The perfect SMS marketing message that’s almost impossible to ignore

I’m a happy customer of Kwik fit. 

They are the leading fast-fit specialists in the UK for car tyres, exhausts, batteries and brakes. They also do MOT tests, (compulsory annual vehicle inspections for all cars over 3 years old.)

Shortly before my last MOT test was due, I received an SMS reminder from them by text.

It was so good that we decided to share it and create an infographic that explains the reasons that make it near perfect.

The way that they managed to cram in so much information into so few characters is quite remarkable.

Kwik Fit have sensibly taken the decision to send a text that’s longer than the standard 160 characters. They’ve used around 290 characters which means that the reminder would have used 2 text credits.

While there’s an additional cost in sending a longer message, there’s no way that they would have been able to get all the information across effectively if they had only used 160 characters.

Why is this text reminder so effective?

What makes this message so good is that they’ve not only packed the text with relevant information, they’ve also managed to inject a little charm and warmth.

For example, the ‘sign off’, while it is a little cheesy, still manages to create a sense of them genuinely valuing my business.

‘We look forward to welcoming you.’

The level of personalisation in the text is brilliant. All the information that I could possibly need to respond to their text is there.

In total, they have merged 6 separate pieces of data. 
•    Customer name
•    Vehicle make and model
•    Registration number
•    Test type (e.g. MOT)
•    Due date
•    Nearest test centre

Clear and simple SMS opt-opt

Kwik fit have managed to reduce the opt out instructions to as few characters as possible while still making it crystal clear what I would have to do to remove myself from their list.

STOP to 86000

For any company that sends out appointment reminders to its customers, this near perfect example shows how it should be done.

Needless to say I booked my car in immediately.