Blaze Pizza's Secret Ingredient: ‘Serving Up’ Better Results With Attentive SMS

Blaze Pizza experienced a shift in customer engagement, prompting them to make crucial changes to their business strategy. Like many other QSRs, Blaze Pizza recognized the need to quickly embrace a digital-first approach to meet evolving consumer demands and expectations around service options.

The increasing reliance on online and mobile ordering emphasized the value of investing in digital marketing channels. For Blaze Pizza, the immediacy of SMS made it an obvious choice for them to add to the mix. They knew it would give them a competitive advantage: the ability to open a direct line of communication with their customers during a time when traditional methods were becoming less impactful. 

Blaze Pizza chose to launch their SMS program with Attentive over other providers because they felt confident they would have the support and the tools they needed to be successful as a client in the food & beverage space. They appreciated the professionalism and expertise of the Client Strategy team, as well as the availability of White Glove service. 

Attentive’s extensive list growth tools also stood apart from other vendors, proving to be more comprehensive and effective. Blaze Pizza was impressed with Attentive's advanced segmentation and journey features, which would enable them to build complex campaigns and analyze data with ease. This was an especially important factor for the brand to be able to reach and engage their loyalty program members with personalized messages. 

The combination of these features and capabilities made Attentive the ideal choice to meet Blaze Pizza’s needs.

“SMS is a channel where immediacy meets impact, turning our challenges into opportunities. We just knew that the Attentive team was in our court from the very beginning.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

Proving the value of SMS with incrementality testing

To make sure SMS would be an effective channel for them, Blaze Pizza decided to start small and run an incrementality test at the start of a new quarter. The goal was to see how much extra revenue Attentive could generate for them compared to not sending customers any text messages at all. 

They divided their subscriber base into two groups: a test group and a control group. The test group received SMS campaigns for a set period, while the control group received no messages during that time. Both groups were diligently tracked throughout the quarter to monitor their purchases, order values, and overall engagement.

In the end, SMS proved to be a winner. Blaze Pizza found that Attentive messaging resulted in an impressive 13+% boost in revenue compared to the control group. This clear and measurable impact underscored just how effective their SMS marketing efforts were in driving additional revenue. 

Blaze Pizza now runs these tests on a quarterly basis, consistently highlighting Attentive's substantial impact on the business.

“I praise our Client Strategy Manager for taking the feedback from our incrementality tests to prove the legitimacy of the program and using it to work long-term with us.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

Strategically increasing customer loyalty with rewards

Blaze Pizza enhances customer engagement with their popular rewards program. With every transaction, guests earn “Flames” that can be exchanged for various rewards, like free drinks, desserts, cheesy bread, or even full pizzas. But it’s not just about offering pizza enthusiasts delicious perks and benefits.

‍Loyalty and engagement programs resonate particularly well with frequent, lower-check single diners—like those who make up a significant portion of Blaze Pizza's customer base. The "Blaze Rewards" is a fun yet effective way for the restaurant chain to increase diner loyalty by encouraging repeat visits, and elevating the overall dining experience. 

Blaze Pizza uses Punchh, which is integrated with Attentive, to manage their loyalty program and identify guests who also subscribe to SMS. By creating a dedicated segment of loyalty member subscribers in Attentive, they're able to send targeted marketing messages specifically tailored to this group. Their loyalty subscribers consistently demonstrate higher conversion rates and increased revenue per message, highlighting their significant value to the channel.

“Successful marketing is achieved by carefully segmenting your audience and continually fine-tuning your strategies for lasting relevance and maximum impact.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

Optimizing campaigns for high engagement and returns

Attentive has been a game-changer for Blaze Pizza’s rewards-based initiatives, like their “Summer Send Off, “Holiblaze,” and monthly limited-time offers. These promotions all capitalize on the immediacy of SMS with campaigns that create a sense of urgency for subscribers to participate or purchase.

Whether it’s a seasonal event, holiday promotion, or limited-time menu item, Attentive proves invaluable in maximizing effectiveness and ensuring a strong customer turnout. SMS offers direct readership compared to other channels that can take a bit more time to build rapport.

“We know we can use SMS to kickstart a promotion and get immediate conversions. It's simple. It's effortless. It's direct to the phone. And we know how highly visible the channel is.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

Blaze Pizza also uses A/B testing in their campaigns, comparing various discount models to see what gets their customers to click-through and convert. They experiment with percentage-off discounts (20% off any pizza), fixed-amount reductions ($2 off any pizza), and tiered pricing offers ($5 off orders over $20). By analyzing which types of incentives most effectively engage their customers and inspire action, Blaze Pizza can make sure their future messages align with customer preferences and drive conversions.

Additionally, Blaze Pizza uses Attentive AI™ to help craft their text messages. Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager at Blaze Pizza, thinks of our AI copy assistant as “an additional team member” that provides instant analysis of industry trends and data-driven recommendations to maximize engagement. The team often draws on insights from Attentive AI for inspiration and strategic direction, blending human creativity with AI-driven efficiency.

“I applaud Attentive for their proactive approach to AI and already providing their customers with such advanced tools.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

Fine-tuning their approach to deliver the undeniable results

Blaze Pizza embraces a "progress over perfection" philosophy with their SMS marketing, focusing on crafting messages that resonate with and keep their audience engaged over time. Working with Attentive helps them continually refine their strategy to drive increasingly better results.

Since launching their SMS marketing program with Attentive in May 2023, Blaze Pizza has achieved a remarkable 103x ROI based on total revenue (ROI calculation uses a 1-day post-view and 3-day post-click attribution window).

Their campaign messages boast an average CVR of 48%, far surpassing the average CVR of 13% in the Attentive Food & Beverage vertical.

Additionally, Blaze Pizza's journey messages have garnered an extraordinary 170% CVR (inclusive of view and click-through conversions), which is significantly higher than the industry's average journey CVR of 64%.

The company's subscriber growth also consistently outperforms industry benchmarks, with impressive subscription rates across both Mobile and Desktop sign-up units. Furthermore, Blaze Pizza has seen a substantial increase in total revenue, with a significant portion attributable to the success of their Welcome and Cart Abandonment journeys.

“For other businesses in the restaurant space considering SMS marketing, my advice is this: The readership rates of SMS hold immense revenue potential, but equally important is delivering an exceptional experience for your subscribers.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

Together, these results demonstrate just how effective Blaze Pizza's approach to SMS is in driving consumers to take action—and the value of their partnership with Attentive in boosting their bottom line. 

“Our partnership with Attentive is summed up in one word: 'precise.' This word describes Attentive's ability to consistently hit the mark in understanding and fulfilling our specific marketing needs. It reflects the meticulous attention to detail, the fine-tuning of strategies, and the tailor-made solutions that Attentive continually provides.”
- Mason Sergent, Digital & Content Manager, Blaze Pizza

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