Latest / The Retention Marketing Podcast with Fexingo: Email, SMS, and Loyalty for Repeat Customers / How a Pet Brand Uses SMS to Shorten Repeat Purchase Cycles
Transcript
- Lucas: If these marketing conversations have sparked something you've actually used in your own work, you might be interested in today's episode. We're going to look at how one pet brand used SMS to shorten the gap between a customer's first purchase and their second one. Luna: I think a lot of brands focus on getting that first sale, but the real money is in speeding up the second one. What did this brand do? Lucas: They're a direct to consumer pet food company. Their typical customer would order, and then there'd be a 45-day gap before they ordered again. That's almost six weeks. The risk is that in that time, the customer might forget about the brand, try a competitor's sample, or simply lose the habit. Luna: Right, so they wanted to shrink that window. How did they use SMS to do it? Lucas: They designed a two-part SMS sequence. The first message goes out ten days after delivery. It's a check-in: 'How's your pup liking the food? Reply with a photo or let us know if you have questions.' No offer, no discount. Just a touch point that reinforces the purchase decision. Luna: That's smart. It builds a connection and reminds the customer they made a good choice — without asking for anything. Lucas: Exactly. Then, at day 21 — halfway through that 45-day window — they send a second text. 'Your pup's food is running low. Here's a link to reorder so you never run out.' That message had a 62 percent click-through rate. Luna: Sixty-two percent? That's huge. What was their typical email click-through rate? Lucas: Their email reminder was getting around 18 percent. So SMS was more than three times as effective. And the reorder link went directly to a one-click reorder page, so the friction was almost zero. Luna: And the result? How much did they shorten the repeat purchase cycle? Lucas: The average time between first and second purchase dropped from 45 days to 28 days. That's a 38 percent reduction. But more importantly, the repeat purchase rate within 30 days increased by 34 percent. Those customers who reordered faster also had a higher lifetime value over six months. Luna: So they didn't just get them to buy sooner — they actually built a faster habit. That's the loyalty loop in action. Lucas: Right. And they did it without any discount. No coupon, no free shipping. Just a timely nudge based on when the product would logically be consumed. Luna: That's key. If they'd offered a discount, they'd be training customers to wait for a deal. This way, the behavior itself becomes the reward. Lucas: The data team figured out the optimal timing by analyzing purchase history. For customers who bought a 30-pound bag, they knew it lasted about 25 days for an average-sized dog. So they set the reminder at day 21 to give a few days of buffer. Luna: Did they personalize the timing based on bag size or dog breed? Lucas: They did. They segmented customers by product size and by the number of pets. A customer with two large dogs would get the reminder at day 14, because the food would run out faster. That personalized timing improved the click-through rate even more — up to 68 percent for the right segments. Luna: That's the kind of granularity most brands don't think about. They just send a generic 'we miss you' message after 60 days. Lucas: And those generic messages rarely work. The beauty of this approach is that it's predictive. You're not reacting to a lapse; you're preventing it. Luna: One thing I'm curious about: did they have any issues with customers feeling like the texts were too pushy or invasive? Lucas: Opt-out rates were low — around 1.2 percent for the check-in message, and 2.1 percent for the reminder. That's because the texts provided value. The check-in felt like a concierge service, and the reminder was genuinely helpful. The brand framed it as 'we want to make sure you never run out.' Luna: That's a great framing. It's not 'buy again'; it's 'we've got your back.' Lucas: And that's the core of retention marketing. You're serving the customer, not just asking for another sale. Luna: If today's breakdown gave you a concrete idea you can apply, that's exactly what we aim for. The show stays ad-free because listeners like you support it — you can find that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Lucas: Yeah, and we really appreciate that. It keeps the focus on actionable marketing without any sponsor interruptions. Luna: So beyond the timing, what other levers did they pull to make the SMS work? Lucas: One important piece was the messaging tone. The check-in text used casual language — emojis, the dog's name from the customer profile. 'How's Bailey liking the chicken recipe? Send us a pic!' That personal touch made the open rates even higher. Luna: Right, because it feels like a friend asking, not a company harvesting data. Lucas: And the reorder link included a prefilled cart, so the customer just had to tap once to confirm. They also added a 'subscribe and save' option at that point, which converted 12 percent of those one-time buyers into subscribers. Luna: So the SMS sequence didn't just accelerate the second purchase; it also nudged them toward a subscription. That's a double win. Lucas: Exactly. And they tracked the entire journey. They found that customers who received both messages had a 28-day repeat rate that was 40 percent higher than customers who only got the reminder. That check-in at day 10 really made a difference. Luna: It's interesting because a lot of brands skip that initial touchpoint. They go straight to the reminder. But that check-in is what builds trust. Lucas: Right. And it's also a data collection opportunity. If a customer replies with a photo, the brand can use that engagement to further personalize future messages. They even started sending tips based on the dog's breed. Luna: So the SMS becomes a two-way channel, not just a broadcast. That's the future of retention. Lucas: I think so. The brands that win will be the ones that use the intimacy of SMS to create a real dialogue, not just a sales pipeline. Luna: What about customers who didn't respond to the check-in? Did they treat them differently? Lucas: They did. If a customer didn't reply to the check-in, they would send a follow-up text two days later with a simple 'No news is good news? Just checking in!' That recovered about 8 percent more engagement. And if they still didn't respond, they'd skip the reminder message altogether and trigger a different win-back sequence later. Luna: So they were smart about not over-messaging. That's a common mistake — sending the same sequence to everyone regardless of their response. Lucas: Exactly. The key takeaway is that this isn't about a magic number of days. It's about understanding your product's consumption cycle and aligning your messages with the customer's actual need. Luna: And doing it with empathy, not urgency. That's a great lesson for any marketer.