Because Moms Deserve It
After her first son was born, Quinn Reitz was on the hunt for fashion items that weren’t obviously designed for nursing. Her search ended in frustration and empty carts — so she set out to do something about it!
Quinn Reitz
Owner + Founder, Nursing Queen
“There really weren’t a lot of choices so I decided to design a clothing line for breastfeeding moms.”
“I started Nursing Queen in 2017 with a tank top and a nursing hoodie. As of 2023, we offer over several hundred products, have eight employees, and moved from my basement into a 3,000 sq. ft warehouse.“
Nursing Queen strives to be the number-one breastfeeding clothing company in the country, offering the best quality and styles at the best prices … because moms deserve it.
This support goes beyond great fashion, the business also provides job opportunities for moms, with part-time and flexible schedules to support their lifestyles.
The inspiring success of Nursing Queen reflected the loyalty and love of its audience.
But what did this mean for its SMS marketing?
Growth-Focused Strategy for SMS Newbies
Skip to 2021, Quinn was ready to scale Nursing Queen’s marketing.
SMS was on the radar, but the store had two hurdles to overcome before it could start generating revenue with text messages.
First, it needed an app. Then, it needed SMS subscribers.
That’s where Recart came in.
Quinn Reitz
Owner + Founder, Nursing Queen
“I started off with just doing Facebook Messenger. So when Recart launched SMS, which I was already looking at several other companies for, it was so convenient to just sign up.
“SMS is leading the charge. Now it’s kind of bread and butter really.”
More Subscribers + More Revenue Using Three Tactics
Nursing Queen’s goals? Build its list and boost its sales. Both were unlocked through ...
- Popups: Separate mobile direct-to-text from desktop with email
- Automations: Abandonment + a powerhouse welcome flow
- Campaigns: Holidays, promotions & less spend for more sales
1. Popups: Separate Mobile Direct-To-Text From Desktop With Email
The opt-in incentive was simple. 10% off was all it took to add another 10,000 email addresses and grow its SMS list from 472 to nearly 7,000 in 14 months.
In truth, Nursing Queens acquired over 14,000 new text subscribers during that period. But, given the short timeframe of its products (nursing mothers), customers naturally move on after six months to a year.
To begin, the brand launched separate popups for mobile versus desktop, both of which included email then SMS. Soon after, it switch to direct-to-text, SMS-only on mobile.
Why? To reach new shoppers faster and more effectively within their tight window.
As we often see, direct-to-text mobile drove the majority of the opt-ins. Only 872 of its text subscribers opted-in through desktop, with a 2.5% conversion rate for SMS and 7.7% for email.
Meanwhile, the SMS-only popup cruised at a 4.1% conversion rate … stacking new subscribers into the best place they could possible go — the welcome flow.
Quinn Reitz
Owner + Founder, Nursing Queen
“Our customers are ready to pounce. As soon they see that incentive and the first text, they’re on it.”
“We’ve never even needed to change or increase the incentive, it just works.”
2. Automations: Abandonments + a Powerhouse Welcome Flow
SMS automation held the money-making key for Nursing Queen, generating a grand total of $385,797.
Together, the cart and browse abandonment flows produced $11,627 in sales at 9.5% clickthrough rates.
But the powerhouse was its Welcome Flow with 7.8% CTR and $356k in sales.
Nursing Queen’s audience are very engaged with high intent. However, due to limited breastfeeding periods, they have a short shopping window.
This makes the first message in the Welcome Flow (containing the discount and a link to purchase) the best-performing message of the brand’s entire SMS account.
That message performs so well Nursing Queen only follows up with two texts, while many other brands use five or more.
Quinn Reitz
Owner + Founder, Nursing Queen
“Even though our email list is bigger, we kill it on SMS. It’s how we reach customers in a way that’s right in front of them. They can’t ignore it because everyone has their phone with them.”
3. Campaigns: Holidays, Promotions & Less Spend for More Sales
Nursing Queen sends top-notch promotions backed by a robust marketing calendar — from big events like Black Friday to smaller sales on Ground Hog Day to audience-specific celebrations like World Pumping Day.
All told, these campaigns returned $114k in click-only revenue at a 19X ROI … with a surprising key to success.
For most brands, one event equals one campaign. Not so for Nursing Queen. Instead, its campaigns regularly include targeted follow-ups and triggered reminders.
Take its Easter texts, for example (emphasis on the plural). Notice how the number of recipients decreases with each send while ROI explodes.
Typical SMS platforms lean on sending more messages to make more money. But that means you have to spend more too.
Efficient SMS works in the opposite direction.
As the list for each campaign gets smaller, the likelihood of purchases grows. This is achieved through triggered segmentation based on actions. First, by removing anyone who purchased or added-to-cart from the “Follow Up.” Then, only sending to subscribers who clicked on the first two campaigns … but didn’t purchase with the “Upgrade.”
Fewer recipients equal lower costs. However, it doesn’t mean lower returns.
From 31X ROI for the first campaign to 59X for the second to 113X on the last. In real dollars, that means Nursing Queen spent an additional $31 to generate another $2,030.
Quinn Reitz
Owner + Founder, Nursing Queen
“I feel like text subscribers are almost like my VIPs — they want to know about sales ASAP.”
“When I have a promotion, SMS really boosts it. When the email goes out I see an increase in online traffic but not like text messaging. When the text goes out, the rise in the number of people on the site is immediate.”
A Growth Spurt to Be Proud Of
In just over a year, Nursing Queen achieved its goals by …
- Generating $499,894 in sales
- Reaching a total ROI of 60.3X (click-only)
- Amassing over 14,000 new SMS subscribers
Quinn Reitz
Owner + Founder, Nursing Queen
“Honestly it just feels like I'm not alone doing it. And I really like that feeling.”
“My success manager, Jordan, feels like another employee. Like another partner. He does it all and it’s one less thing on my plate that I have to do. He even reminds me of my own upcoming sales.”
