in response to local cable TV spots; registration fees were waived for participants.
- Early-bird incentive: free after-hours passes for anyone who joined the SMS list before Jan. 31.
- Post-campaign re‑marketing targeted users who double-opted in, offering no dues until Mar. 1 plus a surprise gift to reinforce loyalty.
- Key lessons: local organizations can compete with limited budgets, incentives must be valuable and SMS programmes require ongoing re‑marketing and optimization.
Introduction
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 the perfect SMS plan helped ViQuest Wellness Center bring healthy workouts and powerful promotional materials to fitness fanatics in the Greenville, North Carolina area.
When it comes to connecting with your audience via text messages, it’s easy to become comfortable and let your campaign fall into disrepair. However, if you’re ready to whip this operation back into shape, this case study is just what you need. Located in the heart of Greenville, North Carolina, ViQuest Wellness Center and the story of its branded mobile marketing campaign offers a plethora of lessons that can help your organization return to the ranks of SMS health and prosperity. To find out how, let’s spend some time breaking down the particulars of this campaign and what you can do to make your next text outreach program a hit with customers in your area.
Building a Healthy SMS Plan
To start things off, the people in charge of ViQuest decided to revamp the brand’s marketing approach. At the heart of this new program was an emphasis on connecting with residents in the Greenville area that might be interested in joining a local gym via text message. Considering the nature of the modern fitness industry, particularly the rise of major gym chains with locations spanning cities across North America, honing in on these consumers and offering great mobile content made perfect sense for a regional organization trying to stay afloat.
Reaching out
To connect with these customers, ViQuest promoted a simple call-to-action (CTA) regarding gym membership offers during local cable television spots. From here, all that was required of intrigued customers was simply texting the code “VIQUEST” to 74642. In return for participating in this phase of the campaign, ViQuest waived the registration costs that come with a new membership at the gym. As an additional incentive, this fitness center also handed out free after hours passes to those who joined the SMS contact list before January 31.
Evaluating Initial Gains
After the two-month campaign came to a close, the ViQuest team sat down and reviewed the numbers to find out just how effective this campaign really was. In total, 307 people joined the contact list, with over 44 percent of these new gym members opting-in for further text promotions and offers. Considering how hard it can be for local businesses to compete with national brands that boast significantly larger marketing budgets, it’s safe to say that this influx of new members not only helped create a vibrant new SMS audience, but also improved the general health of the ViQuest Wellness Center’s operations.
Going the Extra Mile
If you’re a regular reader of this mobile marketing series, you know most of the time that this is the part where we jump straight into what your business can take away from a particular case study. However, ViQuest’s story doesn’t quite end here. After the original promotion wound down, the ViQuest team re-marketed its SMS database with a second run of text messages. As part of this new phase in the gym’s overall marketing game plan, ViQuest reconnected with users who double opted into the initial list. In return for this action, participating gym members paid no dues until March 1. Additionally, the gym also dropped in a surprise gift to make sure that these customers understood how much the organization appreciated their commitment to the local business.
Lessons Learned
With this multi-tiered marketing approach completely dissected, it’s time to talk about what your brand can learn from ViQuest’s successful SMS campaign. First off, even if your marketing budget doesn’t have the same bottom line as the big national names, that doesn’t mean you can’t compete when it comes to effective text messages. With the right timing, and some solid promotional strategies backing your mobile marketing game plan, you can reach the customers that matter most.
Once you understand this, the next step comes in providing valuable incentives for participating members. If you don’t make it worth their time, don’t expect customers to go out of their way to connect with your brand. Finally, the SMS process is never ending. Just as ViQuest did with its second text message phase, re-marketing and revamping your approach is vital if you plan to build a lasting bond with your audience. When paired with the rest of what you’ve learned, there’s nothing stopping your brand from joining ViQuest as an organization that maintains its SMS health and wellness.
FAQ
ViQuest asked viewers to text the code “VIQUEST” to 74642 (promoted in local cable TV spots). Subscribers received waived registration fees for a new membership and those who joined before Jan. 31 also received free after-hours passes.
The campaign was promoted during local cable television spots, targeting residents in the Greenville, North Carolina area who might be interested in joining a local gym.
After two months, 307 people joined the contact list and over 44% of those new gym members opted in for further text promotions and offers.
ViQuest re‑marketed its SMS database with a second run of messages aimed at users who double opted into the initial list. Participating members were offered no dues until Mar. 1 and received a surprise gift.
Initial incentives included waived registration fees and free after-hours passes for signups before Jan. 31. In a later phase, double-opted members were given no dues until Mar. 1 and a surprise gift to reinforce loyalty.
The case study emphasizes three lessons: local organizations can compete with national brands using targeted SMS, you must provide valuable incentives to motivate opt-ins and continuous re‑marketing and campaign revamps are vital to build lasting subscriber relationships.
ViQuest focused on residents in the Greenville area and promoted a straightforward CTA during local cable TV spots to attract potential local gym members to join the SMS list.
