How We Made 109k Last Month With SMS Marketing!

Why is SMS is the obvious choice for e-commerce brands?

SMS messaging: the OG function of a mobile phone. As the mobile phone continues to evolve in form, function, and even “smartness”, the spark of SMS messaging seemingly dims in comparison to other savvier, sassier applications that have since popped up. And yet, the fact of the matter is, the SMS messaging app will always have a spot on your phone’s home screen. Because no matter how many savvy, sassy apps you download, there’s nothing quite like the reliable simplicity of SMS messaging. 

 SMS isn’t going anywhere!

There are two things you can be almost a hundred percent sure about when it comes to the SMS inbox.

1. Everybody has access to it regardless of whether they are online or offline.

2. Unread messages are a rare occurrence. Let’s have a look at some numbers, shall we? According to a ZipWhip report entitled State of Texting 2019, the average person spends 25% more texts than emails. That’s an average of 15 texts versus 12 emails per day. Another fun fact from the study is that 74% of customers have zero unread text messages on their phone while 17% of customers have zero unread emails. These are some interesting figures to keep in mind as we dive into a case study of how Little & Lively grew a high-revenue SMS list in 60 days.

The Death of Facebook Messenger

When Facebook shut down messenger lists, Little & Lively co-founder Jordan West had to find another channel through which to reach his loyal customers. “We used to have a thriving Facebook messenger list,” he recalls.

“We had I think about 5000 people on the list, and it was amazing...and then Facebook just killed it. I’m like, ‘Wow, we need somewhere else that we can talk to people who just want to know essentially when we’re having sales and new releases.’” Faced with this dilemma, Jordan turned to good ‘ol SMS messaging as a marketing tool. But making that shift was not without its own set of doubts.

Be Careful With Your SMS Messages!

When asked about whether they would want to receive text messages, only 55% of Little & Lively’s VIP group responded positively.

This was a far cry from what was normally a 90-95% response rate from the group. Motivated by the desire to maximize the use of SMS messaging without turning customers off, Jordan put himself in their shoes. “If I’m gonna sign up for an SMS list, I want to know that I’m signing up for that SMS list,” he explains.

“If it’s like my favorite brewery or something, I want to be on that list because I want to know when those beers are coming out. But I do not want some random company messaging me. So that was one of the things we had to figure out--we’ve got to make sure that people actually know what they’re getting.”

Permission Based Marketing

Permission based marketing was key in staying true to this direction. “I don’t want people to be tricked into getting our text messages, because that sucks and you’re gonna have this big unsubscribe rate. Our unsubscribe rate is .5 when we send a message. That’s like an email unsubscribe rate.”

How To Get People Onto An SMS List

On how to get people onto the SMS list, Jordan’s plan from the get-go was to pair it with Little & Lively’s VIP group. “We called it the VIP SMS group,” he shares. “So we let people know we’re going to send, like, maybe a message a week--it’s more like two a month.

I wouldn’t go any more than one a week with the SMS list. I think any more than that and you’re overusing that list.” When asked if he found that overusing the list ticked people off or watered down the effect of the messages sent, Jordan jokingly answers, “It’s more like the Canadian in me that just does not want to bother people too often.”

To Discount Or Not To Discount?

In order to actually get people onto the SMS list, he and his team targeted site visitors and people who really knew a lot about Little & Lively already. A simple “Hey, do you want to join our SMS list?” was sent out to members of the brand’s VIP group and email list. Jordan explains, “So we actually asked people, we tested 10% off versus just straight subscribe, and I’ll tell you the straight subscribe--those people spend the most money. They’re not in it for the deal. They just love your brand.”

And what about results? Within a span of 60 or so days of doing SMS marketing, Little & Lively has done about $95,000.00 in extra revenue. “It’s gonna be a huge part of our marketing mix,” declares Jordan. It’s a simple tool that has thus far yielded some really wonderful results. Case in point: face masks. 

