CASE STUDY

What Happens When You Let Us Run Your Email & SMS

Written by Emma Bogert

Meet the Client:

Our client, a women’s boutique located in the heart of Knoxville, TN, is the kind of shop where you can find something for your teen daughter and your mother in the same visit. They are known for their premium denim and trending outfits while continuously cycling through new inventory, so there’s something fresh on the rack every time you walk in.

So our question as an agency was: How do we tell people there’s new arrivals every week without pouring money into ads or hoping the instagram algorithm wants to corporate. 

That’s where email and SMS came in. We built out the content plan, list growth strategy, and the campaign design to make sure their messaging stayed consistent across every platform.

What We Do For Them Every Week:

One email a week, built around what’s actually in the store.

Every week we send one email built around what has landed- new arrivals, what’s trending, cute outfit combos and shoppable pieces. While summer can be a slower season for retail, we’ve perfected our approach to make these messages feel less like an ad and more like a friend texting you, “Omg, you need to see what just came in.” 

Texts, but only when it counts:

We treat SMS as more of a “heads up!” tool. We save it for the things that are actually time-sensitive: a store-wide sale, an in-store event, a new drop, or even a simple reminder like, “Hey, we’re open today!”

Texts can get boring fast, and for a lot of people, texting is their main line of communication with friends and family. The last thing they want is a brand blowing up their phone trying to get them to buy something.

Knowing that means we make every text count. And they really do count.

One single text drove about $1,200 in revenue from just one order. That’s the kind of impact a well-timed message can have.

We also saw this firsthand when we sent a same-day text reminding customers that the store would be open on Sunday. The response was crazy. Each customer that came into the store and brought up the text completely unprompted, and it ended up being an extremely strong sales day.

It’s a great example of how something as simple as a quick reminder text can actually drive people through the door.

Why this combo works for boutiques:

• Boutiques live on newness. With inventory turning over fast, email is the easiest way to keep customers in the loop on what just came in the door.
• It’s consistent and it’s yours. Email and SMS tools charge a flat rate each month no matter how much revenue they drive, so almost every dollar that comes in is basically pure profit, unlike ads where you’re paying for every click.
• Nobody can take it away. No algorithm change, no ad auction, and no one can mess with your list.
• It feels personal. Customers like hearing from a real boutique they know, not a faceless brand. We try to recreate the same feeling as a stylist waving to you, over email.
• Text gets seen, fast. SMS open rates blow email out of the water, and people check texts almost instantly- perfect for urgency.  

The Numbers:

So here’s the fun part (and this is just over the last month):

+23% Total store revenue

11.15% Share from email + SMS

Total store revenue was up a strong 23% compared to the previous period, but revenue attributed to email and SMS grew significantly faster, up nearly 300%.

In simple terms: email and SMS are actively pulling more of their weight than ever.

Where the money came from:

Campaigns (weekly emails)	92.53%
Automated Flows	7.47%
Email (of total attributed)	43.21%
SMS (of total attributed)	56.79%

Two big things jump out here.

First, our weekly emails are still doing the heavy lifting within the email channel, consistently driving revenue through new arrivals, featured products, and timely campaigns.

Second, SMS actually pulled ahead of email this time, bringing in more than half of all attributed email and SMS revenue despite being sent less often.

That’s a big jump from earlier in the summer, and even more proof that a well-timed text can have an outsized impact.

Why the Return is So Good

Across the industry, email marketing is consistently recognized as one of the highest-return marketing channels, with commonly cited estimates showing around $36–$42 generated for every $1 spent. And when you think about how email works, it makes sense.

Unlike paid advertising, where you’re continuously paying for impressions and clicks, email and SMS allow you to communicate directly with an audience you’ve already built. Once you have a team behind the strategy, planning campaigns, writing copy, designing creative, watching performance, and knowing exactly when to hit send- every campaign becomes another opportunity to turn that existing audience into revenue.

Our client’s results show exactly why we continue to prioritize these channels. In just one month, their overall store revenue grew 23%, while revenue attributed to email and SMS grew nearly 300%.

Why you Need An Agency For This (Not Just A Login)

Anyone can sign up for an email platform. Almost nobody actually keeps up with it. Here’s what having a dedicated team behind your program actually buys you:

•  Consistency you can count on. A weekly send only works if it’s actually weekly. We don’t let it slip because things got busy on the sales floor- that’s the whole point of hiring us.
•  Someone watching the calendar. Knowing exactly when to send a text (and, just as important, when not to) is a skill built from doing this across multiple stores, week after week, not something you pick up from a blog post.
• Strategy, not just design. We’re not just making things look pretty. We’re deciding what to feature, when, and why, based on what’s actually driving revenue.
•  Time back for you. Every hour we spend planning, writing, and sending is an hour you get back to run your store instead of staring at a blank email draft.

Now, Let’s Talk About Your Business

One weekly email built around what your customers actually want to see, plus texts saved for the moments that really matter.

The hard part is finding the time to plan it, write it, design it, send it, track it, and then do it all over again next week.

That’s where we come in.

In just one month, we helped this client grow revenue attributed to email and SMS by nearly 3X, while their total store revenue grew 23%. And we did it while giving their team one less thing to worry about.

If email has been sitting at the bottom of your to-do list, your texts only go out when you remember, or you know you could be getting more out of both, let us take it off your plate.

You run your business. We’ll make sure your customers keep hearing from it.

Ready to see what email + SMS could do for your business? Inquire here today!