Here is an example of a recent text that my wife received from a large, well know women’s health club chain:
“HEY XXXX, WANT A WORKOUT BUDDY? PICK UP YOUR FREE 7 DAY PASS FOR A FRIEND TONIGHT AT XXXXXXXX BETWEEN 5-7PM! Optout: txt STOP to 04XXXXXXXX”
What’s wrong with this campaign?:
1) The club is SHOUTING at its members by including all text in CAPS!!
2) My wife has been attending the club for about three years – she has never attended the club between those hours – so why ask her to redeem the offer only in a short two hour window, which is completely unfriendly with her daily activity?
3) Why not include a call to the club to reserve the passes? Or even better, allow the text to be forwarded to friends in her address book? The SMS can then be shown at the club reception as a redemption method.
4) There is no indication of the expiry date for the campaign, so the member would rightly assume unless they show up on the day they’ve missed out….even if there are plenty of 7 day passes lying around.
5) The text was not personalised at all, giving the impression that this is a blanket, “scatter gun” message to all members with little thought about their membership habits – if that wasn’t obvious already!
It’s a perfect example of a poorly executed SMS campaign, which we advise our clients not to do. It’s all about targeting and relevance.
I’m sure they would have got a response, but it could have been so much better with a little more thought and careful execution.