When Little & Lively first launched face masks at cost without any SMS marketing behind it, stock sold out in two minutes. For their second launch, they decided to apply their regular margins, and stock sold out in three minutes. “But we actually put SMS behind it and it was incredible. It was just a huge campaign. We’ll do it again for any new products like that, especially [ones] that people are really interested in.”

Is SMS Right For Your E-Commerce Brand?

All in all, Jordan recommends SMS marketing to any brand out there, but cautions that planning is absolutely essential. “You can’t just implement this and think everything’s gonna be ok.” He adds, “Your messaging needs to be on with your brand. I highly recommend pairing it with a VIP segment of your audience.” As a parting piece of advice, Jordan also highlights the importance of asking your customers what they want. “Listen to your audience. I hope you guys by this time have a VIP group on Facebook where you could ask people. If not then ask your email list.”

As Sean Lang of upGrowth Commerce so aptly put it, “It sounds like SMS is a really great stacker trick to add on top of the marketing you’ve already got. If it’s done right, it can work very very well.”

Want results like these for your E-Commerce Brand? Check out how we can help here!

How We Made Over $250,000 In one Day Using The "Gated Launch" Strategy

The Psychology Of Black Friday

Imagine that it’s the eve of Black Friday. You’ve got your shopping list ready, but you know it’s practically just a prop. Because the moment store doors are opened and websites are refreshed, that list will go flying out of your hand as you add item after item to your cart. 

The Psychology Of Gated Launches

On Black Friday, any deal is a good deal, and this mentality comes from a combination of anticipation, adrenaline, and delayed gratification. You’ve probably already heard of the marshmallow test. In a study conducted by a Stanford University professor, children were given a choice between eating a treat placed on the table right in front of them or waiting it out and then receiving twice as much the reward. This, in a nutshell, is the psychology of gated launches.

Withholding Makes Them Want It More

“Withholding something makes somebody want it that much more,” says Sean Lang of upGrowth Commerce say on their podcast “Secrets To Scaling Your E-commerce Brand”.

“While waiting, people don't know what they're going to buy because they can't window shop or plan. All they know is that when the door opens, they're going to grab everything that looks like something that they want or that is a good deal, and they're gonna buy it.” There lies the strategy for increasing your sales through gated launches.

How To Run A Gated Launch

“Now, how would that look like for my eCommerce site”, you wonder? Jordan West of upGrowth Commerce (himself the owner of homegrown children’s clothing company Little & Lively) recommends password protecting your site for at least two hours and allowing customers who either belong to your VIP group and / or your SMS list to get early exclusive access to fresh drops. “Make sure you have a link so that people can actually access the site if they jump through the hoops,” he shares. “You want to make sure that they actually have to jump through the hoops to enter the website.”

The Results Of A Gated Launch

As far as results go, in Jordan’s own experience, a gated launch can yield about a 50% sales difference versus a regular all-out launch. “You create this effect that rather than somebody planning to buy one thing, they go in and they probably get caught up and they buy 2, 3, 4, 5 things--it’s an incredible effect,” Sean explains.

Should I Really Password Protect My Site?

This alone should be a nice nudge for those who may be wary about locking down their site for a period of time, thinking that this could lead to losses in sales. Jordan explains, however, that customers who come across the locked site either come back at a later time or figure out what has to be done to get access. Either way, it’s a win-win. 

Use Your SMS List!

Bold yet simple, the gated launch is a strategy that not only generates huge sales but also helps you convert leads from SMS lists and VIP groups.

For their last Little & Lively sale, Jordan shares how they launched without running a single ad, but still went on to do six figures for that sale. These and all things considered, the residual effects can potentially be as incredible as the immediate.

In the long run, investing in this strategy can (and should) eventually lead you to the tipping point wherein you can launch without ads, spending less on acquiring customers and more on scaling your business even further through innovative marketing initiatives.

Want results like this for your e-commerce brand? Learn more about how we can help!