During the recent NRF NXT All-Access virtual event, Attentive’s Director of Client Strategy Julia Trischetta sat down with Caroline Homlish, VP of Direct-to-Consumer at Supergoop!.

Hear firsthand how Supergoop! uses text message marketing to engage mobile-first shoppers with relevant content and offers, build brand awareness, and educate about the importance of sun protection—ultimately driving revenue for the brand.

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Harnessing the power of SMS

Traditionally, marketers have been limited to communicate with their audience through one-to-many channels like tv, print, and radio. However, with access to more data and robust technology than ever comes more opportunities to engage consumers on a 1:1 basis wherever they are—and now more than ever, that’s mobile.

Adults are spending the majority of their time on mobile vs. desktop with the average person checking their phone over 90x a day. And while many consumers have traditionally viewed SMS as a channel to communicate on an intimate level with friends & family, more and more, they want to hear from their favorite brands through this channel, too. Understanding this, Supergoop! introduced SMS into their overall marketing strategy using Attentive’s “two-tap” sign-up technology to drive opt-ins for both email and SMS simultaneously.

“We worked with the Attentive team to implement a sign-up strategy that would collect both SMS and email on our mobile and desktop websites. We’ve seen great results,” said Homlish.

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Building brand awareness

Brand marketing is a great way to share content with your audience that directly relates to your company or specific products. As a protective skincare brand, it’s important for Supergoop! to ensure its audience is well informed about products and the importance of sun protection. “We use SMS as a way to show people how to use our products, why they should use those products, and the importance of applying SPF every day,” said Homlish.

While text messaging is the perfect channel to share information with your subscribers on how to use your products, it can also be used to introduce new brand programs that they’ll benefit from. “In January, we used SMS to introduce our new sunscreen subscription program, ‘Supermail,’” said Homlish. “To successfully launch a sunscreen subscription program in the dark days of January is really exciting, and SMS was certainly part of that strategy.”

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Personalizing is key to engagement

The key to a successful SMS marketing program is sending relevant, personalized content. 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands personalize the user experience. Marketers need to make sure they’re sending relevant content at the right moment.

One way Supergoop! sends relevant content to subscribers is by implementing a triggered cart abandonment message that subscribers receive after they’ve left something in their online cart. “These messages are not just generic messages. They are really personalized to each individual subscriber and their unique experience on our site,” said Homlish. “We’ve been experimenting with the timing of when the cart abandonment message is deployed, and we’re constantly testing to optimize the effectiveness of that message.”

Hitting the right note with your messages is something that Trischetta agrees with. “Almost 80% of consumers want to hear from brands via text messaging—but they don’t want to receive irrelevant, untimely content,” she said. “It needs to be personalized to their preferences, location, and more.” Supergoop!’s usage of personalization is an example of how important relevant messages are to yielding high results within your SMS marketing channel.

In less than one year, e-commerce sales will be primarily mobile, so marketers need a strong strategy for reaching and converting these shoppers. Whether you’re growing your subscriber base, sending discounts or offers, or spreading your brand’s overall mission, there’s no mobile channel more direct than text messaging.

Discover how your brand could use text messaging to drive engagement and revenue—request a demo!