How Bare Performance Nutrition Made $1 Million with SMS in 4 Months
Bare Performance Nutrition's mission is to equip people with the tools,
resources, and community to advance their physical potential. Founded by US Army veteran Nick Bare in 2012, BPN sells sports nutrition products and is guided by the motto, “GO ONE MORE.”
Austin Clare
SMS Marketing Mgr
“Postscript’s analytics are phenomenal. Easy to understand, easy to view, and super straight to the point in regards to how we can use it.”
Industry
Health & Wellness
Making the Switch from Klaviyo SMS
When Austin Clare became the Head of SMS and Email Marketing at BPN in 2022, they weren't doing much with text. So, he and the BPN marketing team put their heads together to level up BPN's SMS game.
Based on a recommendation from a friend in the ecommerce space, Clare decided to give Postscript a look. He was immediately drawn to the user-friendly interface and analytics dashboard. An added bonus: Clare was able to set a one-day click window and a 12-hour view window, allowing him to get a truer sense of the performance of each send.
According to Clare, no other SMS platform came close to Postscript in terms of functionality, tracking, and overall customer experience—particularly during onboarding. “[Other vendors] don’t create an experience based on value,” Clare said. “So, Postscript 100%. And I’ve gone to battle hundreds of times with friends about switching to Postscript.”
Ditching a Discount-Centric Strategy
Beyond the platform itself, one of the biggest contributors to Clare’s top-notch experience with Postscript is the strong relationship he’s built with his Customer Success team. From the get-go, they worked with him to create an SMS strategy that did not rely heavily on sales and discounts, because they wanted to align with BPN’s overall marketing strategy, which is not discount-focused.
“We offer [almost] no discounts, and that has encouraged us to develop a strategy focused on culture and community,” Clare said. “It has to be culture-driven rather than revenue-driven. Ironically, the culture-driven messages are better revenue drivers.”
He added that unlike many brands, BPN embraces long-form copy in their SMS messaging.
That approach is clearly working, as BPN boasts an 81.6% subscriber retention rate. That means 4 out of 5 subscribers stay on BPN’s text list for more than 30 days. “Our unsubscribe rate is incredibly low,” Clare said.
Austin Clare
SMS Marketing Mgr
“If I didn’t have my account team at Postscript, I don't think we'd be even close to as successful as we are."
Industry
Health & Wellness
Keeping a Consistent Send Cadence
So, how does BPN continually drive SMS revenue without slinging discounts like they're going out of style? Clare says it's all about tailoring their text message content to their audience—and committing to a steady sending cadence of 2-3 messages per subscriber, per week. “We don't miss beats. We don't take time off. It's just every single week—two minimum, three max. That's worked really well,” he said.
He added that BPN's audience is uniquely poised to welcome the brand's messaging with open arms, largely due to the founder's (Nick Bare) focus on nurturing a loyal community over the last decade. BPN's subscribers want to hear from them, and they want to buy from them—and SMS is the perfect channel to facilitate both.
Case in point: BPN hit $1 million in total SMS revenue within their first 4 months on Postscript. And by investing a ton of effort into nurturing their list every month, they were able to beat their BFCM sales targets handily—even generating 6 figures of revenue with a single campaign.
“The team was blown away,” Clare said. “It felt like all those years of effort to build up our community and everything that we had invested in growing and nurturing our SMS list came together in exactly the right way at exactly the right time.”
Giving Subscribers the Content They Want
On the content front, there are two main differentiators that help BPN's messaging stand out to, and resonate with, their subscribers. First, the subject matter: “Our topics and how we deliver those topics are intentional,” Clare said. "Without those topics being as refined as they are, I don't think our campaigns would be as successful."
And second, the interactivity: “We prompt people to respond,” Clare said. “For us, that's been highly successful."
Considering that subscribers who engage in two-way texting with brands are 4 times more likely to buy and 4 times more valuable than those who don't, BPN will continue focusing on conversational messaging as a key piece of their strategy on the channel.
Turning SMS into a True VIP Channel
Rather than simply replicating what they do on email, BPN treats the SMS channel with special intention and care. “The way we view both email and SMS is that they are two platforms that are parallel to each other, but don’t pull from each other,” Clare said. For that reason, BPN took a best-of-breed approach in selecting their platforms for each channel, opting to use Klaviyo for email and Postscript for SMS.
They also draw a clear line between their strategies for each channel, reserving SMS exclusively for BPN’s most engaged customers and prospects. “I don't want the lukewarm or the cold [subscribers] on SMS,” Clare said. “The way we’ve viewed SMS this entire time is that it’s for the warm customers—the ones who want to engage with the BPN team and want to reap the benefits of the products."
In other words, BPN’s most valuable and loyal customers are on their SMS list—and he wants to keep it that way. “SMS has been the number-one defining thing that if you’re on the fence about leaving, if you’re subscribed to SMS, our hope is that you’re never leaving—because of the customer experience you receive,” Clare said.
Exceeding Revenue Expectations
With a community-first approach and an unwavering commitment to staying active on SMS, BPN has quickly turned text into one of their most valuable channels. As a more intimate, one-on-one means of communication, it feels much more authentic to their subscribers—especially compared to less personalized messaging like paid ads or social posts.
"SMS beats everything," Clare said. "The engagement is unmatched."
Solution and results
Using an intentional approach to list building and message content, Bare Performance Nutrition was able to drive $1 million of SMS-attributed revenue in just 4 months on Postscript—without relying on frequent sales and discounts. They’ve also leveraged SMS to deepen customer loyalty and deliver exceptional brand experiences, all with a goal of keeping their subscriber list warm and engaged in the long term.
(Note: All results are accurate as of December, 2022.)
Austin Clare
SMS Marketing Mgr
"SMS beats everything. If you're subscribed to SMS, our hope is that you're never leaving because of the quality customer experience you receive.”
Industry