Why run email and SMS as one programme rather than two separate retainers?

Because customers experience them as one brand relationship, not two separate channels. Over-contact from siloed programmes is the most common cause of opt-out spikes. A unified contact model with shared suppression logic prevents the situation where email and SMS both fire within the same day because each team is optimising independently. One programme, one contact frequency ceiling.

Which platform should we use: Klaviyo for both, or Klaviyo email plus Attentive for SMS?

If you are already on Klaviyo for email, Klaviyo SMS is the default recommendation for unified contact management and shared flow logic. If you need advanced SMS features, MMS creative, or two-way conversation flows, Attentive is the stronger SMS platform. The integration complexity of running two platforms is justified only when Attentive's capability gap over Klaviyo SMS is material to your programme. We assess this in discovery.

How do you set contact frequency without over-messaging?

Contact frequency is set per RFM segment based on rolling engagement health: open rate, click rate, and opt-out rate by cohort. High-engagement segments support more frequent contact; at-risk segments are protected with tighter caps. We review frequency parameters monthly and adjust as engagement signals shift. There is no universal weekly schedule.

We already have email running well. Is adding SMS worth the complexity?

It depends on your customer profile and purchase frequency. High-frequency replenishment brands see SMS punch above its weight for reorder reminders and back-in-stock alerts. Lower-frequency lifestyle brands see SMS concentrated in VIP and launch moments. We model the expected contribution at onboarding based on your category and purchase cadence before recommending SMS investment.

One retention programme across email and SMS, not two competing stacks.

Email and SMS share one contact frequency model and one suppression ledger, so customers get a coherent relationship instead of two channels shouting over each other. You see one dashboard, one opt-out curve, one number for combined revenue.

WHAT WE SHIP

Unified programme architecture

Email and SMS flows and campaigns are planned against a single contact window per customer, with shared suppression logic so a morning SMS holds back the afternoon email. One programme, one opt-out ledger.

Channel-specific creative briefs

Email carries the story and the imagery; SMS carries a short, sharp, time-bound call to action. Each channel gets its own brief, never one piece of copy stretched across both.

High-intent triggers

Cart abandon, back-in-stock, price drop and win-back triggers are sequenced across both channels with clear priority and timing gaps. SMS-dominant customers get the SMS lead; email-dominant customers get the reverse.

Deliverability and compliance

We track email domain reputation, bounce and complaint rate weekly, and run SMS to Australian Spam Act, TCPA and UK ICO rules by jurisdiction. Risk surfaces on the dashboard before it costs you inbox placement.

Revenue attribution by channel

Email and SMS revenue is reported separately and as one combined retention number, reconciled against Shopify actuals rather than summed off platform dashboards. You see revenue per send and per recipient, by channel, every week.

List growth measured with the same rigour as sends

Pop-up and checkout opt-in flows are tested for capture rate and downstream engagement quality, not just raw sign-up volume, since a list full of low-intent captures drags deliverability and revenue per recipient down together. Growth sources get ranked by what subscribers do after they join, not by how many joined.

ACCOUNTABILITY

What changes when we run it.

Programme across email and SMS

Planned together, capped together

Days between programme reviews

Flows and campaigns read as one number

50+

Brands we run retention for

Klaviyo, Okendo and Yotpo across the portfolio

KLAVIYO · ATTENTIVE · SUPPRESSION · FREQUENCY CAPS · RETENTIONKLAVIYO · ATTENTIVE · SUPPRESSION · FREQUENCY CAPS · RETENTIONKLAVIYO · ATTENTIVE · SUPPRESSION · FREQUENCY CAPS · RETENTIONKLAVIYO · ATTENTIVE · SUPPRESSION · FREQUENCY CAPS · RETENTIONKLAVIYO · ATTENTIVE · SUPPRESSION · FREQUENCY CAPS · RETENTIONKLAVIYO · ATTENTIVE · SUPPRESSION · FREQUENCY CAPS · RETENTION

PROOF

Brands proving what one email and SMS programme can do.

500%

Bed Threads

home

500% growth within the first year.

A homewares brand outgrowing its own stack. We rebuilt the storefront, scaled paid and lifecycle in lockstep, and ran peak periods across three markets without buckling.

View case study

A lifecycle programme rebuilt to earn its keep

Assembly Label

fashion

End-to-end customer retention overhaul.

A retention and measurement partnership refining the lifecycle programme and bringing online and retail into a clearer, shared view.

View case study

Omnichannel unified end-to-end

Sarah & Sebastian

fashion

Service moments rewired into a retention engine

A fine jewellery and piercing brand whose retail, booking and online journeys were rebuilt into a single lifecycle engine, turning service moments into retention that keeps paying off.

View case study

A real revenue channel

SIR.

fashion

Rebuilding retention into a real revenue channel.

A contemporary womenswear label needed a retention programme that recognised real customer behaviour across stores and online. We rebuilt the lifecycle stack, unified the data layer and turned repeat purchase into a measurable growth lever.

View case study

OBJECTIONS

Common questions.

These are the questions clients ask before signing. Honest answers below.

KEEP EXPLORING · ELEPHANT ROOM PLAYBOOK

Every service. One playbook.

Three pillars. One operating model. Pick your next move.

TALK TO THE TEAM

Talk to a strategist, not a salesperson.

A response within one business day.

50+brands

$750M+GMV

10+years