How Urban Outfitters’ SMS strategy delivered a 27% ROI and what you can learn from it..

Urban Outfitters’ SMS strategy delivered an impressive 27% ROI, demonstrating the power of a well-executed messaging campaign. By leveraging personalised promotions, timely reminders, and exclusive offers, they showed just how effective a targeted approach can be in driving both engagement and revenue.

Collaborating with Attentive, they built a strong SMS subscriber base and took a data-driven approach to segmentation. By categorising their audience into active and inactive groups, they were able to refine their messaging and increase relevance.

The results speak for themselves: a remarkable 27x ROI, a 230% year-over-year increase in purchase volume, and a 32% boost in onsite conversions. This strategy exemplifies how smart, targeted marketing can transform customer engagement into measurable business growth.

Here’s how you can use this data to enhance your own marketing strategy, just like Urban Outfitters:
Email and SMS are highly personalised channels that allow brands to connect with their audience in a meaningful way. In fact, 77% of consumers prefer receiving promotional content through email, and SMS boasts an impressive 98% open rate—far higher than email. By tapping into the strengths of these channels, brands can deliver timely, relevant content that drives action.

But what makes these channels even more powerful is the data that comes with them. 

Email and SMS marketing provide a wealth of data, from open rates and click-through rates (CTR) to engagement levels and conversion rates. When used correctly, this data can help brands refine their strategies, increase customer engagement, and drive sales.

Before diving into the performance data, it's essential to set clear goals.

Are you looking to increase brand awareness? Drive sales? Improve customer loyalty? 

Understanding what you want to achieve will shape the way you measure and interpret performance data.

Equally important is segmenting your audience. Data-driven segmentation allows you to send targeted messages based on customer behaviour, preferences, and purchase history. This personalisation not only boosts engagement but also helps build a stronger, more meaningful relationship with your audience. A tailored experience makes customers feel understood and valued, which drives loyalty and conversions.

Once your campaigns are up and running, it's time to analyse the performance data. For email campaigns, focus on key metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. These insights will help you understand how engaging your subject lines and content are.

For SMS campaigns, pay attention to delivery rates, response rates, and conversion rates. Since SMS messages are often opened within minutes of being received, this data is incredibly valuable for understanding how well your messages resonate in real-time.

By analysing these metrics, you can refine your content, optimise your send times, and test different strategies to see what works best for your audience. A/B testing is particularly useful here, allowing you to compare different subject lines, messaging, and offers to see which ones perform better.

A key component of successful email and SMS marketing is understanding the customer journey. From awareness to conversion and beyond, each stage presents an opportunity to send highly relevant messages. Using performance data, you can identify the best touchpoints for engagement and create personalised messaging tailored to each stage of the journey.

For example, a customer who abandons their cart could receive a personalised SMS offering a discount or a reminder of the items left behind. On the other hand, a customer who has made a purchase could receive an email with personalised recommendations based on their past buying behaviour. By using data to create highly relevant, personalised communications, you increase the likelihood of engagement and conversion.

Continuous optimisation is key to long-term success. Review your data regularly to identify trends and areas for improvement. Look at open and click rates for different types of content, test different messaging strategies, and analyse customer behaviour to see what drives the best results.

Additionally, make sure your email and SMS platforms integrate well with each other. Combining data from both channels gives you a more comprehensive view of your customer’s journey, enabling you to deliver even more targeted and relevant messages.

By harnessing the power of email and SMS performance data, you can refine your marketing strategy, improve customer engagement, and drive better results. Personalisation, segmentation, and constant optimisation are essential for ensuring that your campaigns remain effective and relevant.

To get the most out of your email and SMS marketing campaigns, start by analysing your performance data, understand your audience, and personalise your messaging. With these insights in hand, you’ll be on your way to crafting a more effective and data-driven marketing strategy.

‍Ready to enhance your digital marketing? Get in touch with us today to learn how we can help you optimise your email and SMS campaigns for maximum impact.

‍

‍