As of 3 weeks ago, I had never heard of Red Mango. Now, I’m an evangelist.
Besides the fact that they serve all-natural, amazingly tasty, frozen yogurt, I’m also extremely impressed by their in-store marketing and effective use of SMS (aka, text messaging).
Kristina (my wife), Eva (our 17 month old), and I went to our local Red Mango 3 weeks ago – where I snapped the photo above. I just love that sign. It’s hard to tell from the image, but the sign is ginormous. You can’t miss it. Also, I really like how they spell out the “us vs. them” in an easy-to-understand chart. Brilliant.
However, what really moved me from a fan to an evangelist (again, besides the yogurt) was their use of text message marketing.
How Red Mango Had Me at “Mango6”
As I was placing my order at Red Mango this week, I saw the following sign:
What did I do? Yup. I pulled out my iPhone and texted “mango6” to 53535. Within minutes, I received a reply text from Red Mango (see below).
Then, as promised, I received this text from Red Mango the very next day.
Easy. Simple. Effective.
Why I Loved This SMS Campaign (& A Few Suggestions)
As mentioned above, it was easy, simple, and effective. However, let’s break down each part.
1. In-Store Signage: I would not give Red Mango points for clean (pretty) design – I’m not a fan of all caps/bold/underlined – but it worked. They spelled out a few things very clearly. I find that the “why” and the “how” are things that marketers often struggle with conveying.
- Why should I opt-in? Free frozen yogurts, specials, and discounts
- How do I opt-in? Text the word mango6 to 53535
Suggestion: Show a picture of a phone with the word mango6 in the text box and 53535 in the “to:” field.
2. Initial Follow Up Text: The #1 key to this follow up text was the timing. It was immediate. I was “in the moment” when I received the confirmation reply. It’s all about timing.
Suggestion: I liked the “thanks” and “awesome deals” part of the messaging, but I’d consider setting clearer expectations. For example, instead of “stay tuned…” why not be direct with, “Be on the lookout for your first text tomorrow at … ” Also, this would be a great opportunity to get an email opt-in from a new user. Something like, “Want to also receive special offers via email? Hit reply and text us your email address.”
3. First Text Offer: I loved this text. It fit their brand. It was personal. It was human. It was not a boring message.
Suggestion: There is not much I’d change about this other than maybe adding a URL or other call to action for tracking purposes.
But Was It Effective?
Clearly this campaign worked (is working) for me.
I wonder though, how is it performing overall? How many SMS opt-ins does Red Mango receive on a daily/weekly/monthly basis? What is the open rate? What is the “redemption” rate?
Maybe the folks at Red Mango will share in the comments below (or email me!). Something tells me that they will see this. I’d love to do a follow up blog post with some actually numbers / results.
Red Mango?
BONUS!
If you’ve made it this far, I’d like to share with you why SMS/Texting is so top of mind for me these days. It just so happens that in one week from today – August 31, 2011 – I’ll be co-hosting a webinar with Justin Mastrangelo from JA.TXT Text Message Marketing Software titled, Texting Is Far From Dead: Learn How to Leverage SMS in Mobile Marketing.
Justin and I will be talking about 97% read rates for text messages, the fact that over 90% of text messages are read within the first 15 minutes of sending … and much, much more*!
*If Red Mango replies with some data, we may even add that to the webinar!
See you there?
DJ Waldow
@djwaldow
