Hey Bud’s 5-Step Routine for a Glowing SMS Program

In a world of increasingly complex routines, Hey Bud believes simple skincare can be effective, personal, and fun. They have the same approach when it comes to their marketing. In 2023, they were looking for new ways to connect with their customers. They sought a channel to engage directly with their audience in a way that would be direct, personal, and engaging. 

They had been gathering phone numbers from Shopify, social media, and a Klaviyo website pop-up, but were underutilizing them. One or two messages would be sent out a year for big sales, but they weren't seeing a return or traction in the channel. 

When they were ready to put the list to use and explore SMS as a new channel, they turned to Attentive. In less than a year, they’ve built a robust SMS program that boasts impressive results— and they’re just getting started.

Priming with Partnership

To ensure Attentive was the right fit as a partner, they first  joined the free trial. Upon signing up, they were paired with a Customer Success Manager (CSM), whom they could partner with to build their SMS program. Their CSM helped make their onboarding an easy and seamless experience, which the team at Hey Bud appreciated. 

”After our trial, it was a no brainer. What sets Attentive apart from other vendors is their exceptional service, the Customer Success and White Glove teams have been really helpful” - Ollie Watts, Co-Founder, Hey Bud

They also provide ongoing support and strategy, offering best practices, guidance, and ideas based on insights from Attentive’s 8,000+ customers globally. Most importantly, their CSM helped them build and maintain their SMS  program to achieve the highest standards of compliance. This helped ensure all the messages they sent out would be welcome and they wouldn’t have to worry about facing costly litigation. 

Making sign-up a refreshing experience

Hey Bud migrated over a sizable subscriber list, and one of their top priorities was to grow it.

List growth is a critical aspect of Hey Bud's marketing strategy, and they're constantly testing different sign-up units to find out what works best. They employ A/B testing for various elements, including messages, design, timing, promotional offers, and pre-engagement tactics. 

Testing the pre-engagement sign-up unit proved particularly fruitful. Shoppers are asked if they want a 10% discount, which they have to agree to before being prompted to provide their contact information. Results show that this helps the exchange feel more fair to consumers, and they are more likely to opt into the program. 

The sign-up unit with pre-engagement had 441% more clicks and 280% more conversions than a regular pop-up. This led to four times more SMS subscriptions and seven times more sign ups for email. 

After the subscriber opts in for the 10% off and their contact information is collected, Attentive’s patented two-tap technology helps them compliantly subscribe to the SMS program. 

Using journeys for full-coverage in the customer lifecycle

From there, a welcome flow kicks off to remind them to use their introductory offer, with a reminder sent 48 hours after the initial message. The Welcome Journey is driving a 15.6% CTR and a remarkable $29 in revenue per message sent. 

‍"Working with Attentive has significantly transformed our SMS program experience, boosted revenue, and fostered customer loyalty. The Attentive sign-up unit and welcome journey alone have driven a remarkable increase in revenue and SMS conversion rates.- Ollie Watts, Co-Founder, Hey Bud

Hey Bud also set up flows for abandonment retrieval and winbacks, all of which help to bring interested customers back to their site to complete purchases. To increase repeat purchases, they’ve also begun a replenishment reminder journey. These messages follow up with customers a set amount of time after their purchase of consumable products, reminding them to refresh their supply before they run out, and show promising initial results. 

Pumping up personalization with segmentation

Hey Bud knows that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t work for their audience. While many marketers in Australia still rely on batch and blast techniques, Hey Bud has embraced a more sophisticated approach by leaning into segmentation for their SMS program. Subscribers identify their skin type or concerns during sign-up, which helps them collect data to build segments from the start. Hey Bud segments their audience based on skin types, purchase history, and engagement patterns. This data-driven approach allows them to tailor their messaging and offers, which in turn boosts engagement and conversion rates. It also can inform future product development and marketing strategies.

“The days of batch and blast are over. Today’s consumers expect a shopping experience tailored to their needs and interests. Attentive’s SMS features allow us to truly deliver on that expectation. Not only is it helping improve customer experience, it’s driving higher revenue.” - Ollie Watts, Co-Founder, Hey Bud

In addition to a better customer experience, another key driver behind this approach was the consideration of cost efficiency. By directing their efforts towards a truly engaged audience, Hey Bud effectively manages costs, ensuring a robust return on their SMS investments.

Campaigns formulated for maximum impact

The segments are used to fuel thoughtful and playful campaigns that pique audience interest. One of the most successful of these was a retargeting campaign of recent purchasers in April 2024. The FOMO campaign offered SMS subscribers a code for 20% off a sitewide sale that would end that night, creating the right mix of incentive and urgency to get the results they wanted. 

“With SMS, we've become more responsive to customer behavior. For example, our FOMO campaign targeting recent purchasers achieved a 36% revenue increase compared to campaigns sent through our previous SMS provider.” - Ollie Watts, Co-Founder, Hey Bud

The team is committed to continuous A/B testing to fine-tune its messages. From content type to tone to copy length, every detail is considered to ensure customer engagement. One of these tests involved a launch for their Vitamin C Serum in May 2024. They pitted conventional, straightforward messaging against a softer, more creative tone of voice. The results were surprising, with the latter driving double the conversions and quintupling the revenue. 

These insights were then channeled into creating more impactful messaging for sales and product launches. 

A winning SMS program in less than a year

In partnership with Attentive, Hey Bud built a high-performing SMS program that drives an impressive 133x ROI while accomplishing their goal of connecting with customers in a more direct and personalized way.

“We've found that SMS adds a direct and personal touch to our marketing stack. It allows us to create immediate engaging touch points that deepen the customer relationship, that in turn, drive impressive revenue. It’s been a critical addition to our marketing stack and I believe it will play an increasingly important role.“- OIllie Watts, Co-Founder, Hey Bud

Hey Bud has been seeing strong performance across the board. Sign-up units are driving more than 500 new subscribers per month. They’ve set up comprehensive customer journeys, the crown jewel of which is a welcome flow that brings in a remarkable $29 in revenue per message sent. Campaigns hold an equally strong performance, with a 14.5% CVR overall, and are continuously tested for effectiveness.

Encouraged by these promising outcomes, Hey Bud is eager to scale their efforts. They're currently exploring the potential of email and SMS orchestration with Attentive and Attentive AI to personalize their customer experience and drive stronger performance.