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The transformation at Griffin Fast Lube — from flagged sender to award-winning marketing program — is a story about what happens when the right platform meets the right agency and both are committed to doing the work at every level.
Stonebriar Auto Services, LLC, a major Jiffy Lube franchisee, successfully expanded its customer retention strategy in December 2025. By integrating SMS reminders alongside established email campaigns, the company achieved immediate, measurable financial growth.
A single, strategic text message drove thousands of return visits within days, generating $368,534 in attributed revenue from an investment of just $1,685.
While email continues to serve as the foundation for long-term customer loyalty, SMS proved to be a powerful accelerator. It successfully reached customers who were previously unresponsive to email and converted them significantly faster. The result was not a replacement of channels, but an amplification: two channels working in tandem to increase the speed and volume of customer returns without discounting or increasing message frequency.
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Company Background
Founded in late 2019, Stonebriar Auto Services, LLC owns and operates more than 125 Jiffy Lube locations across 16 states. With state-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and operations, Stonebriar is committed to hiring local leadership, integrating into the community, and providing excellent guest service, which includes speed, friendliness, and quality of work.
The Challenge
Stonebriar’s existing email campaigns were effective, yet they faced limitations common to many service-based businesses:
- Inbox Visibility: Not every customer opened or received reminder emails.
- Timing Gaps: Conversions via email often occurred weeks or months after the initial send.
- Unreachable Segments: A significant portion of the customer base was not engaging with email at all.
- Growth Requirements: The goal was to increase visit volume without lowering ticket value or relying on promotional incentives.
The opportunity was clear: The business needed a way to reach more customers and prompt action sooner.
The Solution: Introducing SMS Marketing to Due-Based Reminders
In December 2025, Stonebriar introduced SMS marketing into its standard Oil Change Reminder journey. This strategic shift was designed to complement, not replace, existing efforts.
Strategic Implementation
- Targeted Outreach: Customers received one SMS when their vehicle was due for service, targeting those not engaging with email.
- Streamlined Communication: This single SMS replaced a previous sequence of three reminder emails for this specific segment.
- Platform Leverage: The strategy utilized high open rates of mobile messaging to cut through noise.
Why SMS Marketing?
- Immediate Visibility: Messages appear directly on mobile devices with high priority.
- Direct Delivery: Minimal filtering compared to email inboxes.
- High Engagement: Superior open and response rates.
The intent was to expand reach and accelerate response times, ensuring no customer slipped through the cracks.
Performance Results
Delivery & Speed of Return
The introduction of SMS created an immediate surge in customer activity.
- 25,622 SMS messages delivered
- 4,403 return visits attributed directly to SMS
- 12 Days average return time
- >80% of SMS-driven revenue occurred within the first 7 days
This speed contrasts sharply with email’s longer conversion window, demonstrating the ability of SMS to pull visits forward rather than waiting for delayed action.
Revenue Impact
Despite the sharp increase in visit volume, the average ticket value remained stable, proving that growth was driven by traffic, not price erosion.
- $131.10 Average Ticket
- $368,534 Total Attributed Revenue
- $1,685 Total SMS Investment
Efficiency Metrics
The return on investment (ROI) for this initiative was exceptional, highlighting the efficiency of SMS as a retention tool.
- ~$0.38 Cost per return vehicle
- ~$6.50 Revenue per SMS segment
Customer Mix & Incrementality
A critical concern when introducing a new channel is cannibalization—whether the new tool drives true growth or merely shifts credit from another source. The data confirmed true expansion.
- ~85% of SMS-driven returns came from regular customers who had not previously received reminders.
- The remaining visits came from lapsed or lost customers, representing successful re-engagement.
- There was no evidence that SMS replaced email conversions.
SMS broadened coverage, activating segments that were previously unreachable through inbox messaging alone.
Email Performance: The Retention Foundation
While SMS delivered speed and precision, email remained the backbone of the retention strategy, driving scale and sustained loyalty.
- 57,129 return visits attributed to Email
- ~86 Days average return timing after prior transaction
- $7.46M total attributed revenue
- ~$590 Revenue per $1 spent on Email
Email continues to deliver exceptional ROI at scale, proving essential for nurturing long-term relationships and maintaining consistent engagement across multiple journeys.
Comparative Insights: Email vs. SMS Marketing
The data reveals that these channels serve distinct, complementary purposes within a unified marketing ecosystem.
| Dimension | SMS | |
| Primary Strength | Speed & Reach | Scale & Longevity |
| Conversion Timing | 7–12 days | Weeks to Months |
| Best Audience | Non-engaged / Unreachable | Broad customer base |
| Investment Size | Low | Moderate |
| Strategic Role | Accelerator | Foundation |
The strategic insight is not “SMS versus Email,” but “SMS plus Email.” Together, they cover the entire spectrum of customer behavior.
Key Takeaways
- Immediate Revenue: SMS delivers fast, incremental revenue without the need for discounting.
- Sustained Scale: Email remains critical for long-term retention and broad reach.
- Unified Power: Combining channels increases both the speed of return and total visit volume.
- Value Retention: Average ticket stability confirms that growth came from volume, not price erosion.
- Efficiency: Even a modest budget allocation for SMS can produce outsized financial results.
Conclusion
Email remains the dependable backbone of customer retention—scalable and efficient over the long term. However, SMS has proven its value as a high-efficiency accelerator, capable of delivering rapid conversions and activating previously unreachable customers.
By leveraging both channels, Stonebriar Auto Services created a retention system stronger than the sum of its parts: Email keeps customers loyal. SMS brings them back sooner.
