QALO

The Power of 1:1 Conversations over Text: How QALO Uses SMS Sales to Boost Revenue

There have been some real pioneers in the direct-to-consumer space when it comes to using SMS in fresh ways, and the team at QALO and Win Brands Group are true innovators. When their marketing team was first approached by Postscript to join the SMS Sales beta, they weren’t sure what to expect. But one thing they did know was that if this strategy could push the limits of what a personalized shopping experience could be over text, then the skies would be the limit for their entire portfolio of brands.

QALO Hero

+5.7%

Increase in total store revenue

11.3x

More subscribers engaged in conversations

+32%

Lift in new customer conversion rate

QALO Section 1 Image

The Key Differentiators Between Sales and Support over SMS

One of the initial hesitations for QALO was to really understand the difference between what an SMS sales associate could do differently than a customer service agent. The point of SMS Sales is not just to answer incoming questions, but to identify opportunities to proactively reach out to subscribers and help convert them. 

This is an important—and new—differentiator that doesn’t currently exist anywhere but on Postscript. “In my mind these are two different worlds. Postscript gets those people to make a purchase, but the CX side of things helps keep established customers happy and keep people trusting in and happy with the brand,” says Ali Radel, Director of Marketing at QALO.

SMS Sales has a seamless integration with Gorgias so that the sales associates can easily escalate conversations to QALO’s support team when necessary.

Ali Radel

Ali Radel, Director of Marketing

QALO/Win Brands Group

“In terms of the 1:1 recommendations, this is like having a rep on the retail sales floor except on your phone”.

Industry

Fashion & Apparel

SMS Sales Gets Paid When You Get Paid

SMS Sales uses a very tight 24-hour attribution window and rules around subscriber engagement to only take credit for the sales that our associates converted.

QALO ran an A/B test and the results showed that the biggest impact came with converting new subscribers into first-time customers. The test showed that 92% of the revenue that SMS Sales generated, compared to the control group, was incremental. In looking at subscribers in a 7-day window, SMS Sales increased subscriber LTV by 27% and new subscriber conversion rate by 28%. 

This was a huge win for the team and ultimately convinced the QALO team to go into a paid beta. 

“We really felt confident in the results we were achieving,” says Radel. “We made the switch for SMS Sales to really focus on new subscribers only, get people to understand what QALO was all about, and make that purchase much earlier on.”

By focusing specifically on net new subscribers, the team was better able to understand where in their marketing journey people are falling off and where SMS Sales could step in and convert them.

QALO SMS Sales demo 1
QALO Section 3

Building True Brand Experts to Sell QALO’s Products

Maintaining a high level of brand integrity was crucial to QALO. Naturally, the team had hesitations about bringing in someone that wasn’t in-house to have conversations with customers.

Since QALO was already working with Postscript, there was a lot of built-in knowledge about the brand already that the SMS Sales team had to work with.

During onboarding, the Postscript team went through the entire process as a customer first, browsing the website, signing up for alerts, purchasing the product and then wearing the product and actually having it in-hand, just like a full-time employee would.

“We are starting to more proactively think through how we equip all of the people on the SMS Sales side of things with upcoming initiatives, whether it's a launch or a promo or similar, to really come up with interesting ways in which they can talk about these initiatives for us more organically,” says Lima.

Overcoming Objections Through 1 on 1 Conversations

A big focus of the SMS Sales team is to dig deeper into the real barriers to purchasing, whether that means finding out more about sizing questions, styles or pricing.

“We see great retention rates for repeat customers, so we know once we get them into that funnel, we can usually hang onto them,” says Radel.

Subscribers have also been surprised—and delighted—when they realize this isn’t just an automation, but an actual person helping them in their purchasing journey. 

Steadman Dinning, the team’s SMS Sales Specialist, describes an SMS Sales role as being part of the  “clean up crew”. He recalls an incident where one subscriber had a price objection and was given a discount. He continued to follow up and finally, 4 days after the first conversation, the purchase happened. These 1:1 conversations are more powerful than an automation that fires off 24 hours later.

Figuring out when a subscriber doesn’t convert during that typical window is when SMS Sales will step in, and in turn, they’re able to engage with those subscribers and ultimately win them back.

QALO Section 4
QALO Section 5

An Important New Avenue for the Purchasing Journey

Adding an actual person into the buying purchase, beyond just staffing a support ticket, is completely new to the world of SMS. 

“Finding different avenues and channels and ways to relate and connect with our consumer is important— and being able to build upon that,” says Radel. “I think it's part of a more robust mix that is essential.”

Finding new ways to connect to customers as they are going through the shopping process has been a missing link in the world of SMS, especially given the ability to text directly with a shopper and ask, “Can I help?”

“Because of everything that we're doing with Postscript, whether it's on the campaign or the sales side of things, it all works together in harmony,” says Lima.

Brittany Lima

Brittany Lima, Director of Retention Marketing

QALO/Win Brands Group

“SMS Sales is such a big part of how our ecommerce numbers have grown year over year. Hands down it has had a big impact.”

Industry

Fashion & Apparel

The Next Best Thing in SMS? Your Own Virtual Sales Associate

There have been a lot of wins overall for QALO since joining the SMS Sales beta. 

When the team thought through how powerful a retail buying experience is—simply because of a knowledgeable salesperson—it felt like an easy experiment to try.

"As a consumer, you almost think that you can respond to an SMS campaign. But then you're replied to with an automated ‘Sorry, we didn't understand your request’ sort of message,” says Lima. “And so I think it is kind of this natural evolution."

Since implementing SMS Sales for QALO, they’ve increased total store revenue by 5.7% and received thousands of new orders from first time customers. It’s exactly the type of personalized experience shoppers are beginning to crave. And for QALO, it’s just the beginning.

QALO Section 6

Solution and results

QALO wanted to identify more opportunities to convert their subscribers and get them into the funnel. When they signed on to be a part of SMS Sales, they found multiple points throughout the subscriber journey to answer questions and engage with potential customers, ultimately helping them to convert. This additional sales function within their SMS strategy has led to more conversions and an increase in revenue YOY.

Note: All results are accurate as of April 10th, 2023.

+5.7%

Increase in total store revenue

11.3x

More subscribers engaged in conversations

+32%

Lift in new customer conversion rate

Brittany Lima

Brittany Lima, Director of Retention Marketing

QALO/Win Brands Group

"Most of our subscribers initially think that they're talking to a robot, but then they realize that this is a real person. It's actually pretty cool to see that exchange. It's a real surprise and delight moment and certainly something that helps build the brand in a really positive and meaningful way."

Industry

Fashion & Apparel

Ready to unlock a new revenue channel with Postscript Sales?