The company ran an email campaign to get the word out about the promotion. SMS is an ideal channel for marketers to use to drive revenue and repeat customers.

“Breaking through the email clutter, at a 98 percent open rate we know customers want our content,” said Jane Park, founder/CEO of Julep, Seattle.

“We want to be wherever the customer is – and increasingly that’s on mobile devices,” she said. “The Mobile Insider Club is created exclusivity for our customers and they are excited to be a part of it.

“There is already buzz about what the next message will be.”

Mobile message
The Julep email reads “We’re already on your fingers… now we’re at your fingertips. Become a Julep Mobile Insider and get 50% off your next color.”

Consumers are encouraged to text the keyword JULEP to the short code 33733.

When consumers opt-in, they receive a promotional code from the company, which expires on March 25.

Furthermore, once users text-in, they automatically become a Julep Mobile Insider.

This is the first time Julep has run an email campaign to bolster its mobile database.

SMS is a smart move for Julep. Using the channel, the company is able to build its database, drive loyalty and continually keep an ongoing dialogue with consumers.

“We are leveraging SMS to experiment and learn along with our customers about what they want so that we can incorporate their interests and feedback into our mobile app and mobile online experience at julep.com,” Ms. Park said.

“We are starting out with SMS because we didn’t want to wait to engage with our customers,” she said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York