Avi Nandwani, Cheeky Promotions: "Smart Messenger is affordable for any business, offers great support, and delivers as promised."
Founded by Avi Nandwani while at Lancaster University, Cheeky Promotions began as a marketing and events company, evolving to become a major player in the UK's event industry. From school-leaver parties to corporate events, they specialise in creating unforgettable experiences. The company's dedication to quality has earned them a superb reputation and accolades, including the Lancaster Student Enterprise of the Year Award in 2012.
Background
In early 2023, Avi Nandwani sought improved ways to retarget event customers for Cheeky Promotions. At the time, the company was facing challenges in using data from ticket sales effectively. In particular, the lack of an efficient email marketing platform hindered their potential to engage customers.
Smart Messenger’s Appeal
Avi learned of Smart Messenger while searching for a British alternative to Mailchimp.
He explains, “Smart Messenger appealed because they’re UK-based email marketing provider and offer unlimited phone support, which I knew would be useful to help me get started with my email marketing. Also, when I discovered that TaxAssist Accountants is one of their clients, I decided to book a demo. I’ve always liked the structure and style of the newsletters I receive from TaxAssist.
Email Challenges
Despite having valuable ticket sales data, Cheeky Promotions struggled to use it effectively due to the absence of an email platform. They resorted to pasting contact lists into the BCC line of their standard email system, leading to high undelivered rates and no way of analysing their emails’ effectiveness.
Effective Solutions With Smart Messenger
Turning to Smart Messenger, Avi and Cheeky Promotions found a practical solution to maximise the value of their customer data and address their email limitations. Their shift to Smart Messenger's professional platform marked a transformative step for the business.
Avi remarks, "Previously, we used to send emails via BCC lists in our usual email system, but we faced issues with bounced emails. Our messages also lacked a professional look, often being treated as spam instead of 'cool', informative, and engaging content. Today, readability is key, especially for younger audiences. Long paragraphs don't work anymore. That's why the newsletter format, with images and a scrolling news feed style, suits our audience better. It sparks their curiosity and encourages them to read on."
Data Driven Success
Smart Messenger's campaign analytics features have proven to be a game-changer for Cheeky Promotions. By providing in-depth insights into email performance, response rates, and audience engagement, these analytics have enabled Avi and his team to make informed decisions about their email campaigns. With a clear understanding of what resonates with their audience, they can tailor their content, layout, and approach to ensure maximum impact, ultimately leading to higher open rates and increased customer engagement.
As Avi explains, Smart Messenger's analytics and reporting capabilities are really important to Cheeky Promotions, “I really appreciate the data analytics aspect. It’s early days in our email marketing journey but I’ve already been pleasantly surprised by our campaign response rates.”
Analytics insights have prompted the events company to introduce specific email-related discounts to nurture customer engagement.
“As our next move, we're eager to encourage our loyal customers to explore events in other cities. We're confident in the potential for repeat business," Avi continues.
Beneficial Features for Marketing Success
Avi acknowledges the instrumental role of Smart Messenger's features in boosting their email marketing success:
"Smart Messenger is the ideal solution for our events business. The analytics are fantastic. We clearly understand response rates and conversions from the reports—everything is very transparent. As the system is web-based we can send emails from anywhere, even if we have separate teams working on different projects. The template design is a powerful tool that helps us create engaging emails."
Support and User-Friendly Experience
Avi was impressed by the initial training and values the ongoing support provided by the Smart Messenger team:
"Everyone at Smart Messenger is lovely and in our kind of business, that’s what we need! Even when I'm caught up in various projects, their ongoing support has boosted my confidence in the platform. The combination of the responsive team and the Smart Messenger platform itself is fantastic—they're always hands-on to help us succeed."
When asked about the platform's ease-of-use, Avi commented, "It's user-friendly and straightforward. With upcoming event releases this autumn, I'll be diving in to make the most of it, confident in the knowledge that the Smart Messenger team is on hand if I need help with any aspect of my campaigns.”
A Strong Vote of Confidence
Avi unreservedly recommends Smart Messenger to other businesses seeking an effective email marketing platform:
"I wholeheartedly recommend Smart Messenger—100%." he states. “It's affordable for any business, offers great support, and delivers as promised. It also helps establish a more personal connection between customers and brands, making it an essential tool for businesses."
Conclusion
In conclusion, the collaboration with Smart Messenger has led to a significant advance in Cheeky Promotions' email marketing strategies. The platform's professional, user-friendly capabilities, combined with expert support from the team, have empowered Cheeky Promotions to engage customers more effectively, boost response rates, and encourage repeat business.
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