Latest / The DTC Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Direct-to-Consumer Brands, Shopify, and E-Commerce Growth / How DTC Brands Use SMS for Customer Retention and Re-engagement
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, I want to talk about something that a lot of DTC brands are doing really well right now — using SMS not just for acquisition, but for actual retention and re-engagement. And I have a specific case that I think is worth digging into. Luna: You mean the texts I get from every brand I've ever bought from, basically? I'm curious what's different about what you found. Lucas: Exactly. But it's not the generic 'We miss you' message that a lot of people are used to. I was looking at a campaign from Cometeer — the coffee subscription brand that sells those frozen pucks of concentrate. They ran a re-engagement flow for customers who hadn't ordered in 90 days. Luna: Oh, I've seen their ads. Very slick branding. What did they do differently? Lucas: So it was a three-part SMS sequence. The first text was a simple offer — $10 off the next order. But here's the key: it wasn't a generic coupon. The text referenced the customer's last order. Something like 'We noticed you haven't had the Ethiopia single-origin in a while.' That personalization alone boosted the click-through rate by 40 percent compared to a non-personalized version. Luna: That makes sense. If a brand texts me and shows they actually know what I bought, I'm way more likely to engage. The generic ones feel spammy. Lucas: Right. The second text came three days later if the first one didn't convert. This one was a product recommendation based on their past purchase history. So if they had only ever bought light roasts, Cometeer suggested a new light roast they hadn't tried. It's a nudge, not a hard sell. Luna: And the third? Luna: That's smart. They're not just trying to win back a sale; they're learning. And I know from a Klaviyo study I saw last year that SMS re-engagement campaigns have about a 35 percent higher click-through rate than email equivalents. But the compliance piece always worries me. Lucas: Yeah, compliance is the thing nobody likes to talk about but it's critical. With TCPA regulations and the new A2P 10DLC requirements, brands have to have explicit opt-in for SMS. Cometeer is careful about that — they only send to people who opted in at checkout or through a preference center. Luna: And they also need to watch the frequency. One of the biggest complaints I see on social media is brands texting too often. What's the sweet spot? Lucas: For re-engagement, I'd say a maximum of three texts over a week to ten days. Then if they don't respond, you put them back into a longer drip. Cometeer's flow was about nine days total, and then if the customer didn't engage, they'd be moved to a quarterly check-in. You don't want to burn the relationship. Luna: And timing matters too. Sending a text at 10 PM on a Saturday? That's a fast track to an opt-out. Lucas: Exactly. Cometeer sent their texts between 10 AM and 2 PM in the customer's time zone. They used a tool like Postscript to automate that. The result? They recovered about 12 percent of lapsed customers within 30 days. That's not a huge number, but when you consider that a repeat customer has a lifetime value three to five times higher than a new one, it's a big win. Luna: So what's the takeaway for a smaller DTC brand that doesn't have Cometeer's resources? Can they do something similar on a budget? Lucas: Absolutely. You don't need a fancy tech stack. Most email marketing platforms like Klaviyo or Shopify's built-in SMS have flows you can set up in an hour. The key is the personalization — use the customer's name, reference their last purchase, and make the offer relevant. Even a simple two-text flow — offer and then a follow-up — can work. Luna: And you have to test. What works for a coffee brand might not work for a skincare brand. Cometeer's survey gave them that insight, but smaller brands can just A/B test different offers or messaging. Lucas: Right. And the other thing is to make sure your SMS and email are coordinated. You don't want a customer to get a text and an email about the same offer on the same day. That's just annoying. Luna: Yeah, that's a recipe for an unsubscribe. So if I'm a brand listening, I should look at my lapsed customer data, segment by time since last purchase, and start with a simple text flow. Lucas: Exactly. And if you're not sure where to start, there are templates from Postscript and Klaviyo that are pretty solid. The important thing is just to start collecting consent if you aren't already. Because SMS is only going to get more important as email becomes more crowded. Luna: I think that's a really practical takeaway. And if today was actually useful to you, the way these conversations stay ad-free is listener support. You can buy us a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a simple way to keep the podcast going without any ads. Lucas: Yeah, it really helps. And we appreciate everyone who does that. So to close out — the best SMS re-engagement isn't about blasting offers. It's about showing the customer you remember them. Cometeer's approach is a good model, but the principle applies to any DTC brand. Luna: Alright, thanks Lucas. Great conversation. And to our listeners, we'll see you next time. Lucas: Take care.