SMS marketing, also known as text marketing, is a powerful tool for businesses looking to increase their e-commerce revenue; Michaels is a prime example.
According to an Attentive case study, the arts and crafts retail giant has seen a steady increase in SMS-attributed traffic to their e-commerce site since launching Attentive text marketing in 2019 and has driven over $63.2 million in revenue from SMS alone.
If you want to improve your text marketing strategy, keep reading. Michaels has achieved such impressive results.
Table of Contents
Building Trust and Loyalty
How Michaels’ Welcome Journey and Personalized SMS Marketing Drive Customer Retention
One of the keys to Michaels’ SMS marketing success is its focus on building a community of makers. They’ve replicated their signature in-store clienteling and discovery experiences on their text channel, helping shoppers feel supported and understood.
In addition, the retailer frequently sends text marketing campaigns promoting new products and category-specific offers, tailoring them to the items shoppers have browsed online.
“Using Attentive, we’re able to target subscribers who have recently browsed certain categories or landing pages. These recency signals allow us to tailor messages to subscribers’ interests in real-time,” said Stephanie Turner, Director of Targeted Marketing at Michaels.
Another important aspect of Michaels’ SMS marketing strategy is its sophisticated welcome journey for new subscribers. The welcome series, sent over 24 days, includes sign-up incentives and invitations to share creations on social media, join the loyalty program, check out online classes, explore the brand’s Projects Hub, and promote their custom framing service.
This strategy invests in customer retention and builds trust and loyalty by sharing educational content rather than purely selling. Building trust helps ensure shoppers return to Michaels for guidance or tools.
When it comes to personalization, Michaels uses sophisticated segmentation to deliver relevant content and remove friction by linking directly to the products, bundles, and educational content each subscriber needs to complete their projects. Michaels segments text messages based on seasonal preferences, crafting/DIY interests, rewards membership status, engagement history, and store location.
Segmentation allows them to tailor their messaging to their subscribers’ specific needs and preferences, resulting in a more enjoyable and efficient shopping experience.
Removing Friction for Shoppers
How Michaels Expanded Their Online Presence with SMS Marketing and Micro Fulfillment Centers
One of the most significant challenges Michaels faced was removing friction for shoppers and expanding their online presence. To address this, they launched their SMS marketing channel to expand, engage, and nurture their community of makers.
Michaels uses Attentive to create highly personalized experiences that foster discovery and drive immediate traffic to their website and physical locations. Michaels has more than 1,200 physical stores across the country, which they’ve turned into micro fulfillment centers over the past two years.
Buy online, pick up in-store (BOPIS), and curbside pick-up shopping options have removed friction for shoppers. The BOPIS program allows customers to pick up their items from their nearest store without entering their address details or waiting for shipping.
When Michaels hosts location-specific events and promotions, they send geo-targeted messages personalized to subscribers’ locations.
Subscribers can click through to find directions to their closest store. “Being able to segment our texts based on location is a huge engagement priority for us as a company—whether that’s to drive traffic to a store with a promotion or share location-specific invitations,” said Turner.
Delivering Results
How Michaels used Attentive Text Marketing to Increase Revenue and Subscriber Engagement
Michaels has seen a steady increase in SMS-attributed traffic to their e-commerce site. Since launching Attentive text marketing, Michaels has driven over $63.2 million in revenue from text marketing. They have over 8.5 million active subscribers and grew their list by over 51% YoY in 2021.
These subscribers are engaged from the get-go—the retailer’s welcome journey drives a 139x ROI. In addition, by tailoring its SMS campaigns to subscribers’ interests, Michaels has been able to drive engagement around company-wide goals.
“Our text subscribers are highly engaged with inspirational and educational content,” said Turner. “When we send invitations to our classes through SMS, we see an incremental lift in registration.”
Michaels plans to refine their loyalty program by testing and optimizing browse and cart abandonment messages.
The goal is to create targeted experiences based on subscribers’ engagement with their program, educational materials, and in-store visits, leading to omnichannel touchpoints that build sales and brand awareness.
Further Reading
Conclusion: Attentive Text Marketing Helps Increase Michaels’ Revenue by $63M
In summary, Michaels has effectively leveraged text marketing to drive significant e-commerce growth. By building a community of makers, personalizing messaging, and streamlining the shopping experience, they have been able to drive engagement and traffic to their website and physical locations.
As a result, Michaels’ text marketing program has resulted in over $63.2 million in revenue generated through text marketing alone. Businesses looking to improve their text marketing efforts can take inspiration from Michaels’ successful strategy and implement similar tactics in their own operations.
Attentive Company Description
Attentive is a leading SMS marketing and engagement platform that enables businesses to create personalized, two-way conversations with their customers. Attentive text marketing allows businesses to easily create and manage SMS campaigns, automate messaging, and segment audiences to deliver highly targeted and relevant messages.
Attentive also provides advanced features such as A/B testing, geo-targeting, and segmentation capabilities, making it easy for businesses to tailor text messages to their customers’ preferences. With a focus on providing an easy-to-use platform and exceptional customer support, Attentive text marketing helps businesses of all sizes increase engagement and revenue through SMS marketing.
Michaels Company Description
Michael’s is a popular retail chain specializing in arts and crafts supplies. They offer a wide range of products, including crafting materials, home decor, framing, and seasonal items.
They also offer classes and workshops for customers looking to learn new crafting techniques. Michael’s stores can be found in most major cities in the United States and Canada.
Source: This article was written based on a case study on Attentive’s Website. Original Case Study – How Michaels Drove $63M+ by Amplifying Online and In-Store Experiences With SMS
