Cecil and Lou’s Email Revenue Surged by +4,664% After Switching to Attentive for Swift Support & Smarter Sends

Combining communication channels to operate with more confidence 

Cecil and Lou was struggling to coordinate their email and SMS marketing efforts effectively. They were using two separate platforms, leading to disjointed campaigns and inconsistent customer experiences. 

Their previous email service provider was often slow to respond to support requests, with an average 24-72-hour response time. It also lacked in providing the actionable insights needed to create a unified cross-channel strategy. Ultimately, these limitations prevented Cecil and Lou from doing what they wanted to do with their marketing program and achieving their goals.

Attentive, on the other hand, offered White Glove service. With a dedicated client strategy team behind them at Attentive, the brand felt confident that any issues they encountered would be addressed immediately and resolved quickly.

Recognizing the exceptional support and ongoing success of their SMS program, Cecil and Lou made the decision to migrate their email program to Attentive. They were confident that by doing so, they would have access to the same level of innovation, reliability, and compliance guidance for email that they've had for years with SMS. 

“Attentive's support structure allows us to operate with the confidence that our needs will always be addressed promptly and effectively."
- Gina Moers, Marketing, Cecil and Lou

Making a stress-free switch to Attentive Email

From the inbox “warming” period in late December to achieving full sending capacity by the beginning of February, Cecil and Lou’s migration to Attentive was a textbook example of operational excellence.

Attentive set a clear goal from the beginning: to minimize disruptions and maximize efficiency for the brand. A dedicated email implementation team provided end-to-end support, significantly reducing the workload—and the stress—for Cecil and Lou during the transition process.

As a result, the brand was able to start seeing improved performance right away. Bringing email and SMS together on the Attentive platform unlocked new levels of subscriber insights for Cecil and Lou. With a deeper understanding of their customers and their behavior patterns, the brand can categorize subscribers more accurately and tailor their communications accordingly. 

This targeted approach to engagement has led to a 57% increase in unique clicks and a 63% decrease in email bounces, reinforcing the connection between more personalized content, improved deliverability, and a positive sender reputation.

Being able to better understand their customers’ individual communication preferences has also enabled Cecil and Lou to make more strategic choices about when to use email versus SMS. They can build both email and SMS touchpoints into a single journey to create more dynamic and cohesive experiences for their subscribers. Doing this has ultimately led to a 69% decrease in unsubscribe rates.

Together, these optimization strategies were instrumental in achieving an impressive campaign open rate of 68% and a unique open rate of 60%—both above Attentive’s benchmarks for the Apparel vertical.

“We now have a comprehensive view of the subscriber lifecycle, enabling precise targeting and highly effective communication strategies."
- Gina Moers, Marketing, Cecil and Lou

Delivering swift support at scale with Attentive Concierge™

Cecil and Lou onboarded Attentive Concierge because they knew it could help them deliver personalized support that aligns with their brand identity and improves the overall customer experience.

The brand has two journeys with Attentive Concierge that use both live agents and AI-powered responses to offer individualized support in real time.

Their High-Intent journey focuses on engaging with subscribers who’ve clicked on a text message in the last day but have yet to convert, boasting a 14% CVR.

Their Site Visitor journey focuses on subscribers who viewed a product but then navigated away, and re-engages them with a message asking if they’re looking for something in particular. If they respond, Attentive Concierge is there to provide them with the appropriate guidance, like sharing specific product recommendations with direct links to make buying them easier. 

“With Attentive, every customer feels like they have a personal shopper in their pocket."
- Blythe McCain, Owner, Cecil and Lou

Improving message performance with Send Time AI

With both their email and SMS programs on Attentive, Cecil and Lou was excited to experiment with Attentive AI™ to optimize their messaging strategies. 

The brand started with Send Time AI—a feature that personalizes delivery times for each subscriber. Rather than sending a message to everyone ‌at once, it analyzes past campaign performance, individual subscriber data, and anonymous platform data to determine optimal send times on a 1:1 to basis.

Attentive's Send Time AI proved to be more effective than set or scheduled send times in an A/B test. One standout campaign using Send Time AI resulted in a +22% lift in CTR, a +54% lift in revenue, and a +55% lift in RPM vs. the general send time.

“We've seen amazing results with Send Time AI. It's better than we ever thought it could be, and our campaigns are far more successful when using this tool."
- Gina Moers, Marketing, Cecil and Lou

Reaching a new level of success, driven by innovation

Since bringing email and SMS together on the Attentive platform, Cecil and Lou have seen a massive increase in marketing performance. Mostly notably, these results include a +4,664% surge in email revenue and a +40% rise in SMS revenue. 

Their campaigns have achieved an impressive 29x ROI for email and 16x ROI for SMS. And their email list has grown by +8%, while their SMS list has grown  by +18%. 

Looking ahead, Cecil and Lou are excited to explore and implement Attentive full suite of AI tools to continuously improve their programs.